Republic-Times General Manager and Publisher Kermit Constantine is celebrating his 70th birthday by giving himself the gift of retirement. 

Constantine joined the Republic-Times in 2005 as an advertising representative before becoming part of a new ownership group in 2007, adding the role of publisher, general manager, sales rep and photojournalist to his list of titles.

The Voris family founded the Waterloo Republican newspaper in 1890 and continued through three generations, merging with the Waterloo Times  in 1979 to become the Waterloo Republic-Times before selling the company to a Missouri publishing company in 1990.

Constantine said entering the owner partnership was a monumental decision. The paper was owned by Breese Publishing Co. when he was first hired.

“It allowed us to return the newspaper to a local ownership,” Constantine said, explaining the new owners brought the paper “full circle” to its Waterloo roots while also allowing the editorial team to cover all of Monroe County.

The newspaper has since been known simply as the Republic-Times.

The decision meant additional challenges for Constantine, who had acquired several new roles along with part-ownership.

“I knew there would be family sacrifices. My wife Laura and three sons Travis, Ben and Sam saw less and less of me as I assumed the many roles and duties of running a small business,” Constantine recalled.

In addition to increased involvement on the business side of newspaper operations, Constantine also began to hone his journalism chops, sometimes donning the hat of news reporter.

“Many of our family weekend activities were paused so I could cover an event or breaking news story,” Constantine remembered. “We would be sitting at the kitchen table enjoying a family meal when the police scanner called out an accident, fire, rescue, weather event or something worse. They sacrificed right along with me, as did the entire newspaper staff as we worked to make us better.”  

And the newspaper did get better. 

During Constantine’s tenure, the Republic-Times shed its reputation as the “Waterloo paper” and became the Monroe County newspaper of record.

In 2021, the Republic-Times found itself as the only newspaper in the county after absorbing the Monroe County Independent.

In the past 20 years, Constantine has become the face of the newspaper – not just as an owner but through representation in many civic organizations.

In addition to his work as a member of the Waterloo Optimist Club, Knights of Columbus, Saint Vincent de Paul Society and Waterloo Chamber of Commerce, among many other memberships, Constantine is also a founding member of the Gibault Catholic High School Men’s Club and the non-profit Helping Hands Thrift Store in Waterloo.

Constantine has also racked up a number of awards for his community involvement, including 1996 Waterloo Optimist of the Year, 2014 Monroe-Randolph Regional Office of Education “Friend of Education,” Waterloo Chamber of Commerce 2015 Community Service Award, 2015 VFW State of Illinois “News Media Professional of the Year” and 2022 Waterloo Rotary Club Paul Harris Award for outstanding community service.

Through the decades of community involvement and photographing events around the county while being the main liaison between the public and the newspaper’s editorial staff, Constantine has become synonymous with the Republic-Times.

He is frequently stopped during his “off” time by folks who want to ask about a subscription or share some news.

After helping to grow the newspaper subscriber base and welcome the creation of a strong online presence, Constantine is ready to step back and hand the reins to the next generation – almost.

While longtime editor Corey Saathoff will assume the newspaper’s publishing duties and office manager Christy Nason will take on the general manager role, Constantine isn’t quite ready to enter full retirement.

As part-owner in the newspaper, he plans to remain somewhat active on the business side, just without the day-to-day responsibilities. 

He will continue to work in advertising sales and photojournalism when called upon for those assignments.

Constantine credits his family and Monroe County for his accomplishments with the Republic-Times.

“Without the help and support of my family, co-workers, business partners and friends, it would have been difficult to succeed day-in and day-out,” Constantine said, adding, “To you all – which includes our subscribers and advertisers – I thank you for your continued support of community journalism.”

As an integral part of the Republic-Times over the past two decades, it’s hard to tell if Constantine will ever really be able to give his retirement full-time status.