# Local news in Minnesota

Source: https://trynewsusa.com/local-news-minnesota
Published by NewsUSA. Updated 2026-11-14.

> Short answer: In Medill's 2026 data, Minnesota has 220 newspapers, 34 digital-only news sites, 9 public broadcasters and 11 local TV newsrooms. Of its 87 counties, one has no local news source, and 18 have only one source. That is 3.8 newspapers for every 100,000 residents, against 1.6 nationally.

| Measure | Minnesota | United States |
|---|---|---|
| Newspapers | 220 | 5,523 |
| Digital-only news sites | 34 | 1,926 |
| Public broadcasters | 9 | 342 |
| Local TV newsrooms | 11 | 678 |
| Newspapers per 100,000 residents | 3.8 | 1.6 |
| Counties with no local news source | 1 | 238 |
| Counties with only one | 18 | 1,478 |
| Counties | 87 | 3,144 |

Source: Medill Local News Initiative, Northwestern University, 2026 data; population from the US Census Bureau, Vintage 2025. The national county figures come from Medill's county data.

## How Minnesota compares

- Minnesota has 3.8 newspapers for every 100,000 residents, the 9th highest of the 50 states and DC. The national figure is 1.6.
- Of the other states, 34 have more counties with no local news source than Minnesota.
- The county with the most local news sources is Hennepin, with 28.

## Map: local news by county

![Map of Minnesota's 87 counties, shaded by number of local news sources: 1 with none, 18 with one, 59 with two to four and 9 with five or more. Source: Medill Local News Initiative, 2026 data.](https://trynewsusa.com/charts/map-local-news-minnesota.png)

## Counties with no local news source

In Medill's 2026 data, this county has no newspaper, digital news site, public broadcaster or local TV newsroom: Wilkin.

## Every county in Minnesota

| County | Newspapers | Digital sites | Public broadcasters | Local TV | Local news sources | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aitkin | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | Two or more |
| Anoka | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | Two or more |
| Becker | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3 | Two or more |
| Beltrami | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 3 | Two or more |
| Benton | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | Two or more |
| Big Stone | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | Two or more |
| Blue Earth | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 4 | Two or more |
| Brown | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | Two or more |
| Carlton | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | Two or more |
| Carver | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | Two or more |
| Cass | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3 | Two or more |
| Chippewa | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | Two or more |
| Chisago | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | One source |
| Clay | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | Two or more |
| Clearwater | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | One source |
| Cook | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | Two or more |
| Cottonwood | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | Two or more |
| Crow Wing | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | Two or more |
| Dakota | 4 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 7 | Two or more |
| Dodge | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | Two or more |
| Douglas | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | Two or more |
| Faribault | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | Two or more |
| Fillmore | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 | Two or more |
| Freeborn | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | Two or more |
| Goodhue | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | Two or more |
| Grant | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | One source |
| Hennepin | 13 | 11 | 1 | 3 | 28 | Two or more |
| Houston | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | Two or more |
| Hubbard | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | One source |
| Isanti | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | Two or more |
| Itasca | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3 | Two or more |
| Jackson | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | Two or more |
| Kanabec | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | One source |
| Kandiyohi | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | Two or more |
| Kittson | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | Two or more |
| Koochiching | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | One source |
| Lac qui Parle | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | Two or more |
| Lake | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | One source |
| Lake of the Woods | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | One source |
| Le Sueur | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | Two or more |
| Lincoln | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | Two or more |
| Lyon | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | Two or more |
| Mahnomen | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | One source |
| Marshall | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | Two or more |
| Martin | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | Two or more |
| McLeod | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | Two or more |
| Meeker | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | Two or more |
| Mille Lacs | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | Two or more |
| Morrison | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | One source |
| Mower | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | Two or more |
| Murray | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | One source |
| Nicollet | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | Two or more |
| Nobles | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | One source |
| Norman | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | Two or more |
| Olmsted | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 4 | Two or more |
| Otter Tail | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 | Two or more |
| Pennington | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | One source |
| Pine | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | Two or more |
| Pipestone | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | Two or more |
| Polk | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | Two or more |
| Pope | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | One source |
| Ramsey | 2 | 8 | 1 | 1 | 12 | Two or more |
| Red Lake | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | One source |
| Redwood | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | Two or more |
| Renville | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | Two or more |
| Rice | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | Two or more |
| Rock | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | One source |
| Roseau | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | Two or more |
| Scott | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | One source |
| Sherburne | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | Two or more |
| Sibley | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | Two or more |
| St. Louis | 10 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 16 | Two or more |
| Stearns | 8 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 9 | Two or more |
| Steele | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | Two or more |
| Stevens | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | Two or more |
| Swift | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | Two or more |
| Todd | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | Two or more |
| Traverse | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | One source |
| Wabasha | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | Two or more |
| Wadena | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | Two or more |
| Waseca | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | Two or more |
| Washington | 4 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 7 | Two or more |
| Watonwan | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | Two or more |
| Wilkin | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | News desert |
| Winona | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | Two or more |
| Wright | 7 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 9 | Two or more |
| Yellow Medicine | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | Two or more |

