Minneapolis Star Tribune
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

The ''Star Tribune'' is the largest
newspaper A newspaper is a periodical publication containing written information about current events and is often typed in black ink with a white or gray background. Newspapers can cover a wide variety of fields such as politics, business, sports a ...
in
Minnesota Minnesota () is a state in the upper midwestern region of the United States. It is the 12th largest U.S. state in area and the 22nd most populous, with over 5.75 million residents. Minnesota is home to western prairies, now given over to ...
. It originated as the ''Minneapolis Tribune'' in 1867 and the competing ''Minneapolis Daily Star'' in 1920. During the 1930s and 1940s, Minneapolis's competing newspapers were consolidated, with the ''Tribune'' published in the morning and the ''Star'' in the evening. They merged in 1982, creating the ''Star and Tribune'', and it was renamed to ''Star Tribune'' in 1987. After a tumultuous period in which the newspaper was sold and re-sold and filed for
bankruptcy Bankruptcy is a legal process through which people or other entities who cannot repay debts to creditors may seek relief from some or all of their debts. In most jurisdictions, bankruptcy is imposed by a court order, often initiated by the debtor ...
protection in 2009, it was purchased by local businessman
Glen Taylor Glen Allen Taylor (born April 20, 1941) is an American billionaire business magnate and politician from Minnesota. A self-made businessman, Taylor made his fortune from being the founder and owner of Minnesota-based Taylor Corporation, one of th ...
in 2014. The ''Star Tribune'' serves
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 ...
and is distributed throughout the
Minneapolis–Saint Paul Minneapolis–Saint Paul is a metropolitan area in the Upper Midwestern United States centered around the confluence of the Mississippi, Minnesota and St. Croix rivers in the U.S. state of Minnesota. It is commonly known as the Twin Cities ...
metropolitan area, the state of Minnesota and the
Upper Midwest The Upper Midwest is a region in the northern portion of the U.S. Census Bureau's Midwestern United States. It is largely a sub-region of the Midwest. Although the exact boundaries are not uniformly agreed-upon, the region is defined as referring ...
. It typically contains a mixture of national, international and local news, sports, business and lifestyle content. Journalists from the ''Star Tribune'' and its predecessor newspapers have won seven
Pulitzer Prize The Pulitzer Prize () is an award for achievements in newspaper, magazine, online journalism, literature, and musical composition within the United States. It was established in 1917 by provisions in the will of Joseph Pulitzer, who had made h ...
s.


History


''Minneapolis Tribune''

The ''Star Tribune'' roots date to the creation of the ''Minneapolis Daily Tribune'' by Colonel William S. King, William D. Washburn, and
Dorilus Morrison Dorilus Morrison (December 27, 1814 – June 26, 1897) was an American banker, businessman, and Republican politician. He was the first and third Mayor of Minneapolis and was a member of the Minnesota Senate. Life and career Morrison was born i ...
; the ''Tribune'' first issue was published on May 25, 1867. The newspaper went through several different editors and publishers during its first two decades, including John T. Gilman, George K. Shaw, Albert Shaw, and
Alden J. Blethen Alden J. Blethen (December 27, 1845 – July 12, 1915) was a teacher and attorney, who was editor-in-chief of the '' Seattle Daily Times'' from August 10, 1896 Boswell 1994, p. 96 until his death. He written referred to as Colonel Blethen. ...
. In 1878 the ''Minneapolis Evening Journal'' began publication, giving the ''Tribune'' its first competition. On November 30, 1889, the ''Tribune'' headquarters in downtown Minneapolis caught fire. Seven people were killed and 30 injured, and the building and presses were a total loss. In 1891, the ''Tribune'' was purchased by Gilbert A. Pierce and William J. Murphy for $450,000 (equivalent to $ in ). Pierce quickly sold his share to
Thomas Lowry Thomas Lowry (February 27, 1843 – February 4, 1909) was an American lawyer, real-estate magnate, and businessman who oversaw much of the early growth of the streetcar lines in the Twin Cities area of Minneapolis, St. Paul, and surrounding com ...
and Lowry sold it to Murphy, making Murphy the newspaper's sole owner. His business and legal background helped him structure the ''Tribune'' debt and modernize its printing equipment. The newspaper experimented with partial-color printing and the use of
halftone Halftone is the reprographic Reprography (a portmanteau of ''reproduction'' and ''photography'') is the reproduction of graphics through mechanical or electrical means, such as photography or xerography. Reprography is commonly used in catal ...
for photographs and portraits. In 1893, Murphy sent the ''Tribune'' first correspondent to
Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...
As Minneapolis grew, the newspaper's circulation expanded; the ''Tribune'' and the ''Evening Journal'' were closely competitive, with the smaller ''Minneapolis Times'' in third place. In 1905, Murphy bought out the ''Times'' and merged it with the ''Tribune''. He died in 1918, endowing a school of journalism at the University of Minnesota. After a brief transitional period, Murphy's son Fred became the ''Tribune'' publisher in 1921.


