That's all he wrote

Ken Stern is moving on from what he calls his "best job ever" to a retirement that will likely involve travel near and far.

Stern, after all, rarely ventured beyond what he calls the greater La Conner area during seven-and-a-half years as publisher of the community's weekly newspaper, which came to be defined by his topical, lively and – often by design – controversial editorials.

"For seven years," Stern reflected last week, "I've been chained to my desk here in La Conner. I haven't seen anything. I haven't seen the Columbia River, Lake Chelan or the Olympic Mountains. So, I could spend a year just traveling the state and region."

He found his mission here compelling and rewarding, each week an opportunity to provide a strong editorial voice while chronicling what would become the history of his adopted hometown.

"Every week," Stern said, "I took my editorial very seriously. It was very important to me to say something of weight to the community."

For the past couple years he has tried to pass the historic torch of La Conner newspapering to new owners who would put their own stamp on the Weekly News. When unable to find buyers meeting his $250,000 sales price for a profitable news venture in what is considered the "Best Small Town" in Washington state, Stern at the end of 2023 decided he would close the paper at the end of the year.

"Putting out a weekly newspaper has been a great pleasure," Stern said. "But managing the business side of the paper has been a bridge too far. That's what's worn me down."

Stern had to hit the ground running upon arriving from Cincinnati in late June 2017. Within a year of purchasing the newspaper from Sandy Stokes and Cindy Vest, Stern became immersed in what was a major story – turmoil at La Conner Schools over the termination of popular teacher Georgia Johnson coupled with contentious district contract negotiations.

"I was impressed by how the school staff and parents supported Georgia Johnson," said Stern, whose father edited a labor union newspaper. "The solidarity of the staff and parents was impressive. This was the most significant story I covered."

Other big stories would follow. Stern cited from memory in rapid-fire fashion the resignation of a Museum of Northwest Art executive director, contentious Shelter Bay governance, the Maple Field housing development and the COVID-19 pandemic.

He also recounted several environmental stories, most notably those related to hovering wildfire smoke and summer heat waves.

"The weather was so hot," he said, "that restaurants and businesses closed temporarily because of it."

But the second most important issue for him was his championing the building of a new La Conner library. That went beyond extensive coverage and several editorials to a significant financial contribution.

Stern also took deep dives into Town of La Conner finances, regularly providing budget reports on the paper's front page. He occasionally took issue with fiscal policy at Town Hall.

"The town, even through COVID-19, has enjoyed ongoing healthy revenues," said Stern. "So, I don't understand the continued conservative estimates around revenue."

Not every story was serious in tone, however.

Among Stern's favorites was his front page April 1, 2021, satire that reported Gov. Jay Inslee's plans to relocate state government offices from Olympia to La Conner. He was surprised when some readers believed the account.

Stern minored in journalism at Antioch College but pursued other career paths after earning a master's degree from Michigan State University. He sought a full-time return to the newspaper world – and with it an opportunity to regularly advocate for democracy – while in his 60s. He was encouraged to do so by longtime friend Dick Wittenberg.

"I met Dick in 1974 in Toledo, Ohio, when I was finishing my first year of college," Stern reflected. "He was running for re-election as a state representative and I worked on his campaign."

In the summer of 2016, Wittenberg called Stern and asked if he had read an article in the New York Times about a Vermont publisher who was running an essay contest to choose a new owner of his paper.

"He said, 'I bet you can win that newspaper,'" Stern said. "He believed in me."

Stern didn't land the Hardwick Gazette but in great measure because of motivation from Wittenberg he was emboldened to sell his Ohio home and buy the Weekly News.

"I'm in La Conner," Stern said, "because of my friend Dick Wittenberg. This is a love story at its origins"

Stern said that during his tenure here he has beneftted from a staff dedicated to reporting local stories and producing an award-winning publication. He praised them all for their commitment to the hard work of putting out a quality paper 52 weeks a year.

"The paper is as good as it is because of the staff," he stressed.

Stern had announced an ambitious agenda in his July 12, 2017, editorial.

"Owning a newspaper is a cross between real estate agent boosterism and hardboiled detective cynicism," he wrote. "You love the community and want it to succeed, but for the common good you have to find out where the bodies are buried. In other words, the good is lifted up and encouraged and you speak truth to power against the bad, shining a light on wrong. Communities have a wide mixture of people making good and poor choices."

Stern stayed true to his calling, achieving all he set out to do.

"I'm completely satisfied with everything I've accomplished," he said. "I don't have to cover one more parade, one more council meeting, or take one more photograph."

Stern may not miss those assignments, staples of weekly news coverage. But his unique perspectives and insights, crafted over 389 straight issues of the Weekly News, will indeed be missed.