Verndale has the distinction of having the first printing press in Wadena County. In 1877, P.A. Gatchel, seeing the growth and great prospects for the village of Verndale, moved his Wadena County Tribune from Wadena to Verndale. This newspaper was a four page, seven-column sheet, and was primarily a land journal. In 1878, Mr Gatchel purchased a printing press from the Morrison County Banner at Little Falls, MN, and moved it to Verndale. Mr. Gatchel was an attorney and also Wadena County Auditor.

In 1879, Albert S. Macmillan established the Verndale Journal and published it at Verndale for fourteen years. In 1893, he moved the newspaper to Wadena and and changed the name to the Wadena Journal. In 1897, the Wadena Journal was absorbed by the Pioneer Journal. And the combined paper is published to this day as the Wadena Pioneer Journal.

October 14, 1887, published in the Park Rapids Enterprise
LOCAL LIFE
The Hubbard Bulletin made its promised appearance last week. It is a six
column folio. Ed Horton presides over the pen, shears and paste pot. The
first number shows a good advertising patronage, and is made up and printed
at the office of A. S. McMillan of Verndale. A. S. McMillan now prints three papers from his two offices: The Motley Register, Verndale Journal, and Hubbard Bulletin.

The Verndale Sun newspaper has had many ups and downs over the past 114 years.  Its humble beginnings started just before the turn of the last century when the Verndale Journal newspaper was moved to Wadena, MN.  The enterprising J.W. Speelman was not about to let Verndale go without a newspaper, so he founded the Verndale Sun in the spring of 1894, but soon sold the publication to H.M. Henderson on April 15, 1895. After the death of Mr. Henderson on May 3, 1908, Harry Allen purchased the newspaper in December of 1908 and published it until 1918 when "business interests" of the city purchased the publication. In 1934 the newspaper was enlarged to 8 pages in addition to a colored comic section. The yearly subscription price, however, remained at $1.50. Other well-known publishers of the newspaper included R.W. Bradford, R.L. Bradford, Mrs. M.L. Sparks, Vivian Sather. In 1954, Vivian Sather, publisher, sold the subscription list and title to Clint Folin, publisher of the Bertha Herald, of Bertha, MN. Publication of the Verndale Sun was suspended and the newspaper was consolidated with the Bertha Herald. In the early 1960's the Verndale Star made a brief appearance. It was published by Bertha Herald publisher, Paul Gropper. Tom Ellingsworth became editor and publisher of the "Sun" and the little newspaper was back in business with the first edition printed on February 9, 1967. In 1969 the 5-ton Meihle printing press was moved across the alley from the old Ned Rundell (Bradford) building into the old community center (theater building). A large double door was added to the side of the building to accommodate installation of the huge press. The press was transported on rollers without taking the machine apart. On November 27, 1969, the paper announced that it was now being printed by offset method which enabled the staff to insert more pictures into the columns with better reproduction. On January 1, 1970, Tom Ellingsworth, editor and publisher of the newspaper, announced that Albert Gridley would assume the position of Managing Editor of the Verndale Sun because Mr. Ellingsworth had purchased a newspaper at Barnesville, MN, and was moving to that community. Mr. Ellingsworth sold the newspaper to the Tangeman family in 1970. Upon her retirement, publisher Mary Tangeman sold the Verndale Sun to Blade Publishing, which later sold the newspaper to the current publishers Mary Drewes, Carol Clauson, and Sonya Grabe who also publish the Citizen's Advocate, Henning, MN.

Read the news from early Verndale:

January 2, 1880

April 30, 1880

April 30, 1880

June 25, 1880

July 16, 1880

July 30, 1880

October 8, 1886

September 8, 1892