City Pages (Twin Cities) publisher Mark Bartel has departed after twenty-nine years with the Minneapolis-based publication, thirteen of those were as publisher.

Group publisher Kurtis Barton, who will take over as interim publisher until a permanent replacement is named, told the Minneapolis Star Tribune that the decision was “absolutely mutual.”

David Brauer at MinnPost.com speculates that the change, along with the recent departure of longtime Village Voice publisher Michael Cohen, could signal a shift away from print-oriented managers:

Like many formerly print-only companies, VVM and its alt-weekly publishers have been navigating the choppy waters of digital conversion. It’s possible VVM wants someone who is more of a digital native than Bartel.

Mark’s brother Tom Bartel co-launched City Pages as a monthly mag in 1979 under the name Sweet Potato. After converting to a weekly format in 1981, the paper was renamed City Pages. Tom sold the paper in 1997, after which his brother Mark became publisher, remaining in that position until yesterday.