Owatonna People's Press

The Owatonna People's Press is a four-day daily newspaper serving Owatonna, Minnesota and surrounding communities and is considered the paper of record for Steele County. The Owatonna Area Shopper is also published in and around Owatonna.^[2]^[3]

History

The People's Press was founded on September 2, 1874 by Benjamin E. Darby as a weekly four-page paper.^[4]

Darby would serve as newspaper editor for 65 years, from 1874 until 1939.

The first issue of the Press, which predated public lighting in Owatanna, included a lengthy recounting of a county Convention that nominated candidates for various county offices.^[5]

The paper was expanded to ten pages of news and advertising in 1900 when railroad lines began intersecting Owatonna.

Darby added a daily edition in 1916 named the Daily People's Press and discontinued the weekly edition in 1921.

In 1938, Darby bought and consolidated the Steel County pioneer weekly Owatonna Journal-Chronicle to the Press.

In 1969, the name of the paper was officially changed to the Owatonna People's Press.^[6]

Publishers

The Owatonna People's Press is currently published by Adams Publishing Group Inc. based out of Coon Rapids, Minnesota and printed in Princeton, Minnesota.

Once a morning daily, the People's Press reduced its frequency to four days a week as of February 2021, transitioned to an afternoon delivery schedule and regionalized coverage.

References

^ "Minnesota Newspaper Directory 2024" (PDF). Minnesota Newspaper Association. Archived (PDF) from the original on March 15, 2024. Retrieved March 28, 2024.
^ "About Owatonna people's press. [volume] (Owatonna, Minn.) 1969-current". Chronicling America. Library of Congress. Retrieved January 24, 2020.
^ "Owatonna People's Press" (PDF). Minnesota Newspaper Association, Directory. Retrieved January 31, 2020.
^ Curtiss-Wedge, Franklyn (1910). History of Rice and Steele counties, Minnesota. Chicago: H.C. Cooper, Jr.
^ Curtiss-Wedge, Frankly (1910). History of Rice and Steel Counties, Minnesota. Chicago: H.C. Cooper, Jr. p. 778.
^ "Daily People's Press". www.mnhs.org. Retrieved 31 March 2024.