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Sherburne County awards 2025 official-publication contracts to Elk River Star News and Patriot News
Summary
The board awarded four official-publication line items for 2025 to competing local newspapers after staff reviewed bid rates and circulation coverage.
Sherburne County commissioners approved contract awards for the county’s 2025 official publications, selecting between two bidders based on column-inch pricing and coverage. Staff presented bids received from the Elk River Star News and the Patriot News and recommended awards by line item.
For the delinquent tax list, the board awarded the contract to the Elk River Star News at $3.38 per column inch; commissioners noted the paper is subscription-based but its online display of notices is accessible without charge. For the primary financial statement printing, the Patriot News was awarded the work at $17 per column inch (Elk River had not submitted a competitive bid for that specific line item). The board awarded the summarized/alternate financial-statement publication to the Elk River Star News at $12 per column inch. For county commissioner proceedings (minutes/official proceedings), the Elk River Star News received the award at $3.19 per column inch.
Staff explained that both papers qualify as official newspapers under Minnesota rules and that published notices for the county would be available in the free/accessible portions of the Elk River Star News online platform even where the paper maintains paid subscriptions. Commissioners discussed circulation and geographic coverage — Patriot News covers several zip codes on one side of the county, while the Elk River Star News has a large online following (staff cited roughly 54,914 active users as of November in the packet). The board voted to award each line item as presented.
