Last night I wondered if Minnesota Law & Politics would survive Key Professional Media's sale of SuperLawyers to Thomson Reuters. This morning, publisher Bill White sent me the bad news: they're done.

Couple things before I get to Bill's note:

I wrote for L&P on and off over the years, and while the mag was no threat to win a Pulitzer, it was remarkable for the freedom it gave writers and photographers and for the relentless mirth on its pages. It's doom and gloom everywhere in the traditional media world these days, but Bill, longtime editor Steve Kaplan, executive editor Adam Wahlberg and photographer Larry Marcus are all mensches of the first order, and managed to make folks smile without being nasty about it. Their publication's spirit will be especially missed in the current climate.

Here's Bill:

Twenty years ago this month, Steve Kaplan and I put together the first issue of Minnesota Law & Politics magazine thinking we would be lucky if the magazine lasted three issues. It’s been a fun ride and a labor of love. But now, I’m sad to say, the party is over for Law & Politics. The April/May issue will not be published.

Super Lawyers and Rising Stars, (which were both born on the pages of Law & Politics) will continue to be published here in Minnesota as well as the other 49 states plus DC. As you know by now, Super Lawyers (which includes Rising Stars) was acquired by Thomson Reuters on February 1. We are thrilled with the acquisition. The transaction is the ultimate validation of Super Lawyers as the leading lawyer rating service in the country. Super Lawyers is a perfect fit for Thomson.

Law & Politics was not part of the sale to Thomson and is still owned by Key Professional Media. The decision to discontinue publication was made entirely by the management of Key and not by Thomson.

With photographer Larry Marcus, we’ve created some outrageous and memorable covers: They’ve featured a “Buck'” naked politician, lawyers bungee jumping, Senators taking a wide stance in bathroom stalls, and of course, there have been the parody covers: of Cosmo (“20 Great Summer Looks for the Courtroom”), Calvin Klein ads, the Sports Illustrated swimsuit issue (Our sizzling hot law suit issue), Norman Rockwell and Reno 911.

Every year for two decades, Steve Kaplan has presented you with our annual Turkeys of the Year, celebrating the best of the worst. And in each issue I’ve had the opportunity to share the mundane and quirky occurrences of my life on the back page column, All Seriousness Aside. We’ve always tried to create a magazine that lived up to its slogan,“Only our name is boring.” For us, this job has been more fun than work.

Regarding the three of us: Adam will move over to Thomson Reuters as editor of Super Lawyers; I will serve on an advisory board for Thomson and will be employed by Key to help out during the transition period, as will Steve. In the meantime, we’re talking to people, weighing our options, and dreaming up the next venture.