Your support matters, now more than ever.
Throughout much of this year and in 2025, Minnesota has become a focal point for national attention. These are unprecedented times, and the responsibility to document what’s happening here with clarity, accuracy, and humanity has never been greater.
And the world is watching.
Our journalists are on the ground every day, capturing the realities unfolding in our neighborhoods and streets. Across the country, readers are pointing to the work being done at the Minnesota Star Tribune as another example of why local news is so indispensable.
Of course, there’s so much more to do — and the headwinds facing local news businesses, like ours, are strong.
As we transform into a modern digital media company, we really need your help to keep going. If we want to have a strong regional newsroom in Minnesota with amazing journalists, we need your support.
Thank you for your interest in learning about our progress and for your generous support in preserving local news.
Let’s keep building a stronger Minnesota together.
Steve Grove
Publisher & CEO
The Minnesota Star Tribune
2025 tested us in profound ways, but it also revealed the remarkable resilience of our newsroom and the communities we serve. Many of the stories we covered were heavy — rooted in crisis, conflict, and uncertainty — but each one underscored why strong journalism matters. In moments when Minnesotans needed clarity, accountability, and connection, our reporters stepped forward with courage and compassion. What follows is a look at the major stories that defined the year — stories that demonstrate not only the challenges we faced, but the steadfast commitment of our journalists to bring truth to light and help our communities heal, understand, and move forward together.
The heroes of Annunciation
A horrific shooting on the third day of school devastated a Minneapolis community and put its resilience and faith on full display. Minnesota Star Tribune reporters responded with urgency and care, centering the voices of students, educators, families, and first responders who rushed toward help and bore the weight of loss.
Richard Tsong-Taatarii captured this haunting image of a barefoot mother running towards the school.
(Listed in order left to right, top to bottom) Anthony Souffle/The Minnesota Star Tribune, Carlos Gonzalez/The Minnesota Star Tribune, Leila Navidi/The Minnesota Star Tribune, Carlos Gonzalez/The Minnesota Star Tribune, Illustration by Robert Carter/For the Minnesota Star Tribune
Minnesota loses a political leader – and a sense of civility
The assassin’s bullets would severely injure Sen. John Hoffman and his wife, Yvette, and kill Rep. Melissa Hortman, her husband, Mark and mortally wound their dog Gilbert before kicking off the most extensive manhunt in Minnesota history. The assassin was apprehended in a farm field about 40 hours later. Mourning Minnesotans would wonder what increasingly political violence portends for democracy.
Aimee Bock, Salim Said found guilty on all counts in Feeding Our Future fraud trial
A federal jury found Feeding Our Future leader Aimee Bock and her alleged accomplice, Minneapolis restaurant owner Salim Said, guilty on all counts Wednesday after only about five hours of deliberation. Jurors had a mountain of evidence to sift through after listening to more than 30 witnesses testify over five weeks in the high-profile case — part of a sprawling $250 million federal investigation that’s charged 70 people, the largest pandemic-related fraud in the country.
Carlos Gonzalez/The Minnesota Star Tribune
Leila Navidi/The Minnesota Star Tribune
Kaohly Her wins historic election, will be St. Paul’s first Hmong mayor
St. Paul voters handed a historic election victory to state Rep. Kaohly Her. Her upset her former boss, two-term Mayor Melvin Carter, to win the election. Coming 50 years after Hmong refugees began arriving in the U.S. fleeing war in southeast Asia, Her’s ascent is a political milestone and achievement in the heart of Minnesota’s Hmong community. The 52-year-old state lawmaker was born in Laos and arrived in the U.S. as a child, one of tens of thousands who eventually landed in Minnesota after the war to forge a new life.
At the Minnesota Star Tribune, we’re committed to building a better Minnesota by elevating the people, ideas and stories that strengthen our communities. And the most meaningful way to do that is by showing up — engaging directly with Minnesotans, listening to their experiences, and connecting across every corner of the state. The following pages showcase just a few ways we bring that mission to life and celebrate alongside the communities we serve.
The Wrap
WE REFLECTED. WE CELEBRATED. WE CAME TOGETHER.
