Southside Pride

What Southside Pride does

Southside Pride is an independent community newspaper founded in 1990 by Ed Felien, serving the South Minneapolis neighborhoods of Phillips/Powderhorn, Nokomis, and Riverside. The publication operates a free-distribution model, delivering content both in print and through a WordPress-based digital edition, and generates revenue entirely from local advertising. Its editorial positioning is progressive and anti-war, with regular coverage of local news, politics, food, religion, and community events, anchored by recurring columns such as "The Dish." Operationally it runs on a small staff of 1-10 employees using standard off-the-shelf web tooling (WordPress with the Tempera theme) and no proprietary technology platform.

The publication's revenue mechanics are straightforward: free copies are distributed to households and pickup locations in its target neighborhoods, and local advertisers (including regional financial institutions such as Affinity Plus Credit Union, retailers, and public entities such as Minneapolis Public Schools) pay for ad placements in both print and digital editions. There is no reader-pay or subscription revenue line; the entire economic model rests on the depth and stickiness of its local advertiser base and the readership size it can demonstrate to those advertisers.

The publication's long operating history, distinctive local editorial voice, and entrenched physical distribution in a defined neighborhood footprint constitute its primary competitive assets. There is no AI, no proprietary data assets, no funded growth plan, and no disclosed M&A or partnership activity beyond recurring advertiser relationships. The most recent forward signal is the founder's December 2025 farewell column, which raises the question of leadership succession or operational continuity but does not by itself confirm a wind-down.

Name

Southside Pride

Legal name

Southside Pride

Website

https://southsidepride.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1990

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Southside Pride is an independent, free community newspaper founded in 1990 in Minneapolis, serving South Minneapolis neighborhoods with print and digital editions funded entirely by local advertising.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Community Newspaper

NAICS

Newspaper Publishers (513110), Newspaper Publishers (51311)

akta.pro primary industry

Alternative/Independent Newsweeklies & Opinion Press (MPAJADAH)

akta.pro secondary industry

Community, Ethnic & Multilingual News Publishers (MPAJADAG)

Keywords

• Community newspaper publishing
• Hyper-local journalism
• Print and digital media
• Neighborhood news coverage
• Community event calendar

Headquarters

HQ city

Minneapolis

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure, Others

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

Southside Pride publishes a free community newspaper and accompanying website serving South Minneapolis neighborhoods (Phillips/Powderhorn, Nokomis, Riverside). The publication delivers hyper-local news, opinion columns, restaurant reviews, faith/spirituality coverage, community and religion calendars, and neighborhood-specific editions distributed in print and digitally via southsidepride.com and PDF downloads.

Product overview

Southside Pride is a hyper-local community newspaper serving South Minneapolis neighborhoods including Phillips/Powderhorn, Nokomis, and Riverside. The publication operates as a unified print and digital news product, delivering community-focused journalism through its main newspaper product along with specialized content columns such as The Dish (food/restaurant coverage), Spirit and Conscience (faith/spirituality), Cam's Corner (politics), and The Dish. Content is distributed via print editions, PDF digital downloads, and the southsidepride.com website. The company also maintains community calendars for general events and religious community events.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Southside Pride Newspaper Free hyper-local community newspaper covering local news, politics, community events, restaurant reviews, religion, and opinion columns for residents of South Minneapolis. Distributed in print and via the website.
• Community Calendar Online community event calendar listing local events, gatherings, and activities in South Minneapolis neighborhoods.
• Religion Calendar Online calendar for religious community events, announcements, and services in the Southside Minneapolis area.
• PDF Editions
• The Dish
• Spirit and Conscience

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• Affinity Plus Credit UnionminorOthersAffinity Plus Credit Union appears as an advertiser/sponsor on the Southside Pride website, with a banner advertisement linking to affinityplus.org. This is a marketing/advertising relationship rather than a formal partnership.

Recent moves3 records

Expansion highlights1 record

Broad incumbents

• MinnPost: Nonprofit digital news outlet covering Minnesota broadly, including Minneapolis neighborhoods. Competes for the same civic-minded Minneapolis reader, but at a larger portfolio scale and with a non-profit membership model.
• Star Tribune: Major Minneapolis daily newspaper covering the Twin Cities metro. Represents the dominant incumbent that Southside Pride's hyper-local coverage positions against, particularly for local political and community coverage.
• City Pages: Former Twin Cities alt-weekly that was a staple alternative press outlet in Minneapolis. Relevant as a now-defunct peer demonstrating the structural headwinds facing independent newsweeklies in this market.

Direct peers

• Southwest Journal: Minneapolis community newspaper serving the southwest neighborhoods of the city. Operates the same free-distribution, hyper-local editorial model and competes for the same South Minneapolis-adjacent reader and advertiser pool.
• TC Reader: Twin Cities alternative weekly providing local news, arts, and opinion coverage. Operates as a direct alternative/independent newsweekly peer in the same Twin Cities market.
• Longfellow Nokomis Messenger: Minneapolis community newspaper covering the Longfellow and Nokomis neighborhoods, directly overlapping with Southside Pride's coverage area and sharing the same hyper-local, free-distribution model.
• Minnesota Spokesman-Recorder: Long-running African-American community newspaper serving the Twin Cities. Comparable as a mission-driven, community-focused newspaper serving a specific Minneapolis demographic with advertising-supported distribution.
• Sahan Journal: Minneapolis-based nonprofit news outlet covering immigrant and refugee communities in Minnesota. Comparable in geographic focus and community-service mission, though funded via philanthropy rather than print ads.
• Mill City Times: Free Minneapolis-focused community news outlet covering local events, neighborhoods, and city politics. Comparable to Southside Pride in its hyper-local Minneapolis coverage and ad-supported model.

Regional players

• Impacto Latin News: Minnesota-based community newspaper serving Spanish-speaking communities in the Twin Cities. Comparable as a hyper-local community newspaper operating in the same media market with a similar free-distribution model.

Market position

Strengths3 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat2 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights5 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/Southside-Pride-100487510011017
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/southside-pride-inc

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 Southside Pride