The paper traces its history to the
Warrensburg Journal, which began publishing April 17, 1865, by James Douglas Eads—seven days after the end of the
American Civil War and two days after the
Assassination of Abraham Lincoln. Warrensburg, population of 1,000 at the time, did not have a newspaper. Prior to the war, Eads, a church pastor, had published the
Warrensburg Signal. In addition to his pastor and newspaper interests he was also a physician and ran a hotel. On October 6, 1876, it became the
Journal-Democrat after merging with the
Warrensburg Democrat, which had started in 1871. William and
Avis Tucker bought the paper in 1947. William Tucker died in 1966 and Avis owned the paper until 2007 when it was sold to
NPG. In September 2021, the
Star-Journal brought back the Tuesday print edition. The ''Star-Journal's'' print edition is now published twice a week on Tuesdays and Fridays. In August 2024, Phillips Media Group sold the newspaper to
Carpenter Media Group. == Notable staff ==