MinnPost
MinnPost is a Minneapolis-based 501(c)(3) nonprofit digital newsroom producing Minnesota-focused journalism on politics, policy, and culture, distributed through a portfolio of nine specialized newsletters and a free website funded by reader donations and institutional sponsors.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2007
- HeadquartersMinneapolis, United States
- Headcount11–50
- GTM typeB2C
- OfferingDigital Commerce or Content
What MinnPost does
MinnPost is a nonprofit, nonpartisan digital news organization headquartered in Minneapolis, Minnesota, operating as a 501(c)(3) public charity. Founded in 2007, the organization produces journalism focused on Minnesota state government, Twin Cities metro news, Greater Minnesota, Washington D.C., environment, health, arts and culture, and sports. Its core product is a portfolio of nine specialized email newsletters (Daily, Capitol Conversations, Headwinds, Greater Minnesota, Cityscape, D.C. Memo, Artscape, Timberwolves, Week Review), supplemented by flagship content sections including The Glean (headline aggregation), Fact Briefs (fact-checking), Documenters (community reporting), and the Sack's View editorial cartoon column by Pulitzer Prize-winning cartoonist Steve Sack. The underlying technology is Newspack, a WordPress-based CMS designed for news publishers; no public APIs, mobile applications, or proprietary AI capabilities are offered.
MinnPost serves Minnesota-focused readers and civic-engaged audiences interested in independent policy and politics coverage. The organization operates a direct-to-consumer go-to-market model: all journalism is freely accessible with no paywall, and the revenue model rests on reader donations and memberships (processed through fundjournalism.org) supplemented by labeled sponsored content from institutional sponsors including Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Minnesota, Great River Energy, Otto Bremer Foundation, and Bush Foundation. The business is run with 11-50 employees from a single Minneapolis office.
MinnPost's competitive positioning centers on nonprofit independence from advertising pressure, deep single-market coverage, and a multi-vertical newsletter portfolio. Content is expanded through partnerships with Sahan Journal (immigrant and communities-of-color reporting), Daily Yonder (rural affairs syndication), and Report for America (correspondent placements). Revenue concentration risk is moderate due to dependence on a small set of major institutional sponsors alongside a long tail of individual donors. No funding rounds, M&A activity, or revenue disclosures are available, and no AI/ML capabilities are deployed.
MinnPost firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- MinnPost
- Legal name
- MinnPost
- Website
- https://minnpost.com
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2007
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 11–50 employees
- Short description
- MinnPost is a Minneapolis-based 501(c)(3) nonprofit digital newsroom producing Minnesota-focused journalism on politics, policy, and culture, distributed through a portfolio of nine specialized newsletters and a free website funded by reader donations and institutional sponsors.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
MinnPost industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Digital News Publishing
- NAICS
- Broadcasting and Content Providers (516)
- SIC
- Periodicals: Publishing Or Publishing & Printing (2721)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Newsletter Publishing Platforms (MPACAIAA)
- akta.pro secondary industry
- Local News & Weather Stations (MPABACAJ)
Keywords
Where MinnPost is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Minneapolis
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Offices1 record
Markets served
MinnPost business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2C
- Offering type
- Digital Commerce or Content
- Cost components
- Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D
Revenue model
- Reader Donations and Membership: MinnPost operates as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit newsroom that relies primarily on donations from readers. The organization runs membership campaigns and monthly giving programs to generate sustained support from its audience.
- Sponsored Content: The publication accepts sponsored content from organizations like Farmers Union Agency, West Central Initiative, and Bush Foundation. This content is clearly labeled as sponsored and provides additional revenue while maintaining editorial independence.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Freemium | Monthly | Free access to all journalism with optional donations |
Go-to-market motion1 record
Distribution channels4 records
Marketing channels5 records
MinnPost product offering
Product offeringCore offering
MinnPost is a nonprofit, nonpartisan digital news organization that publishes in-depth journalism and a portfolio of topic-specific email newsletters covering Minnesota state government, metro news, greater Minnesota, environment, health, arts, culture, and sports. Content is freely accessible to readers and sustained through reader donations, memberships, sponsorships, and clearly labeled sponsored content from organizations such as Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Minnesota, Great River Energy, and the Otto Bremer Foundation.
Product overview
MinnPost is a nonprofit, independent digital news organization offering a portfolio of newsletters and content verticals covering Minnesota politics, policy, arts, culture, health, and sports. The core offering consists of a daily newsletter and multiple specialized topic-specific newsletters (Capitol Conversations, Headwinds, Greater Minnesota, Cityscape, D.C. Memo, Artscape, Timberwolves) that deliver curated coverage directly to subscribers. Supporting products include The Glean (headline aggregation), Fact Briefs (fact-checking), and Documenters (community reporting). The organization also features Steve Sack's editorial cartoon series 'Sack's View' as a prominent opinion product. Revenue comes from reader donations and major sponsors rather than advertising.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Brands
- The Glean: Latest headlines from around Minnesota newsletter and section
- D.C. Memo
- Headwinds
- Artscape
- Cityscape
- Sack's View
- Documenters
Products and services
- Daily Newsletter
Companies that use MinnPost
Customer profileNamed customers1 record
Segments2 records
Ideal customer profiles3 records
MinnPost technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
MinnPost partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Three partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.
