We’re realigning our coverage to better serve Minnesota

It wasn’t long ago that we set out to completely reimagine how we could better serve our company’s new mission: to build a better Minnesota by connecting us with the people, ideas and stories that strengthen our communities.

How could our journalism more keenly focus on topics that are most relevant and useful to our readers?

How could we bring greater context and nuance to our stories?

How could we better reflect the diversity of life and thought throughout the state?

And, not least — how could we tap into the soul and spirit of Minnesota?

Focused coverage

Today, as we relaunch as the Minnesota Star Tribune, our newsroom has realigned around five core subject areas: news and politics, business, outdoors and the environment, food and culture, and sports. Many of these areas have been a staple of our news report for generations, but we are sharpening our focus on key topics, themes and issues within each of them. Our goal: break more news and provide readers with a compelling mix of accountability journalism, contextual beat reporting and stories of humanity and community.

News and Politics remain central to our public service mission, and we are deepening our commitment to bring you ambitious enterprise reporting on topics with broad statewide appeal.

We’re bolstering coverage of suburban news and issues such as transportation, livability and affordability. Our coverage of races for the Minnesota House, Congress and the presidency will be more centered than ever on the interests and concerns of voters across the entire state. We’ve recruited Republican, Democratic and Independent voter panels to share their thoughts about the issues and the candidates. And our teams are working apace to build our Election Guide for the season, which is always one of the most popular service pieces we produce each election cycle.

In Sports, our coverage of high school athletes, coaches, teams and communities is getting bigger and better, with stories coming from across the state. We are looking anew at how we cover our professional and college sports teams, going beyond the boxscore to provide more analysis of the game, the teams, the players and the culture. And Vikings fans, take heart: We’re adding to that coverage, as well, including a new and improved Access Vikings newsletter.

Our Business team is deepening its coverage of key industries such as health care, medical technology and real estate, including the fate of our downtowns in this hybrid work world. You’ll also see more stories about the people, industries and innovation that drive our regional economy. And stay tuned for “In Their Shoes,” a regular feature that profiles Minnesotans at work.

Our new Outdoors team will expand coverage of the natural beauty of Minnesota. Look for helpful guides to outdoor activities such as hiking and paddling, and expert advice from skilled enthusiasts. And while the experiences of hikers and hunters, skiers and snowmobilers or bikers and boaters may differ, they all share a desire to protect and conserve Minnesota’s lakes, trails, woods and wetlands for generations to come.

Our environmental coverage will focus on those efforts in the face of a range of threats — both imminent and long term. And to help us all revel in the beauty around us, we are kicking off a weekly “This Week in Nature” to clue us in to changing flora and fauna through the Minnesota seasons.

Readers already love our coverage of the state’s dynamic food scene, and we’re now offering more of it — and in more places — from our Food and Culture team.

We remain committed to covering the state’s vibrant arts scene, and a new team will write about the people, places and events that are distinctly Minnesotan.

Expansion in greater Minnesota

We’ve expanded our coverage throughout greater Minnesota with more reporters who live where they work, and others — including a new columnist — who will roam the state for stories that speak to the heads and hearts of all Minnesotans. And we’re growing our array of newsletters to serve different regions of the state.

Breaking the news

We want to be your indispensable and credible source of breaking news, so we’ve built a team of reporters to jump on emerging stories — from public safety to trending news. The goal of this team is simple enough: To own the story or stories of the day, and to keep readers abreast of the timeliest developments and offer useful information to help you navigate your day. Operating from the hub of the newsroom, the newly formed Today Desk also produces our flagship weekday morning newsletter, Essential Minnesota, that catches you up on the news, previews what’s on deck and offers insights and fun to get your day started.

More investigative journalism

One of the highest duties of a news organization is to hold power to account, to be a watchdog on behalf of citizens.

Our next investigative project will publish in September, the culmination of months of work by a team of reporters, editors, photographers, data journalists and designers. This kind of commitment to pursuing some of our most important stories is costly and, unfortunately, increasingly rare across the country. But we are committed to doing even more of it. Readers consistently tell us this is among the work they most value, and it is an area where we have excelled: Our investigative reporting has spurred far-reaching changes in state laws and policies, and we’ve been awarded the Pulitzer Prize twice in the past decade, a finalist four more times.

Today, as fewer news outlets are able to play watchdog roles across the state, it’s imperative that we more broadly and more frequently shine a light on the challenges in our communities — and on potential solutions — in our daily coverage and in special projects. We’ll also continue to advocate for open government, partnering with news organizations in Minnesota and beyond to improve access and transparency of our public institutions.

Events, newsletters, guides and more

We aim to create new ways of telling stories and new products, including more newsletters, guides and podcasts.

We’re expanding our greater Minnesota newsletters to more communities, we are planning a second Going Out newsletter highlighting the best of Minnesota’s entertainment and cultural events, and soon we’ll launch a pop-up Minnesota State Fair newsletter to give you a daily guide to the Great Minnesota Get-Together.

Meanwhile, we’ll more regularly share stories about our staff and their work behind the scenes — in a regular feature called Behind the Strib — to help you understand how our news report comes together every day.

Amid the change, an unwavering pledge

While we’re working to transform our business, one thing won’t change: the commitment we carry every day to serve you and this community with the news and information you need to navigate and improve your lives.

Journalists are perhaps their own best critics. While we call our work “the daily miracle,” we carry an enduring drive to do better tomorrow. It fuels my colleagues’ creative genius, work ethic and passion for this discipline — characteristics they bring to bear in times of community trauma as well as celebration.

It’s an honor and a joy to work alongside such talented, compassionate, sharp-witted journalists who are dedicated to their craft and to their community.

We appreciate your support as we redouble our commitment to serve you with quality journalism, and we hope you’ll continue to support us as we aim to strengthen communities across Minnesota.

Thanks for reading.