To our readers: Amid a year of change, here’s what to expect from our sports writers in 2025

When I left Utah last summer to become sports editor of the Minnesota Star Tribune, I understood what I was getting myself into … for the most part. I knew that Minnesotans have relied on the Strib for more than 150 years, and that its journalistic legacy is nearly unrivaled.

But after six months in Minnesota, I have an even greater appreciation for the central role sports has in the lives of Minnesotans and their communities. With that in mind, I wanted to take a moment to highlight some of the things you can expect from the Minnesota Star Tribune’s sports team in 2025 and beyond.

The accessibility and abundance of news today has redefined the way sports are covered. We know that audience habits and interests are rapidly changing. As a result, we are going to be more focused than ever on listening to you, our readers, responding to your feedback and experimenting with how we cover Minnesota teams, athletes, coaches and sports personalities.

You might already have noticed some of these changes.

We expanded our unrivaled coverage of high school sports, moving outside the metro to become All-Minnesota. We’re exploring — in real time — different ways of covering games. We are paying close attention to what the data tells us about audience interest for certain kinds of stories and adapting our coverage to meet those expectations. Expect even more of the same in 2025.

Why make these changes?

Boxscores tell the outcome but not the journey; it’s the role of sports journalism to go beyond the field and the locker room to find compelling personal stories. By doing so, we better honor the spirit of sports, telling the entire story and building a sense of community in the process. This new change will provide that.

You don’t need me to tell you that a sports fan can choose from dozens or more sources for real-time “game” stories that include video and commentary. But it’s no longer about what just happened, but much more about the how and why it happened. They want Strib reporters and photographers to help them understand the journey, not just the outcome, and to find and share the most compelling stories across the Minnesota sports spectrum, from preps to pros.

The way we consume sports these days is different, in print and online, and change is happening within the newspaper industry. Amid so much uncertainty, what’s been clear is that you either change with the times or you get left behind.

So how do we adapt to these changes? How do we take something that’s been an institution for over a century and a half and help it evolve for the modern sports fan? How do we pay homage to our grassroots in print, while pushing the limits digitally?

I’m lucky enough to be working with some of the best sports editors and writers in the country, so my goal is to give them the freedom and opportunity to produce more in-depth pieces that go beyond the boxscore.

Not every decision we make will be perfect. Some ideas will flop. But the lessons we take away from those failures and how we use them to shape our future will allow us to reach new heights.

That makes this a scary time, but it’s precisely what’s needed if we are to thrive for another century. Being one of the nation’s leading newsrooms comes with a responsibility … and it’s ours to challenge the status quo.

As I indicated, I mostly understood what I was getting into when my family and I came to Minnesota in July. One thing I underestimated was the passion of Minnesota sports fans. You are the best fans in the world, and my colleagues and I look forward to providing the kind of sports journalism you can’t get anywhere else.

Let us know how we’re doing.