''Minneapolis Daily Star''

The other half of the newspaper's history begins with the ''Minnesota Daily Star,'' which was founded on August 19, 1920, by elements of the agrarian
Nonpartisan League The Nonpartisan League (NPL) was a left-wing political party founded in 1915 in North Dakota by Arthur C. Townley, a former organizer for the Socialist Party of America. On behalf of small farmers and merchants, the Nonpartisan League advocat ...
and backed by
Thomas Van Lear Thomas H. Van Lear (April 26, 1869 – March 4, 1931) was an American politician who served as the 28th Mayor of Minneapolis from January 1, 1917 to January 6, 1919. Van Lear was a member of the Socialist Party of America. Early life Van Lear ...
and Herbert Gaston. The ''Daily Star'' had difficulty attracting advertisers with its overt political agenda, and went bankrupt in 1924. After its purchase by A. B. Frizzell and former ''
New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...
'' executive John Thompson, the newspaper became the politically independent ''Minneapolis Daily Star''.


Cowles era

In 1935, the Cowles family of
Des Moines, Iowa Des Moines () is the capital and the most populous city in the U.S. state of Iowa. It is also the county seat of Polk County. A small part of the city extends into Warren County. It was incorporated on September 22, 1851, as Fort Des Moines, ...
, purchased the ''Star.'' The family patriarch, Gardner Cowles Sr., had purchased ''
The Des Moines Register ''The Des Moines Register'' is the daily morning newspaper of Des Moines, Iowa. History Early period The first newspaper in Des Moines was the ''Iowa Star''. In July 1849, Barlow Granger began the paper in an abandoned log cabin by the junctio ...
'' and the ''
Des Moines Tribune ''The Des Moines Tribune'' was a daily afternoon newspaper published in Des Moines, Iowa. It was founded in 1906 and purchased in 1908 by the Cowles family, which owned the ''Des Moines Register ''The Des Moines Register'' is the daily mornin ...
'' during the first decade of the century and managed them successfully. Gardner's son,
John Cowles Sr. John Cowles Sr. (December 14, 1898 – February 25, 1983) was an American newspaper and magazine publisher. He was co-owner of the Cowles Media Company, whose assets included the ''Minneapolis Star'', the '' Minneapolis Tribune'', the ''Des Moin ...
(1898–1983), moved to Minneapolis to manage the ''Star''. Under him it had the city's highest circulation, pressuring Minneapolis's other newspapers. In 1939 the Cowles family purchased the ''Minneapolis Evening Journal'', merging the two newspapers into the ''Star-Journal''. ''Tribune'' publisher Fred Murphy died in 1940; the following year the Cowles family bought the ''Tribune'' and merged it with their company, giving it ownership of the city's major newspapers. The ''Tribune'' became the city's morning newspaper, the ''Star-Journal'' (renamed the ''Star'' in 1947) was the evening newspaper, and they published a joint Sunday edition. A separate evening newspaper (the ''Times'') was spun off, which published until 1948. In 1944, John Cowles Sr. hired
Wisconsin Wisconsin () is a state in the upper Midwestern United States. Wisconsin is the 25th-largest state by total area and the 20th-most populous. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake M ...
native and former ''
Tulsa Tribune The ''Tulsa Tribune'' was an afternoon daily newspaper published in Tulsa, Oklahoma from 1919 to 1992. Owned and run by three generations of the Jones family, the ''Tribune'' closed in 1992 after the termination of its joint operating agreement w ...
'' editor
William P. Steven William Pickford Steven (September 10, 1908 – August 6, 1991) was a noted American newspaper executive. A native of Eau Claire, Wisconsin, he graduated from the University of Wisconsin at Madison (UW-M) with a degree in journalism. In 1930, he ...
as managing editor of the two newspapers; Steven became vice president and executive editor in 1954. During his tenure in Minneapolis, he was president of the Associated Press Managing Editors Association in 1949 and first chairman of the organization's Continuing Study Committee. By August 1960 John Cowles Jr. was vice president and associate editor of the two papers, and it was soon apparent that he disapproved of Steven's hard-nosed approach to journalism. When Steven chafed under the younger Cowles's management, he was fired. After Steven's ouster, John Cowles Jr. was editor of the two newspapers; he became president in 1968 and editorial chairman the following year. He had a progressive political viewpoint, publishing editorials supporting the
civil rights movement The civil rights movement was a nonviolent social and political movement and campaign from 1954 to 1968 in the United States to abolish legalized institutional Racial segregation in the United States, racial segregation, Racial discrimination ...
and liberal causes. In 1982 the afternoon ''Star'' was discontinued due to dwindling circulation, a trend common for afternoon newspapers. The two papers were merged into a single morning paper, the ''Minneapolis Star and Tribune''. Cowles Jr. fired publisher Donald R. Dwight. 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 1983, the ''Star and Tribune'' challenged a Minnesota tax on paper and ink before the
Supreme Court of the United States The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) is the highest court in the federal judiciary of the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all U.S. federal court cases, and over state court cases that involve a point o ...
. In '' Minneapolis Star Tribune Co. v. Commissioner'', the court found that the tax (which targeted specific newspapers) was a violation of the
First Amendment First or 1st is the ordinal form of the number one (#1). First or 1st may also refer to: *World record, specifically the first instance of a particular achievement Arts and media Music * 1$T, American rapper, singer-songwriter, DJ, and rec ...
. In 1987 the newspaper's name was simplified to ''Star Tribune'', and the slogan "Newspaper of the Twin Cities" was added.


