Russ Babka Construction News is the leading journal serving the construction industry in Wichita and all of Kansas. It was started in 1999 by Russell Babka, a lifelong resident of Wichita and for many years the president and CEO of the Russ Babka Construction Company, one of the most highly respected construction companies in Wichita. When Russ started Russ Babka Construction News he was still working full-time at his construction company, and writing the articles for his journal at night and on the weekends. He did that for almost five years, but then the popularity of Russ Babka Construction News, which had been slowly growing all along, suddenly reached critical mass and its readership began to explode. So in 2004 he turned the reins of Russ Babka Construction Company over to his son, Russ Jr., and started devoting himself full-time to his journal. In 2011, he started a blog to augment his print journal, a blog that turned out to be highly popular with the local Wichita construction industry.