Only newspaper in Estevan ends production after 122 years

The Estevan Mercury, the only newspaper publishing in the southeastern Saskatchewan city, has been shut down by Glacier Media's Community Newspaper Group.

Its last edition was released Jan. 1. 

In a Facebook post on Wednesday, David Willberg, the paper's former editor and reporter, thanked readers, delivery people, advertisers and employers for their "unwavering support over the years."

According to Willberg, the Mercury, established in 1903, was Estevan's oldest business. The paper predates Saskatchewan becoming a province in 1905.

"We've been with the community every step of the way for the past 122 years," he said. 

Estevan Mayor Tony Sernick told CBC Thursday the Mercury has been a pillar in the city of roughly 11,000 since it was founded. 

"It's definitely very sad news and gut-wrenching," said Sernick, who said he has read the paper every Wednesday since the 1980s. 

He said the community had only two sources for all-local news, but is now left with just one — the radio station Discover Estevan.

Norm Park is a former reporter and editor with the Mercury. His career spanned more than 50 years, the majority of it at the newspaper.

In a phone call on Friday, Park said the closure came as a shock.

"I even choked up a bit when I was talking with my wife," Park said. "The community lost something."

Park and Sernick say the Mercury kept Estevan united. Sernick recalls the paper covering everything from lemonade stands to city council meetings.

"Growing up as a kid playing hockey and sports and everything, it was always an ongoing joke … 'Hey, we might make the front page of the Mercury!" Sernick said.

Sernick finally did make that front page when he was elected mayor. He said his mayoral speech recapping 2024 was informed by what he read in the Estevan Mercury in its end-of-year issue.

Now, the last issue sits beside him on his work desk.

Park got his start at the Mercury as a sports reporter, but eventually fell in love with the community.

In his decades-long career, Park has seen the city grow to more than 10,000 people from 7,000. Park even began writing a list just to make sure he could remember all of the city's changes.

"We've seen the the coal industry and the oil and gas industry and the leisure centre, the Rafferty Dam, the new hospital, nursing homes, airports, the Estevan Motor Speedway," he said.

Covering the city brought Park closer to the community, he said. It's why, when he retired in 2017, he chose to stay in Estevan.

Despite the beloved community staple closing down, Sernick said he's optimistic.

"Honestly, with the way this city rolls, I expect a journalist, author, entrepreneur to maybe resurrect something. It may not be called the Mercury, but I fully expect over the next year to see something resurrected as well to help out, for sure."

In the meantime, Willberg said people can continue to read articles from the Estevan area on the provincial news hub SaskToday.

As of Thursday evening, Glacier Media had not yet commented on why it shut the small newspaper down.