Copyright St. Paul Pioneer Press
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 at this time. 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. Rates: The minimum charge is $162 for the first 12 lines. Every line after the first 12 is $12. If the ad is under 12 lines it will be charged the minimum rate of $162. Obituaries including more than 40 lines will receive a 7.5% discount per line. On a second run date, receive a 20% discount off both the first and second placement. Place three obituaries and the third placement will be free of charge. 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. Surfer-turned-songwriter Jack Johnson and soft rockers Train are the latest two acts added to the summer 2026 lineup at the new Mystic Lake Amphitheater in Shakopee. Tickets for Johnson’s July 12 concert and Train’s Aug. 9 stop both go on sale at 10 a.m. Friday through Ticketmaster. Citi cardholders have a presale for Johnson through the end of the day Tuesday and for Train from 10 a.m. Tuesday through 10 p.m. Thursday. The son of surfer Jeff Johnson, Jack Johnson picked up the sport at the age of five. By 17, he was competing professionally, but a surfing accident led to more than 100 stitches in his forehead and the end of his brief pro career. He went on to study film at the University of California, Santa Barbara, but ended up pursuing a career in music. After spending the mid-’90s playing the college circuit with his band Soil, Johnson’s break came when he wrote and contributed vocals to G. Love’s 1999 song “Rodeo Clowns.” It earned enough attention for Johnson to record his solo debut album, 2001’s “Brushfire Fairytales.” He widened his audience that year as the opening act for Ben Harper. Johnson’s laid-back indie folk style and constant touring earned him a faithful following and also helped pave the way for the likes of Ed Sheeran and Mumford and Sons. His first four albums each went platinum and he’s landed in the Top 10 nearly 20 times on the Billboard adult alternative singles chart. While he played the late Rivers Edge Amphitheatre in Somerset numerous times in the ’00s, Johnson hasn’t performed in the metro since 2013, largely because he prefers to play outdoor venues. Train, meanwhile, is a frequent visitor to the region, with last summer’s spot at the Minnesota Yacht Club Festival following shows at Somerset Amphitheater, Surly Brewing Festival Field, Treasure Island Casino, the Minnesota State Fair Grandstand, Basilica Block Party and the former Xcel Energy Center. Vocalist Pat Monahan formed Train in 1994. After failing to land a record deal, the band self-financed their debut album in 1998 and managed to score a hit with “Meet Virginia.” That single, and national tours opening for Barenaked Ladies, Hootie and the Blowfish and Counting Crows helped convince Columbia to sign the band. (Barenaked Ladies are opening for Train’s 2026 tour alongside Matt Nathanson.) “Drops of Jupiter (Tell Me),” the first single from Train’s sophomore album of the same name, was a massive success here and abroad and continues to be played on local radio stations and in grocery stores to this day. It also paved the way for future hits “Hey, Soul Sister,” “Marry Me,” “Drive By” and “Play That Song.” Monahan remains the sole original member of the band, which recently added Butch Walker to the lineup on lead guitar and backing vocals. Known for his time in Marvelous 3 and his solo work, Walker is also a prolific producer who has worked with a long line of acts including Train, Taylor Swift, Pink, Fall Out Boy, Katy Perry, Green Day and Weezer. Not to be confused with Mystic Lake Casino’s own amphitheater, Mystic Lake Amphitheater is a new outdoor amphitheater with a capacity of 19,000 that’s set to open in the spring. Last month, grown-up boy band 5 Seconds of Summer and metal legends Iron Maiden were the first two shows announced for the venue.