Our second annual Year-in-Review event wrapped up another amazing evening at our Heritage printing facility. The special night overflowed with lively conversations and connections, mouthwatering dishes and craft cocktails from acclaimed local chefs and mixologists, captivating entertainment from top local artists, and heartfelt recognition of award recipients who are making a positive impact on our state.
StribVarsity
The new hub for all things Minnesota high school sports.
This year we proudly launched Strib Varsity, a bold new sub-brand dedicated to delivering the most comprehensive, best-in-class coverage of high school sports across the state of Minnesota. This initiative represented a major growth opportunity aimed at expanding the Minnesota Star Tribune’s audience and strengthening our subscription base by uniting fans, families and communities around the state’s vibrant prep sports scene.
NorthStar Summit 2025
This event, which took place at the Walker Art Center on October 7, 2025, brought together the Midwest’s top minds in politics, business, culture, and innovation to discuss the issues, ideas and solutions that shaped the future of our region and America.
Influential speakers included:
- Dr. Ronnie Chatterji
- Governor Tim Walz
- Zachary Mannheimer
- Peter Meijer
- Susan Brower
- Houston White
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Danielle Russell
-
Ping Yeh
- Peter Leyden
- Myles Shaver
- Dayna Frank
- Andrew Miller
Ghost of a Chance
In 2025 we launched Ghost a Chance — a project that became last year’s breakout hit podcast, reaching number two on the Apple history podcast chart, and a huge success across Minnesota communities. In this gripping series, reporter Eric Roper delved into the past of his 113-year-old Minneapolis home and uncovered the extraordinary lives of Harry and Clementine Robinson. Their story illuminated the history of race in the Midwest — a narrative that continues to resonate during today’s ongoing racial reckoning.
View historical photos, written transcripts and discussion guides:
The podcast is available on Apple Podcasts or Spotify, and on our website.
Photo Gallery of Community Involvement
Your investment fuels impact. Every day.
Community-funded journalism through the Local News Fund invests directly in our communities, giving reporters the time, independence, and trust to dig deep for Minnesota. In moments of calm, local news helps people understand their neighbors, their government, and their shared future. It strengthens civic life, builds trust, and keeps communities connected. And in moments of crisis (tornado, blizzard, public health emergency) local news becomes a lifeline, delivering timely, trusted information people rely on to stay safe and informed. Your support of the Local News Fund makes this work possible, in ordinary days and extraordinary ones.
Together, we made a difference in 2025
Meet Eleanor
Meet Eleanor
The first reporter supported through a donor-funded fellowship, Eleanor has covered property taxes, emergency shelters, winter weather, Stillwater schools, and more to help Minnesotans better understand their neighbors and their state.
Additional Impact Included:
- Mankato Reporter
- News & Politics Fellowship
- Outdoors Reporter
- Rochester Reporter
- Content Sharing
- AI Lab Fellowship
- Internship Program Growth
- Community Engagement
Looking Ahead to 2026
With your support, we fuel essential journalism across three key impact areas, funding reporter salaries and benefits and covering the costs of special projects that serve our communities. Your continued partnership will help power a vibrant, well-informed Minnesota.
News Literacy Initative: Building Media Literacy for the Next Generation
We’re expanding access to news and media literacy across Minnesota to help students become informed, engaged citizens — while lighting a path for tomorrow’s journalists. Together we can strengthen civic understanding and invest in the future of trusted journalism.
Investigative Team
We hold power to account. Our investigative reporting drives action, reform, and greater transparency across Minnesota. In 2026, with community support, we will double the size of our investigative team —because Minnesota needs trusted, in-depth journalism that tackles the toughest issues and delivers real impact.
The Greater Minnesota Initiative: Bridging Divides Across our State through Storytelling
We are growing our Greater Minnesota team to deliver solutions — focused journalism that ensures communities are seen and connected — wherever they are. With your investment, our team reaches under-covered areas and deepens our impact statewide.
Aaron Lavinsky/The Minnesota Star Tribune
Donate to the Local News Fund
The Local News Fund is a community-powered investment in the future of journalism in the Minnesota. As the fifth-largest newspaper in the country, the Star Tribune is leading the way in building a sustainable model for strong, independent local news — supporting in-depth reporting that holds institutions accountable and serves communities across our state.
