KENOSHA, Wis. — A chipped window, a police investigation involving questions about Mexican landscapers, an increasingly empty newsroom, and yet another move into a smaller office space. For the once-mighty Kenosha News, the signs of decline are becoming difficult to ignore. In May, Kenosha police responded to a complaint involving a damaged window at the newspaper’s Green Bay Road location. An officer approached a neighboring business and asked whether its landscapers might have kicked a rock into the glass. But according to information obtained by Kenosha County Eye, the neighboring business owner walked over, examined the damage, and determined that the impact had come from inside the building, not outside. The damage reportedly occurred during the newspaper’s move. Whether Kenosha News editor John Sloca intentionally misled police, misunderstood what happened, or was simply being goofy is something Kenosha County Eye cannot determine. What is clear is that the investigation provides a fitting, if somewhat bizarre, introduction to the decline of an institution that once dominated local news coverage.

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The Kenosha News was once a powerful force in local journalism, operating from a massive, approximately 53,000-square-foot building in downtown Kenosha. When this writer arrived in Kenosha in 2006, the newspaper had a substantial newsroom, its own printing operation, and the resources to cover local government, crime, schools, sports, and community events. The newspaper’s building was more than an office. It represented a time when local newspapers had the staffing, infrastructure, and influence to shape the daily conversation in their communities.

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Today, that building is gone from the newspaper’s portfolio, its printing operations have moved out of state, its local reporting staff has dwindled, and its physical presence in Kenosha has shrunk dramatically. The newspaper that once occupied tens of thousands of square feet is now preparing to operate from approximately 2,100 square feet of rented office space.

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From 53,000 Square Feet To Just 2,100
The newspaper’s retreat can be measured in square feet. And the numbers tell a remarkable story about just how much the once-dominant publication has shrunk.

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In 2019, the Kenosha News sold its longtime downtown headquarters to Herzing University for a reported $1.6 million. The sprawling building at 5800 Seventh Avenue eventually became Herzing’s downtown campus. The newspaper relocated to 6535 Green Bay Road, renting a facility measuring less than 7,000 square feet.

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Now, the newspaper has downsized again. Its newest location is reportedly approximately 2,100 square feet at 650 52nd Street, near Kenosha City Hall. Kenosha County Eye believes the newspaper has already moved into the new space, although its online business information continues to list the Green Bay Road address.

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A company that once required approximately 53,000 square feet to operate is now apparently making do with less than 4% of that space. Of course, newspapers no longer need enormous printing presses and production facilities inside their newsrooms. Technology has changed the business. But this is more than an example of technological efficiency. It is part of a much larger pattern of consolidation, shrinking operations, and disappearing local journalism.

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From Printing In Kenosha To Printing Somewhere Else
There was a time when the Kenosha News was truly a local operation from beginning to end. Reporters covered events in Kenosha, editors prepared the newspaper in Kenosha, and the newspaper was printed in Kenosha. Residents could wake up the next morning and read about what happened at City Hall the previous evening.

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During my time serving as a Kenosha alderman, the newspaper’s deadlines were late enough that a City Council meeting could make the following morning’s edition. That was a valuable public service. Residents who could not attend a meeting could still learn about important votes, spending decisions, and controversies almost immediately.

Those days are largely gone. The newspaper eventually shifted printing operations away from Kenosha, with production moving to Milwaukee and later, according to information obtained by Kenosha County Eye, Indiana. The farther the printing operation moves from the community, the more difficult it becomes to maintain the kind of late-night deadlines that once made the newspaper relevant the following morning.

Today, readers frequently find themselves purchasing a newspaper containing local news that is already a day or two old. In the era of instantaneous online reporting, that is an enormous disadvantage. By the time a printed story reaches someone’s doorstep, the information may already have been discussed, shared, updated, and forgotten on social media.

The Kenosha News is no longer competing to be first with much of its local coverage. Increasingly, it is competing simply to remain relevant.

A Monday Newspaper That No Longer Exists
In October 2025, the Kenosha News announced another significant reduction: It would eliminate its Monday printed edition beginning November 3, 2025. For a publication that once prided itself on being a daily newspaper, eliminating an entire day of publication was a meaningful milestone. The decision reduced its print schedule to six days per week and provided another visible example of the company’s retreat from its traditional business model.

The reduction also came years after Lee Enterprises acquired the Kenosha News and Lake Geneva Regional News in 2019. Lee Enterprises, a large newspaper chain headquartered in Iowa, also owns numerous other publications, including the Racine Journal Times.

Corporate ownership is not inherently bad for journalism. But when multiple newspapers are owned by the same company, there are financial incentives to consolidate staffing, share content, centralize production, and reduce expenses. The result can be fewer reporters covering individual communities and more stories appearing across several newspapers under the same corporate umbrella.

That is precisely the direction in which the Kenosha News appears to have been moving. Its identity as a distinct local newspaper has increasingly been overshadowed by the larger corporate operation that owns it.

John Sloca And A Newsroom That Barely Resembles Its Former Self
John Sloca, the newspaper’s local editor, has been leading the newsroom since 2022, following the retirement of longtime managing editor Pete Wicklund. But questions remain about how much local news gathering and editorial direction actually take place inside the shrinking operation.

