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.
By JUAN A. LOZANO, Associated Press
HOUSTON (AP) — The president of Texas A&M University, roiled by the posting of a video showing a confrontation between a student and a professor during a course in which gender identity was discussed, on Friday did not offer a specific reason for why he’s stepping down but said in the past few days “it’s become clear that now is that time” to leave.
In a written statement, Mark A. Welsh III did not say if political pressure or criticism that he and school received after the video was posted on social media played a role in his resignation.
“When I was first appointed as President of Texas A&M University, I told then Chancellor John Sharp and our Board of Regents that I would serve as well as I possibly could until it was time for someone else to take over,” Welsh said in a statement issued Friday. “Over the past few days, it’s become clear that now is that time.”
Welsh’s departure was the latest development in controversies roiling colleges, universities and other institutions around the country embroiled in debates over gender identity, sexual preference and diversity, issues derided as part of a “woke” agenda. It emerged after Republican state Rep. Brian Harrison last week posted on the social media site X video of the confrontation between a student and a professor during a children’s literature course. The professor was later fired after Harrison called the professor’s actions “DEI and LGBTQ indoctrination.”
Welsh and A&M had also been criticized by both Gov. Greg Abbott and Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick. Welsh’s resignation, which was announced Thursday by System Chancellor Glenn Hegar and the university system board of regents, was to take effect on Friday, according to the school. Texas A&M University said Friday that Welsh would not be granting any interviews.
“The Board recognizes the university faces challenges that must be addressed. Pres. Welsh’s decision to resign comes at a critical moment, and we agree with him that now is the right time for change in leadership to ensure (Texas A&M University) is well positioned for the future,” Robert Albritton, chair of the board of regents, said in a statement.
Neither Albritton nor Hegar mentioned the controversy involving the teaching about gender identity in the children’s literature class or the video that brought it to the public’s attention in statements about Welsh stepping down. The video was taken by a student who accuses the professor of illegally teaching about “gender ideology.”
The video captures the professor, Melissa McCoul, and the student talking about gender identity and transgenderism, and then the student saying such discussions were illegal because of President Donald Trump’s executive order that recognizes two genders and that the topic was against her religious beliefs.
Welsh became president in December 2023 after serving on an interim basis for several months. Before coming to A&M, Welsh had a long military career with the U.S. Air Force, rising to the rank of general. Before becoming president, Welsh had been dean of the Bush School of Government and Public Service at A&M.
The Texas A&M University System on Friday provided to The Associated Press a copy of Welsh’s three-paragraph resignation letter, which was addressed to Hegar. The letter also did not offer a reason for Welsh’s resignation.
A Texas law took effect on Sept. 1 that forbids Texas K-12 schools from teaching about sexual orientation or gender identity. The law does not apply to universities and other institutions of higher education.
Texas A&M is located in College Station, about 95 miles northwest of Houston. A&M is one of the largest public universities in the country, with more than 70,000 students at its main campus.
Various universities and their presidents around the country, including Harvard, Columbia, and the University of Virginia, have come under increased scrutiny this year from conservative critics and the Trump administration over diversity, equity and inclusion practices and the schools’ responses to campus protests.
Follow Juan A. Lozano: https://x.com/juanlozano70
Originally Published: September 19, 2025 at 1:30 PM CDT