Minneapolis Star and Tribune Photographs

The Star Tribune is the largest newspaper in Minnesota and is the result of the consolidation of several papers over many years. In 1867, the Minneapolis Tribune was founded by William S. King, William D. Washburn and Dorilus Morrison. In 1905, the Tribune's then-owner, William J. Murphy, purchased the competing Minneapolis Times. In 1920, the Minneapolis Star began publication. The Star was purchased by the Cowles family, publishers of the Des Moines Register, in 1935. In 1939, the Cowles family purchased the Minneapolis Journal, and two years later the Cowles family bought the Minneapolis Tribune. With this purchase, Minneapolis' main daily newspapers were united under what became the Cowles Media Group. The newspapers published under several names between the 1930s and 1980s, typically with at least one evening paper (normally the Star) and one morning paper (normally the Tribune). In 1982, the Minneapolis Star ceased publication and the staffs of the Star and Tribune (the last two Cowles' Minneapolis newspapers) were merged into the new Minneapolis Star and Tribune. In 1987, the paper changed its name to the Star Tribune: Newspaper of the Twin Cities.