One week before Lathrop's death, he negotiated the sale of the "News-Miner" to Charles Willis "Bill" Snedden. Snedden was an efficiency expert and former printer who had been employed by Henry Kaiser during WWII. After the war, he began troubleshooting newspapers. Through 1949 and 1950, Snedden did an efficiency study of the "News-Miner" and recommended about $100,000 in upgrades. Lathrop was unwilling to spend that much on the newspaper, and Snedden suggested that if Lathrop was unwilling to upgrade, Snedden would be interested in purchasing the paper. The two men worked out a verbal agreement before Lathrop was killed in a coal train accident.