Trails Media Buys Prairie Oak Press

Wisconsin's Trails Media Group Inc. has purchased Madison-based Prairie Oak Press. Trails Media Group publishes a variety of Wisconsin and Midwest guidebooks, as well as the magazines Wisconsin Trails and Corporate Report Wisconsin. TMG plans to consolidate operations out of its Black Earth, Wis., headquarters and will retain the Prairie Oak name and logo as an imprint. In announcing the acquisition, TMG CEO Scott Klug said that the company also plans to retain the services of Prairie Oak founder Jerry Minnich as an editorial adviser. "We look forward to having Jerry join the Trails Books team," Klug said.

Klug, a former U.S. representative from Wisconsin's second district, purchased TMG in 1998, and last year moved the company from Madison to Black Earth. The company has been in business for over 30 years. "Our focus has been mostly geared toward traveling in the region—hiking, biking and canoeing," said Anne McKenna, director of TMG's book division. "Prairie Oak has always done a great job with Midwest cooking, gardening and history titles, and we feel that the addition of their backlist is a nice complement to the Trails Books catalogue. The acquisition effectively doubles the size of our offerings, and gives us a really strong line of regional books." At the time of the deal, Prairie Oaks had more than 50 titles in print, including its Acorn series of travel guides to the Midwest and Prairie Classics, reprints of enduring works of regional literature.