Mill City Times

Mill City Times is a Minneapolis-based not-for-profit community news website founded in 2010 that covers the central riverfront neighborhoods of the city. It is supported by community partners, sells no advertising, and operates with a five-person editorial team distributing content via its site, Mailchimp newsletter, and social media.

Company typePrivate
Founded-
Headquarters—
Headcount1–10
GTM typeB2C
OfferingDigital Commerce or Content

What Mill City Times does

Mill City Times is a not-for-profit community news website founded in 2010 and headquartered in Minneapolis, Minnesota. It covers the central riverfront neighborhoods of Minneapolis, serving local residents, small businesses, and civic stakeholders in that geographic area with hyperlocal reporting on community events, local issues, and neighborhood life.

The publication operates with a small editorial team of five employees, including a Publisher (David Tinjum), Editor (Kim Eslinger), Associate Editor (Brianna Ojard), and Small Business Reporter (Becky Fillinger). It distributes content through its website, a Mailchimp-powered newsletter, and social media accounts on Instagram and Facebook. The technology footprint is intentionally lightweight and dependent on standard third-party publishing and social platforms rather than proprietary infrastructure.

The business model is non-commercial: Mill City Times does not sell advertising on its site and is instead supported by community partners. This funding structure — partner contributions rather than advertiser or subscription revenue — defines its go-to-market and revenue mechanics. No pricing model, subscription tier, or commercial product offering is disclosed, consistent with a mission-driven community information service rather than a revenue-generating media business.

Mill City Times firmographics

Firmographics

Name: Mill City Times
Legal name: Mill City Times
Website: https://millcitytimes.com
Company type: Private
Operating status: Operating
Headcount range: 1–10 employees
Short description: Mill City Times is a Minneapolis-based not-for-profit community news website founded in 2010 that covers the central riverfront neighborhoods of the city. It is supported by community partners, sells no advertising, and operates with a five-person editorial team distributing content via its site, Mailchimp newsletter, and social media.
Ownership category
akta.pro rank

Mill City Times industry classification

Industry

Product category: Local News Publishing
NAICS: Newspaper Publishers (51311)
SIC: Newspapers: Publishing Or Publishing & Printing (2711)
akta.pro primary industry: Local & Regional Newspapers (Print & Digital) (MPAJADAB)

Keywords

Local news
Community journalism
Neighborhood reporting
Event listings
Hyperlocal media

Mill City Times business model

Business model

GTM type: B2C
Offering type: Digital Commerce or Content
Cost components: Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels3 records

Mill City Times product offering

Product offering

Core offering

Mill City Times is a not-for-profit community news website covering the central riverfront neighborhoods of Minneapolis. It publishes original local news articles, small business spotlights, community event listings, and maintains a Mill City Business Directory of local landmarks, parks, neighborhood associations, and cultural institutions. The publication operates without advertising and is supported by community partners.

Product overview

Mill City Times is a not-for-profit community news website covering the central riverfront neighborhoods of Minneapolis. It provides local news, a business directory, community event listings, and neighborhood-specific reporting. The site operates as a digital publication without separate product modules or commercial service offerings.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Companies that use Mill City Times

Customer profile

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Mill City Times technology and API

Technology

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API: No
API docs
API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Mill City Times partnerships and signals

Strategic signal

Recent moves3 records

Expansion highlights2 records

Mill City Times competitors and assessment

Company assessment

Direct peers

Block Club Chicago: Block Club Chicago is a non-profit, neighborhood-focused digital news site covering Chicago. It shares Mill City Times' mission-driven non-profit model, hyper-local scope, and reliance on community donor support.
MinnPost: MinnPost is a Minneapolis-based non-profit digital news outlet covering the Twin Cities and Minnesota. It is the closest direct competitor to Mill City Times in geography, mission (non-profit, ad-light), and digital-first publishing model.
Patch: Patch is a national hyperlocal digital news network with active Minneapolis coverage. It competes directly with Mill City Times for the same audience of riverfront neighborhood readers and small businesses.
Southwest Journal: Southwest Journal is a Minneapolis neighborhood-focused community news publication in print and digital form. It is comparable to Mill City Times in its hyper-local Minneapolis neighborhood focus and community-supported editorial model.
Lookout Santa Cruz: Lookout is a non-profit local digital news outlet covering Santa Cruz, California. It is highly comparable to Mill City Times in non-profit mission, digital-only delivery, and small-team community news model.
Minnesota Reformer: Minnesota Reformer is a non-profit digital news outlet covering state and local policy in Minnesota. It shares Mill City Times' non-profit mission and digital-first delivery, though its focus is more policy-oriented than neighborhood news.

Broad incumbents

Minnesota Public Radio (MPR News): MPR News is a major regional public radio and digital news operation covering the Twin Cities. It competes for the same local news audience and routinely covers Minneapolis riverfront civic and cultural stories.
Pioneer Press: Pioneer Press (Twin Cities Pioneer Press) is a major regional daily newspaper covering the Minneapolis–St. Paul metro, including the riverfront neighborhoods. It is a broader incumbent with overlapping local coverage.
Star Tribune: The Star Tribune is Minnesota's largest daily newspaper and the dominant incumbent in local Minneapolis news. It overlaps with Mill City Times' coverage area but operates at much broader geographic and editorial scale.

Regional players

Minnetonka Public Schools Community News (Hometown Focus / Sun Sailor): Hometown Focus / Sun Sailor publishes community-level news across Minneapolis suburbs. It is comparable in format and audience type as a small, locally focused news outlet, though it operates in different Minneapolis-area geographies.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat2 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

Mill City Times financial estimates

Financial estimate

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Mill City Times leadership team

Management profile

Number of profiles

Profiles4 records

Mill City Times funding detail

Funding detail

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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

Mill City Times M&A and investment

M&A and investment

M&A

Investments

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

Frequently asked questions about Mill City Times

What does Mill City Times do?

Is Mill City Times a public or private company?

Mill City Times is a private company. It is classified as nonprofit foundation owned and is currently operating.

When was Mill City Times founded?

Mill City Times was founded in -1. It employs 1 to 10 people.

Who are Mill City Times's main competitors?

Direct peers on record are Block Club Chicago, MinnPost, Patch, Southwest Journal, Lookout Santa Cruz and Minnesota Reformer. Broad incumbents are Minnesota Public Radio (MPR News), Pioneer Press and Star Tribune. Minnetonka Public Schools Community News (Hometown Focus / Sun Sailor) is listed as a regional player.

Does Mill City Times have an API?

No public API is recorded for Mill City Times.

What industry is Mill City Times in?

Mill City Times's product category is Local News Publishing. Its primary akta.pro industry code is MPAJADAB, Local & Regional Newspapers (Print & Digital). Its NAICS code is 51311 and its SIC code is 2711.