A group of former reporters for The Star Tribune and Minnesota Public Radio (MPR) are in the process of launching a “soon-to-be-announced progressive news site” based in Minnesota.
It’s still unclear when the new publication will go live and what it will be called, but a handful of Star Tribune and MPR alumni have announced on Twitter in recent weeks that they are joining the team.
J. Patrick Coolican, who left The Star Tribune in November, will serve as the editor of the new progressive outlet, according to his Twitter bio.
The new outlet is part of the States Newsroom group, which owns nine affiliate publications across the country and supports three partner publications with grants. Chris Fitzsimon, the director and publisher of States Newsroom, previously worked as the director of Common Sense Foundation, a progressive think tank based out of Raleigh, North Carolina. He was also a spokesperson, speech writer, and policy adviser for Democratic North Carolina State Sen. Dan Blue, who was the speaker of the North Carolina House from 1991 to 1994.
The organization’s ethics policy describes the company as a “network of nonprofit, nonpartisan news outlets focused on coverage of state government and public policy.”
States Newsroom has already launched outlets in other key Midwest states such as Michigan Advance, Ohio Capital Journal, and Wisconsin Examiner.
So far, a team of three reporters have announced that they will join Coolican on the new Minnesota venture.
“I’m excited to share that I’m returning to my beloved Minnesota tundra as senior political reporter with a soon-to-be-launched States Newsroom outlet dedicated to relentless Capitol coverage and enterprise work,” said Ricardo Lopez, a former reporter for The Star Tribune.
SOME PERSONAL NEWS: I’m excited to share that I’m returning to my beloved Minnesota tundra as senior political reporter with a soon-to-be-launched @statesnewsroom outlet dedicated to relentless Capitol coverage and enterprise work. 1/
— Ricardo Lopez (@rljourno) December 10, 2019
Max Nesterak, currently a reporter for MPR, also plans to join the team, he said on Twitter.
SOME PERSONAL NEWS! I’m excited to be joining a soon-to-be-launched MN outlet dedicated to Capitol coverage (part of the @statesnewsroom group). Please send me tips and dog pics!
— Max Nesterak (@maxnesterak) December 10, 2019
“Some news: I’m super jazzed to share that I’ll be joining a soon-to-be-launched States Newsroom outlet dedicated to Capitol coverage in Minnesota,” added Rilyn Eischens, a former reporter with The Star Tribune.
Some news: I’m super jazzed to share that I’ll be joining a soon-to-be-launched @statesnewsroom outlet dedicated to Capitol coverage in Minnesota. If you’ve got a story to tell or some data to dissect, let’s chat!
— Rilyn Eischens (@rilyneischens) December 12, 2019
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Anthony Gockowski is managing editor of Battleground State News, The Ohio Star, and The Minnesota Sun. Follow Anthony on Twitter. Email tips to nagubal.tbpxbjfxv@tznvy.pbz.
Photo “J. Patrick Coolican” by The Star Tribune. Background Photo “Newsroom” by anthony_mayfield. CC BY 2.0.
Anthony Gockowski
Anthony Gockowski is Editor-in-Chief of Alpha News. He previously worked as an editor for The Minnesota Sun and Campus Reform, and wrote for the Daily Caller.
