HUTCHINSON, Kan. — Hutch Post, the online news source from Eagle Radio, turned 10 years old in January.
Hutch Post has come a long way in its 10 years, becoming one of the leaders in local news coverage. When the online publication started in 2011, Hutch Post had 50,000 page views in its first month. Readers then saw coverage of the two most dominant stories of that year. One was Siemens coming to the city after Hutchinson won a three-way battle for the wind turbine plant. Since then, the company has merged with Gamesa Corporation to form the leading wind turbine maker in the world.
It also saw one of the more bizarre and brutal murder cases in Hutchinson. Two men, Charles Logdson and Billy Craig Jr., were both convicted in the shooting death of Jennifer Heckel in a shooting that was a case of mistaken identity.
Hutch Post surpassed 200,000 views per month in March of 2014. At that time, Hutch Post was undergoing a major transformation that would eventually become the look that you enjoy today with more varieties of news. Hutch Post covered the ever-increasing meth problem in the city and longtime U.S. Sen. Pat Roberts narrowly fended off the challenge of independent Greg Orman after a bitter campaign, while Gov. Sam Brownback slipped past Democrat Paul Davis to retain his seat for another four years.
In 2016, Hutch Post was averaging about 350,000 page views per month. Undoubtedly, the lead story was the tragic events and the incredible heroism in Hesston when a disgruntled employee, Cedric Ford, opened fire on his co-workers, killing three and injuring 14 others.
By June of 2019, Hutch Post had eclipsed the 600,000 page views per month threshold. Hutch Post continued to cover the many stories, including the battle to keep Amtrak running through the state. Siemens merged with Gamesa and Public Restroom Company announced it was coming to Hutchinson, only to cancel those plans when the founder of the company suddenly died. It also saw the retirement of longtime City Manager John Deardoff and County Administrator Gary Meagher.
Hutch Post hit some impressive numbers in 2020 as the pandemic began to dominate the news on a local level. Hutch Post continuously provided updates to the virus moving through the county and the many things that were being done to fight off the virus that has killed more than 100 Reno County residents. The Post hit a high of more than one million page views in March of 2020.
It also saw the end of the Sam Vonachen criminal case that spanned nearly seven years. Vonachen was convicted of the murder of his mother and sister when he set fire to their home in 2013. The Supreme Court recently upheld his conviction. Hutch Post has surpassed more than 700,000 views every month since then.
The community was also divided in 2020 over racial and political issues as residents tried to work to bring better relations between races, the police department and the public in general. It included a peaceful rally at the courthouse on a sunny Sunday afternoon.
Hutch Post reporters have tried to cover everything there is in Hutchinson and Reno County. From business to court cases, good news and, unfortunately, not-so-good news. Reporters have covered local government meetings and elections and have taken pride in providing weather alerts and other important information. Some of the biggest stories include the wildfires, severe weather, great events like the NJCAA National Basketball Tournament and the changes in leadership in the county and city government, and the Chamber of Commerce.
The county built a new jail and we witnessed a major transformation of the Hutchinson Sports Arena where, in 2017, the HutchCC men's basketball team won it all in the NJCAA National Tournament.
Reporters have written thousands of stories covering Hutchinson and the surrounding area. There’s simply too many to list them all. At Hutch Post, we hope to keep providing the latest well into the future as we add more features and opportunities for our clients to reach out to our readers.
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