Origins In 1983, Michael Gulban started a technology company in New Jersey called DataStudy Inc. The business' name was changed 20 years later to CherryRoad Technologies, which came from the firm's original address. At first, the company was contracted to implement complex software and
financial reporting systems, mostly for local government agencies. Over the years it became a
shared web hosting service provider that offered
cloud computing programs to clients. After the onset of the
COVID-19 pandemic in the United States in 2020, CherryRoad created software applications for
virtual meetings and
remote learning. The company offered them for free to school districts and local governments, but none were interested.
2021 In June, CherryRoad purchased four weekly newspapers in Arkansas:
The Mountaineer Echo of Flippin, the
Marshall Mountain Wave, the Clay
County Courier in Corning and the
Pocahontas Star Herald. The paper had been published by the Minnesota-based Red Wing Publishing Co. which Alden acquired in 2020. The sale was completed in August. In September, CherryRoad purchased 20 publications from
Gannett. The sale included 13 Kanas papers: the
Hays Daily News, the
Garden City Telegram, the
Leavenworth Times, the
St. John News, the
Kiowa County Signal, the
Dodge City Daily Globe, the
McPherson Sentinel, the
Butler County Times-Gazette, the
Wellington Daily News, the
Ottawa Times, the
Newton Kansan, the
Pratt Tribune and the
Penny Press in Hiawatha. The Gannet sale also included two newspapers in Nebraska:
Nebraska City News-Press and
Syracuse Journal-Democrat; four Missouri papers:
Independence Examiner,
Chillicothe Constitution-Tribune,
Boonville Daily News,
Linn County Leader; and the
Hamburg Reporter in Iowa. The purchase of the newspapers went into effect Oct. 1. That same month the CherryRoad Media announced its acquisition of seven rural Minnesota newspapers from Gannett: the
Crookston Times,
Granite Falls Advocate Tribune,
Montevideo American-News,
Redwood Falls Gazette,
St. James Plaindealer,
Sleepy Eye Herald-Dispatch and the
Tri-County News in Cottonwood. In March, CherryRoad purchased nine newspapers from
Rust Communications. The sale included four newspapers in Missouri:
Marshall Democrat-News,
Monett Times,
Cassville Democrat and
South Missourian News in Thayer. Also sold were five newspapers in Arkansas:
Carroll County News in Berryville,
Lovely County Citizen in Eureka Springs,
The News in Salem,
Villager Journal in Cherokee Village and
Clay County Times-Democrat in Piggott. In September, CherryRoad purchased four weekly papers in Massachusetts from Gannett. The sale included
The Landmark in Holden, the
Leominster Champion, the
Millbury-Sutton Chronicle and
The Grafton News. The acquisition averted the planned Sept. 15 closure of
The Landmark. That same month CherryRoad acquired three weekly Utah newspapers from Brehm Communications Inc., including
The Richfield Reaper,
The Vernal Express and the
Uintah Basin Standard. CherryRoad also bought
The Chronicle-Express in New York from Gannett, saving the paper from closure. In November, CherryRoad purchased
The McCall Star-News in Idaho from Central Idaho Publishing. That same month CherryRoad purchased
The Clinton Item, another Massachusetts paper, from Gannett. In December, CherryRoad sold several publications it had acquired earlier that year from Rust Communications. The
Carroll County News, the free weekly tabloid
Lovely County Citizen, shopper Ozark Mountain Trader, and specialty publications
Eureka Springs Visitor and
Currents magazine were sold to Carroll County Community Media LLC, a partnership between Scott Loftis, David Bell and Steve Johnson. The
Cassville Democrat was sold to Kyle Troutman and Jordan Troutman. The
Monett Times and
Connection Magazine was sold to Lisa Craft.
2023 In February, CherryRoad acquired the
McPherson News Ledger and absorbed it into the
McPherson Sentinel. In April, CherryRoad sold
The Mountain Echo to Robert Lyons Jr. and Peggy Mason. In August, CherryRoad purchased several Kansas newspapers from the family owned
News-Press & Gazette Company, including the
Miami County Republic, the
Atchison Globe and the
Hiawatha World. The sale also included two papers based in Liberty, Missouri: the
Courier-Tribune and the
Gladstone Dispatch. CherryRoad also acquired the company's commercial printing facility in St. Joseph, Missouri. That same month, CherryRoad acquired eight community newspapers and Eagle Print from Delphos Herald, Inc. The sale included Ohio papers the
Delphos Herald,
Van Wert Times Bulletin, the
Putnam County Sentinel, the
Paulding Progress, the
Ada Herald, the
Putnam County Vidette, Monroe County Beacon and
The Register in Lawrenceburg, Indiana. In September, the
Villager Journal of Cherokee Village and the
Salem News, which CherryRoad purchased in February 2021, were merged into a single publication called
Areawide News. The
Pratt Tribune,
Kiowa County Signal and
St. John News were merged to form
Tri-County Tribune. CherryRoad acquired all three papers in September 2021
. Ownership of
The Fort Leavenworth Lamp, which was acquired from Gannett in 2021, was transferred to
Fort Leavenworth. The
AG Journal ceased and the
Fowler Tribune was absorbed into the
La Junta Tribune Democrat following Gannett closing
The Pueblo Chieftain's printing operation. The
Anna-Melissa Tribune and
Van Alstyne Leader were absorbed into
The Herald Democrat. In October, the company acquired the
Moberly Monitor-Index from Westplex Media Group.
2024 In January, CherryRoad purchased Page 1 Printers, a commercial printer based in
Slayton, Minnesota, from Graphic Arts Advisors, LLC. In April, the company announced plans to launch two new Minnesota papers in
Hutchinson and
Litchfield. This was in response to
MediaNews Group announcing the closure of the
Hutchinson Leader and
Litchfield Independent Review. The newly created
Hutchinson Station and
Litchfield Rail launched in May. It was the last remaining community newspaper in its county. In July, the
Leominster Champion also ceased. In September, CherryRoad purchased
The Savannah Reporter in
Savannah, Missouri from the Rosenauer family. In October, CherryRoad purchased
The Linbsborg News-Record from Main Street Media. In December, CherryRoad acquired eight Missouri newspapers from Lakeway Publishers Inc. The sale included the
Centralia Fireside Guard, Elsberry Democrat, Hermann Advertiser Courier, Lincoln County Journal, Lake Gazette in Monroe City,
Pike County News, Troy Free Press and
Vandalia Leader. That same month, it was announced CherryRoad sometime during the year had become a member of the
News Media Alliance.
2025 In February, CherryRoad closed the
Crookston Daily Times. The closure came after the company struggled to find workers and the City of Crookston chose to move its legal notices to the
Thief River Falls shopper. In March, the company purchased
The Tower News and
Cook News-Herald in Minnesota. In August, CherryRoad announced it will launch
The Trenton Telegraph in Missouri. The paper will operate under a community ownership model supported by the Grundy County Industrial Development Corporation. The paper launched in September. In November, CherryRoad announced a deal to license its content management system called LocalRoad to
Ogden Newspapers.
2026 In January, CherryRoad acquired
The Carrollton Democrat in Missouri from Main Street Media. In March, the company purchased
The Claxton Enterprise. == Publications ==