Premier Partners

Author name: Jennifer Spaude

Todd Benz outside the Mankato Free Press building

Todd Benz: Writing the Next Chapter for The Free Press

Jennifer Spaude / July 15, 2026

As the new publisher of The Mankato Free Press, Todd Benz inherits a 144-year legacy at a pivotal moment for local journalism. His challenge isn’t simply preserving a newspaper. It’s reinventing the business while protecting the mission that has served Southern Minnesota for generations.

Profiles

Kato Roofing’s New Frontman

Jennifer Spaude / June 17, 2026

A former rock musician running a nearly 50-year-old roofing company in southern Minnesota, is trying to change how an entire industry thinks about talent, culture, and what it means to show up for your people. Meet Danny Shaw, former keyboardist for “Matter of Chance,” former tech boss, now CEO of Kato Roofing, Inc. (KRI).