John Cowles Jr. (May 27, 1929 – March 17, 2012) was an American

editor Editing is the process of selecting and preparing written, visual, audible, or cinematic material used by a person or an entity to convey a message or information. The editing process can involve correction, condensation, organization, a ...

and

publisher Publishing is the activities of making information, literature, music, software, and other content, physical or digital, available to the public for sale or free of charge. Traditionally, the term publishing refers to the creation and distribu ...

, son of John Cowles Sr. (1898–1983). Cowles sat on the boards of directors of the

Associated Press The Associated Press (AP) is an American not-for-profit organization, not-for-profit news agency headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1846, it operates as a cooperative, unincorporated association, and produces news reports that are dist ...

and

Columbia University Columbia University in the City of New York, commonly referred to as Columbia University, is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Churc ...

Pulitzer Prize The Pulitzer Prizes () are 23 annual awards given by Columbia University in New York City for achievements in the United States in "journalism, arts and letters". They were established in 1917 by the will of Joseph Pulitzer, who had made his fo ...

s and had been CEO of

Cowles Media Company Cowles Media Company ( ) (1935–1998) was a newspaper, magazine and information publishing company based in Minneapolis, Minnesota in the United States. The company operated Cowles Business Media, Cowles Creative Publishing, and Cowles Ent ...

, founded by his

grandfather Grandparents, individually known as grandmother and grandfather, or Grandma and Grandpa, are the parents of a person's father or mother – paternal or maternal. Every sexually reproducing living organism who is not a genetic chimera has a m ...

and until 1998 the parent of the ''

Star Tribune ''The Minnesota Star Tribune'', formerly the ''Minneapolis Star Tribune'', is an American daily newspaper based in Minneapolis, Minnesota. As of 2023, it is Minnesota's largest newspaper and the List of newspapers in the United States, seventh- ...

''.

Biography

In 1960, he helped Minneapolis raise US$2.4 million to build the first

Guthrie Theater The Guthrie Theater, founded in 1963, is a center for theater performance, production, education, and professional training in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The concept of the theater was born in 1959 in a series of discussions among Sir Tyrone Gut ...

and later helped the city build the

Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome The Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome (commonly called the Metrodome) was a domed sports stadium in downtown Minneapolis, Minnesota. It opened in 1982 as a replacement for Metropolitan Stadium, the former home of the National Football League's (NFL) ...

. Cowles then supported the Guthrie's

demolition Demolition (also known as razing and wrecking) is the science and engineering in safely and efficiently tearing down buildings and other artificial structures. Demolition contrasts with deconstruction (building), deconstruction, which inv ...

in 2006 for the expansion of the

Minneapolis Sculpture Garden The Minneapolis Sculpture Garden is an park in Minneapolis, Minnesota, in the United States. It is located near the Walker Art Center, which operates it in coordination with the Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board. It reopened June 10, 2017, ...

next door to the

Walker Art Center The Walker Art Center is a multidisciplinary contemporary art center in the Lowry Hill, Minneapolis, Lowry Hill neighborhood of Minneapolis, Minnesota, United States. The Walker is one of the most-visited modern and contemporary art museums in ...

. After serving as vice president and associate editor of the ''

Minneapolis Tribune ''The Minnesota Star Tribune'', formerly the ''Minneapolis Star Tribune'', is an American daily newspaper based in Minneapolis, Minnesota. As of 2023, it is Minnesota's largest newspaper and the seventh-largest in the United States by circula ...

'' and the '' Minneapolis Star-Journal'', in August 1960 Cowles Jr. assumed editorship of both papers. He became president in 1968 and editorial chairman the following year. Cowles had a progressive political viewpoint, publishing editorials supporting the civil rights movement and liberal causes. In 1965, Cowles acquired half-interest in ''

Harper's ''Harper's Magazine'' is a monthly magazine of literature, politics, culture, finance, and the arts. Launched in New York City in June 1850, it is the oldest continuously published monthly magazine in the United States. ''Harper's Magazine'' has ...

'' magazine which during his fifteen-year tenure lost readers and nearly US$2 million. In 1982 the afternoon ''Star'' was discontinued due to low circulation, and the staffs of the ''Star'' and ''Tribune'' were transferred to the merged '' Minneapolis Star and Tribune''. Cowles Jr., fired publisher

Donald R. Dwight Donald Rathbun Dwight (March 26, 1931 – May 4, 2025) was an American newspaper executive and politician who served as the 64th lieutenant governor of Massachusetts from 1971 to 1975. Early life Donald Rathbun Dwight was born on March 26, 1931, ...

. His handling of Dwight's termination led to his removal as editor in 1983, although his family retained a controlling financial interest in the newspaper. In a 2006 essay written at the

University of Minnesota The University of Minnesota Twin Cities (historically known as University of Minnesota) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in the Minneapolis–Saint Paul, Twin Cities of Minneapolis and Saint ...

Hubert H. Humphrey Institute of Public Affairs The Hubert H. Humphrey School of Public Affairs is a public policy and planning school at the University of Minnesota, a public land-grant research university in the Twin Cities of Minneapolis and Saint Paul, Minnesota. It is named after Hube ...

, Cowles wrote, "The nonprofit sector must reform itself, most notably by initiating some minimum federal standards of behavior and by limiting the lifespan of private foundations to 25 or 30 years so that emphasis is on accomplishment, not process and perpetuation." and He donated startup funds for

MinnPost.com ''MinnPost'' is a nonprofit online newspaper in Minneapolis, founded in 2007, with a focus on Minnesota news. Content and format The site does not endorse candidates for office or publish unsigned editorials representing an institutional posit ...

which was founded in 2007. Cowles died at home of lung cancer on March 17, 2012.Star-Tribune obituary (March 18, 2012)
/ref> He was 82.

Notes

External links

Cowles Family Archive at Cowles Library, Drake University

Biography

Notes

External links

Further reading