The 93-year-old St. Cloud Times has been slashed down to almost nothing, leaving its central Minnesota community with minimal news coverage.

What's happening: Parent company Gannett has been laying off and buying out journalists across the country for the past four months, and that's hit the St. Cloud Times hard.

• As of yesterday, the Times listed just three journalists — all reporters — on its staff page. As recently as 2014, the newsroom had 36 employees, and just a few months ago it listed nine staff.
• It also cut its Saturday print edition back in April.

Why it matters: The decline of the St. Cloud Times leaves a metro area of 200,000 people without a well-resourced news organization to watch over government and inform the public.

What they're saying: St. Cloud University department of mass communication chair Dale Zacher called the Times a "ghost newspaper, ... a shell of its former self. It is still publishing, but it is not doing anywhere near what it used to."

• St. Cloud does not have any local TV stations. Radio stations WJON and KNSI have newsrooms, and there are a couple of small weekly community papers, Zacher tells Axios. Also, the Star Tribune has a St. Cloud-based reporter who writes a newsletter.

State Rep. Dan Wolgamott (DFL-St. Cloud) tells Axios he worries about the loss of reporters who have covered the community for years.

• He says the drop in resources dedicated to local coverage is "a real blow to civic engagement in our communities."

Zoom out: McLean, Va.-based Gannett owns more than 200 daily papers, including USA Today, but has been losing money in part due to a decrease in advertising spending. Gannett doesn't expect revenue to rebound until 2024, according to Poynter.

Of note: Axios asked Gannett how the barebones St. Cloud staff can keep producing a daily paper.

• "While incredibly difficult, implementing these efficiencies and responding decisively to the ongoing macroeconomic volatility will continue to propel Gannett's future," a company spokesperson wrote in an email.

There's a pretty good chance we'll have a white Christmas this year, judging by the state of our lawns and past snowfall data.

• We've had at least one inch of snow on the ground at Christmas for four of the past six years, according to NOAA data.

What's next: The forecast says more snow could fall today and tomorrow, with a wintery mix in the cards for the weekend.

📚 Osseo Area Schools superintendent Cory McIntyre is the Anoka-Hennepin School Board's pick to lead the state's largest school district, per a release. McIntyre previously served as Anoka-Hennepin's assistant superintendent and executive director of student services. (Background)

🌿 DFL leaders in both legislative chambers said yesterday they think marijuana legalization will pass sometime during the next two-year session. (Fox9's Theo Keith via Twitter)

🏈 Gophers football coach P.J. Fleck signed a 7-year contract that raises his salary from $5 million to $6 million annually. (Pioneer Press)

🍖 Animales Barbeque is teaming up with the owner of Billy Sushi to find a permanent restaurant in Minneapolis for the acclaimed food truck. (Star Tribune)

💦 Minneapolis has lifted the boil water advisory for properties near the water main break on the city's north side. (MPR News)

The Minnesota State Capitol's Rathskeller Café and the cafeteria in the neighboring Transportation Building will reopen at the start of the upcoming legislative session, the Department of Administration has confirmed to Axios.

Why it matters: The next session, which begins Jan. 3, is expected to usher in a return to even more in-person lawmaking and lobbying.

• The lawmakers, staff, lobbyists, advocates and journalists returning to the Capitol complex need somewhere to eat.

State of play: Both cafeterias shut down at the onset of the pandemic and remained closed through the 2021 session. The Rathskeller, located in the Capitol basement, reopened last March for the end of the session.

• The MnDOT cafeteria will open for a "trial period to gauge interest," Department of Administration spokesperson Curtis Yoakum tells Axios.

👋 Torey here. A recent tweet claiming Minnesota leads the nation in adults getting 7 or more hours of shut-eye got me thinking about our collective sleep habits.

Why it matters: Sleep is super important — a lack of ZZZs can have serious long-term health effects beyond zapping your energy and mood — but many Americans aren't getting enough of it, as Axios Finish Line co-author Erica Pandy notes.

State of shut-eye: We can't vouch for the tweet's claims, but we can report that the American Time Use Survey found that Minnesotans age 15 and older slept, on average, about 8.7 hours per day in 2021.

• That puts us below the national average (8.95 hours), trailing 36 states!

Weigh in: Sound off on your sleep habits (and tips!) by taking our brief survey. We'll share some responses in an upcoming newsletter.

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"The Price is Right" stage show is coming to Mystic Lake Casino in March, giving lucky audience members a chance to win appliances, cash, trips and (potentially) a new car.

Reality check: The shows won't be televised and aren't hosted by Drew Carey. The host will be a national personality and will be announced closer to the show date, a spokesperson tells Axios.

• Yes, but: Unlike the 300-person audience on the broadcast show, this venue holds over 2,000 people. Not the greatest odds.

🤑 Tip: Tickets start at $29, but players can show up in-person and register day-of to get in free (if there's room).