About Us

Harbor Light Newspaper

The Harbor Light Newspaper is the weekly newspaper serving the greater Harbor Springs, Michigan region. Located on the shores of Little Traverse Bay, at the northern end of Lake Michigan, Harbor Springs is a well-known resort and year-round community. From its beautiful shoreline to rolling farmland, golf resorts and the Midwest’s finest ski resorts, the Harbor Springs area is a four-season paradise.

Long-time summer resort communities line the shores of the bay, bustling during the summer months, quieter during the off season, they remain an integral part of this community and its history. Drawn by its small-town appeal, beautiful setting and quiet peace, recent retirees continue to be drawn to this community, becoming active in the community and building its base of active citizens.

Families are drawn to a quality school system in a community that recently invested more than $30 million to upgrade facilities and keep them in town where they have been for close to a century. A walkable downtown, Harbor Springs provides a center for surrounding townships.

The Harbor Light Newspaper has been celebrating this community under the ownership of a single family for more than 30 years. Kevin O’Neill and his wife, Ruth, purchased the newspaper from Kevin’s University of Michigan Journalism School professor, Wesley Maurer, in 1970. Maurer’s son Wesley, Jr. and his wife Mary, are publishers of the neighboring St. Ignace News and Mackinac Island Town Crier.

Son Charles returned to take the reigns as General Manager in 1995 and now serves as editor. He has helped the newspaper continue to grow and build upon a history of quality, locally focused community journalism. As one of the last independently owned and operated newspapers in the region, the Harbor Light looks to reflect the quality and commitment of the community of Harbor Springs.

The newspaper is published weekly on Wednesdays with mail delivery locally and around the country. For advertising and subscription information, call 231.526.2191 or fax 866.868.5287.

Key Staff:

Charles O’Neill, Editor
Michelle Ketterer, Advertising Manager
Kate Bassett, Assistant Editor/senior news and feature writer

Paul Glahn, News/Photographs/Production