1998 to present

In 1998
the McClatchy Company The McClatchy Company, commonly referred to as simply McClatchy, is an American publishing company incorporated under Delaware's General Corporation Law and based in Sacramento, California. It operates 29 daily newspapers in fourteen states and ...
purchased
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 ...
for $1.4 billion, ending the newspaper's 61-year history in the family in one of the largest sales in American newspaper history. Although McClatchy sold many of Cowles's smaller assets, it kept the ''Star Tribune'' for several years. On December 26, 2006, McClatchy sold the paper to private equity firm
Avista Capital Partners Avista Capital Partners is an American private equity firm headquartered in New York City focused on growth capital and leveraged buyout investments in middle-market companies in the domestic healthcare sector. History The firm was founded in 2 ...
for $530 million, less than half of what it had paid for Cowles eight years earlier. In March 2007 Par Ridder was appointed ''Star Tribune'' publisher after his predecessor, J. Keith Moyer, left the newspaper after the sale. Ridder is a member of the Ridder family, which had owned
Knight Ridder Knight Ridder was an American media company, specializing in newspaper and Internet publishing. Until it was bought by McClatchy on June 27, 2006, it was the second largest newspaper publisher in the United States, with 32 daily newspaper brand ...
(publishers of several newspapers, including at that time the rival '' St. Paul Pioneer Press''). Ridder's arrival resulted in litigation when it was discovered that he had stolen a hard drive containing information about employees and advertisers which the ''Pioneer Press'' called "
trade secret Trade secrets are a type of intellectual property that includes formulas, practices, processes, designs, instruments, patterns, or compilations of information that have inherent economic value because they are not generally known or readily asc ...
s". Ridder also took two high-ranking staff members with him to the Minneapolis paper, which raised eyebrows since such employees usually have
non-compete clause In contract law, a non-compete clause (often NCC), restrictive covenant, or covenant not to compete (CNC), is a clause under which one party (usually an employee) agrees not to enter into or start a similar profession or trade in competition agains ...
s in their contracts. On September 18, 2007, Ridder was removed from his post by a Ramsey County judge, and he resigned on December 7. On January 15, 2009, the paper, then the country's 15th-largest daily, filed for bankruptcy under
Chapter 11 Chapter 11 of the United States Bankruptcy Code (Title 11 of the United States Code) permits reorganization under the bankruptcy laws of the United States. Such reorganization, known as Chapter 11 bankruptcy, is available to every business, wheth ...
. On September 17 the
United States Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York The United States Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York is the United States bankruptcy court within the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York. The Southern District of New York is a major venue for ba ...
approved a bankruptcy plan for the ''Star Tribune'', which emerged from bankruptcy protection on September 28. The paper's senior secured lenders received about 95 percent of the post-bankruptcy company. Since 2010, the Star Tribune has given out awards to the ''Top 150 Workplaces in Minnesota''. Wayzata Investment Partners became majority owner of the Star Tribune Company in August 2012, with a 58 percent stake. In 2014, the company was acquired by
Glen Taylor Glen Allen Taylor (born April 20, 1941) is an American billionaire business magnate and politician from Minnesota. A self-made businessman, Taylor made his fortune from being the founder and owner of Minnesota-based Taylor Corporation, one of th ...
, owner of the NBA's
Minnesota Timberwolves The Minnesota Timberwolves are an American professional basketball team based in Minneapolis. The Timberwolves compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Western Conference Northwest Division. Founded in 19 ...
and the WNBA's Minnesota Lynx. Taylor, a former
Republican Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...
state senator, said that the ''Star Tribune'' would be less liberal under his ownership. However, he said that the newspaper had already begun a shift and he would focus on accurately reporting both sides of all issues. In May 2015, the company acquired alternative weekly ''
City Pages ''City Pages'' was an alternative newspaper serving the Minneapolis–St. Paul metropolitan area. It featured news, film, theatre and restaurant reviews and music criticism, available free every Wednesday. It ceased publication in 2020 due to a ...
'' from
Voice Media Group Voice Media Group (VMG) is an American privately held media company headquartered in Denver, Colorado. VMG owns several newspaper publications across the country. These offerings extend across print, mobile and digital marketing. VMG's current pr ...
.


