Debut of Twin Cities Reader, January 14, 1977

Just in case you’re under the false impression that City Pages has always been the be-all and end-all of the Twin Cities’ alternative weekly press, you should know that for many years the area’s dominant alt-weekly was actually Twin Cities Reader. Here’s the genealogy:

1976: The Entertainer begins publication

1977: The Entertainer becomes Twin Cities Reader

1979: Sweet Potato begins publication

1981: Sweet Potato becomes City Pages

1997: Stern Publishing acquires City Pages and Twin Cities Reader. Stern immediately shuts down the Reader, ending nearly two decades of spirited alt-weekly competition in Minneapolis and St. Paul