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
CLICK HERE FOR FULL PROGRAM DETAILS
17 training sessions for every platform and publishing discipline, two keynote banquets, two Trade Talk sessions, two networking receptions and ONE HUGE AWARDS BANQUET!
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.