Editor’s note: This was produced with the Local News Initiative at Northwestern University’s Medill School. The Seattle Times is publishing it as a three-part series that began Thursday.

A growing number of newspaper publishers see printing as an antiquated drag on their business.

Not Nathan Alford, the fourth-generation publisher of The Lewiston (Idaho) Tribune.

To keep churning out quality journalism, Alford turned The Tribune and its production facility into a skunk works.

He’s developing a series of startups, drawing on the company’s 133 years of experience producing, bundling and distributing printed materials and advertising. Six ventures have launched since 2011, with a seventh coming in 2026, all to support The Tribune’s core mission.

The developments are physically represe

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