Spanish-language newspaper to launch

NAMPA, Idaho – A new Spanish-language newspaper will debut next month in southwestern Idaho, signaling the growing power and presence of Hispanics in the region.

La Prensa Libre – Spanish for The Free Press – will debut Oct. 6. The free weekly paper will be distributed every Friday at grocery stores, restaurants and newsstands throughout fast-growing Canyon County.

“The time is right for such a publication,” Publisher Stephanie Pressly told the Idaho Press-Tribune. Pressly also publishes the Press-Tribune, based in Nampa, and the Emmett Messenger-Index.

“The market is growing and vibrant, businesses want to reach this important demographic, and we have the resources to devote to an independent publication,” she said.

According to the 2005 U.S. Census, the number of Hispanics increased 106 percent in Canyon County from 1990 to 2000; the non-Hispanic population grew 37 percent.

Hispanics represent 9 percent of Idaho’s population, but make up 20.5 percent of Canyon County’s.

Hispanics are becoming a desirable target for many marketers. During the 1990s, the median income of Hispanic households rose nearly 50 percent, according to Census data.

The paper will feature local news, entertainment and sports alongside national and international news of interest to Hispanics.

La Prensa Libre will print 10,000 copies.

Sam Byrd, of the Hispanic group the Center for Community and Justice in Garden City, said he recently conducted a survey that found 70 percent of local Hispanics preferred getting information in Spanish.

“It’s just personal preference,” he said. “There are certain things that don’t have the same sense in English that they do in Spanish.”