The paper rose to national prominence and influence in the Republican Party following the 1896 publication of "What's the Matter With Kansas?

", a White editorial that harshly criticized populism and the Presidential campaign of William Jennings Bryan.

White won the 1923 Pulitzer Prize for his editorial, "To an Anxious Friend", after he was arrested for a free speech violation of a newly enacted law pushed by Kansas Governor Henry Justin Allen.

[4] The White Corporation added the Junction City Union, The Abilene Reflector-Chronicle and the Wamego Smoke Signal to its newspaper family in March 2016.

[5] On May 1, 2018, Seaton Publishing Co, Inc. purchased the Junction City Daily Union and the Flint Hills Shopper.