Meet Lee Hartman the new leader

Metro Voice News (metrovoicenews.com) is a long-running Christian community news outlet focused on faith, family, and local/regional coverage in the Kansas City metro area, Missouri, and Kansas (including a dedicated Topeka/Northeast Kansas presence).

Lee Hartman is the owner, publisher, and primary editor of Topeka Metro Voice, the Northeast Kansas edition of the faith- and family-oriented community newspaper that shares the metrovoicenews.com website with the Kansas City Metro Voice.

Key Roles and Activities

• Topeka Metro Voice: Launched in 2006 (he previously served as managing editor of the related Kansas City publication). It is a free monthly tabloid distributed at hundreds of locations (groceries, churches, restaurants, businesses, etc.) across greater Topeka and Lawrence, with additional digital reach. Content emphasizes local news, church/ministry stories, community events, faith perspectives, and family-friendly features from a traditional Christian viewpoint. Hartman regularly writes and bylines articles on Topeka events, churches, local happenings, and related topics.
• Topeka Health & Wellness magazine: He also publishes this publication (topekahealthandwellness.com).
• C5Alive: He serves as President of this Christian nonprofit (formerly Capital City Christian Chamber of Commerce; c5alive.org). It focuses on “Creating Christian Culture in the Capital City” by connecting Christian business owners, churches, and nonprofits. Activities include POWER Luncheons and sponsorship/organization of community events such as EasterFest and others.

• Contact and Presence
• Address: PO Box 5724, Topeka, KS 66605
• Phone/Fax: 785-235-3340
• Email: voice@cox.net
• Social: Active on X/Twitter as @LeeHartman (Topeka, KS; bio highlights Topeka Metro Voice, Topeka Health & Wellness, C5Alive, and Masters Business Svc) and Instagram as lee.hartman. He frequently promotes new print issues, local advertisers, and events.

He operates in the Topeka Christian business and community media space, supporting local advertisers, distributing materials, and covering faith-based and family-oriented local news. The Topeka edition remains print-focused while sharing the broader Metro Voice digital platform.

History and Ownership

It traces back to 1989–1991. Dwight Widaman saw that the Kansas City Christian newspaper was for sale, published his first issue in June 1991 (initial circulation ~6,000), and later renamed it Metro Voice (around 1994) with the motto “Be Informed, Get Involved, Engage Your Faith.” He and his wife Anita have been the core of the operation.

They produced more than 350 print issues and distributed millions of copies over nearly three decades. In 2018 it became the oldest independent Christian newspaper in North America and fully transitioned to digital (they had run a website since ~1998). Print had sustained the business; the shift reflected changing reader habits.

A Topeka/Northeast Kansas edition began in 2006. It is owned by Lee Hartman (who also publishes Topeka Health & Wellness and leads the Christian nonprofit C5Alive). The Topeka side continues a monthly free tabloid print run of over 7,000 copies distributed at churches, stores, restaurants, and other locations, while sharing the main website.

Dwight Widaman also serves as president of the Evangelical Press Association and, with Anita, runs related efforts including an educational nonprofit, annual biblical tours, the Midwest Christian College Expo (decades running), Holocaust education, and pro-Israel advocacy. In a December 2025 column, Dwight noted they were nearing four decades of service, still working long days with a small group of longtime writers, and actively praying/planning for succession so a new generation or compatible organization can keep it relevant.

Content Focus and Style

The site emphasizes:

• Local and regional news (Kansas City Metro, Missouri, Kansas, and Topeka-specific stories).
• Faith, church & ministry, Christian education, and community events.
• Broader coverage with a faith lens: world news, Israel, immigration, culture, sports, entertainment, tech/science, archaeology/history, lifestyles, and commentary.
• Practical features such as back-to-school guides for Christian schools and family-friendly event calendars.

Tone is generally positive, community-oriented, and solution-focused rather than purely adversarial. It promotes churches, ministries, nonprofits, and local events while covering cultural and political issues from a traditional Christian/family-values perspective (examples include religious liberty rankings, culture-watch pieces, and stories on faith in public life). It is explicit about its Christian worldview rather than presenting as neutral mainstream journalism.

Recent homepage content (as of early August 2026) has mixed local community stories, faith features, and national items with a faith or conservative-leaning angle (e.g., faith-based groups receiving aid, immigration reporting, voter amendments in Kansas/Missouri, church/ministry news).

Operations and Reach

• Primarily digital now for the Kansas City side, with a Friday email newsletter.
• Topeka retains monthly print + digital/social.
• Supported by advertising, donations, and community partnerships.
• Contact (KC): PO Box 1114, Lee’s Summit, MO 64063; phone 816-524-4522; email dwight@metrovoicenews.com.
• Topeka contact: PO Box 5724, Topeka, KS 66605; 785-235-3340; voice@cox.net.
• Active on social media (X/Twitter @MetroVoice has a modest following) and maintains an accuracy/corrections policy as a member of the Evangelical Press Association.

Traffic estimates have put it in the low thousands of unique daily visitors, typical for a regional niche outlet. Ground News has rated its bias/factuality as “unknown,” reflecting its specialized evangelical community focus rather than broad national coverage.

Overall Character

Metro Voice functions as a faith-based community connector more than a conventional hard-news outlet. It bridges churches, ministries, families, and local events across the Kansas City–Topeka corridor, while folding in national and international stories that align with its readers’ worldview. Its longevity (especially as an independent Christian publication that survived the print collapse) and the ongoing succession discussion highlight both its resilience and the challenges facing smaller faith-oriented media in a digital, younger-audience environment.

The Topeka edition and shared site make it one of the more consistent local Christian/family-oriented news sources available in Northeast Kansas.