Two years ago, Mike Nistler and a friend, Dianne Wimmer, took it upon themselves to create a local high-quality magazine in central Minnesota. The outcome this April was the publication of Minnesota Moments, a glossy 80-page magazine filled with stories of people you might actually know and places that might just be in your neighborhood. “We noticed there were no high-quality magazines in St. Cloud,” said Nistler, a Kimball area native. “Everything was average.” Minnesota Moments publishes once every two months and its current issue for the months of May/June can be found in stores around central Minnesota, including the Tri-County News office in Kimball. Much of the magazine’s focus is centered on home and gardening, though it runs an equal number of stories that basicallycapture moments in Minnesota. Some of the stories in the current issue include the present state of drive-in movie theaters in the area, and a guide for finding the best flea markets and patio furniture. The July/August issue will feature stories on backyard ponds and summer-time yard games. “We wanted a magazine with stories that people enjoy,” Nistler said. “We are open to anything that preferably captures a slice of life.” For Wimmer, the magazine is a dream come true. “It has always been a dream of mine to own a magazine, and the St. Cloud area has the readership to support this magazine,” said Wimmer, who does the magazine’s layout and is the creative force behind some of the story ideas. The focus of the magazine was one of the first things Nistler and co-publisher Wimmer decided on two years ago. The formation of the company redBARN Publishing soon followed. They began looking for potential advertisers and gathered material for the magazine’s editorial content. Because the magazine publishes only six times a year, deadlines for stories are long before the actual publication. Thus, many of the stories are done ahead of time with some written almost a year in advance to meet the deadlines. Nistler’s main responsibility at the magazine is as the editor and primary writer. He has a lot of experience in both. After graduating from Kimball Area High School in 1975, Nistler went on to St. Cloud State University where he pursued a degree in mass communications with a news editorial emphasis. Upon earning his degree, he spent a few years working at weekly newspapers in Minnesota before eventually landing a job at the St. Cloud Times where he spent 17 years as a reporter and editor. During his years in the newspaper industry, he soon discovered that he was more of a writer than a reporter. Even his newspaper writing style was more free-flowing and magazine-like, he said. Positive response Minnesota Moments is based out of St. Cloud and covers a 50-mile radius around it, including neighboring towns like Monticello, Kimball, Little Falls and Sauk Centre. It is only in its second issue, but Nistler and Wimmer are already seeing a positive response. The magazine has more than 1,000 subscribers, and in the first two issues there were more than 30 pages of advertising, which is a good sign, Nistler said. One can subscribe by visiting the Web site, www.minnesotamoments.com. “We have had great comments from readers, and subscription has increased each issue, and we hope it will continue in the same direction,” Wimmer said. One of Nistler’s other responsibilities is selling advertising space and promoting the magazine’s promotion. He also meets with businesses to see if they will sell Minnesota Moments at their location or if they may also be potential advertisers. “I am pretty confident people will buy this magazine. It is only $3.95,” Nistler said. “The nice thing about this (magazine) is that it is all local. You are not getting stories from Minneapolis or Des Moines.” Submissions While Nistler performs a large portion of the writing, the rest of the stories are reader submissions. When the magazine first started out, many of the contributed stories were from his former colleagues in the newspaper industry. Nistler said that he also received a number of stories from friends in the public relations field who don’t often get the chance to write feature stories. “We had to seek out stories at first from writers, but now we are getting them in regularly,” Nistler said. “Our goal is to get a lot of reader submissions – both writing and photos.” Nistler encourages readers to send in their stories, including those who have never written professionally and are nervous about sending in their writing. “People shouldn’t worry about it because we can fix the spelling and the grammar. It is just the stories and perspectives that we want to capture,” Nistler said. “We want to make people feel like they are part of the magazine.” He especially encourages people from smaller towns like Kimball to send in their submissions. “Small towns are rich with stories, and the people are very interesting,” Nistler said. “There are not enough stories from small towns.” One of the criteria for sending in a story is to keep it on the soft side, nothing political or hard-edged. It doesn’t necessarily have to be about home decorating or gardening either. It just has to capture a moment of life. “We are open to anything, preferably something that captures a slice of life. It can be something funny, sad or leading to an event or a memory,” Nistler said. To submit a story to Minnesota Moments, all need to do is send your story either by e-mail to Mike Nistler at mnistler@minnesotamoments.com or by mail to 6534 20th St. N, St. Cloud, MN 56303. You can also visit their Web site at www.minnesotamoments.com to learn more or to suscribe.
