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Grain Valley's Dennis Ellsworth will be among four honorees inducted into the 2025 Missouri Newspaper Hall of Fame. Inductees for 2025 are the late Kevin Jones, past MPA (Missouri Press Association) president and chief operating officer of the St. Louis American; Dennis Ellsworth, former MPA board member and executive editor of the St. Joseph News-Press; Barbara Ann Horton, staff writer for the Daily American Republic in Poplar Bluff; and Jerrilynn Voss, former owner and editor of The Unterrified Democrat in Linn. With more than 40 years working for newspapers, Dennis Ellsworth’s career is a testament to not only his dedication to journalism but also a commitment to community and as a leader in the industry. A native of eastern Kansas, he earned his journalism degree from the University of Kansas and had early work experiences with newspapers in Parsons, Osawatomie and Lawrence and with The Associated Press in Topeka. Before joining the St. Joseph News-Press as executive editor in 2000, Ellsworth spent 21 years working as an editor and assistant editor — first at the Tallahassee (Fla.) Democrat, then for eight years at the Wichita (Kan.) Eagle-Beacon and 11 years at the San Angelo (Texas) Standard-Times. At the News-Press, Ellsworth oversaw 45 employees and was instrumental in the company’s evolution into a converged media operation, as it integrated television stations with the newspaper in 2012. Meanwhile, he took opportunities to mentor the next generation of journalists, helping to guide them while sharing his knowledge and passion for journalism. Ellsworth said this one of the most rewarding aspects of his career - hiring and mentoring the next generation of journalists. In addition to several years served on the MPA Board of Directors, he was chairman of the Missouri Associated Press Managing Editors and twice president of the Northwest Missouri Press Association. Earlier in his career he was a Knight Ridder Fellow in the Visiting Journalists Program at Duke University. Even after retiring, Ellsworth remained committed to public service, volunteering as the first executive director of the Missouri Sunshine Coalition. His five years in the role allowed him to promote government transparency and freedom of information to Missourians in every part of the state. He also reinvigorated the Sunshine Heroes recognition program, working to acknowledge those individuals and groups who support the Missouri Sunshine Law and its role in keeping the state’s residents informed. A true believer in local reporting, Ellsworth continues to advocate for the power of the newspaper to inform and entertain. This extends to the papers of eastern Jackson County, where he currently lives, and to the Miami County Republic, which covers his hometown of Osawatomie and still benefits from tips and story ideas as he comes across them.
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