To place an obituary, please include the information from the obituary checklist below in an email to obits@pioneerpress.com. There is no option to place them through our website. Feel free to contact our obituary desk at 651-228-5263 with any questions.
General Information:
Your full name,
Address (City, State, Zip Code),
Phone number,
And an alternate phone number (if any)
Obituary Specification:
Name of Deceased,
Obituary Text,
A photo in a JPEG or PDF file is preferable, TIF and other files are accepted, we will contact you if there are any issues with the photo.
Ad Run dates
There is a discount for running more than one day, but this must be scheduled on the first run date to apply.
If a photo is used, it must be used for both days for the discount to apply, contact us for more information.
Policies:
Verification of Death:
In order to publish obituaries a name and phone number of funeral home/cremation society is required. We must contact the funeral home/cremation society handling the arrangements during their business hours to verify the death. If the body of the deceased has been donated to the University of Minnesota Anatomy Bequest Program, or a similar program, their phone number is required for verification.
Please allow enough time to contact them especially during their limited weekend hours.
A death certificate is also acceptable for this purpose but only one of these two options are necessary.
Guestbook and Outside Websites:
We are not allowed to reference other media sources with a guestbook or an obituary placed elsewhere when placing an obituary in print and online. We may place a website for a funeral home or a family email for contact instead; contact us with any questions regarding this matter.
Obituary Process:
Once your submission is completed, we will fax or email a proof for review prior to publication in the newspaper. This proof includes price and days the notice is scheduled to appear.
Please review the proof carefully. We must be notified of errors or changes before the notice appears in the Pioneer Press based on each day’s deadlines.
After publication, we will not be responsible for errors that may occur after final proofing.
Online:
Changes to an online obituary can be handled through the obituary desk. Call us with further questions.
Payment Procedure:
Pre-payment is required for all obituary notices prior to publication by the deadline specified below in our deadline schedule. Please call 651-228-5263 with your payment information after you have received the proof and approved its contents.
Credit Card: Payment accepted by phone only due to PCI (Payment Card Industry) regulations
EFT: Check by phone. Please provide your routing number and account number.
Cash: Accepted at our FRONT COUNTER Monday – Friday from 8:00AM – 3:30PM
Rates:
The minimum charge is $162 for the first 10 lines.
Every line after the first 10 is $12.20.
If the ad is under 10 lines it will be charged the minimum rate of $162.
On a second run date, the lines are $8.20 per line, starting w/ the first line.
For example: if first run date was 20 lines the cost would be $164.
Each photo published is $125 per day.
For example: 2 photos in the paper on 2 days would be 4 photo charges at $500.
Deadlines:
Please follow deadline times to ensure your obituary is published on the day requested.
Hours
Deadline (no exceptions)
Ad
Photos
MEMORIAM (NON-OBITUARY) REQUEST
Unlike an obituary, Memoriam submissions are remembrances of a loved one who has passed. The rates for a memoriam differ from obituaries.
Please call or email us for more memoriam information
Please call 651-228-5280 for more information.
HOURS: Monday – Friday 8:00AM – 5:00PM (CLOSED WEEKENDS and HOLIDAYS)
Please submit your memoriam ad to memoriams@pioneerpress.com or call 651-228-5280.
It’s a busy weekend of food and music events in the Twin Cities.
Even if you don’t have tickets to the biggest show in town, Farm Aid, there are plenty of things to do, some of which are cheap or free!
Viva La Vida: Taco & Tequila Festival
The former site of the Sears building near the Capitol in St. Paul will be turned into a celebration of all things Latino this Saturday and Sunday (Sept. 20-21).
There will be more than 20 food trucks and restaurants at this festival, including El Burrito Mercado and Los Ocampo. And the music selection is top-notch: Saturday’s highlights include state representative and hip-hop powerhouse Maria Isa and Venezuelan disco savants Los Amigos Invisibles. On Sunday, Salsa de la Soul and the International Raggae Allstars will take the stage.
Tickets are $20 for general admission, but you can pay an extra $30 and get a tequila tasting experience. Taste samples from some of Mexico’s most celebrated tequila producers, including G4, Código, Arette, Tapatio and Mijenta.
There will also be lucha libre wrestling, roving mariachi bands, cultural dancers and a market featuring local artisans, handmade goods and gifts.
The fest runs from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. Saturday and from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Sunday. The address is 425 Rice St., St. Paul, and tickets are available at vivalavidamn.com.
Oktoberfest at Waldmann
My favorite local Oktoberfest has to be the one at Waldmann Brewery.
They put up a big tent and host live music, traditional dancing, stein-holding contests and more.
Best of all, the traditional German sausages, pretzels and Oktoberfest beers are top-tier delicious.
It’s not exactly a secret — Waldmann has expanded the fest to include two, three-day weekends (Friday, Sept. 19 through Sunday, Sept. 21, and Friday, Sept. 26 through Sunday, Sept. 28) to help alleviate crowding, and they reserve the right to limit your time to three hours if they reach capacity. It’s $10 to get in, but I’d also budget for public transportation or a rideshare to get there, because parking is pretty much nonexistent.
The brewery is just outside of downtown St. Paul at 445 Smith Ave., St. Paul. The fest runs from noon to 10 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays, and noon to 7 p.m. Sundays.
For more information, go to waldmannbrewery.com/oktoberfest.
Fulton Oktoberfest
Fulton also hosts a giant German beer tent this Friday and Saturday (Sept. 19-20) and next weekend (Sept. 26-7). Admission is free.
Highlights include live polka, Bavarian dancers, stein-holding competitions and a brat toss.
Food includes brats, pretzels and a meterwurst.
The fest takes place at the brewery (not the taproom), which is at 2540 Second St. N.E., Minneapolis. It runs from 4 to 10 p.m. Fridays and noon to 10 p.m. Saturdays.
For more information, go to fultonbeer.com/oktoberfest.
SurlyFest
If a traditional Oktoberfest doesn’t appeal, perhaps SurlyFest is for you!
On Saturday, Sept. 20, Surly will host a full day of (free!) live music in the brewery’s gigantic beer garden. Musical acts are curated by local hip-hop producer Lazerbeak: Shredders, Bad Bad Hats, White Boy Summer, Christy Costello, Sophie Hiroko and a DJ set from Sick Trim (Lazerbeak and Paper Tiger).
There’s a special menu that includes cabbage rolls, sauerbraten, “impossibly large” pierogies and, of course, SurlyFest beer.
Doors are at 11 a.m.; music begins at 2 p.m.
For more information, go to surlybrewing.com/surlyfest-2025.