Editions

After the 1987 formation of the ''Star Tribune'', the newspaper was published in three editions: one for Minneapolis and the western suburbs, one for St. Paul and the eastern suburbs and a state edition for Minnesota and the Midwest. The St. Paul edition was discontinued in 1999 in favor of a metro edition for the Minneapolis–St. Paul area and a state edition for areas beyond the metropolitan area. Although the newspaper competes with the St. Paul-based ''
Pioneer Press The Pioneer Press publishes 32 local newspapers in the Chicago area. It is a division of Tribune Publishing, and is based in Chicago. The community newspapers are the main source of local news in Illinois communities such as Winnetka, Highland ...
'' in the Minneapolis–St. Paul area, the ''Star Tribune'' is more popular in the western metropolitan area and the ''Pioneer Press'' more popular in the eastern metro area. The newspapers share some printing and delivery operations. The ''Star Tribune'' went online in 1995, introducing the StarTribune.com website the following year. In 2011, the website erected a
paywall A paywall is a method of restricting access to content, with a purchase or a paid subscription, especially news. Beginning in the mid-2010s, newspapers started implementing paywalls on their websites as a way to increase revenue after years of ...
.


Content

The ''Star Tribune'' has five main sections: main news, local news, sports, business and variety (lifestyle and entertainment). Special weekly sections include Taste (restaurants and cooking), travel, Outdoors Weekend and Science + Health. The Sunday edition has a larger editorial and opinion section, Opinion Exchange.


Awards

Journalists with the pre-merger ''Minneapolis Star'' and ''Minneapolis Tribune'' won three
Pulitzer Prizes The Pulitzer Prize () is an award for achievements in newspaper, magazine, online journalism, literature, and musical composition within the United States. It was established in 1917 by provisions in the will of Joseph Pulitzer, who had made hi ...
: * 1948: Nat S. Finney (''Minneapolis Tribune''), National Reporting * 1959:
William Seaman William Casper Seaman (January 19, 1925 – December 6, 1997) was an American photographer from Grand Island, Nebraska. He won the 1959 Pulitzer Prize for Photography citing "Wheels of Death", a "dramatic photograph of the sudden death of a c ...
(''Minneapolis Star''), Photography * 1968: Nathan K. (Nick) Kotz (''Des Moines Register'' and ''Minneapolis Tribune''), National Reporting ''Star Tribune'' journalists have won three Pulitzers: * 1990:
Lou Kilzer Lou Kilzer (born 1951) is an investigative journalist and author and a two time Pulitzer Prize Winner. Career Journalism He began work as a journalist in 1973 after graduating '' cum laude'' in philosophy from Yale University, joining the Rock ...
and Chris Ison, Investigative Reporting * 2013: Steve Sack, Editorial Cartooning * 2013: Brad Schrade, Jeremy Olson and Glenn Howatt, Local Reporting In 2021, the board of the ''Star Tribune'' won the Pulitzer prize for breaking news coverage for the "urgent, authoritative and nuanced" coverage of the
murder of George Floyd On , George Floyd, a 46-year-old black man, was murdered in the U.S. city of Minneapolis by Derek Chauvin, a 44-year-old white police officer. Floyd had been arrested on suspicion of using a counterfeit $20 bill. Chauvin knelt on Floyd's n ...
.


