Post Register to be sold to Minneapolis-based company

The Post Co. of Idaho Falls announced Wednesday that it is being bought by Adams Publishing Group, a media chain based in St. Louis Park, Minn., and owned by a billionaire investor with interests in billboards, wine, banks and recreational vehicles.

The sale will include the Post Register as well as three weekly newspapers: the Shelley Pioneer, Jefferson Star and Challis Messenger. It is expected to be finalized Nov. 1. A sale price was not disclosed.

Adams Publishing owns dozens of newspapers, shoppers and magazines in Minnesota, Wisconsin, Maryland and Ohio. The acquisition of the Post Register represents a continuation of an expansion into the West, as the company recently bought four newspapers in Wyoming, in Cheyenne, Laramie, Rawlins and Rock Springs. The Adams family also owns radio stations, an outdoor advertising company and Camping World/Good Sam, which opened a location in Idaho Falls earlier this year.

For more information about the company's chairman, Stephen Adams, follow this link from the Stanford GSB Experience of Feb. 1, 2006: Stephen Adams Honored with 2006 Arbuckle Award.

The sale marks the end of 90-plus years of ownership by the Brady family. Company President Jerry Brady, 79, told employees this summer he felt he had nothing more to add to the company. Although the decision was difficult, he was convinced selling the company was the right thing to do, he said.

Brady and his brother, Jack, own about two-thirds of the company. The remaining is owned by employees (and ex-employees, including me) through an Employee Stock Ownership Plan.

“We think we’ve found the best deal out there,” Brady wrote in a July letter to employees. “It would provide enough money to retire all debts, allowing us to go forward debt-free and to make a distribution to (employee) owners.”

“We’re very excited to have the Post Register Company’s group of newspapers and digital products join our company going forward,” Stephen Adams said in a statement. “The Brady family has a long history of providing strong journalism in the state of Idaho. It’s our goal to continue their tradition of locally focused, community-driven editorial and reporting.”

New sales manager named for Home2Suites in Idaho Falls

Kiersten Landers

Home2Suites by Hilton, owned and operated by B&T Hospitality Management, has named Kiersten Sedlmayr Landers as the Idaho Falls hotel’s new sales manager.

With a degree in business management and entrepreneurship from Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles, Landers has more than 10 years of corporate sales experience, six of them in Idaho Falls with such companies as Sand Hill Media and Signature Party Rental.

B&T General Manager Megan Dodd cited Landers’ reputation, experience, love of business and desire to build lasting relationships as the reasons why she was put in charge of sales for the extended-stay hotel at Snake River Landing, which opened in September. As sales manager, Landers will be responsible for revenue growth, marketing efforts and community outreach.

The new hotel offers easy access to technology and community spaces, as well as the trademark Home2 Suites amenities, such as a business center with free Internet; indoor saline swimming pool; combined laundry and fitness area; and complimentary continental breakfast. It also features outdoor living areas with grills and a fire pit for guests’ use. All Home2 Suites properties are also pet-friendly.

New gallery open in downtown Idaho Falls

Artist Marko Marino at his new gallery.

Idaho Falls’ downtown district has a new showcase for art, the Marko Marino Studio Gallery, across Park Avenue from the Celt Pub.

Artist Mark Marino, known as Marko to his friends, arrived in Idaho Falls in January 2014 and has been busy ever since. He has already had three one-man shows, the first at the Republic American Grill in November 2014, where he presented a large body of oil and watercolor wildlife and landscape works including a monumental commission piece that saw its only public display. The second was at Black Rock in May, where he unveiled a series of portrait and figurative works. The third was at the Villa Coffee House, where he showcased more than 40 field sketches, in pastel, charcoal, and watercolor, of his most recent Alaskan expedition depicting northern wildlife and landscapes.

The new gallery is located on the northwest corner of Broadway and Park Avenue, where the American Family Insurance office used to be (people who go back to the ‘80s will remember the location as Farmer’s Daughter).

“As soon as I saw this amazing storefront I realized that this is the location for my new business,” he said, adding that the building’s owner, the Downtown Development Association, Bank of Idaho and other downtown businesses have been very supportive.

Since opening in September, the gallery has showcased work by Peggy Judy, an acclaimed contemporary Western horse artist; Robert Moore, a landscape painter who works in thick impasto technique; David Mensing, another landscape painter; Kathy Burgraff, who specializes in oil and mixed media with a contemporary flavor; and Terry Crane, a painter of portraits and figures.

Papa Murphy's files plan for Ammon store

Knowing how hungry people here are for news about new restaurants, we’re always on the lookout for it during our weekly visits to the Idaho Falls and Ammon building department offices. It’s not every week we see names like Popeye’s or Panera on the white board (Ammon) or in the three-ring binder (Idaho Falls), but we do our best.

This week, we can report that Papa Murphy’s Take ’N’ Bake Pizza is moving into Ammon, at 1360 17th Street, roughly across the road from Kmart. The plans call for development of 2,434 square feet. Clayton Myers, the company’s local contact person, said they hope to have it open by December.

This will be the third Papa Murphy’s in the Idaho Falls-Ammon area. The chain also has stores in Rexburg, Blackfoot and Pocatello. Worldwide, with more than 1,425 stores in 38 states, Canada and United Arab Emirates, the 34-year-old company has established itself as the largest Take 'N' Bake pizza company in the world and the fifth-largest pizza company.

Napa Auto Parts building new store

NAPA Auto Parts has broken ground on a new store at 2517 North Holmes Avenue, to replace its longtime location on East Anderson near C-A-L Ranch Store.

The plans call for a 10,584-square foot building on 1.165 acres of land. The store on Anderson is owned by Jake Dyson. Valuation of the project, according to the Idaho Falls Building Department, is $750,000.

NAPA has nearly 6,000 stores and is a subsidiary of Genuine Auto Parts, a company founded in 1928 and listed on the New York Stock Exchange. For a would-be owner, the company requires at least $75,000 to $150,000 in liquid capital available. According to the Web page www.napaautoparts.biz, the average total new store investment is approximately $600,000, with the overall investment varying on the basis of market and store size. There are no franchise fees or royalties, but owners are asked to participate in the company’s national advertising program to maximize the true benefit of the NAPA system and drive traffic to their stores.