- Sahan JournalcoreContent partnership where Sahan Journal's reporting on Minnesota immigrants and communities of color is republished on MinnPost. This includes investigative series like 'Taken' documenting deportation stories. Both organizations are nonprofit newsrooms covering underserved communities.
- Daily YonderminorContent syndication partnership where MinnPost republishes articles from the Daily Yonder, a rural affairs publication. Stories on rural-urban divide and rural issues are shared with MinnPost's audience.
- Report for AmericaminorReport for America correspondents contribute to MinnPost coverage, with photo credits noting partnership (e.g., 'Ellen Schmidt/MinnPost/CatchLight Local/Report for America').
Scale indicators2 records
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights5 records
MinnPost competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- The Connecticut Mirror: Nonprofit, nonpartisan digital news outlet covering Connecticut state government and policy. Highly comparable as a smaller-scale state-level nonprofit newsroom with donor and sponsorship funding.
- CalMatters: California-focused nonprofit newsroom covering state government and policy with a newsletter portfolio and foundation/corporate sponsorship model. Comparable in mission, audience segmentation, and editorial depth on public affairs.
- Chalkbeat: Nonprofit news organization covering education policy across multiple states. Comparable in nonprofit funding model, beat-specialized coverage, and newsletter products, though national in scope rather than single-state.
- VTDigger: Nonprofit digital news organization covering Vermont state government and policy. Closely comparable in business model (donations + sponsorships), single-state focus, and newsletter-driven audience engagement.
- Block Club Chicago: Nonprofit neighborhood-focused news outlet in Chicago. Comparable in donor-supported model, community-driven journalism, and newsletter-led audience engagement, though more hyperlocal than MinnPost's statewide coverage.
- The Colorado Sun: Colorado-focused nonprofit digital news outlet launched by former Denver Post journalists. Comparable in donor-supported model, statewide policy coverage, and reader-membership approach.
- The Texas Tribune: Major nonprofit state-focused digital newsroom. Directly comparable in mission, donor/sponsor revenue model, newsletter portfolio, and beat coverage of state government and policy. Often cited as the gold-standard state-level nonprofit news outlet.
- The Marshall Project: Nonprofit newsroom covering criminal justice. Comparable in donor-supported model, newsletter-led distribution, and nonprofit news economics, though focused on a single national beat rather than state coverage.
- The 19th News: Nonprofit newsroom covering gender and politics nationally. Comparable in nonprofit donor/sponsor model, mission-driven journalism, and newsletter portfolio, though national rather than state-focused.
Broad incumbents
- ProPublica: Largest U.S. nonprofit investigative newsroom. Comparable in nonprofit donor model and mission-driven journalism, though national in scope and far larger in scale than MinnPost. Represents the upper bound of the nonprofit newsroom category MinnPost operates in.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat4 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
MinnPost social profiles
Digital presenceMinnPost financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
MinnPost leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles6 records
MinnPost funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
MinnPost M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about MinnPost
What does MinnPost do?
MinnPost is a nonprofit, nonpartisan digital news organization that publishes in-depth journalism and a portfolio of topic-specific email newsletters covering Minnesota state government, metro news, greater Minnesota, environment, health, arts, culture, and sports. Content is freely accessible to readers and sustained through reader donations, memberships, sponsorships, and clearly labeled sponsored content from organizations such as Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Minnesota, Great River Energy, and the Otto Bremer Foundation.
Is MinnPost a public or private company?
MinnPost is a private company. It is classified as nonprofit foundation owned and is currently operating.
When was MinnPost founded?
MinnPost was founded in 2007. It employs 11 to 50 people.
Where is MinnPost based?
MinnPost is headquartered in Minneapolis, United States, in the North America region.
How does MinnPost make money?
Two revenue lines are on record. Reader Donations and Membership is the primary driver. The others are sponsored Content.
Who are MinnPost's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are The Connecticut Mirror, CalMatters, Chalkbeat, VTDigger, Block Club Chicago, The Colorado Sun, The Texas Tribune, The Marshall Project and The 19th News. ProPublica is listed as a broad incumbent.
Does MinnPost have an API?
No public API is recorded for MinnPost.
What industry is MinnPost in?
MinnPost's product category is Digital News Publishing. Its primary akta.pro industry code is MPACAIAA, Newsletter Publishing Platforms, with a secondary code of MPABACAJ, Local News & Weather Stations. Its NAICS code is 516 and its SIC code is 2721.