Marion native David Colburn rejoined the staff of Hoch Publishing Company on Monday. He is the new news editor of the Marion County Record, Hillsboro Star-Journal, and Peabody Gazette-Bulletin, taking over for Adam Stewart.

Colburn has a long history in journalism that started while he was still a student at Marion High School. He was an intern as a high school senior and worked as a reporter for two summers in college and again from 2006 to 2007 and 2011 to 2012. He is a Marion High School graduate and has bachelor’s and master’s degrees from the University of Kansas.

Stewart has accepted a position with the Hutchinson News as a copy editor and page designer. He joined Hoch Publishing in October 2008 as a reporter and was promoted to news editor in October 2011. Stewart has been a member of Marion Kiwanis Club and the board of Marion Economic Development Inc.

Tuesday will be his last day at Hoch Publishing.

“We will sincerely miss Adam’s hard work and devotion to both the newspapers and our communities and wish him the best as he advances in his career,” publisher Eric Meyer said. “We also consider ourselves fortunate to be able to convince such a talented and dedicated person as David to change directions in his career and return as our news editor.”

Joining Colburn later this summer will be Eliot Sill, a recent University of Illinois journalism graduate. While at Illinois, he worked in several positions including sports and assignment editor at the Daily Illini, the university’s student newspaper. He has experience in news reporting, sports writing, editing, and page design.

He will be taking reporter Joel Wright’s spot in the newsroom. Wright, who will be returning to the Kansas City area, has been with Hoch Publishing for the past year since graduating from Ottawa University. He said he couldn’t have asked for a better first job after college.

Wright’s last day has not been set yet.