The Obits Club of Minnesota is conducting a year-long study of monthly obituary listings to better understand our population’s demographics, shared experiences, and the connections that unite our communities.
Reading obituaries offers a unique window into the lives of individuals, communities, and even ourselves. Each obituary condenses a lifetime into just a few paragraphs, highlighting what individuals valued, how they spent their time, and the ways their loved ones remember them. In essence, obituaries reveal what a life truly looked like in practice.
The Obit Club of Minnesota is now embarking on a comprehensive study of obituary listings published every first Sunday of the month in both the Minnesota Star Tribune and the St. Paul Pioneer Press. We’re doing so to discover more about who we are as a population and how interconnected we truly are with each other.
Our monthly research will systematically collect demographic data from obituaries, including age, gender, and birthplace. Additionally, we will track the frequency of specific “mentions” in obituary listings from both newspapers. These “mentions” will include citations like military service, college attendance, activities like golf, hunting, and lake cabin visits, fraternal associations, pet ownership, religion affinity, volunteer service, sports team allegiances, residences in Arizona or Florida, hospice care, sudden or unexpected death and memorial donation preferences.
At the conclusion of our 12-month study, we will submit our findings to the University of Minnesota’s Minnesota Population Center (MPC), a globally recognized leader in research on populations and demographic change.
Club members enjoy discount pricing plus free shipping on any of our six Minnesota-theme memorial vessels. Honor loved ones in a meaningful way with a touch of Minnesota pride!
Club members will receive each quarter our newsletter filled with relevant articles and useful information.
Club members will receive an e-mail notification whenever a fellow Minnesotan of fame or note passes away. Stay in the loop!
Club members will receive free links to finding someone’s gravesite located in Minnesota or in all other locations in the United States.
Free pouch to be mailed to club members for them to retain their clippings of obituary listings and memorial cards.
Club members only are eligible to participate in our MONTHLY Prediction Challenge program where they can use their skills to predict whether selected “mentions” published in the Minnesota Star Tribune and in the Pioneer Press on the last Sunday of the month will be “more” or “less” than those that were published on the first Sunday of that month. Any club member who correctly predicts all “outcomes” in a particular month will be rewarded with a $5,000 cash achievement award! Complete rules and entry forms will be made available to club members upon enrollment.
Take advantage of everything our Club has to offer with an annual club membership fee of $35. To enroll, please provide the following information: