''Der Nordstern'' (''The North Star'') was a weekly German-language newspaper published in Saint Cloud, Minnesota. It was founded in 1874 to serve the area's large German immigrant community. The paper's unique focus on local news contributed to rapid growth, making it one of the largest circulations in the state. It survived demographic and political changes following World War I, in part because the editorial staff had begun offering an English-language supplement in 1922. After a run of 57 years, ''Der Nordstern'' ceased publication in 1931 during the height of the

Great Depression The Great Depression (19291939) was an economic shock that impacted most countries across the world. It was a period of economic depression that became evident after a major fall in stock prices in the United States. The economic contagio ...

History

By 1870 the rapidly growing Central Minnesota town of St. Cloud already had a large German immigrant population. To meet the demand for news, publishers Peter Brick and Peter Kaiser printed two sample newspapers in December 1874. Copies were freely sent to all the names they could find on the

Stearns County Stearns County is a county in the U.S. state of Minnesota. As of the 2020 census, the population was 158,292. Its county seat and largest city is St. Cloud. The county was founded in 1855. It was originally named for Isaac Ingalls Stevens, the ...

tax rolls. Within weeks they had a paid circulation of over 800, nearly 40% of the city's population at the time. The paper was named after the state's official motto, ''

L'Étoile du Nord ''L'Étoile du Nord'' is a French phrase meaning "The Star of the North". It is the motto of the U.S. state of Minnesota, and the only U.S. state motto in French. It was chosen by the state's first governor, Henry Hastings Sibley, and was adopte ...

'', "Star of the North", which had been adopted in 1861. The first extant issue of ''Der Nordstern'' is a four-page, six-column layout dated February 17, 1876. The paper concentrated on local and state news, correspondence, and general agricultural topics. It became a hub for community discussion and political debate, and also included literary features such as critical reviews of German books. This was unusual among German-language papers at the time, which were focusing primarily on national news and news from Germany. Demand for this content steadily increased and ''Der Nordstern'' began publishing 12-page issues on September 22, 1898. Eventually it had the largest circulation of any newspaper in the state north of

Minneapolis Minneapolis () is the largest city in Minnesota, United States, and the county seat of Hennepin County. The city is abundant in water, with thirteen lakes, wetlands, the Mississippi River, creeks and waterfalls. Minneapolis has its origins ...

. In the early 1900s, ''Der Nordstern'' expanded coverage to nearby towns in

, including

Freeport Freeport, a variant of free port, may refer to: Places United States *Freeport, California *Freeport, Florida *Freeport, Illinois *Freeport, Indiana *Freeport, Iowa *Freeport, Kansas *Freeport, Maine, a New England town **Freeport (CDP), Maine, the ...

Greenwald Greenwald is a surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Alex Greenwald (born 1979), American musician and actor * Andy Greenwald (born 1977), social commentator, specifically about popular music * Bruce Greenwald (born 1946), American ec ...

, and Melrose. Coverage of national and international news began to increase during the years leading up to

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

. After the war, during a time when many German-language papers were being discontinued due to anti-German sentiment, ''Der Nordstern'' began offering a 4-page English-language supplement to bridge the language gap between generations and increase interest in German culture. Publishers changed numerous times over the years, but the paper's unique approach and upbeat tone was shaped primarily by editor Gerhard May, who served from 1884 until the paper was discontinued. ''Der Nordstern'' was sold to the Times Publishing Company of St. Cloud in 1929. By this time, the paper was being published in a 24-page, 4-column format. With the pressures of the

and changing demographics, the last issue was published on August 27, 1931. At 57 years, ''Der Nordstern'' had one of the longest runs of any German-language newspaper in Minnesota. The

Minnesota Historical Society The Minnesota Historical Society (MNHS) is a nonprofit educational and cultural institution dedicated to preserving the history of the U.S. state of Minnesota. It was founded by the territorial legislature in 1849, almost a decade before statehoo ...

converted the paper to

microfilm Microforms are scaled-down reproductions of documents, typically either photographic film, films or paper, made for the purposes of transmission, storage, reading, and printing. Microform images are commonly reduced to about 4% or of the origin ...

between 1968 and 1984 and made the archives available to the public.

References

{{Authority control 1874 establishments in Minnesota 1931 disestablishments in Minnesota Defunct newspapers published in Minnesota Defunct weekly newspapers Newspapers established in 1874 Publications disestablished in 1931 German-language newspapers published in Minnesota Defunct German-language newspapers published in the United States Weekly newspapers published in the United States