After 36 years covering the most notable teams, players, and stories in Minnesota sports, Jim Souhan is retiring. 

The longtime Minneapolis Star Tribune columnist and reporter announced his plans to retire on Saturday in a column titled Reflecting on 36 years of scoops, spats and Minnesota sports history.

“Belatedly reflecting on more than 40 years of sports writing, including 36 at the Star Tribune, I’ve had an epiphany,” Souhan wrote. “Man, I made a lot of people mad.

“I’m leaving the newspaper industry to spend more time with family. Unlike most athletes, I actually mean it. I’ll miss a lot of people who may not miss me.”

Souhan, a member of the Baseball Writers’ Association of America since 1993, started his journalism career writing and editing for the Missourian at the University of Missouri. He started working for the Dallas Morning News and eventually became their Dallas Cowboys beat writer. He left in 1989 to join the Star Tribune as its Minnesota Vikings beat writer, and eventually did the same for the Minnesota Twins. In 2004, he became a full-time columnist, replacing Dan Barreiro.

He also owns TalkNorth.com, a Minnesota sports and business podcast network, and hosts several podcasts there.

As news of Souhan’s impending retirement spread, tributes poured in across social media from those he’d worked with and those he’d covered.

Souhan’s final Star Tribune column will appear in Sunday’s edition.

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