About Us
Observer Bio: The Coopersville Observer is a bi-weekly community newspaper, publishing 26 issues per year. The Observer is delivered free to approximately 6,000 Coopersville area residents, with each house on 12 mailing routes receiving a copy. Historically known as, "The community paper with the positive difference," The Observer strives to report positive, unbiased news. The main priority is sharing LOCAL, Coopersville-related news, events, special achievements, announcements, and more! If you are ever wondering who decides what gets printed...the answer is, YOU. We can only print what we know about, so if you'd like to see something covered, please reach out!
History: The Coopersville Observer was first established and printed on a homemade press in 1880 by William G. Barnes. The Observer exchanged hands many times and business was conducted in several locations before publications stopped in 1975. The Coopersville News was published from approximately 1980-1983. The Observer was relaunched in 1995 by Ron Veldman and shortly after ownership transferred to Kerri Snowdin, who successfully ran the paper through 2022. Current owner Jessica Langeland (Murphy) took over in January 2023.
Funding: The Observer is mainly funded through advertising. Please consider supporting the businesses who support us! Another main funding source is the annual volunteer subscription drive. While residents will continue to receive the paper without payment, we kindly ask the community to consider paying a $30 subscription fee anyway. This volunteer drive not only aids on the financial side, but it also shows the community's support of the paper! Donations can also be sent via Venmo @CoopersvilleObserver.