Minnesota Women’s Press Awarded a Media Grant

Press Forward Minnesota is a collaborative initiative dedicated to supporting local news and information across the state. The group selected 13 media organizations around the state to be recipients of $40,000 grants, and we are proud to announce that Minnesota Women’s Press is one of those recipients.

The intention of the grant is to offer funding to smaller news organizations who provide “the hyperlocal, original reporting people need to make important decisions, with a focus on meeting the needs of communities of color, linguistically diverse communities, low-wealth rural communities, and others not adequately served, reached or represented.”

Minnesota Women’s Press applied for a grant that will enable us to have the funding — finally! — to expand statewide. Our intention is to hire likely two part-time membership people — one in southern and one in northern Minnesota — to deepen our relationships and conversations outside of the Twin Cities area. As we wrote in the application:

MWP has long championed first-person narratives, using authentic voices to share personal experiences that

not only highlight challenges but also uncover meaningful solutions. This approach is rare in media and

speaks directly to the urgent need to engage an evolving audience in a polarized society. Our stories don’t just

appeal to the mind — they engage the heart, foster connection, and bridge divides by offering insight into the

lives of those who may seem different from a reader’s circle of influence. Our reputation for integrity is

reflected in the trust we’ve earned from a broad network of individuals and organizations across the state.

“It has a unique lens on the news, which I don’t find elsewhere — even at publications I admire such as MinnPost and Sahan Journal.”

— 2024 Reader Survey comment

We have started hosting listening sessions in Greater Minnesota cities to create deeper connections with

story topics, writers, and local solutions. For example, in Brainerd, we met with corrections officers and social

workers at the Crow Wing County jail for a story about the root issues of most incarcerated people —

involving mental health, addiction, and homelessness. In Worthington, we learned about the issues of

marginalized immigrants in education, housing, public safety, and governance.

In 2025, we will return to various cities for a deeper exploration of caregiving and housing needs for our

“Collective Health” online series, as well as a three-part print magazine series that will identify common pain

points (March) and solutions (May) before bringing people from these statewide listening sessions together

in online conversations about next steps (September).

“It’s the only women’s paper in the state. It should go bigger.”

MWP was founded in 1985 to counter mainstream media’s relegation of women to lifestyle coverage. Sadly,

nearly four decades later, our mission remains urgent. From the resistance to seeing women as leaders in the

2024 election, to ongoing gender-based violence and the erosion of reproductive rights, systemic inequities

persist. Marginalized communities continue to face barriers to rights, access, and protections, while women-led

businesses struggle to secure adequate funding — for example, averaging only 2.4% of venture capitalist

funding over the past 30 years (Harvard Kennedy School).

“I lived in SF Bay Area for many years and was so surprised to learn they didn’t have an equivalent. You have reason to be proud.”

As the longest continuously run feminist publication in the U.S., Minnesota Women’s Press amplifies stories by, for, and about Minnesota women. The Changemakers Alliance mission: Connecting engaged feminists who care about solutions and action.

“I imagine further marketing efforts would be helpful as I just came across this publication.”

The full list of Press Forward Minnesota grantees are:

• Access Press, Ltd.: Growing capacity and strategy to expand perspectives and geographic coverage to serve Minnesota’s disability community.

• BLCK Press: Launching digital reporting to amplify and serve the voices of Black Minnesotans.

• Eden Prairie Local News: Expanding coverage of economic developments, business dynamics, and their impact on Eden Prairie’s diverse communities, including Somali and South Asian residents.

• Hmong Broadcasting Company LLC: Expanding Uncover More Good on 3HmongTV, a program fostering awareness, civic engagement, and cultural pride through conversations on critical issues affecting Hmong and Southeast Asian communities.

• Iron Range Today: Laying the groundwork to fill regional news gaps in northern Minnesota  by funding a part-time position, freelance reporters, training, and essential equipment to thrive in the digital news landscape.

• Lakeland News: Strengthening connections across its 7,500-square-mile viewing area and ensuring robust infrastructure to uphold its values of excellence, innovation, integrity, and respect to serve residents of north central Minnesota.

• Minnesota Women’s Press: Expanding Greater Minnesota outreach and accelerating content development with a new membership model and director, while continuing award-winning journalism on gender-based violence, systemic inequities, and solutions-driven storytelling.

• Mshale Communications, Inc.: Amplifying the voices of African immigrant communities in Minnesota through data-driven journalism to highlight the critical issues, trends, and disparities affecting these communities, ensuring that their perspectives are fully represented in local media.

• Pillsbury United Communities (North News): Supporting grassroots community journalism and youth training in North Minneapolis while expanding digital content to make news more accessible on mobile platforms.

• Project Optimist (in partnership with St. Cloud Somali Community Radio): Collaborating with St. Cloud Somali Community Radio to share solutions-focused stories about the Somali community in Central Minnesota.

• Root River Current, Inc.: Strengthening operations, resources, and storytelling capacity to expand coverage, enhance audience engagement, and fulfill its commitment to “Building Community Through Storytelling” in southeast Minnesota.

• Steele County Times: Hiring a full-time reporter to address underserved coverage areas in southern Minnesota and meet growing community demand to ensure fair representation of underrepresented groups.

• ThreeSixty Journalism at the University of St. Thomas: Empowering diverse high school students through training and workshops in journalism and multimedia storytelling.

“We are incredibly excited to support these outstanding organizations that are vital to the health and well-being of their communities,” says May Yang, senior manager of policy and partnerships at the Minnesota Council on Foundations, who serves as the staff lead for Press Forward Minnesota. “These grants will help them expand their reach, innovate their reporting, and better serve their audiences.”

“McKnight is thrilled to see 13 innovative newsrooms from across the state included in the first round of Press Forward Minnesota funding, ” says Tim Murphy, program officer at the McKnight Foundation. “These organizations are providing a vital service, helping to inform and connect diverse communities that have been affected by the local news crisis. At the same time, we know local journalism needs more support from more funders, businesses, and readers alike, to match the scale of the challenge. We look forward to building on this important first step to strengthen a local news ecosystem that serves all Minnesotans”

Press Forward Minnesota extends gratitude to the organizations who have given funding commitments to this collective initiative: the McKnight Foundation, Bush Foundation, the Glen Nelson Center at American Public Media Group, the MacArthur Foundation, and the Taylor Family Farms Foundation.