Apparently, Chris Harte wasn't wiped out by the Star Tribune's bankruptcy.

The Strib part-owner, chairman and publisher is among several suitors for the Austin American Statesman, the Texas paper reports. Harte, who has a ranch west of Austin, is part of a consortium with former Statesman editor Rich Oppel and the city's former mayor, Roy Butler.

Bankruptcy documents recently revealed Harte owns 4.11 percent of the Strib, a stake all but certain to be wiped out in Chapter 11. Avista Capital Partners, which owns 96 percent of the paper, put $100 million in cash into its 2007 acquisition; if Harte contributed a prorated share, his outlay would have been about $5 million.

Harte is an heir to the Harte-Hanks publishing fortune, and is a company director. He was also a publisher in happier times, running papers in Ohio, Maine and Pennsylvania. I've heard, but never confirmed, that Harte brought Avista into the Strib deal, something his Texas partners may want to consider.

Reporter Dan Zehr paints a picture of the Statesman that could have described the Strib circa 2006: "The Statesman turned what executives called a 'healthy' profit in 2007 and remained profitable throughout 2008. It serves an attractive market in Austin, which has a young and well-educated audience. And the newspaper sits on a location coveted by developers."

I'd tell Austinites to run for their lives, but the Statesman has diligently reported Harte's Minneapolis misstep and notes he is only one of several interested bidders. A sale is expected by the end of March, if the price is right, Zehr notes.