The Cordova Times has a new publisher. Jennifer Gibbins, the current editor of the Alaska Newspapers Inc. weekly that serves more than 2,000 people at the mouth of the Copper River, has purchased The Cordova Times from Calista Corp., an Alaska Native corporation that has published it and five other rural Alaska newspapers for nearly 20 years.

Gibbins has served as the paper's editor for the past year and lived in Cordova the past eight years, Calista Corp. said in a press release Tuesday afternoon.

"I am honored and excited by the opportunity to help carry on the tradition of The Cordova Times, which has been a part of the town for over 100 years," Gibbins said in a Calista Corp. prepared statement.

Gibbins will take over the paper in late August, when Calista Corp. plans to shutter all six newspapers, citing increasing costs for traditional newspaper delivery in the state's far-flung rural outposts.

Calista voted to liquidate Alaska Newspapers Inc. on July 22. The company said it continues to entertain offers for the individual publications. Alaska Dispatch has enjoyed a content and news sharing arrangement with the various ANI newspapers for some time.

"It is a pleasure to know the legacy of The Cordova Times will continue in such capable and dedicated hands," Margaret Nelson, a Calista Corp. executive, said via prepared statement.

The final ANI publication date is set for the week of Aug. 15, according to the press release, with offices officially closing Aug. 31. Calista did not announce when The Cordova Times would begin publishing under Gibbins.