Source: Medill Local News Initiative, Northwestern University, county data behind its 2026 map, read November 9, 2026. A county's local news sources are its newspapers, digital sites, public broadcasters and local TV newsrooms.

## Neighboring states

Minnesota borders [Iowa](https://trynewsusa.com/local-news-iowa), [North Dakota](https://trynewsusa.com/local-news-north-dakota), [South Dakota](https://trynewsusa.com/local-news-south-dakota) and [Wisconsin](https://trynewsusa.com/local-news-wisconsin).

Closest to Minnesota (3.8) on newspapers per 100,000 residents: [Oklahoma](https://trynewsusa.com/local-news-oklahoma) (3.6) and [West Virginia](https://trynewsusa.com/local-news-west-virginia) (3.3).

## Use this data

Minnesota alone: [Minnesota by county, 2026 (CSV)](https://trynewsusa.com/local-news-minnesota-2026.csv). Every county in the country is in one file: [news outlets by county, 2026 (CSV)](https://trynewsusa.com/news-outlets-by-county-2026.csv). State totals are in [news outlets by state (CSV)](https://trynewsusa.com/news-outlets-by-state-2026.csv) and [news deserts by state (CSV)](https://trynewsusa.com/news-deserts-by-state-2026.csv). Credit the Medill Local News Initiative for the figures, and link to this page or to [news deserts by state](https://trynewsusa.com/news-deserts-by-state), which has every state side by side and a lookup you can put on your own site.

## Put these figures on your site

You are welcome to embed this card on your own site. It shows Minnesota's figures from Medill's 2026 data and links back to this page. Copy this code. On narrow pages, raise the height to 500.

## Getting a story onto local news sites

A feature story placed through a syndication network can run on local news sites in many states at once. [How to get your brand on local news sites](https://trynewsusa.com/local-news-sites) explains how that works, and [local news statistics](https://trynewsusa.com/local-news-statistics) has the national picture.

## Questions

### How many news deserts are in Minnesota?

Of its 87 counties, one: Wilkin. A news desert is a county with no newspaper, digital news site, public broadcaster or local TV newsroom, in Medill's 2026 data.

### How many newspapers are in Minnesota?

220, in Medill's 2026 data. That is 3.8 for every 100,000 residents, against 1.6 for the whole country.

### Which Minnesota county has the most local news sources?

Hennepin, with 28: 13 newspapers, 11 digital sites, 1 public broadcaster and 3 local TV newsrooms, in Medill's 2026 data.

## How this page was made

Outlet counts and news deserts come from the Medill Local News Initiative's 2026 data: the state figures on its map (read November 8, 2026) and the outlet list and county data behind it (read November 9). NewsUSA counted the outlets by county and checked on every build that the counties add up to Medill's state figures. Population is the US Census Bureau's Vintage 2025 estimate.

- [Medill Local News Initiative: Explore the local news landscape (2026 data; state figures read November 8, outlet list and county figures November 9)](https://localnewsinitiative.northwestern.edu/projects/state-of-local-news/explore/), read November 9, 2026
- [US Census Bureau: state population estimates, Vintage 2025 (July 1, 2025)](https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/popest/datasets/2020-2025/state/totals/NST-EST2025-ALLDATA.csv), read November 9, 2026