Spanish newspaper proves profitable in rural Iowa

Across the country, growing Hispanic populations present largely untapped markets for newspapers. In Iowa, one company and its Spanish- language newspaper show one of those rural markets can be lucrative. In late 2007, Gargano Communications began publishing La Voz ("The Voice") in six Northern Iowa communities, and the free newspaper's success has the company considering expanding the publication, reports Douglas Burns of the Iowa Independent, an online publication.

"La Voz is published twice a month and distributed for free in the communities of Humboldt, Fort Dodge, Webster City, Eagle Grove, Clarion and Belmond," Burns writes. "The paper continues to grow in reach, and Gargano has his eyes on other communities in north-central Iowa for distribution."

Publisher Jim Gargano and editor Maria Hadar, a bilingual Costa Rican immigrant (in an Iowa Independent photo), told Burns they see La Voz as a traditional community newspaper and they try to fill it with local coverage. The paper is drawing advertising from both Spanish and Anglo businesses, they say. "Something like this is actually bringing the community together," Hadar said. (Read more) Here is a feature on Hadar that ran in La Voz's sister newspaper, The Humboldt Independent.