After a tumultuous period in which the newspaper was sold and resold and filed for bankruptcy protection in 2009, it was purchased by local billionaire and former Minnesota State Senator Glen Taylor in 2014.

[4] The Star Tribune typically contains national, international, and local news, sports, business, and lifestyle stories.

His business and legal background helped him structure the Tribune's debt and modernize its printing equipment.

[6]: 23, 29 The other half of the newspaper's history begins with the Minnesota Daily Star, which was founded on August 19, 1920, by elements of the agrarian Nonpartisan League and backed by Thomas Van Lear and Herbert Gaston.

B. Frizzell and former New York Times executive John Thompson, the newspaper became the politically independent Minneapolis Daily Star.

By August 1960, John Cowles Jr. was vice president and associate editor of the two papers, and it was soon apparent that he disapproved of Steven's hard-nosed approach to journalism.

He had a progressive political viewpoint, publishing editorials supporting the civil rights movement and liberal causes.

His handling of Dwight's termination led to his removal as editor in 1983, although his family retained a controlling financial interest in the newspaper.

[13] In 1983, the Star and Tribune challenged a Minnesota tax on paper and ink before the Supreme Court of the United States.

In Minneapolis Star Tribune Co. v. Commissioner, the court found that the tax (which targeted specific newspapers) violated the First Amendment.

On December 26, 2006, McClatchy sold the paper to private equity firm Avista Capital Partners for $530 million, less than half of what it had paid for Cowles eight years earlier.

[15][16] In March 2007, Par Ridder was appointed Star Tribune publisher after his predecessor, J. Keith Moyer, left the newspaper after the sale.

Ridder's arrival resulted in litigation when it was discovered that he had stolen a hard drive containing information about employees and advertisers, which the Pioneer Press called "trade secrets".

Ridder also took two high-ranking staff members to the Minneapolis paper, which raised eyebrows since such employees usually have non-compete clauses in their contracts.

[27][28] Since the Star Tribune's bankruptcy, its former ownership group, led by New York City–based Avista Capital Partners, has no stake in the company.

Special weekly sections include Taste (restaurants and cooking), travel, Outdoors Weekend, and Science + Health.

[45] Columnists affiliated with the Star Tribune include: In April 2023, Steve Grove became the new publisher after Michael Klingensmith stepped down.

[21] After the Cowles family consolidated the city's newspapers, their offices were gradually moved to the former the Daily Star headquarters in downtown Minneapolis.

[47][48] In 1987, the Star Tribune opened a new, $110 million printing plant, called the Heritage Center, in a historic warehouse district on the northern edge of downtown Minneapolis.

The following year, USA Today contracted with the Star Tribune to print regional copies of its daily edition at the Heritage plant.