Media
The Twin Cities have a strong tradition of engaged citizens, and that’s reflected in the breadth and diversity of the local media. Though media in the Twin Cities are in just as much turmoil as anywhere else—with more and more content switching online, and everyone finding it harder and harder to sell the advertisements that have traditionally been the lifeblood of journalism—in St. Paul and Minneapolis you have many ways to find out what’s going on, and increasingly to contribute to the discussion.
1. Minnpost
City: Minneapolis, MN
Category: Media
Telephone: (612) 455-6953
Address: 900 6th Ave. SE
Description: Founded in 2007, MinnPost is—along with the Twin Cities Daily Planet—one of two daily online local news publications operating on a nonprofit basis. Whereas the Daily Planet operates on the model of citizen journalism, though, MinnPost bears the standard for a traditional model of journalism, employing experienced pros (many of whom formerly wrote for one or both of the area’s print dailies). Each day MinnPost publishes a range of original articles and blog entries on topics of local interest, ranging from politics to business to the arts. Led by Joel Kramer—who was formerly the publisher of the Star Tribune—MinnPost has quickly become an essential source of local news.
2. Star Tribune
City: Minneapolis, MN
Category: Media
Telephone: (612) 673-4000
Address: 425 Portland Ave.
Description: Since 1867 the Star Tribune (a.k.a. “the Minneapolis paper” or “the Strib”) has been a part of the Twin Cities community with a print newspaper that’s read by over 300,000 people each day and an online network of services that has become the region’s most-consulted online news source. With strong daily coverage of headline news, sports, and entertainment, the Star Tribune is Minnesota’s biggest newspaper, and you’re likely to frequently encounter it whether or not you’re one of its tens of thousands of subscribers.
3. Twin Cities Daily Planet
City: Minneapolis, MN
Category: Media
Telephone: (612) 436-9196
Address: 2600 East Franklin Ave.
Description: The Twin Cities Daily Planet is an online publication that produces multiple original news articles each day along with articles republished from its 100+ media partners—neighborhood papers, ethnic press, top bloggers. A project of the nonprofit Twin Cities Media Alliance, the Daily Planet is built on a citizen-journalism model in which all readers are potential contributors. Hyperlocal in focus, the Daily Planet normally doesn’t aspire to cover breaking news or national stories, preferring instead to be the place you’ll find stories about local events that often aren’t covered anywhere else.
4. Metro
City: Minneapolis, MN
Category: Media
Telephone: (612) 548-3180
Address: 900 South Third St.
Description: Just a few years old, METRO is a much-needed shot in the arm for local newsstands; it covers about the same mix of lifestyle topics (food, fashion, fun) covered by Mpls/St. Paul and Minnesota Monthly, but with a tone and focus aimed squarely at urban residents—especially members of Generations X and Y—who listen to The Current instead of KS95.
5. Minnesota Monthly
City: Minneapolis, MN
Category: Media
Telephone: (612) 371-5800 or (800) 933-43
Address: 600 U.S. Trust Building, 730 Second Ave.
Description: Now published by Greenspring Media Group, Minnesota Monthly originated as a member premium for Minnesota Public Radio members, and it still leans to the erudite side of glossy monthlies, with long articles about local history and culture in addition to the entertainment and dining coverage that’s the staple of its breed.
6. Mpls/St. Paul Magazine
City: Minneapolis, MN
Category: Media
Telephone: (612) 339-7571 or (800) 999-55
Address: 220 South Sixth St., Suite 500
Description: Mpls/St. Paul is the glossiest of local lifestyle magazines, its coverage heavy on shopping, style, travel, and juicy scoops on local celebrities. It’s the kind of magazine you’ll inevitably find on magazine racks at spas and supermarkets, with cover stories about best neighborhoods, best doctors, best bargains, best schools, and other lifestyle topics.
7. Utne Reader
City: Minneapolis, MN
Category: Media
Telephone: (612) 338-5040
Address: 12 North 12th St., Suite 400
Description: The Utne Reader is a nationally distributed monthly magazine that reprints articles from thousands of alternative media sources, providing interesting perspectives on current events, environmental issues, lifestyles, politics, books, and the arts. The magazine hosts a popular online discussion room, Cafe Utne (accessible through the magazine’s Web site), with postings about many of the topics the magazine covers.
8. Minnesota Business
City: Minneapolis, MN
Category: Media
Telephone: (612) 548-3180
Address: 900 South 3rd St.
Description: Published by Tiger Oak Publications—the lifestyle and specialty publisher also responsible for METRO—Minnesota Business is a monthly magazine profiling local business leaders and reporting on stories of interest to the business community.
9. Twin Cities Business
City: Minneapolis, MN
Category: Media
Telephone: (612) 339-7571
Address: 220 South Sixth St., Suite 500
Description: Twin Cities Business, published by the same company that publishes Mpls/St. Paul Magazine, includes profiles of successful businesspeople and companies in the metropolitan area and information about business education, technology, and other topics of interest to business-oriented readers.
10. Best Of Times
City: Minneapolis, MN
Category: Media
Telephone: (952) 922-6186
Description: The sister publication of Family Times, the award-winning Best of Times (formerly known as Senior Times) is geared to the senior community. The paper is full of news about independent living and adjusting to retirement, as well as about senior events and activities around the Twin Cities and surrounding communities.
11. The Circle
City: Minneapolis, MN
Category: Media
Telephone: (612) 722-3686
Description: Approximately 25,000 Native Americans from various tribes live in the Twin Cities, and The Circle monthly newspaper is dedicated to publishing news, arts information, community calendars, and resource information for Native Americans in the region.
12. Gente De Minnesota
City: Minneapolis, MN
Category: Media
Telephone: (612) 729-5900
Address: 1516 East Lake St., Suite 200
Description: Published in Spanish, Gente de Minnesota is a weekly newspaper that serves the Hispanic population of the Twin Cities with local, national, and international news, as well as sports, entertainment, and Spanish-language TV program listings.
13. Good Age
City: Minneapolis, MN
Category: Media
Telephone: (612) 825-9205
Address: 1115 Hennepin Ave. South
Description: This senior-oriented monthly publication contains pages of information on health care issues and developments dealing with medical expenses, support groups, and nursing homes, as well as lots of advice and tips on how to stay at your peak physical and mental shape for as long as possible. There’s also information on less age-specific things like filing taxes and shopping for a new house.
14. Hmong Times
City: Minneapolis, MN
Category: Media
Telephone: (651) 224-9395
Description: With some 70,000 Hmong residents, the Twin Cities have the largest population of Hmong of any urban area in the world. The community is served by the English-language Hmong Times, with news, community information, religion, sports, and agriculture coverage. Published twice a month, the newspaper reaches a wide audience among the community, which began settling in Minnesota after the Vietnam War.
15. Lavender
City: Minneapolis, MN
Category: Media
Telephone: (612) 436-4660
Address: 3715 Chicago Ave. South
Description: The Twin Cities are home to the third largest gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender (GLBT) community in the United States. The best known of the local GLBT publications, Lavender contains interviews, features, events calendars, and book and music reviews of interest to GLBT Twin Citians and visitors. Published biweekly, it’s carried in record stores, coffee shops, bars, and many other venues throughout the Twin Cities.