Staff and management

Columnists affiliated with the ''Star Tribune'' include: Michael J. Klingensmith is publisher and CEO of Star Tribune Media Company, with overall responsibility for its news and business operations. He was hired in 2010. After the ''Star Tribune'' bankruptcy its former ownership group, led by New York City-based Avista Capital Partners, has no stake in the company.


Headquarters and printing plant

After the city's newspapers were consolidated by the Cowles family, their offices were gradually moved to the former the ''Daily Star'' headquarters in downtown Minneapolis. The building was renovated in 1939–1940, and expanded in a larger renovation from 1946 to 1949. After 1949, the building housed the offices and presses of the ''Star'' and the ''Tribune.'' During the 1980s an annex, the Freeman Building, was built across the street from the headquarters and connected with a
skyway A skyway, skybridge, skywalk, or sky walkway is an elevated type of pedway connecting two or more buildings in an urban area, or connecting elevated points within mountainous recreational zones. Urban skyways very often take the form of enclos ...
. In 1987, the Star Tribune opened a new, $110 million printing plant, called the Heritage Center, in a historic
warehouse district This is a list of notable warehouse districts. A warehouse district or warehouse row is an area found in many urban setting known for being the current or former location of numerous warehouses. Logistically, warehouses are often located in indust ...
on the northern edge of downtown Minneapolis. Its five offset presses took over the printing of all ''Star Tribune'' editions. News and business offices remained in the downtown headquarters, whose old presses were removed. In 2014, the company announced that it would relocate from the 95-year-old headquarters building to the newly christened Star Tribune Building at the
Capella Tower Capella Tower (also 225 South Sixth) is an office skyscraper in Minneapolis, Minnesota, United States. The building opened in 1992 as First Bank Place, replacing One Financial Plaza as the headquarters for First Bank System. In 1997, First Bank S ...
complex, making way for development around nearby
U.S. Bank Stadium U.S. Bank Stadium is an enclosed stadium located in downtown Minneapolis, Minnesota. Built on the former site of the Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome, the indoor stadium opened in 2016 and is the home of the Minnesota Vikings of the National Footbal ...
. Demolition of the buildings began in 2014, the last employees relocated in mid-2015, and the demolition completed later that year. Also in 2014, the Star Tribune's Heritage printing plant began printing the St. Paul Pioneer Press under a contract with its cross-town rival. The following year
USA Today ''USA Today'' (stylized in all uppercase) is an American daily middle-market newspaper and news broadcasting company. Founded by Al Neuharth on September 15, 1982, the newspaper operates from Gannett's corporate headquarters in Tysons, Virgini ...
contracted with the Star Tribune to print regional copies of its daily edition at the Heritage plant. Printing plants owned by those newspaper companies in St. Paul and Maple Grove, Minn., shut down.


See also

* List of newspapers published in Minnesota


References


Further reading


"The proposed Twin Metals copper-nickel mine near Ely unambiguously threatens the waters of the BWCA and beyond—waters that aren't just meant to be kept pristine but that are particularly sensitive to pollutants. Evidence that regulatory processes can help matters has grown slim. Some mining should be acceptable to Minnesotans, but ... Not this mine. Not this location."
by Editorial Board Star Tribune, November 23, 2019; regarding the
Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness The Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness (BWCAW or BWCA) is a wilderness area within the Superior National Forest in the northeastern part of the US state of Minnesota under the administration of the U.S. Forest Service. A mixture of forests ...


External links

* *
A collection of survey data and statistics
used to produce the ''Metro Poll'' and the ''Minnesota Poll'' for the Minneapolis Star and Tribune Company is available for research use at th
Minnesota Historical Society.
* {{coord, 44.976063, -93.268248, region:US-MN, display=title, name=D: Star Tribune, Minneapolis Newspapers published in Minnesota Newspapers established in 1867 Mass media in Minneapolis–Saint Paul Daily newspapers published in the United States Newspapers published in Minneapolis–Saint Paul, Minnesota 1867 establishments in Minnesota Companies that filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in 2009