Uranus, Missouri Is Getting a New Paper & Locals Aren't Happy About the Name

A small unincorporated town in Missouri's Pulaski County has stirred up a controversy. Uranus is a destination along Route 66, and the tourist attraction is funding a new paper after the Waynesville Daily Guide shuttered on September 7. A group has emerged with plans to deliver regular news, and they're calling it The Uranus Examiner, managing editor Natalie Sanders announced Wednesday. 

The story attracted national attention following a report from local news channel KY3, which had a reporter on site near the fudge factory in Uranus.

The fledgling paper plans to launch in October but has already been threatened with a boycott by Mayor Luge Hardman of nearby Waynesville. She thinks the name stinks. "I'm sorry, but the innuendo of that title puts my city up for public ridicule, and I will not be a part of it," Hardman said at a Chamber of Commerce luncheon. She added that Waynesville will not provide legal notices for the Examiner.

Sanders, who was previously the managing editor of the Daily Guide, told KY3 that the name was carefully selected. "We had thought about 'Constitution,' but most of the people who love us, and who were part of coming up with the name, liked 'The Examiner' better."

The paper is backed by the man called the "Mayor of Uranus," Louie Keen. It's an adaptation of a "fun" paper that was previously run to promote the businesses of Uranus. The Examiner will do that but also feature serious news, legal notices, and other things you'd find in "a normal local newspaper," reports KY3.

Except, you know, it'll be called The Uranus Examiner.

"I think that the Pulaski County Examiner, for example, would have been a real hit," said Mayor Hardman, who clearly thinks the name is a stain on Uranus and surrounding areas.

Sanders counters, according to KY3, that it's important Uranus is represented because it's funding the newspaper. The first edition will be released in October and will be delivered to 15,000 mailboxes for free. Though, the publisher expects the Uranus Examiner to expand. Otherwise, how would you discover that Uranus has an ax-throwing range called the Uranus Axehole?

h/t Indy100 / New York Post

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