MinnPost’s Form 990 for 2008 is now available on our site.

We got an extension from the IRS for filing the 990 because we were waiting for our first audit. We filed it in November, and have since given copies to anyone who asked for it. You can read it here. [PDF]

The first thing most reporters look for on a 990 is the required disclosure of the compensation paid to the highest-paid employees or contractors, provided they earned more than $100,000 a year. No gossip here: No one at MinnPost earned $100,000 in 2008 (or in 2009, for that matter).

A few other explanatory notes:

MinnPost’s financial report showed a substantial deficit for 2008, after a substantial surplus in 2007. This is because MinnPost launched late in 2007, and in 2008 -- our first full year -- we spent a lot of the startup money raised in 2007.

In 2008 we reported a loss to the IRS on advertising sales. This is because we deducted a portion of the overall costs of publishing from the revenues generated by selling advertising.

Later this month, we will publish a Year End Report to Members for 2009, which will cover a much more current time period. We’re still putting together the numbers, but I think you’ll agree when you see it that we have come a very long way.