Veteran publisher Vince O’Hern has sold Isthmus Publishing Co. to Jeff Haupt, Craig Bartlett and Mark Tauscher. O’Hern and his wife/associate publisher, Linda Baldwin, will retire from the media company. Isthmus was started in 1976 by O’Hern and his former partner, Fred Milverstedt. The 38-year-old media company transferred ownership yesterday.

O’Hern says in his final Making the Paper column, “It has been a long and eventful ride for me, and I have been helped along the way by hundreds of former and present employees. I have benefited from the counsel and advice of many professional or just plain smart folks. I thank them all.  My wife, Associate Publisher Linda Baldwin, and I will be staying in Madison, our home.”

Haupt announces: “We hope our commitment to independent journalism and investigative reporting, and our love of all things Madison, will be clear as Isthmus begins this new chapter. Craig, Mark, and I are excited to join a dedicated professional staff, and we look forward to serving the community.”

Jeff Haupt is a UW marketing and management grad who headed west to the Denver/Boulder area to found and oversee a franchise of The Onion. The Onion brought him back to Madison to direct all operations and sales in five regional markets across the nation.

Along with Craig Bartlett and Chris Winterhack, Jeff started the Red Card, a prepaid dining and discount card for students and their parents.

Bartlett has a long history in sales and marketing in Madison, having worked with the Mallards as assistant general manager, as city sales manager at The Onion and most recently as national account executive at Adams Outdoor Advertising.

Former Green Bay Packer Mark Tauscher currently does commentary for the Badgers and the Packers.

It’s business as usual at Isthmus/TheDailyPage. Pick it up today at more than 600 locations all over Madison.