From Fortune:

An Oregon weekly newspaper that had to lay off its entire staff after funds were embezzled by a former employee will relaunch its print edition next month. It was made possible in large part by fundraising campaigns and community contributions. The newspaper will return to newsstands on Feb. 8 with roughly 25,000 copies.

The accused employee embezzled at least $100,000 and used its bank account to pay themselves around $90,000. Additionally, money from the paychecks meant for retirement accounts of employees including the editor was never deposited. Since the layoffs, some former staff members have continued to volunteer their time to help keep the paper’s website up and running. Much of the online content published in recent weeks has been work from journalism students at the University of Oregon. The paper has raised roughly $150,000. Most of it came from a GoFundMe campaign but financial support also came from local businesses, artists and readers.

The Eugene police department’s investigation is still ongoing, and forensic accountants hired by the paper are continuing to piece together what happened. Mortensen hopes to eventually rehire her staff once the paper pays its outstanding bills and becomes more financially sustainable.

The paper aims to continue weekly printing beyond Feb. 8. The extended goal is to restore lay-off staff by making the newspaper financially sustainable once again.



Read more: Oregon paper helped by fundraising, community after theft