Springfield Mayor Jeff Schrag is selling The Daily Events, a legal newspaper established in 1881, to Marty and Shallina Goodnight, Schrag confirmed Wednesday to the Springfield Daily Citizen.
Marty is the publisher and soon-to-be owner of the Springfield Business Journal.
The Goodnights will assume ownership on Jan. 1, 2026. Schrag purchased The Daily Events, his first Springfield business, in 1995. With a bachelor’s degree in journalism and social sciences from Kansas State University, Schrag previously owned newspapers in Jackson County, Missouri and Minnesota, according to past Daily Citizen reporting.
“At some point, like a switch flips, and you say, ‘Yeah, I’m ready,’” Schrag said about selling the business. “You don’t want to wait until you’re forced, you don’t want to wait too long. So, yeah, it just felt right. When Marty and I got together and started talking, it just felt right.”
After Schrag was elected mayor in April 2025, the city of Springfield stopped using The Daily Events to advertise legal notices in order to avoid a conflict of interest, according to Springfield Business Journal reporting. The city has since begun advertising legal notices with the Daily Citizen and the Springfield News-Leader, depending on whether the notice is governed by state law or local ordinances.
While losing the city’s business was a hit to The Daily Events, Schrag said it wasn’t enough to “cause bankruptcy,” and emphasized that it was not the reason he decided to sell the business.
“What’s funny is, when I bought The Daily Events, we did not have that book of business, and I worked for years to get that book of business, and so it was very personally painful for me to give that up because of the work that we had done to get it,” Schrag said. “But no, that wasn’t a reason.”
The Daily Events, which has an office at 310 W. Walnut St., publishes information on court proceedings, real estate transactions, permits, licenses and normal business activity, according to its website.
In recent months, Schrag said he has been pretty hands off with The Daily Events, only filling in as “vacation relief.” Selling the business, he added, won’t necessarily free up more time.
“I will also say that I was lucky to have my own business that was very stable while being mayor, because it’s the same type of energy that it takes to move Council priorities, city priorities, forward that it takes to build a new business and look at new revenue,” Schrag said. “And so I don’t think I could have done it if everything wasn’t so stable for me.”
Schrag declined to disclose the sale price of the business. Marty Goodnight did not immediately respond to a phone call requesting comment. This story will be updated if the Daily Citizen receives a response.
Shallina Goodnight is the executive director of the Alliance for Healthcare Education, a career pathway program founded by Missouri State University, Ozarks Technical Community College, Springfield Public Schools and Cox College.
Jack McGee
Jack McGee is the government affairs reporter at the Springfield Daily Citizen. He previously covered politics and business for the Daily Citizen. He’s an MSU graduate with a Bachelor of Science degree in journalism and a minor political science. Reach him at jmcgee@sgfcitizen.org or (417) 837-3663. More by Jack McGee
