On April 4, 1887, Editor L.P. Hunt published the first issue of the Mankato Daily Free Press and found it wasn't all that easy. In an apology to his readers, Hunt wrote "The labor incident to getting out the initial number of a daily paper is vastly more trying than people not familiar with newspaper work and worry are aware of or can be devised of. The fact, therefore, that today's Daily Free Press is decidedly short on telegraphic, as well as some other matter, is no exception to the perplexities experienced by newspaper men and we feel sure the public will bear with us a day or two until the 'mercheen' is fairly oiled and put in good running order."

Since that time, the 'mercheen' hasn't skipped a beat publishing more than 100 years serving the Mankato region.

The seminal publication actually was the Independent which began in 1857. Six years later, it was bought by Charles Slocum and named the Mankato Union. Then in 1880 the Union and its rival Mankato paper, the Record, merged and became the Mankato Weekly Free Press. It ran as a weekly until that fateful day in 1887 when it became a daily.

In 1970, the newspaper dropped "Mankato" from its name. In 1940, the word "Daily" was eliminated.

The last local owner of the paper was Jared How, who sold The Free Press Co. to Ottaway Newspapers Inc., a wholly-owned subsidiary of Dow Jones & Co. Ottaway acquired 11 percent of the company in 1977 and the remainder in 1979.

In 2002, Ottaway sold The Free Press and other papers to Community Newspaper Holdings Inc.

In 2009, acknowledging its multiple media offerings, the Free Press changed to The Free Press Media. It also publishes the MN Valley Business magazine, Mankato Magazine and The Land, a Midwest agricultural publication. And it serves its readers through www.mankatofreepress.com which started in 1994 and now ranks as the No. 1 news website in the region.

Besides the numerous state awards for excellence, the FPM was named CNHI's Newspaper of the Year for 2010 and CNHI's Best Website for 2013.