After 36 years covering the most notable teams, players, and stories in Minnesota sports, Jim Souhan is retiring.
The longtime Minneapolis Star Tribune columnist and reporter announced his plans to retire on Saturday in a column titled Reflecting on 36 years of scoops, spats and Minnesota sports history.
“Belatedly reflecting on more than 40 years of sports writing, including 36 at the Star Tribune, I’ve had an epiphany,” Souhan wrote. “Man, I made a lot of people mad.
“I’m leaving the newspaper industry to spend more time with family. Unlike most athletes, I actually mean it. I’ll miss a lot of people who may not miss me.”
Souhan, a member of the Baseball Writers’ Association of America since 1993, started his journalism career writing and editing for the Missourian at the University of Missouri. He started working for the Dallas Morning News and eventually became their Dallas Cowboys beat writer. He left in 1989 to join the Star Tribune as its Minnesota Vikings beat writer, and eventually did the same for the Minnesota Twins. In 2004, he became a full-time columnist, replacing Dan Barreiro.
He also owns TalkNorth.com, a Minnesota sports and business podcast network, and hosts several podcasts there.
As news of Souhan’s impending retirement spread, tributes poured in across social media from those he’d worked with and those he’d covered.
A sad day for us. Jim is the best at what he does and one of the best people in the biz. Honored to have sat by him numerous times in the Wolves press room the last 8+ years. https://t.co/iZ85tq5Bhw
— Chris Hine (@ChristopherHine) July 4, 2026
Jim might be known as the columnist who made people mad (as he writes here), but to me he is the person who passed along my name in a 1999 job search, and for that I am eternally grateful. https://t.co/sOu8ZejM3L
— Kevin Seifert (@SeifertESPN) July 4, 2026
Honestly stunned by this one, 36 years and still throwing a wicked fastball.
The whole never meet your hero’s thing couldn’t be further from the truth with Jim, absolute class act, always willing to share a story and always in a good mood.
So glad I got to see him work and… https://t.co/7KEShKHnmZ
— Andrew Dukowitz (@adukeMN) July 4, 2026
Congratulations to my friend Jim, who opposed me on the #Cowboys beat when we first arrived in DFW in 1989. Always a good person and a journalist who did it the right way. https://t.co/iomkyhpqc3
— Ed Werder (@WerderEdNFL) July 4, 2026
Good sportswriters are a precious commodity. I just read the farewell column of one of the very best, @SouhanStrib. As an ardent fan of Minnesota sports teams, and someone who cares about social justice, I am really going to miss reading Jim Souhan.
— Norman Ornstein (@NormOrnstein) July 4, 2026
An incredible career, a journalistic traditionalist AND a trailblazer (geez, pretty rare combo) and also someone I’ve known for something like 300 years. Can play some guitar, too.
Jim’s the best. The absolute best. https://t.co/8nqS6HyFMo
— Tim Kawakami (@timkawakami) July 4, 2026
This comes at the tail end of buyouts and layoffs at @StarTribune, and in this economic climate I doubt @StribSports will replace him. Sorry to see Jim go, but it’s always better to walk away on your own terms. Best of luck to him. https://t.co/5spJvkv9zu
— Pat Borzi (@BorzMN) July 4, 2026
Souhan’s final Star Tribune column will appear in Sunday’s edition.
About Sean Keeley
Along with writing for Awful Announcing and The Comeback, Sean is the Managing Editor for Comeback Media. Previously, he created the Syracuse blog Troy Nunes Is An Absolute Magician and wrote 'How To Grow An Orange: The Right Way to Brainwash Your Child Into Rooting for Syracuse.' He has also written non-Syracuse-related things for SB Nation, Curbed, and other outlets. He currently lives in Seattle where he is complaining about bagels. Send tips/comments/complaints to sean@thecomeback.com.