Pahrump Valley Times founder dies at age 89

He loved Middle Eastern foods, he was a philanthropist and earned an athletic scholarship in college.

Adding to his lifelong accomplishments, Milton “Milt” Bozanic also founded the Pahrump Valley Times, back in December of 1970.

Mr. Bozanic died on March 7, at his Las Vegas home, with his loving wife and lifelong business partner Dawn by his side.

His passing came roughly a month shy of his 90th birthday.

As stated in his obituary, Bozanic, who was born in Lander, Wyoming, was a longtime resident of Southern Nevada.

He attended Kansas State University on an athletic scholarship before transferring to the University of Wyoming, where he received a degree in journalism.

Bozanic also held a master’s degree in English literature from UNLV.

He also served as a naval officer during the Korean War, where he was awarded the commendation medal for valor, before moving to Las Vegas in 1957 to pursue a career in journalism.

For a time, Bozanic worked in advertising and hosted his own popular television show entitled, “Look Who’s Talking with Milt Bozanic,” for more than 10 years.

Print media

He founded several magazines and newspapers, including the Casino Post, the Las Vegas Homes Magazine and the aforementioned Pahrump Valley Times, which is currently owned and operated by the Las Vegas Review-Journal.

At the time the Pahrump Valley Times was a monthly publication.

When the paper began accepting legal ads in December 1979, it essentially established itself as the paper of record for Pahrump and Nye County.

Start the presses

During an interview back in 2016, Bozanic explained why he took the risk of establishing the newspaper so early in modern Pahrump’s development.

He pointed out that with all his years selling advertising in the television business, his income became dependent upon his ability to sell advertising to support what he was doing. “I was an independent operator and I understood the risk,” he recalled.

Production of a new edition each week was a one-man show, where Bozanic did all the reporting, writing, and layout.

It took all his energy and he never missed an issue, but he realized that he was depleting his reserves, the article noted.

In 2016, when Bozanic was asked by then-Pahrump Valley Times editor Arnold Knightly and writer Bob McCracken what story stands out most in his 20 years with the Pahrump Valley Times, Bozanic replied: “The thing that stands out most is the growth. It’s a remarkable thing to see a place grow that fast.”

The first issue of the Pahrump Valley Times had a gross billing of $560. “The economics were very humble, very modest,” Bozanic recalled.

To get by, he was still doing some television work in Las Vegas.

Producing a monthly newspaper, Bozanic said, was a lot like putting out a magazine, where you can work at your discretion.

When the Pahrump Valley Times became a regular weekly newspaper, beginning Sept. 17, 1976, it required a completely different work effort.

“You never have a day off because there’s always something happening,” Bozanic said. “Unlike a monthly newspaper, a weekly has to cover what’s going on and the budget was never sufficient to hire the help that would have made things easier.”

The ongoing rivalries

Over the years the Pahrump Valley Times has had its share of local competition.

About a year and a half after the Times appeared, the Pahrump Valley Star began publication as an “occasional sheet.”

It became a weekly on July 31, 1975, more than a year before the Times became a weekly.

Bozanic ended up purchasing the Pahrump Valley Star in August 1981.

The Pahrump Valley Times became the Pahrump Valley Times-Star for a time, then the “Star” was dropped from the title.

Two other Pahrump Valley publications were Desert Living, which began publishing in the summer of 1979 as a quarterly, and the Pahrump Tribune, a twice-monthly that began in October 1979, but both were short-lived.

In November 1989, Milt Bozanic sold the Pahrump Valley Times to the Rich Thurlow family.

Turning the page

As a real estate investor who devoted his life to the welfare of others, Bozanic successfully operated Milt Bozanic Properties for several decades, which afforded him the opportunity to live a life of private philanthropy.

Bozanic was known to donate to countless local charities and non-profits, seeking nothing in return but a handshake and a smile.

Both he and his brother Dan even created a program that funds an annual full-ride scholarship for underprivileged students at their high school alma mater, Lander High School in Wyoming, each and every year, free of charge.

The scholarship and Bozanic’s other philanthropy efforts, according to his obituary, will continue into the indefinite future.

Services for Bozanic were held at noon on Sunday, March 17 at Davis Funeral Home and Memorial Park in Las Vegas.

Contact reporter Selwyn Harris at sharris@pvtimes.com, on Twitter: @pvtimes