The first issue of
The Anaconda Standard published on September 4, 1889, in
Anaconda, Montana. It was funded by
Marcus Daly, owner of the
Anaconda Copper Mining Company. Daly used the paper to promote his own causes and battle rival copper king
William A. Clark, who published the
Butte Miner, along with rival
Thomas H. Carter. Daly used the paper to further his political and financial reach. By 1920, the Anaconda Company owned several additional Montana newspapers including the
Butte Post,
Butte Miner,
Daily Missoulian,
Helena Independent, and
Billings Gazette. After Clark's death, his heirs sold the company, including the
Butte Miner, to Anaconda Co. On September 12, 1928, the
Standard merged its Butte edition with
Butte Miner, based in nearby
Butte, Montana, to form
The Montana Standard. The Anaconda paper continued for a few more years until it had become an insert in the Butte paper by 1933. The company change its name to
Lee Enterprises in 1960. Starting July 11, 2023, the print edition of the newspaper was reduced to three days a week: Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday. Also, the newspaper transitioned from carrier to postal delivery. == Awards ==