• by Ray Schultz , Columnist, August 19, 2024

The newly renamed Minnesota Star Tribune is seeking to enhance its coverage of the entire state, and is calling itself “The Heart and Voice of the North.”

The Star Tribune is a serious product, one this reporter has read on and off going back to its days when it had Minneapolis in its title. 

“We’re thrilled to relaunch as the Minnesota Star Tribune at such an important time for our state,” says Steve Grove, CEO and publisher. “It’s not every day you get to reimagine a 157-year-old publication for a new era – so we don’t take this moment lightly.”

Grove acknowledges: “We’ve spent the last year investing in more journalism in more locations on top of a stronger platform. We’re relaunching ourselves under a new name because we want Minnesotans to know what we believe: that this state deserves the strongest local news organization in America at a time of so much change.” 

It's good timing, given that the state’s governor is now a candidate for the vice presidency of the United States.  

What does the Star-Tribune include in the coverage area? Only Duluth, Mankato, Moorhead, St. Cloud, Brainerd, Rochester and locations throughout the Twin Cities metro area, to name a few..

As part of this overhaul, the Star Tribune recently relaunched its entire digital product ecosystem including startribune.com and mobile apps. It conducted the website rebuild in partnership with Code and Theory. 

“Today’s news consumers demand best-in-class digital experiences, and we’re now set to provide that well into the future,” says Aron Pilhofer, chief product officer, who supervised the reboot.“Our new tech stack will allow us to continue to innovate to reach our audiences in new ways to keep them better informed and engaged.”

The Minnesota Star Tribune has 10 reporters and editors focused on Greater Minnesota. It has added a Southeast Minnesota reporter, a North Central Minnesota reporter, and a Southwest Minnesota reporter. And it is partnering with Minnesota news organizations to keep abreast of the news.  

“We're reshaping our coverage to focus more squarely on issues and topics essential to Minnesotans,” says Suki Dardarian, editor and senior vice president of the Minnesota Star Tribune. “Our readers have helped inform this approach, which aims to provide richer coverage that reflects the diversity, soul and spirit of Minnesota, along with our hallmark enterprise and accountability reporting.”

It's a great place to visit or to start your journalistic career—if you can stand the winters.