The Daily Sentinel Archive 

Founded in 1893, the Daily Sentinel has long been the paper of record in Grand Junction, Colorado. The paper was started by I. N. Bunting, a traveling salesman from Pennsylvania, and Howard T. Lee, the former proprietor of the Salida News and the Glenwood Springs Republican. Lee was appointed the state measurer of printing in 1897, moved to Denver, and by 1899 was connected with The Denver Republican and later the Rocky Mountain News, although he often wrote special news items from Denver for the Sentinel. Bunting continued as editor and manager of the Sentinel.

Grand Junction is located in the mineral- and soil-rich western slope of Colorado. Given the region's close ties to agriculture, the early issues of the Sentinel covered farming news, especially pertaining to the Colorado Sugar factory, which processed sugar beets grown in the area. Grand Junction also was the seat of Mesa County, making local and state politics an important feature in the Democratic-affiliated Sentinel. Under Bunting's editorship, the paper was often used as a vehicle to editorialize against A. C. Newton, the editor of the Grand Junction News. Bunting railed against Newton's Republican politics and business practices, saying in a March 30, 1901 editorial, "The paper, under its present management has lost prestige, leadership and whatnot. It attacks and retracts; it charges and insults; apologizes and makes itself generally ridiculous; it has about as much courage as a 'Skye terrier before a skunk.'"

In 1899, Walter Walker, former part-owner of The Ouray Plaindealer, took on a management role at the Sentinel and by 1911 bought out Bunting to become the sole proprietor. In the paper, Walker vocally opposed the KKK, which had a powerful presence in Colorado politics. As noted in Colorado Newspapers: A History & Inventory, 1859-2000 (Jane C. Harper, Craig W. Leavitt, and Thomas J. Noel), in 1924 Walker was assaulted on the street by Klansmen for his editorial stand against their burning crosses in Grand Junction as a means of intimidation. A few days later, his 13-year-old son, Preston, was attacked and sustained permanent damage to his right eye.

Preston Walker succeeded his father as publisher in 1956, upon Walter's death. In 1970, he sold the paper to Ken Johnson, who sold the paper to Cox Newspapers in 1979, with James Kennedy serving as publisher until 1985. George Orbanek published the paper until Alex Taylor took over in 2007. The Sentinel was purchased by the Seaton Publishing Company in 2009, forming the Grand Junction Media Company, with Jay Seaton acting as publisher.