Minneapolis and St. Paul are known for their cold weather and their voracious readership. The Twin Cities perennially finish first in nationwide surveys of literacy, making the community perfect for an alternative weekly like City Pages. Founded in August 1979 as Sweet Potato, a monthly newspaper that covered the local music scene, the publication went weekly in December 1981 and took on its new name. Minnesota has produced a wealth of musical acts--from the Replacements to Soul Asylum to Prince--and CP has been there to record every note, often in idiosyncratic ways, such as the paper's "Rock Atlas," which won an AAN Award for Innovation in 2008.

In recent years, a renewed focus has been placed on hard news reporting, and Minnesotans have responded. In the most recent ABC Media Audit, City Pages added 70,000 readers and increased its market share to 27 percent of the 2.85 million people who call the Twin Cities home. Awards judges have noticed as well. The Minnesota Society of Professional Journalists gave CP a record 16 awards in 2008, including first-place statues for sports writing, business features and special section for our annual Best Of issue. City Pages also counts an Academy Award-winning screenwriter among its alumni: Diablo Cody, for Juno.

Whether it's investigative reporting, mouth-watering food coverage or the annual Comix Issue, City Pages proudly serves the most discerning audience in America.