Issaquah Press Group to shutter operations Feb. 24

The Issaquah Press Group, which publishes the Issaquah Press, Sammamish Review, SnoValley Star and Newcastle News, will shutter all operations on Feb. 24, the group announced in an online post today.

In a letter to readers and advertisers, general manager Charles Horton said the company wasn’t able to overcome revenue losses that began over six years ago.

“After several months of exploring different paths for a sustainable future, we came to this difficult conclusion,” Horton stated in the letter.

The group’s four publications have a combined circulation of 45,000. Its staff includes seven newsroom employees, four in advertising and one in its operations department.

Staff were alerted of the shuttering by Horton in a noon meeting today, according to the online post.

The company has been owned by The Seattle Times Co. since 1995. The Issaquah Press was the oldest of the group’s publications, debuting Jan. 18, 1900.