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Battle Born Media, a company with deep Nevada roots, has acquired the Sparks Tribune to add to its portfolio of newspapers in the state.
Battle Born bought the historic newspaper _ which dates back more than a century _ from Sparks Tribune, LLC, owned by Randy Frisch, Dominic Welch and A.L. Alford, Jr. The transaction is effectively immediately.
The purchase gives Battle Born _ owned by longtime Nevadans Sherman Frederick and Tim Dahlberg _ six newspapers in the state.
“We’re especially excited about acquiring the Tribune, which has served as the local news source for many generations in Sparks,’’ Frederick said. “We know the people of Sparks are involved in their community and interested in local news and sports. We have a lot of plans to make the paper better and more relevant, both in print and with a robust online presence.’’
Battle Born has named Kent Lauer, a veteran Nevada journalist, to lead coverage as publisher and editor of the weekly newspaper. Lauer worked as a reporter for the Las Vegas Review Journal early in his career and later became executive director of the Nevada Press Association, based in Carson City.
“This is a great opportunity to lead coverage in a vibrant city,’’ Lauer said. “Battle Born has a history of improving its papers with a focus on local news and sports and we are excited about doing the same in Sparks.’’
The purchase is a homecoming of sorts for Dahlberg, a national sports columnist for The Associated Press who got his start in the newspaper business at the Tribune in the 1970s. Dahlberg was the sports editor and photographer for the paper for three years.
Frederick is a longtime Nevada journalist and the former president of Stephens Media, which operated the Review Journal and other newspapers. He is a member of the Nevada Newspaper Hall of Fame.
In addition to Sparks, Battle Born Media owns and operates the Ely Times, Mineral County Independent-News, Lincoln County Record, Eureka Sentinel and Mesquite Local News.
The Tribune has been the community newspaper of Sparks since 1910.