Countdown to Star Tribune Bankruptcy: 14 days

 So says David Brauer, citing a leak of Union Chair Graydon Royce's meeting this afternoon.

According to a Star Tribune staffer in a Friday newsroom Guild meeting, union co-chair Graydon Royce told members to expect the paper's owners to file for bankruptcy "in about two weeks."

Two weeks exactly would be January 23.

Keep in mind, this doesn't mean the paper will suddenly stop showing up on your doorstep. Other newspaper companies have operated during bankruptcy before, continuing to put out the product--Creative Loafing springs to mind. Most likely, the ownership is looking for a way to renegotiate generous union contracts that were written at a time when revenues were much fatter for dailies (i.e. before the Internet ruined everything).