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Here is this month's edition of the Strib Insider

Hello Minnesota,

It’s been a whirlwind start to 2025 and we’ve been hard at work retooling our report for a new year. We continue to get great feedback and ideas from this newsletter, so please keep the emails coming. I read every single one.

We have an internal motto at the Strib that we use regularly in company conversations: “Swift, Clear & Brave.” It’s a reminder that given the deep challenges in local news today, our transformation to a modern digital media company must be intentional. We’re making decisions that used to take months in a matter of weeks if not days, often trading traditional ways of doing things for new bets on our future. That takes a courageous team and lots of communication, something we consistently work on here at the Strib.

More below. Thanks for reading!

Steve Grove, Publisher & CEO

The Scoop: What drives a Strib subscription?

Every day our team is working hard to dramatically increase subscriptions so that we can fund great journalism far into the future. To win, we have to use data.

What do the numbers tell us about what motivates someone to click “subscribe?”

Big stories, high school sports, food and culture. Often, it’s the topic that motivates a subscription. High school sports are a great example — everyone wants to see their kid’s name in the paper. Last month we converted more than 1,400 people to a prep sports subscription from a single game (Wayzata vs. Hopkins, section final). Highly relevant local stories like the crash in Toronto of a plane that had taken off from MSP also drive attention, as do local stories that explain how national issues impact our state.
Stories that explain stuff. Curious Minnesota is one of our top-converting franchises. It answers the questions our audience surfaces, which creates strong engagement. Any story that helps people understand how to live better lives in Minnesota — like how to dress for Minnesota's frigid winters — helps us convert readers to subscribers.
More than text. Journalism that brings video, audio, photos and data often compels subscriptions. Our elections live results page exemplifies this trend. So did our collage of food options from the State Fair, or our weekly “5 things our food writers ate this week” franchise. Our annual guide to the hottest residential real estate markets is another example.

Crunching the numbers on what compels readers to subscribe is living a key value of ours at the Strib: Audience First. But does data drive every journalism decision? Absolutely not. We have a responsibility to provide a public service through our work. But we also must have impact, and understanding what compels you to subscribe is one important way we judge our success.

I’d love your feedback — why do you subscribe to the Strib?

Who we are: Nicole Norfleet

Job: Night Editor

What Nicole does: I work as a night editor and one of the team leaders of our Today Desk breaking news team, so no one day or night is the same, and I get to work with a variety of people to help direct our content, which makes my job probably the most fun post in the newsroom. When most people are winding down for bed, we are constantly monitoring public safety feeds and weather advisories, checking late at night with watch commanders and city officials, and rushing out to scenes to give our readers the latest information. Besides focusing on my own team’s stories, I’m one of the air traffic controllers whose job it is in the second half of the day to make sure StarTribune.com and our print paper continues to be your source for reliable, reflective and relevant news.

Why Minnesota? In Minnesota, I’ve had many firsts, like my first time snowboarding, portaging, apple picking and that fun time I got to zip-line over the Mississippi River during a snowstorm. Here, I became a homeowner, wife and recently a mother. To me, a New Jersey native, Minnesota is the Land of 10,000 Possibilities, and it’s been delightful to see what new things I can do here that I would have never tried anywhere else, plus get a sense of the range of amazing things people accomplish throughout the state.

You gotta see this: On the Today/Tonight/Tomorrow desk, we need to be able to report on anything, as you can see from the breadth of stories from our night general assignment reporter Elliot Hughes. A few of my recent favorites from him include his story on the impact of refugee resettlement program disruptions and a tale about a professional mixed martial arts fighter turned pie baker.

For your radar

The Minnesota Star Tribune has been named to Fast Company’s prestigious list of the World’s Most Innovative Companies of 2025 in not one, but two separate categories: media and teamwork. We are thrilled to receive this recognition from the world’s leading experts in business innovation!

We have also won two SABEW (Society for Advancing Business Editing and Writing) Best in Business awards with an honorable mention in a third. This is a highly regarded national competition, and the Minnesota Star Tribune was one of only two midsize newsrooms in the country to win multiple categories. Congratulations to Mike Hughlett, who took home both prizes, as well as to the team of Christopher Snowbeck, Jeremy Olson, Victor Stefanescu, Jessie Van Berkel, Paul Walsh, Joe Carlson and David Taintor for the honorable mention.

ICYMI: Aaron Brown joined our Editorial Board and is the first Ed Board member ever based in Greater Minnesota. Check out his intro column!

ICYMI: “Ghost of a Chance“ is one of the top podcasts in the nation! When Strib reporter Eric Roper buys a 113-year-old house in Minneapolis, he wants to find out everything he can about its history, and he quickly becomes obsessed with one couple who owned the house 100 years ago.

Strib Unbound: Celebrate the abundant natural resources and recreation opportunities available in Minnesota with “Strib Unbound: Outdoor Adventure For All”! The Minnesota Star Tribune is pleased to host this free event at the Theodore Wirth Park Trailhead from 9 a.m.to 3 p.m. on Saturday, April 26.

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Worth a look

👁️ Stories about Minnesota or about journalism from around the web.

Ex-NIH director and truck driver explore how to bridge divisions deepened by the pandemic - PBS News
Ten Things I Don't Want to Hate About You - This American Life
Megyn Kelly is Embracing her Bias and Rejecting the ‘Old Rules’ - New York Times
In NW Minnesota, he turns gears, wire and marbles into art that moves - Minnesota Public Radio
Growing up Murdoch – The Atlantic

Got feedback? I want to hear what you think about Strib  Insider. Send feedback, questions, or comments to steveg@startribune.com

Where’s Stribby?

Photo by Hao Taing

After a hard day of reporting the news, even Stribby needs a snack. We recently added seeds, grains, aquatic plants, insects, worms, snails and small fish to our vending machines to accommodate our feathered colleague.