A new weekly newspaper has begun serving Kermit and Winkler County, restoring local print coverage to a community that had been without its own newspaper for several years.
Publishers Tommy and Pattie Wells introduced The Kermit Sun with its inaugural issue dated July 23. The newspaper will publish throughout the year, generally taking breaks around the Fourth of July and between Christmas and New Year’s Day.
The Kermit Sun is the first newspaper based in the community since the Winkler County News ceased operations in 2022.
“We are thrilled to bring a newspaper back to the community,” Tommy Wells said in the paper’s introductory article. “I honestly feel that every community needs a newspaper to help chronicle and preserve its history, and to give the residents of Winkler County a way to stay up-to-date with the news they need.”
The newspaper joins the Wells family’s small group of publications, which includes the Colorado City Record, the Clyde Journal and three weekly newspapers in Oklahoma.
Launching a newspaper in Winkler County had been a goal for Tommy and Pattie Wells for about four years. The couple initially planned to begin publishing shortly after the Winkler County News closed, but a family accident forced them to postpone those plans.
“This isn’t something that we just dreamed up,” Tommy Wells said. “I’ve talked to other newspaper industry people for years saying I wanted to do it.”
The newspaper’s first front page included community announcements, local government and school news, and information about an upcoming Kermit Yellowjackets Booster Club golf tournament. It also featured a photograph of state Rep. Brooks Landgraf visiting the Kermit City Council and answering questions about the upcoming legislative session.
The inaugural edition carried a $1 cover price and the motto, “Determined to be as great as the people we cover.”
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