How a century of mergers and bankruptcy forged Minnesota's largest newspaper

Entertainment · Published 3 October 2026 Swipe more like this →

In short: The Minnesota Star Tribune is a survivor. Born from the 1982 merger of two competing dailies, it has weathered corporate buyouts, a 2009 bankruptcy, and the shifting tides of the digital age. Today, it stands as the seventh-largest newspaper in the United States, balancing local legacy with modern digital transformation.

The newspaper’s complex lineage traces back to 1867 with the founding of the Minneapolis Daily Tribune. For decades, the city’s media landscape was defined by intense competition between the Tribune and the Minneapolis Daily Star, which launched in 1920. By the 1940s, the Cowles family of Des Moines had consolidated these rivals, establishing a dominant morning-evening structure that lasted until the afternoon Star was discontinued in 1982. This merger created the Minneapolis Star and Tribune, later simplified to the Star Tribune in 1987.

The paper’s history is marked by significant turbulence. In 1998, the McClatchy Company acquired the publication for $1.4 billion, only to sell it eight years later for $530 million. Following a 2009 bankruptcy filing, the company underwent a restructuring that saw senior lenders take control. In 2014, local billionaire and former state senator Glen Taylor purchased the paper, signaling a shift toward more balanced reporting. This era of ownership change concluded with the paper’s rebranding as The Minnesota Star Tribune in 2024.

Despite these structural shifts, the Star Tribune has maintained a high standard of investigative journalism, earning eight Pulitzer Prizes across its history. Recent years have seen the paper aggressively pivot to digital, with web traffic and subscription rates surging in 2026. As the industry evolves, the paper continues to adapt, recently announcing workforce reductions and exploring a potential transition to a nonprofit ownership model to secure its future in the Twin Cities.

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