Display Type, by Crystal Miller

Have you seen it? The staff of Albert Lea magazine, which also happens to be the same staff as the Albert Lea Tribune, had been impatiently waiting for the arrival of Volume 2 No. 2 of Albert Lea magazine. It’s here and it is amazing!

This incredible issue dives into things never done before for Albert Lea magazine. For example, you are going to find out about some great places to hang out with your kids and get some ideas on making your home a kid-friendly zone.

This issue also covers the usual suspects: beauty tips, local finds from staff members, inspiring stories and gardening tips from a local expert. The “Seen” section is where you’ll see most of your friends. We took shots at the Bridal Expo, the Gourmet Food Auction, a varsity boys’ hockey game and the best photos from recent weddings and engagement submissions.

Above all, you will enjoy that Albert Lea magazine is completely about Albert Lea. The model featured on the cover is Emily Troe. You might have seen her in an Albert Lea Community Theatre production. You might have been friends with her in high school. You might know her parents. That’s the cool part. There is a very good chance of knowing many of the people you find in this magazine.

Troe, by the way, was outstanding in her ability to model for the camera. She seemed to have a knack for it.

The vision of Albert Lea magazine is people, not things. We choose to focus on the people of Albert Lea because there is no other magazine you can choose that is about people specific to Albert Lea. You can pick up any old magazine to get recipes, fashion advice, decorating tips, etc. Only in Albert Lea magazine will you be able to see the people who are behind these things. It’s about your friends, your neighbors and the people you meet on the street.

The Albert Lea Tribune staff has been working on perfecting what Albert Leans want in a magazine in general for more than seven years. We’re always evolving, but we are pretty proud of where we are today. It’s far different than where we started in 2006.

Albert Lea magazine started as a magazine named Southern Minnesota. The premiere edition published in the fall of 2006. Southern Minnesota magazine was a joint effort between the Albert Lea Tribune and the Austin Daily Herald. The goal of the magazine was to do something new and exciting. And to do it on a medium all newspaper people dream of — glossy paper! Southern Minnesota magazine covered people, places and things across all of

 

southern Minnesota.

In the spring of 2009, Southern Minnesota created a special issue that focused primarily on women called Southern Minnesota Venus. The Venus edition produced our highest grossing sales with a huge reader reception. We continued publishing the Venus edition each spring through the spring 2012. Starting with the summer issue of 2012, Southern Minnesota magazine started focusing all issues primarily on women, while also adopting the concept of local people and not so many things. The result was more business partners and more reader appreciation.

The last issue of Southern Minnesota magazine was published in the winter of 2012. Starting in the spring of 2013 Albert Lea magazine and Austin Living had separate issues. Having the ability to focus only on the great people of Albert Lea is just what our audience wanted.

Albert Lea magazine is now published every other month. Many community members have a feel of ownership of Albert Lea magazine and we hope you will to. If you don’t find a copy around town, stop down to the Albert Lea Tribune to pick up a free one. It’s worth bearing the cold.

 

Albert Lea Tribune Publisher Crystal Miller’s column appears every other Thursday.