Earlier this year, GLBT Minnesotans had 2 choices for their community paper: Lavender Magazine and LivingOut. Now, it seems we’re left with one.

LivingOut has virtually disappeared, with the last issue being dated the beginning of June. Also gone are The Source, a GLBT directory published by the parent company Three Dollar Bill. Websites for LivingOut, the Source, and Three Dollar Bill have been unavailable for weeks.

Last fall in Nashville, many businesses complained that The Source came out 2 months later than the advertising contract agreement, and circulation numbers appeared to be inflated. [Church Street Freedom Press]

Also last year from Out In Nashville:

“Upon a similar situation in Minneapolis, relations became so poisonous between Gimbut and segments of the GLBT community that former employees and others began circulating letters regarding her business practices.”

Apparently, the main concern was that The Source’s circulation was extremely low.

“Though the Nashville office is not closed, it remains unpopulated and the local phone number has been forwarded to Minneapolis offices. It would appear the future for “The Source” locally is a dubious one.

Government records with the state of Tennessee show that no company has registered to do business in Tennessee in either The Source’s name or Three Dollar Bill, Inc., nor has the company filed to pay its share of the state’s sales and use tax, a tax imposed on all corporations doing business in Tennessee based on gross sales. The Davidson County Clerk’s office doesn’t have a record of a business license by Three Dollar Bill, Inc., or a record of any taxes being paid by the company on local sales.”

Circulation problems, alleged tax evasion, and, um, where is the newspaper in Minneapolis? Have advertisers been paid?

A conversation with a former employee of Three Dollar Bill this weekend revealed that the company had been struggling since last fall, and that it is currently out of business. I sent email to several accounts, and each was returned as delivery failed.

So we’re left with one GLBT publication, the same one that cannot be bothered to ask the mayor of Minnesota’s Capitol City where he stands on GLBT issues. Let’s hope Lavender Magazine’s new managing editor, that magazine’s third this year alone, can get the magazine back on track.