| Type | Daily newspaper |
|---|---|
| Format | Broadsheet |
| Owner(s) | CNHI |
| Publisher | Steve Jameson |
| Editor | Joe Spear |
| Founded | 1887 |
| Political alignment | Independent |
| Language | American English |
| Headquarters | 418 South Second Street Mankato, MN |
| City | Mankato |
| Country | United States |
| Circulation | 12,076(as of 2024) [1] |
| OCLC number | 15579049 |
| Website | www |
The Free Press is an American, English language daily newspaper published in Mankato, Minnesota. [2] [3]
 | This article contains content that is written like an advertisement .(July 2020) |
On April 4, 1887, Editor L.P. Hunt published the first issue of the Mankato Daily Free Press and found it was not easy. In an apology to his readers, Hunt wrote "The labor incident to getting out the initial number of a daily paper is vastly more trying than people not familiar with newspaper work and worry are aware of or can be devised of. The fact, therefore, that today's Daily Free Press is decidedly short on telegraphic, as well as some other matter, is no exception to the perplexities experienced by newspaper men and we feel sure the public will bear with us a day or two until the 'mercheen' is fairly oiled and put in good running order." Since that time, the 'mercheen' hasn't skipped a beat publishing more than 100 years serving the Mankato region. [4]
The seminal publication actually was the Independent which began in 1857. Six years later, it was bought by Charles Slocum and named the Mankato Union. Then in 1880 the Union and its rival Mankato paper, the Record, merged and became the Mankato Weekly Free Press. It ran as a weekly until 1887, when it became a daily. It began as a conservative Republican newspaper remaining that way until modern days. The word "Daily" was dropped from its name in 1940 and 30 years later, "Mankato" was dropped. [2]
The last local owner of the paper was Jared How, who sold The Free Press Co. to Ottaway Newspapers Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Dow Jones & Company. Ottaway acquired 11 percent of the company in 1977 and the remainder in 1979. In 2002, Ottaway sold The Free Press and other papers to Community Newspaper Holdings Inc. (later renamed CNHI). On its 50th anniversary, The Free Press circulation was 12,000. In 2019, the circulation was Sunday: 17762/Monday-Saturday: 14209. It also publishes the Mankato Magazine, "MN Valley Business" magazine and The Land a Minnesota farm and rural life publication. It also serves its readers through www.mankatofreepress.com which started in 1994 and now ranks as the No. 1 news website in the region. It was named the 2010 CNHI Newspaper of the Year.
The Free Press news staff covers six counties – Blue Earth, Nicollet, Le Sueur, Brown, Waseca and Watonwan. The major cities of Mankato, North Mankato, Waseca, St. Peter and Le Sueur are also primary coverage areas. It also has wide coverage of local sports and Minnesota State University in Mankato. It also is the publisher of Mankato Magazine (circulation 10,000), the MN Valley Business magazine and The Land (circulation 35,000).
Waseca County is a county in the U.S. state of Minnesota. As of the 2020 census, the population was 18,968. Its county seat is Waseca.
Blue Earth County is a county in the State of Minnesota. As of the 2020 census, the population was 69,112. Its county seat is Mankato. The county is named for the Blue Earth River and for the deposits of blue-green clay once evident along the banks of the Blue Earth River. Blue Earth County is part of the Mankato-North Mankato metropolitan area.
Waseca is a city in Waseca County, Minnesota, United States. The population was 9,229 at the 2020 census. It is the county seat.
Local Media Group, Inc., formerly Dow Jones Local Media Group and Ottaway Newspapers Inc., owned newspapers, websites and niche publications in California, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New York, Oregon and Pennsylvania. It was headquartered in Campbell Hall, New York, and its flagship was the Times Herald-Record, serving Middletown and other suburbs of New York City.
Area code 507 is a telephone area code in the North American Numbering Plan for the southern fifth of Minnesota, including cities such as Rochester, Mankato, Worthington, Fairmont, Albert Lea, Northfield, and Austin. It was the third area code created for use in the state in 1954, following the original 218 and 612. It was created from the southwestern portion of 218 and the southern portion of 612.
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The Land is a weekly newspaper published in Mankato, Minnesota. It serves farmers, ranchers, rural residents and agribusiness across the entire state of Minnesota. Its two circulation zones, geographically covering approximately the southern one-third and northern two-thirds of the state, alternate weeks. The Land is published by The Free Press in Mankato.
