RUTLAND, Vt. — The family that owns the Rutland Herald and Barre-Montpelier Times Argus in Vermont says it’s selling the newspapers to a company that owns several publications in Maine, including the Portland Press Herald.

In selling to a company run by Maine-based publishing entrepreneur Reade Brower and printing and marketing executive Chip Harris, the Mitchell family said in the Rutland Herald on Thursday they had found owners with the entrepreneurial spirit, community focus and commitment to journalism.

The Mitchell family has owned the Rutland Herald since 1947 and the Times Argus since 1964. Together, the newspapers have 80 full and part-time employees.

The sale follows a rocky patch for the Vermont newspapers, in which the company acknowledged some employee checks bounced and it was late in paying some expenses.

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