Detail here. What stands out is that the paper would be making money without the ludicrous debt-heavy capital structure created by the buyout in 2007:

Like most newspapers, the Star Tribune has experienced a sharp decline in print advertising. Its earnings before interest, taxes and debt payments were about $26 million in 2008, down from about $59 million in 2007 and $115 million in 2004.

And this article on the sale of the paper to the new owners in 2007 is revealing:

The sale, which is expected to close in the first quarter of 2007, will mark the entry of Avista into the newspaper business. The private equity firm, which has holdings in media, health care and energy businesses, was among the firms that had been interested in the Philadelphia Inquirer and the Philadelphia Daily News before McClatchy sold the former Knight Ridder papers to another group earlier this year.

And now it’s their first exit from the newspaper business.