Franklin sells Moose Lake and other weekly papers

Tim Franklin sold his group of northern Minnesota weekly papers to Northstar Media, Cambridge. Included in the sale were the Moose Lake Star Gazette, the Hinckley News, the Pine County Courier in Sandstone, the Askov American, the Evergreen shopper and the Minnesota Flyer aviation magazine, along with Hinckley Print and a variety of related web and mobile sites, events and niche products.

Franklin said he was thrilled to find another family owner to purchase his publishing business. Northstar is owned by Gene and Carter Johnson. They run a printing facility in Cambridge, and own other weekly papers in central Minnesota, the White Bear Lake area and Wisconsin.

Franklin is a part-owner of the Pine Knot News, but he retained his ownership and hopes to continue and perhaps increase his involvement in the Cloquet-based paper. He is a former editor of the Pine Knot.