''The Kokomo Perspective'' was a

weekly newspaper Weekly newspaper is a general-news or Current affairs (news format), current affairs publication that is issued once or twice a week in a wide variety broadsheet, magazine, and electronic publishing, digital formats. Similarly, a biweekly newspap ...

serving

Kokomo, Indiana Kokomo ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Howard County, Indiana, United States. Its population was 60,093 according to the U.S. Census Bureau 2024 estimate. It is the principal city of the Kokomo, Indiana metropolitan area, Kokomo metropol ...

, established in August 1989. It ceased operating on November 29, 2021. The ''Perspective'' was distributed for free to 31,000 homes every Wednesday. Its rival was the ''

Kokomo Tribune The ''Kokomo Tribune'' is a daily newspaper based in Kokomo, Indiana, United States. It is owned by CNHI. History The ''Kokomo Tribune'' can trace its history back to October 1850, when the weekly ''Howard Tribune'' was founded in Kokomo to c ...

.''

History

The paper published public vitals each week, providing information about citizens' court happenings, arrests, mug shots, marriages, divorces, causes of death, and obituaries. The section was one of the most popular sections of the paper. One of the publication's overriding goals was to foster public awareness of the political process and to mobilize the citizens of Howard County, of which Kokomo is the

county seat A county seat is an administrative center, seat of government, or capital city of a county or parish (administrative division), civil parish. The term is in use in five countries: Canada, China, Hungary, Romania, and the United States. An equiva ...

, to participate in electing local officials. In 2004, after publisher and editor Don Wilson had written articles pointing out that Howard County Prosecutor Jim Fleming "did not have enough integrity to keep the majority of his campaign promises", Fleming launched what he called the biggest gambling case in Howard County history, eventually filing 11 felony charges against Wilson and his business partner; Fleming refused to recuse himself from the case. In 2006, after two years of Fleming using "taxpayer-funded resources to fuel his own personal vendetta", the case had been transferred to

Grant County Grant County may refer to: Places ;Australia * County of Grant, Victoria ;United States * Grant County, Arkansas * Grant County, Indiana * Grant County, Kansas *Grant County, Kentucky Grant County is a county located in the northern pa ...

, where that county's prosecutor dropped all charges against Wilson and all felony charges against his partner, who was convicted on a single misdemeanorfor pocketing $18 in profit from handling betting on horse racing at

Hoosier Park Harrah's Hoosier Park Racing & Casino is a racino including a standardbred racetrack located in Anderson, Indiana, approximately 30 miles northeast of Indianapolis. It is owned and operated by Eldorado Resorts, Caesars Entertainment. The facility ...

three times a year amongst friends at the local

American Legion The American Legion, commonly known as the Legion, is an Voluntary association, organization of United States, U.S. war veterans headquartered in Indianapolis, Indiana. It comprises U.S. state, state, Territories of the United States, U.S. terr ...

hall. While Hossier park does offer

off-track betting Off-track betting (or OTB; in British English, off-course betting) is sanctioned gambling on greyhound racing or horse racing outside a race track. U.S. history Before the 1970s, only the state of Nevada allowed off-track betting. Off-track bet ...

in various Indiana locations, it did not have a storefront in Kokomo, which is from the track. In January 2017, local attorney Brian Oaks bought part ownership of ''The Kokomo Perspective'' with plans to fully purchase the business down the road. Don Wilson was the publisher for the next several years. In March 2017, Brian Oaks also purchased the weekly ''Kokomo Herald''. In June 2017, the paper switched to being delivered via the

United States Postal Service The United States Postal Service (USPS), also known as the Post Office, U.S. Mail, or simply the Postal Service, is an independent agencies of the United States government, independent agency of the executive branch of the federal governmen ...

versus carriers to ensure reliable delivery every week. The paper size also was changed to the

Berliner Berliner is most often used to designate a citizen of Berlin, Germany Berliner may also refer to: People * Berliner (surname) Places * Berliner Lake, a lake in Minnesota, United States * Berliner Philharmonie, concert hall in Berlin, Germany ...

format, which is slightly narrower and shorter than the

broadsheet A broadsheet is the largest newspaper format and is characterized by long Vertical and horizontal, vertical pages, typically of in height. Other common newspaper formats include the smaller Berliner (format), Berliner and Tabloid (newspaper ...

format. In 2021, the newspaper closed.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kokomo Perspective, The 1989 establishments in Indiana 2021 disestablishments in Indiana Defunct newspapers published in Indiana Defunct weekly newspapers Howard County, Indiana Newspapers established in 1989 Publications disestablished in 2021 Weekly newspapers published in the United States