Pioneer Press Removing Newspaper Racks Due To Low Sales

SAINT PAUL, MN — If you live in Saint Paul, you may have noticed something has gone missing from your neighborhood. Those familiar, blue Pioneer Press newspaper racks are an increasingly rare sight here.

Since last summer, approximately 300 coin racks were taken off the streets. Mark Urbaniak, the single copy manager at the Pioneer Press, told Patch they were removed after a survey found that many coin racks were selling little or no newspapers. He estimates there are around another 300 Pioneer Press racks left across the east metro that will stay put for the time being.

Maintaining the coin racks can be expensive, notes Urbaniak. After factoring in the costs to fix them, scrub off any graffiti, carrier fees, and the individual permits charged by the city of Saint Paul, the racks often aren't worth keeping around.

On top of the costs, the company that made their racks is no longer in business, so ordering new parts isn't an option.

"If the sales aren't there, we're spending more money having a rack there and putting papers in it than we would have if we just put the papers in a store."

The company's research found that it's uncommon for someone walking down a street to be carrying enough quarters for a newspaper. As a result, people are more likely to purchase a copy of the Saint Paul newspaper from a nearby convenience store or coffee shop, where they readily accept cash or credit.

The racks are "kind of a dinosaur" in the industry, Urbaniak said.

However, while the number of Pioneer Press coin racks has dwindled, the Star Tribune has maintained a strong presence of machines.

Take a stroll down Grand Avenue in Saint Paul, for example, and it's not hard to spot a green coin rack standing alone, no longer accompanied by its blue counterpart.

Steve Yaeger, the chief marketing officer for the Star Tribune, told Patch in an email that while they can't disclose the number of coin racks because it's proprietary information, "I can tell you we have many, many racks in service and that single-copy newspaper sales, both via racks and at retail locations, remain a large and very important part of our business."