Is the St. Cloud Times part of the USA TODAY network?

Updated

Yes. The St. Cloud Times (sctimes.com) is a local news outlet serving Central Minnesota, and its site carries content and branding from the USA TODAY network — you can see USA TODAY and USA TODAY 10BEST items alongside local St. Cloud reporting. The practical takeaway: when you read sctimes.com, you're getting a mix of locally produced news and syndicated national/lifestyle content, so check the byline or section label if the source matters to you.

What the site actually shows

The homepage mixes several distinct content types in one feed:

  • Local reporting — St. Cloud and Central Minnesota stories, e.g. a new wellness spa opening in St. Cloud, a Stearns County Jail death, city council debate over police license-plate readers, and Paramount Center for the Arts programming.
  • Local sports — St. Cloud State volleyball coverage and a weekly "Athlete of the Week" vote.
  • Opinion and letters — local columnists and reader letters (e.g. a piece on a Minneapolis shooting, a Klobuchar jobs plan column).
  • USA TODAY network content — a "Trending" block with national items (a candy-corn perfume, the fall equinox, Las Vegas promotions), a daily horoscope credited to USA TODAY, and a USA TODAY crossword clue.
  • USA TODAY 10BEST and Shopping — commerce and recommendation content (eyewear retailers, skincare routines, pet products, Skechers shoes).
  • Utility sections — Obituaries, eNewspaper, Crossword, Contests, and a survey/nomination prompt.

That combination is the clearest evidence of the network relationship: national and shopping content is distributed through the same site as the local news.

Why the distinction matters to you

If you want… Look for…
St. Cloud / Central Minnesota news Local datelines, local names, News and Sports sections
National or lifestyle coverage "Trending," USA TODAY, USA TODAY 10BEST, Shopping labels
Obituaries, eNewspaper, puzzles The dedicated Obituaries, eNewspaper, and Crossword entries
To judge a story's origin The byline and section tag before you cite or share it

Reading the site with the right expectations

  • Source attribution isn't uniform. Local stories and syndicated items sit side by side, so a headline alone won't tell you who reported it.
  • Some content is commercial. The Shopping and 10BEST items are recommendation/commerce pieces, not local reporting.
  • Access may be limited. The site shows "subscribe"/"subscription" signals, so some content may sit behind a subscription. The available material doesn't specify which articles are free, so don't assume everything is open.
  • For the exact corporate relationship, the site's own about or masthead page is the authoritative source; the network branding visible on the homepage is strong but indirect evidence.

Bottom line: sctimes.com is a Central Minnesota local news site operating within the USA TODAY network, so expect both local reporting and national/syndicated content in the same place — and check the label when the source matters.