The Voice continues to outpace area newspapers

The Bonanza Valley Voice newspaper continues to outpace nearby newspapers in central Minnesota on a year-by-year growth basis. The current circulation for The Voice is approximately 1,680. This figure includes newspapers sold on newsstands at RJ's Mini Mart in Brooten, Coop's Corner in Belgrade, the Belgrade Hardware Store and Bayer Gas and Grocery in Elrosa. The mailing circulation has 1,611 mail routes as of Monday, June 21.

Nearby newspapers who have smaller circulation figures as compared to the Bonanza Valley Voice include the Kerkhoven Banner, the Benson Swift County Monitor News, the Belgrade Observer, the Clara City Herald, the Eden Valley-Watkins Voice, the Granite Falls-Clarkfield Advocate Tribune, the Kimball Tri County News and the Renville County Register (which serves the BOLD and Renville County West school districts).

We are about the same size as the Paynesville Press and the Long Prairie Leader in terms of weekly circulation.

Area newspapers who publish once per week who are bigger than the Bonanza Valley Voice include the Sauk Centre Herald, the Pope County Tribune, the Albany-Melrose Star Post, the Grant County Herald in Elbow Lake, the Litchfield Independent, the Montevideo American News and the Morris-Hancock Stevens County Times.

The New London-Spicer Lakes Area Review uses a different business model with a once-weekly publishing but a mass circulation of their newspaper to all Post Office box holders. They receive no revenue from subscribers, but that's made up by utilizing extra advertising to pay for the added mailing and printing costs of sending the newspaper to those who do not seek it out. (My two cents: that's a great newspaper with great reach for the NL-S lakes area in Kandiyohi County.)

By alphabetical order, here are circulations of small and medium-sized rural Minnesota newspapers, with a few larger regional newspaper circulation figures included for better context. Almost all newspapers have audited figures that were verified by a two-person "hand audit" at United States Post Offices. The Benson newspaper, which primarily serves Benson, Degraff, Clontarf, Danvers and Swift Falls, did not submit a 2019 or 2020 audit.

Albany/Melrose Star Post - 2,962

Annandale Advocate - 1,862

Alexandria Echo Press - 5,573

Appleton Press - 1,201

Barnesville Record - 1,418

Arlington Enterprise - 1,069

Battle Lake Review - 1,715

The Belgrade Observer - 746

Benson Swift Co. Monitor News - 1,295 *Not verified by Post Office Audit

Brandon-Evansville Douglas County Record - 1,558 (formal audit completed)

Bonanza Valley Voice - current circulation 1,680 (1,610 verified in October 2020 Post Office Audit)

Canby News - 1,226

Clara City Herald - 1,155

Chokio Review - 594

Clarissa Independent News - 2,210

Clinton-Graceville-Beardsley The Northern Star - 1,576

Dassel-Cokato Enterprise Dispatch - 1,610

Cold Spring Record - 2,904

Crookston Times - 752

Dawson Sentinel - 1,550

Delano Herald Journal - 1,654

Cottonwood Tri-County News - 744

Eden Valley-Watkins Voice - 651

Elbow Lake/Herman/Hoffman Grant County Herald - 2,114

Pope County Tribune Glenwood - 2,488

Frazee-Vergas Forum - 1,328

Glencoe McLeod County Chronicle - 2,588

Hastings Journal - 1,499

Granite Falls/Clarkfield Advocate Tribune - 1,521

Hawley Herald - 1,701

Henning Citizen's Advocate - 871

Bird Island-Hector News Mirror Union - 1,191

Howard Lake Herald Journal - 2,184

Hutchinson Leader - 3,536

Ivanhoe Times - 838

Jackson County Pilot - 1,233

International Falls Journal - 2,162 (This newspaper has folded and closed its doors this month)

Kenyon Leader - 707

Kerkhoven Banner - 990

Kimball Tri-County News - 1,105

Litchfield Independent - 1,989

Long Prairie Leader - 1,660

Lamberton News - 1,483

Luverne Rock County Star Herald - 2,035

Mahnomen Pioneer - 1,371

Madison The Western Guard - 1,542

Maple Lake Messenger - 1,110

Marshall Independent - 3,651

Minneota Mascot - 1,283 *Not verified by USPO audit

Montevideo American News - 1,818

Morris/Hancock Stevens County Times - 1,868

Nevis Northwoods Press - 996

Lakes Area Review NLS - 6,830

Ortonville Independent - 1,500

New York Mills Dispatch - 789

Paynesville Press - 1,677

Perham Focus - 1,361

Pelican Rapids Press - 2,178

Pine City Pioneer - 1,965

Parkers Prairie Independent - 938

Pipestone County Star - 1,849

Redwood Falls Gazette - 1,363

Renville County Register - 1,522 (serving both the BOLD and Renville County West school districts)

Sauk Centre Herald - 2,126

Roseau Times-Region - 2,162

Sebeka Review Messenger - 2,361

Sleepy Eye Herald-Dispatch - 939

Springfield Advance-Press - 1,405

Slayton Murray County News - 790

St. Cloud Times - 9,743

St. Michael/Rockford Crow River News - 1,203

Staples World - 1,105

Stewartville Star - 1,340

Starbuck Times - 775

Stillwater Gazette - 1,297

Tracy Area Headlight Herald - 1,148

Tyler Tribute - 919

Verndale Sun - 800

Wadena Pioneer Journal - 1,515

Wahpeton/Breckenridge Daily News - 1,683

Wheaton Gazette - 1,322

Willmar West Central Tribune - 6,989

Windom Cottonwood County Citizen - 2,260.