Today marks the final Sunday edition of the Great Bend Tribune as the storied publication reinvents its publication schedule and distribution system to better meet subscribers’ needs, said Publisher Judy Duryee. Starting this week, the Tribune will publish on Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday mornings and almost all subscribers will receive their papers by same-day United States Post Service delivery. 

“With this change, subscribers will get their newspapers on the publication day; there will be no more wet or missing papers, no looking in the yard or driveway, and the papers will always be in the mailbox,” Duryee said. Until now, subscribers getting their paper through the mail receive their Sunday paper on Monday or on Tuesday if there was a Monday holiday. 

Since the post office doesn’t deliver regular mail on Sunday, changing the days of the week was necessary for everyone to get their paper the same day. 

“We realize this change may take some people some time to adjust to,” Duryee said. “But, it is being done with all our subscribers in mind and to bring them the news on a timelier basis.” 

The Tribune’s e-edition is posted by 4 a.m. on publishing days and many times subscribers can read complete articles before that online at gbtribune.com.

The Saturday edition will include all the extra features, puzzles and sales inserts currently found in the Sunday paper, but will also include color comics and the Friday night sports results.

“This was a tough decision, one not taken lightly,” Duryee said. “We are making this change so we can continue to serve our readers and provide them with the quality news and information they’ve come to expect in a more timely, reliable manner.”

The reasons for the changes boil down to the same economic forces impacting all businesses since the COVID-19 pandemic. “It’s a matter of costs and labor availability,” she said.

“We’ve always had a deep-seated commitment to deliver our papers on time and accurately,” she said. The Tribune’s contracted carriers are dependable and deliver to homes without visible addresses, in the worst weather conditions, and in the middle of the night, but there are not enough of them. 

Now, Duryee said, the Tribune is taking steps to move into the future.