ANTRIM, KALKASKA NEWSPAPERS CELEBRATE ONE YEAR OF NEW OWNERSHIP

Antrim, Kalkaska newspapers celebrate one year of new ownership

Employees turned owners of The Antrim Review and The Kalkaska Review, Judy Stilwell and Mary Hansen have kept local news focused on local events, people and businesses across Antrim and Kalkaska counties. Hansen and Stilwell purchased both newspapers together last year, carrying on a tradition of independently-owned press in these two counties.
Having a local newspaper in rural America is not a guarantee in this day and age, let alone an independently-owned publication. According to the State of Local News' 2025 report, 40 percent of all local publications have disappeared in the past 20 years and nearly a quarter of all the remaining newspapers in the United States are controlled by the 10 largest companies.
Like many small newspapers, Antrim and Kalkaska's local newspapers were once purchased by a corporate conglomerate around the turn of the century. When former publisher John Tarrant saw that the local coverage and community-focus of the publications deteriorated in favor of profits, he revived independently-owned news through the Bellaire Review in 2003, which became the Antrim Review, and later added the Kalkaska Review in 2015.
When Tarrant faced retirement, employees Stilwell and Hansen did not want the local newspapers to be owned by a chain again. They planned and prepared for three years and purchased the two newspapers in July 2025 from Tarrant through their new company, Circle North Media.
Hansen and Stilwell are longtime community members and are committed to keeping local news locally-reported, published and focused. Stilwell resides in Bellaire, has two degrees in printing and has decades of experience in marketing and management. Hansen is a lifetime resident of Kalkaska and has worked in the newspaper industry for nearly 30 years.
Under the new ownership, the Antrim Review and Kalkaska Review continue to cover local news that no other publication is regularly covering, including local government meetings at the county, township and village levels, youth sports and activities for nine school districts, community festivals and more.
Both newspapers are delivered by mail on Thursdays and are available to subscribers online at www.antrimreview.net.