Word is spreading that the American Independent News Network, the parent company of the local news site the Minnesota Independent has been acquired by Media Matters and that many of the sites, including the Independent, will be quickly shuttered.

We’ve confirmed that reporter Jon Collins has been laid off, but we’re waiting to hear back from the AINN for a public statement and confirmation that the site closes on Friday.

The news of the Independent’s closure is really sudden and really too bad. Yeah, the Independent had left-leaning tendencies, but they’ve done a lot of reporting on a variety of important political issues, from bullying in the Anoka-Hennepin school district to lobbyists crafting legislation with elected officials in ALEC. The Independent has also won several awards from the Minnesota Society for Professional Journalists.

We’ll update this post as we get more confirmations.