Why Did Minneapolis Turn Green Sunday Night?

Minneapolis was bathed in green light Sunday night. The I-35 Bridge. Downtown office buildings. Target Field.

Emerald green -- everywhere.

But it's August -- not the middle of March. And we're closer to Labor Day than St. Patrick's Day.

And Wicked isn't playing in Minneapolis.

No, the Twin Cities were celebrating the rebrand of what is now "The Minnesota Star Tribune." And green, of course, is the brand color of the "Strib."

The rebranding changes the name from "Star Tribune" to "The Minnesota Star Tribune" to better reflect the paper's efforts to modernize its look and expand coverage to the entire state.

The paper looks a bit different, too.

"We hope our crisp, modern design elevates our content and makes it easier for you to navigate all that we offer, wherever we offer it," says the outlet's website explaining the changes.

The paper's embracing its place in the Minnesota media landscape with the slogan, "The Heart and Voice of the North."

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The Minnesota Star Tribune has spent a bunch of time and money lately reaching farther out into Minnesota. They've invested in more reporters and deeper coverage statewide. The website offers links to beefed-up local coverage of not only St. Cloud, but Duluth, Rochester, Mankato and Bemidji.

And according to a news release from the newspaper, "In addition to a new name, the brand refresh includes a new nameplate, new logo, new color systems, new sets of typography, a new mascot (Stribby the Gray Duck), and a new brand platform as 'The Heart and Voice of the North.'"

The changes were a focus of a New York Times story on Sunday, the day the rebrand was unveiled in Minnesota.

The Times says in a time of cutting-back and trimming costs in the big city newspapers, the Star Tribune is doing just the opposite.

The Times says billionaire owner Glen Taylor -- who also owns the Minnesota Timberwolves and Minnesota Lynx -- is bankrolling the coverage expansion in hopes of boosting paid digital subscriptions.

The Times reports The Minnesota Star Tribune's newsroom is now organized around five topic areas: news and politics; business; sports; food and culture; and the outdoors.

And about that name, why add "Minnesota" to the paper's name?

Strib CEO and publisher Steve Grove wrote in an opinion piece Sunday, "You told us you want to hear stories not only about what’s happening in your neighborhood but everywhere in Minnesota, and we hope to bring you a report that does just that."

And that ability to grow and expand in this day and age of cutbacks and belt-tightening may make some other media green with envy.