Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...

For many years, newspapers have been trusted sources of information for the general public about things happening in the community.

Aside from news articles themselves, much of this information comes in the form of public notices.

Public notices can be about everything from new laws, ordinances and resolutions, to sample ballots, public land sales, opening of bids for public contracts, and notices of public hearings and public meetings, among others.

Public notices are essential in not only helping residents make informed decisions but also in holding local governments accountable for decisions made.

Up until last week, the local notices were published and available on the Tribune website for a few days after being published in the print edition and then were also posted and archived online through a Minnesota Newspaper Association online public database at mnpublicnotice.com.

The notices will now also be permanently archived and searchable on the Tribune’s website free of charge.

People can view these notices by clicking “Public Notice” on the black toolbar from the Tribune homepage, and the site will take you to a list of notices ordered by date.

We encourage people to follow the public notices in the Tribune either in the print or online format and to show support for this long-standing practice moving into the future.

Though some governments across the state have pushed toward self-publishing these notices on their own websites, it is critical that these continue to be published in a forum independent of the government on a source that is trusted and visited by thousands on a daily basis.