Kenosha County Eye has been told that Sloca frequently fails to respond to emails and takes a limited role in assigning original reporting. Instead, much of the newspaper’s content consists of Associated Press wire stories, articles shared from sister publications, and material produced elsewhere within the Lee Enterprises network. These accounts have not been independently verified, and Sloca has not provided a response to them for this article.

The Kenosha News continues to publish original local reporting, but the contrast with its former newsroom is striking. In 2020, a national examination of the newspaper industry documented that the Kenosha News newsroom had already shrunk from approximately two dozen employees in 2016 to just 11, including editors and part-time employees.

That was six years ago. Since then, the newspaper has continued consolidating operations and reducing its physical presence. The Kenosha News and Racine Journal Times increasingly share resources, with reporting responsibilities stretching across both Kenosha and Racine counties. The days of a large, dedicated newsroom filled with reporters assigned to individual beats appear to be fading.

It raises a reasonable question: At what point does a local newspaper stop being a genuinely local newspaper and become little more than a regional content distribution operation? For a publication that once had a commanding presence in Kenosha County, that question deserves serious consideration.

A Police Call And A Chipped Window
The May 1, 2026, police incident offers a particularly unusual glimpse into the newspaper’s final days at its Green Bay Road location. According to Kenosha Joint Services records obtained by Kenosha County Eye, police responded to an incident involving the Kenosha News. The official record identifies the newspaper as the complainant, lists officer Barrera as the responding officer, and shows the incident was closed without a written police report.

The incident was documented under Kenosha police call number 26-019813. Although police responded, the available records do not establish that a crime occurred or that anyone was responsible for criminal damage.

According to an account provided to Kenosha County Eye, the responding officer approached a neighboring business to determine whether landscapers working nearby could have accidentally thrown a rock into a window while performing landscaping work. The landscapers were described as Mexican.

The neighboring business owner reportedly went to examine the window personally. After touching and inspecting the damaged area, the owner determined that the chip originated from inside the building. The damage was reportedly associated with moving activity rather than anything done by the neighboring landscapers.

Kenosha County Eye cannot determine whether Sloca intentionally provided misleading information, whether there was an innocent misunderstanding, or whether the newspaper’s editor was simply being goofy. The available police record does not identify Sloca personally as the caller, establish exactly what was reported to police, or document an officer’s conclusion about the cause of the damage.

Nevertheless, the account is remarkable. A newspaper whose business is supposed to be investigating facts and establishing what actually happened was reportedly involved in a police response in which a neighboring business owner helped establish that the damage apparently came from the inside. The irony is difficult to miss.

The Faded Yellow Newspaper Boxes
Perhaps nothing symbolizes the decline of the Kenosha News better than its old yellow newspaper boxes. For decades, these boxes were familiar sights throughout Kenosha. Residents could purchase a newspaper on a street corner, outside a business, or near a busy intersection. The bright yellow boxes were recognizable reminders that the newspaper was part of everyday community life.

Today, some of those boxes remain, but their appearance tells a different story. The yellow paint has faded, the branding is aging, and the old advertisements for home delivery seem like artifacts from another era.

There was a time when people depended on the newspaper to learn what happened in their community. Today, people can watch government meetings online, receive breaking-news notifications instantly, and read detailed local reporting on their phones.

The Kenosha News still has a recognizable name and a history stretching back to 1894. But history alone cannot sustain a business that no longer provides the same value it once did.

Is The End Near?
It would be premature to declare that the Kenosha News is closing. Lee Enterprises has not announced that the publication will cease operations, and a smaller office does not necessarily mean that a newspaper is about to disappear. But the direction is unmistakable.

A newspaper that once operated from a 53,000-square-foot headquarters now appears headed into a 2,100-square-foot rented office. Its printing operations have been moved to Munster, Indiana. Its newsroom has undergone significant reductions. Its Monday print edition has disappeared. Its local content increasingly competes with faster online reporting and material distributed across a corporate newspaper network.

For longtime Kenosha residents, the transformation is extraordinary. The newspaper that once helped shape the daily conversation in Kenosha County now occupies a fraction of the space it once did, with a fraction of the newsroom resources that once supported its reporting.

This is not a celebration of the disappearance of local journalism. A community benefits when it has multiple independent news organizations asking questions, scrutinizing public officials, and competing to uncover information. Competition makes journalism better, and the loss of any serious local news operation should concern residents.

But newspapers cannot survive indefinitely on nostalgia, brand recognition, and wire-service content. They must provide reporting that readers believe is worth paying for, and they must demonstrate that they remain connected to the communities they claim to serve.

The Kenosha News once helped define local journalism in Kenosha County. Today, its fading newspaper boxes, shrinking offices, reduced print schedule, and diminished newsroom raise serious questions about how much longer its traditional business model can survive.

From a massive downtown headquarters to a modest rented office near City Hall, the newspaper’s physical decline has been dramatic. Whether its remaining journalism can reverse that trajectory remains to be seen.

For now, the old yellow boxes are still standing, the newspaper is still publishing, and the Kenosha News name still carries more than a century of history. But the boxes are fading, the offices keep getting smaller, and the newspaper that once dominated Kenosha appears to be slowly disappearing before our eyes.