As many of you know, The Madison Courier and the Garber family have been intertwined for six generations.



Since Michael Christian Garber gave up his drygoods store in Rising Sun, Indiana, in 1849 to become a small-town publisher in Madison, the ownership of the paper always has been held by a majority of direct Garber descendants.



It is with mixed emotions that we announce the era of the Garber family is ending.



This edition of the Courier — Saturday, February 29, 2020 — will be the last overseen by the Garber lineage.



The edition of March 3 will be published by Paxton Media Group, a family-owned media company headquartered in Paducah, Kentucky, that is managed by fourth- and fifth-generation Paxton family members. The company owns 70-plus newspapers across the Midwest and Southeast, including 12 other dailies in Indiana.



My brother, William Jacobs, and sister, Sara Clymer, and I have thought about this change over a long period of time and feel that is the best path forward for our family and to ensure the survival of the newspaper.



We want to thank the generations of readers who have allowed our family to play a role in their lives and the local businesspeople who have partnered with us to grow our businesses.



We also want to thank the employees, past and present, who have worked tirelessly to inform our community through a newspaper and more recently an electronic news presence that has served this community faithfully, always striving to do its best.



We believe, now more than ever, in the work that newspapers do. A community without a newspaper is greatly diminished.



The resource advantages a larger organization brings to the table makes continuation of the Courier more secure. That, along with the inherent strength and vitality of our community makes us hopeful for a bright future.



Our lives have been enriched by having been part of Madison.



We treasure this city and its people.



Thank you for all we have shared.







Curt Jacobs



Publisher



The Madison Courier