Starting in march, the Idaho Statesman will be printed in Twin Falls, the Twin Falls Times-News announced today. Times-News Publisher Travis Quast said the Times-News has secured a three-year contract with the Statesman, which currently is printed in Nampa by the Idaho Press-Tribune.

“In today’s climate, there’s kind of this regionalization of printing,” Quast said. “I think the opportunity to pick up printing the Idaho Statesman allows us to expand our operations. The expansion is good for our community because it’s more jobs and provides us additional equipment and resources to better our product as well.”

The Times-News has a full report here, which notes that the paper will hire eight full-time employees and eight part-time employees in its press and packaging departments as a result of the new contract. The Twin Falls press currently prints about 20,000 copies per day of the Times-News and the Elko Daily Free Press; the addition of the Statesman will double production. The Times-News also prints smaller publications including the Wells Progress, the North Side Journal and the Buhl Herald.