Mary Tourtel was created in 1920, at a time when the "Express" was in competition with "The Daily Mail" and its then popular comic strip "Teddy Tail", as well as the strip "Pip, Squeak and Wilfred" in "The Daily Mirror". The then news editor of the "Express", Herbert Tourtel, was approached with the task of producing a new comic strip to rival those of the "Mail" and "Mirror" and immediately thought of his wife Mary, already an established author and artist. Rupert Bear was the result and was first published as a nameless character in a strip titled "Little Lost Bear" on
Kirksville Daily Express Faced with an aging offset press needing upgrade and growing consolidation in the newspaper industry, the decision was made in December, 2010 to shift printing of the "Kirksville Daily Express" to a sister Gatehouse Media operation in Hannibal, Missouri. Other than printing however all operations remain in Kirksville. Kirksville Daily Express The Kirksville Daily Express is a daily newspaper published Monday through Friday mornings and Saturday mornings. It serves the Kirksville and Adair County, Missouri area including the communities of Brashear and Novinger. It is owned by GateHouse Media. While newspapers in Adair County date back as early as 1856,