Rivers Banner
Gazette-Reporter
Serving the Rivers, Rapid City, Forrest, Hamiota, Oak River, Oak Lake and Kenton area for 115 years
Our Team.
The Rivers Banner has a remarkable team working towards bringing you the local news in our area. Serving the Rivers, Rapid City, Forrest, Kemney, Bradwardine, Harding, Kenton, Wheatland, Oak River, Oak Lake and Cardale areas for 115 years.
Micah Waddell
Owner/Publisher
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Micah has been running the Rivers Banner for five years, taking ownership three years ago following his purchase of the building and has been improving the Rivers Banner slowly ever since.
Jessica Coulter
Design, sales and media
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Jessica has worked for the Rivers Banner since 2022 reporting on events, taking photos, creating the advertisements and laying out the paper each week. She is excited to do the same for the Empire-Advance.
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Jessica has worked in business and marketing for over 20 years. She has a diploma in graphic design. She is all too happy to help design and create for all your print and online needs. ​Her goal is to make things beautiful.
Carolyn Phillips
Reporter / Writer
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Carolyn joined the Rivers Banner as a Freelance writer February 2025. She has lived in Rivers since 2016. After decades of volunteering in Brandon, she quickly found avenues for volunteering in Rivers with the Legion and other community events. She is an Avid upcycler and crochet artist. You can find her beautiful work at local craft shows around the Christmas season.
Robin Wark
Sports Writer
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Robin has contributed sports stories to the Virden Empire-Advance since 2005. He enjoys highlighting the accomplishments of the young people from the local area.
Robin works in marketing and communications. The married father of two's experience in newspapers includes past positions at the Minot Daily News, Valley City Times-Record, Sooke News Mirror, Westman Gazette, and Southwestern Gazette.
Gerry Nolan
Writer and Deliveries
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Gerry started by doing deliveries for The Rivers Banner and The Virden Empire advance in the rural communities from Rivers to Pipestone and the towns in between.
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He enjoys meeting new people, playing pool and now is doing some writing and reporting for the paper which he really enjoys! He is always looking for new events to report on.
Ken Waddell
Editor
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Ken and Christine have been involved with publishing full-time for nearly 35 years. Ken has an extensive background in agriculture and politics at all three levels of government. He and his wife Christine own the Neepawa Banner & Press and myWestman.ca.
They live in Neepawa, have two sons, four grandchildren and four great-grandchildren.
Anne Davison
Reporter
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Anne has worked on the Empire-Advance team since 2009 reporting on events, writing human interest and business stories.
Educated at Brandon University, with a love for life-sciences, social sciences and philosophy Anne’s broad interests led her in the direction of General Studies.
Always a writer, sometimes a poet, agriculture is in Anne’s blood. A horsewoman, piano teacher and health nut, Anne is a lifelong learner.