Registration is OPEN NOW for the 159th Annual MNA Convention & Trade Show!
We’ve reduced the 2026 price for MNA members who register early! Register before Dec. 15 to lock in a $99 MNA member rate. From Dec. 16-Jan. 12, prices return to 2025 levels of $135. Late registration (after Jan. 12) is $185. The nonmember rate is $250 per person.
One of the top state news media association conventions in the United States, the 2026 MNA Convention & Trade Show is happening Jan. 28-30, 2026, at the Minneapolis Marriott Northwest, Brooklyn Park. Reserve your hotel room at the $149 MNA rate today. To join our list of sponsors, click here.
2026 MNA Convention Schedules
We’re adding details daily – check back often!
Wednesday, Jan. 28, 2026
Convention registration desk open.
10 a.m.: Minnesota News Media Institute board meeting
11 a.m.: Minnesota Newspaper Association board meeting
Noon: MNA/MNI board lunch
Noon-4 p.m.: Trade Show exhibitor move-in
1:30 p.m.: MNA Advertising/Digital Committee
1:30 p.m.: MNA Journalism Education Committee
2:30 p.m.: MNA Member Services Committee
3 p.m.: MNA Legislative Committee
5 p.m.: MNA Welcome Reception (ticketed), hors d’oeuvres & cash bar, in the Fireside Lobby and Northland Foyer.
Thursday, Jan. 29, 2026
Convention mainline events:
All Day:
MNI Silent Auction bidding to support MNA member training and internships, Northland Foyer.
Trade Show exhibitors, Northland Foyer.
8 a.m.-9:30 a.m.: Trade Show Breakfast, Northland Foyer.
9:30-11:30 a.m. Concurrent sessions so far (times/dates subject to change as the convention lineup is finalized):
- AP Style: Mastering the Guide, with Doug Hanneman, journalism educator and former editor of the Hutchinson Leader.
- Your People Matter: Strategies for Recognition and Team Building, roundtable led by Mankato Free Press Publisher Steve Jameson.
- Positioning Your Paper: Preparing for a Successful Sale, panel discussion moderated by America’s Newspapers President and Press Publications CEO Matt McMillan
- Advertising sales session, TBA.
Noon-1:30 p.m.: Opening luncheon (ticketed), Northland Ballroom. Includes:
- Keynote speaker: Secretary of State Steve Simon on the state of midterm elections.
- Half-Century Club inductions
2-3:30 p.m. Concurrent sessions so far (times/dates subject to change as the convention lineup is finalized)
- Ad Ideas On Tap, idea exchange led by Above the Fold Publishing co-owner Tara Brandl and MNA Advertising Account Manager Tina McMillan
- Investigative Skills for Small Newsrooms, with Star Tribune Investigative Editor Tom Scheck.
- Hot Topics, idea exchange led by Justin Lessman and Crystal Miller.
- Student Session: Steps to Excellence for Campus News, led by Mankato Free Press Editor Robb Murray.
5:30-6:30 p.m.: Better Newspaper Contest & Student VIP reception, Northland Foyer. (cash bar)
7 p.m.: Better Newspaper Contest Awards Banquet & Gala (ticketed), Northland Ballroom.
Until midnight: BNC Afterparty. Celebrate together! (cash bar)
Friday, Jan. 30, 2026
Convention mainline events:
All Day: Trade Show exhibitors
7:30-9 a.m.: Trade Show Breakfast
8-9 a.m.: Trade Talk
7:30-noon: MNI Silent Auction bidding to support MNA training and internships
9:30-11:30 a.m. Concurrent sessions so far (times/dates subject to change as the convention lineup is finalized):
- I Have to Live in This Town, Too: Handling the Hard Topics, discussion
- Get Your Head Around Digital – Or Else, led by Leonard Woolsey, president, Southern Newspapers and America’s Newspapers immediate past president.
- Elections 101: Keep it Local, with journalism educator and former Red Wing Republican Eagle editor Jim Pumarlo
Noon-1:30 p.m: Friday Luncheon (ticketed), Northland Ballroom.
- The Importance of Local News to Your Community, led by Leonard Woolsey, president, Southern Newspapers and America’s Newspapers immediate past president.
- Sports reporting session, TBA
- MNA Legal Update, led by MNA Attorney Mark Anfinson
2-3:30 p.m. Concurrent sessions
3:30 p.m.: MNA Annual Meeting, Hennepin Salon 3.
5:30 p.m.: Past President’s Dinner (ticketed, invitation-only)
Sponsorships and trade show spaces are available NOW.
Click here for details. Contact Devlyn Brooks at devlynbrooks@gmail.com or Lisa Schwarz at lisas@mna.org to join us.