February 24, 2000

UTNE MAGAZINE AND THE GREAT AMERICAN THINK-OFF ANNOUNCE EXCLUSIVE ONLINE SPONSORSHIP

NEW YORK MILLS and MINNEAPOLIS -- America's best known "people's" philosophy competition and the country's preeminent voice of the alternative media have joined as partners in the 2000 Great American Think-Off.

Utne Magazine's online community, Café Utne (http://cafe.utne.com), will now be the official online community sponsor of this year's Think-Off question, "Is Democracy Fair?" Utne Magazine Online will also provide users the ability to submit essays directly to the 2000 Great American Think-Off.

"This partnership is an ideal melding of compatible missions," said Jolie Sasseville, executive director of the New York Mills Regional Cultural Center, which hosts the Think-Off. "Both Utne Magazine and the Great American Think-Off are committed to cultivating individual thought and the exchange of ideas."

As the nation's premier media 'filter' for ideas that are breaking through, Utne Magazine's sponsorship of the Great American Think-Off is a great way to reinforce our commitment to the art of thoughtful discussion," said Christopher Pollard, Manager of Utne Magazine Online. "Utne Magazine's Café Utne web community will allow everyday people from across the globe the opportunity to examine and voice their opinion about this year's question, 'Is Democracy Fair?'"

The Great American Think-Off is in its eighth year of sparking civic debate and philosophical discussion in small towns and urban centers. In the annual essay contest, people of all ages and walks of life are invited to pen a 750-word essay taking a firm position on one side of the question or the other, basing their arguments on personal experience and observation. Typed, double-spaced essays are due by April 3, 2000, and should be mailed to Think-Off 2000, P.O. Box 246, New York Mills MN 56567. (Or e-mail to nymills@uslink.net. No attachments please; include text of essay in the body of the e-mail message.)

Four finalists, two on each side of the argument, will be selected by May 15. They will each win $500 and a trip to New York Mills to compete in the Great American Think-Off debate on June 10, when the essayists will defend their positions before a live audience who will cast their ballots and declare the winner "America's Greatest Thinker."

New York Mills is a town of 972 in west central Minnesota. It is the home of the Lund Boat Company, and is located in one of the state's prime lake recreation areas. Otter Tail County boasts 1,048 of Minnesota's 15,000 lakes. The Think-Off has brought national media attention to the community, which has won designation as one of "The 100 Best Art Towns in America." The Think-Off was the brainchild of John Davis, founder of an innovative arts retreat program and cultural center in New York Mills, which has become a prototype for rural arts centers and economic development through the arts.

Utne Magazine magazine is the nation's leading digest of alternative ideas and culture. Published independently in Minneapolis since 1984, the bimonthly magazine has a paid circulation of 225,000 and has been nominated three times for the National Magazine Award for General Excellence. As a media "filter" Utne Magazine offers a diverse and eclectic menu of reporting on business and economics, the arts, environment, politics, popular culture, world affairs, and personal growth.

Utne Magazine Online (www.utne.com) has been published independently in Minneapolis since 1995, delivering a rich archive of Utne Magazine magazine material, "The Best of the Alternative Media". Content is updated daily, with headlines rotated throughout the site. Utne Magazine Online also includes hundreds of easy-to-browse book, magazine, music, web site and product reviews. In addition, Utne Magazine Online has built one of the nation's oldest and most active online communities with Café Utne.