Writing Obituaries for the Press Tribune in Nampa
The Press Tribune runs obituaries out of their main office on 10th Street in Nampa, and if you have never submitted one before, the process is more tedious than it should be. They accept submissions through their website, but the form is not intuitive and they also take phone calls for people who prefer to work with a human being about the wording. I have been submitting obituaries to this paper for about six years now, mostly for neighbors and former coworkers at the places I worked over the years. The staff is generally helpful, but there are a few things that will save you a lot of frustration on the first go-around. The most important one is having all the surviving family names written out before you start the form, because they ask for next of kin and it is easy to leave someone off by accident, which leads to corrections later. The deadline for same-day publication is typically around 2 PM local time, but I would recommend getting it in by noon if you can. That gives the typesetter enough room to flag any issues with the text without having to rush it. If you miss the cutoff, your loved one simply moves to the next available issue, which is usually the following day.
There is a standard template that most people fill out online, and it covers the basics: full legal name, age, city of residence, date of passing, survivors, and service information. You can also include a short paragraph of biographical detail, but keep it under 250 words if you want it to fit comfortably in the print. Longer pieces get trimmed or pushed to the digital-only version, which some families do not realize until it is too late. One thing I learned the hard way involves the photo. The submission system accepts JPEGs, but they require a minimum resolution of 600 by 800 pixels for the image to print clearly. I once submitted a good-looking portrait that was only 400 pixels wide because I downloaded it from social media, and it came out blurry in the paper. The workaround is to send a high-resolution file directly from a camera or scanner, or use the original image file from a phone without cropping it down to fit a profile picture slot. Pricing is another area where people get caught off guard. As of last year, the base obituary runs about $125 for up to ten lines, and each additional line is roughly $12.50. A photo adds another fifty dollars or so. The exact rates change periodically, so calling the office at (208) 467-3411 to confirm current pricing before you submit is a good idea, especially if your notice is going to be on the longer side.
Digital vs print is worth considering. The Press Tribune posts all obituaries on their website within a few hours of submission, and those pages stay live indefinitely, which is useful for people who live out of state and want to read the full notice. However, the print is still what most local families rely on because that is where the community actually sees it. If you have close relatives in Texas or California who will never hold a physical copy of the paper, you might want to send them a link to the online version directly instead of expecting them to find it. Sometimes people run into a problem with the military service line. If the deceased served in the armed forces, you need to provide the branch, rank, years of service, and any decorations or campaign medals. The newspaper requires proof of service in some cases, usually a DD-214 or a veterans affairs letter, so have that documentation ready before you call or submit online. I once forgot to attach it and had to scramble to get a copy from the family before the deadline, which added unnecessary stress on an already difficult day. Another edge case is when someone has been through multiple phases of life that you want to mention. A person might have been a firefighter for twenty years, then a small business owner, and later a volunteer at the local food bank. The form gives you limited space for employment and community involvement, so prioritize the roles that best represent the person rather than trying to list everything chronologically. The editors will sometimes merge or trim redundant details if the total count exceeds their space allocation.
Get the Full Details
If you need an expedited run, there is a same-day rush option that costs extra, but it only applies if the death occurred within the last 24 hours and the notice goes out that evening. This is not the same as guaranteeing a specific column position or front-page placement, which the paper does not offer for obituaries regardless of payment. The Press Tribune also allows you to schedule an obituary in advance for elderly or terminally ill individuals who want to get it done while they can still review the details. This is called a pre-need or advance notice, and it is handled the same way as a regular submission except the publication date is held until the date of death occurs. Some families find this helpful because it removes the timing pressure from a difficult decision-making period. Make sure you double-check the spelling of every name before you hit submit. A misspelled surname in the paper is one of the most common errors, and correcting it after publication requires filing a formal amendment, which usually takes another business day to process and may incur an additional fee.
For reference, the main office is located at 1333 10th St, Nampa, ID 83651, and their general newsroom number is (208) 467-3411. The obituary desk can also be reached through the online submission form at pressatri bune.com/obituaries, though the URL may shift occasionally as the paper updates its site. Most people finish the entire submission process in about fifteen to twenty minutes if they have all the information gathered ahead of time. The real bottleneck is usually tracking down complete survivor lists or waiting on a clear photograph, not the actual form filling itself.
