Fillmore County Journal

What Fillmore County Journal does

Fillmore County Journal is a privately-held community newspaper founded in 1985 and headquartered in Preston, Minnesota, serving Fillmore County and surrounding southeast Minnesota communities across the Bluff Country region. The publication operates a weekly print edition alongside a WordPress-based digital platform, covering local news, sports, schools, agriculture, government, obituaries, legal notices, veterans, and community events across 11 school districts including Caledonia, Chatfield, Fillmore Central, Lanesboro, Mabel-Canton, and Rushford-Peterson. It maintains two physical offices — the headquarters in Preston (136 St. Anthony Street) and a branch in Caledonia — providing direct customer engagement for advertising sales and in-person service.

The company generates revenue through four primary streams: print and digital display advertising (sold via direct sales and the website's advertising section), subscriptions for readers seeking local news coverage, legal notices and obituary publishing, and recurring revenue from its Professional Directory and Business Listings. Distribution is multi-channel, combining print delivery with a free-access digital website, supplemented by an active Facebook presence and a community-engagement Student Writers program. Supplementary products include the Tasty Temptations Cookbook, the Professional Directory/Ask the Experts feature, and the Journal Writing Project.

The business is run by Publisher Jason Sethre and was originally founded by Larry Salge and Esther Kelly. It has accumulated more than 270 industry awards over the past eight years from the Minnesota Newspaper Association, Midwest Free Community Publishers, and the Association of Community Publishers, including nine awards at the 2025 ACP Conference in Mobile, Alabama. The company's competitive position rests on its 40-year incumbency, deep community embedment across school sports, veterans, and civic affairs, and a quasi-regulatory role in publishing legal notices for the local jurisdiction.

Name

Fillmore County Journal

Legal name

Fillmore County Journal

Website

https://fillmorecountyjournal.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1985

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Fillmore County Journal is a privately-held weekly community newspaper founded in 1985, serving Fillmore County and southeast Minnesota with local news, sports, obituaries, and legal notices via print and a WordPress digital platform, monetized through advertising, subscriptions, directory listings, and legal notice publishing.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Community Newspaper Publishing

NAICS

Newspaper Publishers (513110), Newspaper Publishers (51311)

SIC

Newspapers: Publishing Or Publishing & Printing (2711)

akta.pro primary industry

Local & Regional Newspapers (Print & Digital) (MPAJADAB)

akta.pro secondary industry

Newsstand & Single-Copy Distribution (MPAJAKAC)

Keywords

• Community newspaper publishing
• Local news coverage
• Print advertising sales
• Digital news subscription
• Obituary legal notices

Headquarters

HQ city

Preston

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Supply Chain, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure, Others

Revenue model

1. Print and Digital Advertising: The newspaper generates revenue through display advertising in both print and digital formats, as evidenced by the website's advertising section and multiple advertiser listings throughout the site.
2. Subscription Revenue: Revenue from print and digital subscriptions for readers seeking local news coverage.
3. Legal Notices and Classifieds: The newspaper publishes legal notices and obituaries, which are standard revenue sources for local newspapers.
4. Professional Directory and Business Listings: Revenue generated from business directory listings and the Professional Directory feature on their website.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

Fillmore County Journal is a weekly community newspaper serving Fillmore County, Minnesota, providing local news, sports coverage, school coverage across 11 districts, obituaries, legal notices, veteran tributes, and community information through both print and digital formats. The publication also generates revenue through business advertising, a Professional Directory, and related products such as community cookbooks.

Product overview

Fillmore County Journal operates as a single-product local newspaper serving Fillmore County, Minnesota, with its core offering being the weekly community newspaper. The publication also extends its reach through supplementary products including Tasty Temptations Cookbooks (a recipe compilation), a Professional Business Directory for local advertisers, and a Student Writers/Journal Writing Project that engages young contributors. The newspaper maintains both print and digital presence through its WordPress-based website.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Fillmore County Journal (Weekly Newspaper) A weekly community newspaper serving Fillmore County, Minnesota, providing local news, sports coverage, school coverage across 11 districts, obituaries, legal notices, commentary, veteran tributes, and community information through both print and digital formats.
• Tasty Temptations Cookbooks A cookbook product sold by Fillmore County Journal featuring recipes from the local community.
• Professional Directory (Business Directory) A business directory feature on the Fillmore County Journal website that allows local businesses to be listed and promoted, including an 'Ask the Experts' feature connecting readers with local professionals.

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Spring Grove Herald: Long-running small-town community newspaper in Spring Grove, MN, within FCJ's coverage area and explicitly linked on FCJ's site. Direct peer offering a similar weekly local news, sports, and advertising product to overlapping southeastern Minnesota households.
• Houston County News: Local newspaper covering Houston County, immediately adjacent to Fillmore County and sharing regional advertising and reader pools. Direct peer operating a similar community-weekly model in the same southeast Minnesota geography.
• Bluff Country Reader: Free community publication covering the same southeast Minnesota Bluff Country region as FCJ. Direct peer competing for overlapping local advertising dollars and reader attention in adjacent Fillmore/Houston county markets.

Broad incumbents

• Lee Enterprises: Major U.S. newspaper chain operating daily and weekly publications across multiple states. Comparable as a broad incumbent whose portfolio of community papers faces similar print-to-digital transition dynamics as FCJ, though at much larger scale.
• Adams Publishing Group: Family-owned regional newspaper publisher with a substantial portfolio of community and daily newspapers across the Midwest including Minnesota. Comparable as an incumbent community-newspaper operator in overlapping territory with shared advertising and operational models.
• Forum Communications Company: Regional newspaper group based in Fargo, ND, owning numerous local and community newspapers across the Upper Midwest including Minnesota. Comparable as a larger incumbent operating in FCJ's geography and competing for the same local advertising budgets, though it serves a wider portfolio of titles.
• Gannett Co. Largest U.S. newspaper publisher operating USA TODAY and hundreds of local community publications nationwide. Comparable as a broad incumbent whose local-market publications compete for the same advertisers and readers, though Gannett's scale and national reach differ materially from FCJ.

Emerging players

• Nextdoor: Neighborhood-level social network used by local communities including in Fillmore County for community announcements and local business discovery. Comparable as an emerging digital channel competing for the same local attention and small-business advertising dollars that FCJ monetizes through its print and directory products.
• Patch.com: National hyperlocal digital news network that operates town-level sites across the U.S., including in Minnesota. Comparable as an emerging digital-first competitor pursuing the same hyperlocal news and advertising niche as FCJ, with a fundamentally different cost structure and technology platform.

Others

• Minnesota Newspapers Association: Statewide trade association representing Minnesota's local newspapers. FCJ is a recognized member and award recipient. Comparable as an ecosystem participant that shapes industry standards, advocacy, and recognition programs relevant to FCJ's operating environment.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/FillmoreCountyJournal
• Xx.com/fillcojournal
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/fillmore-county-journal

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Fillmore County Journal