Daily Press Publisher Corky DeRoeck retires
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ESCANABA -- After more than five years leading the Daily Press through everything from technology changes to a pandemic, Publisher Corky DeRoeck retired today.
"While I'm looking forward to retirement, I'm going to miss all the people that I've interacted with on a regular basis. And I'll still be visiting Escanaba to shop and dine with my lovely wife," said DeRoeck.
DeRoeck has had a storied history with Upper Peninsula newspapers. He started his career with Ogden Newspapers as an advertising representative for the Iron Mountain Daily News, two years later he became that paper's advertising manager, and two years after that, he became the Daily News' publisher.
It was a position that fit well for the Air Force veteran. While never giving up his position as the publisher for the Daily News, he went on to become the general manager of Powers Printing, which prints the Daily News and Daily Press, and in 2017 became the Daily Press' publisher.
With two papers and a printing plant under his guidance, DeRoeck put on many miles traveling between locations and his home in Norway, where he has lived for 18 years. In retirement, he plans to remain in Norway, spending more time fishing, vegetable gardening, and leisure reading.
"We have no intentions of ever leaving the U.P.," he said.
Reflecting on his time with the Daily Press, DeRoeck notes it was a time of change for U.P. papers. The Daily Press transitioned from being an afternoon paper to being a morning paper, switched from carrier delivery to delivery through the U.S. Postal Service, and made major technology upgrades, both at the newspapers and at Powers Printing.
"The company has invested a lot of money in the last two years into the presses in Powers to improve the quality of our print product, and the company is firmly committed to producing a daily newspaper reflecting the daily record of what happens in our community," he said.
It was also a trying time, as the COVID-19 pandemic loomed over operations, but DeRoeck's favorite part of his job has been helping department managers overcome challenges. The pandemic was a difficult, but it was a storm that could be weathered.
"That was a tremendous lift, and I could not have done it without the support of all the employees in the building coming together to get through it together and get the paper out on a daily basis -- and we never failed to get one of the issues out during COVID," he said.
DeRoeck noted how impressed he has been with Escanaba and Gladstone during his time serving as the Daily Press's publisher, saying it was clear both cities care about their communities.
"And Escanaba has been a wonderful place to come to to work. There's a ton of great people, not only at this newspaper but in the business community and the overall residential community. It's a great community. People here are doing things right. From their use of the fairgrounds to their downtown district there's truly a sense of pride in caring about the community," he said.