Opinion editor’s note: Strib Voices publishes a mix of commentaries online and in print each day. To contribute, click here.
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When you think about some of the greatest conversations you’ve ever had, I’d venture to guess they involved talking with someone who had a new or different perspective that taught you something. There’s nothing like a well-formed point of view to make us look at our world a little differently. That’s something our founders understood acutely when they wrote the First Amendment to our Constitution, the right to free speech.
Here in Minnesota, the Star Tribune has long provided a platform for different voices to be heard. That’s why, at a time when many media organizations are cutting back or shying away from opinion journalism, we’re going in a very different direction.
We’re leaning into amplifying more voices. A lot more voices.
We believe that now more than ever, lifting up the voices that reflect our state, in all its complexities, will increase understanding and create the most dynamic conversation that’s ever existed about this place we all call home.
Our new platform is called Strib Voices, and it encompasses all of the opinion journalism of the Star Tribune, as well as a lot more commentary from people across Minnesota. Our goal is to make Strib Voices the best watercooler for local conversation in the country.
New contributing columnists
To jump-start our efforts on Strib Voices, we’re thrilled to welcome 11 new contributing columnists to the platform. We intentionally sought out these commentators, who come from all walks of life, because they each have something special to share about Minnesota. And they’re not afraid to be counterintuitive, controversial and thought-provoking.