As a reporter at the Duluth News Tribune, my core job responsibility is daily reporting on stories tied, broadly, to the arts and entertainment landscape in on our ten-county Northland coverage area. That includes weekly roundups of “Best Bets” as well as weekly features, frequent briefs, a weekly column, and other stories. Examples of my reporting work at the News Tribune include:
- From Odessa to Duluth: The journey of Bob Dylan’s grandparents (March 28, 2022). I traced the journey of Zigman and Anna Zimmerman, who fled pogroms in what is today Ukraine. This article won first place in the Minnesota Newspaper Association Better Newspaper Contest, arts and entertainment story, for papers of the News Tribune’s size.
- Thanks to Ken Buehler, the whole world loves Lake Superior Railroad Museum (June 8, 2022). When the Covid-19 pandemic hit, Lake Superior Railroad Museum executive director Ken Buehler pivoted to video and introduced an international audience to the remarkable history stored in Duluth’s Depot.
- Judy Garland museum ends icon’s centennial year with “amazing” land acquisition (Nov. 22, 2022). A follow-up to an earlier article I wrote, which helped connect the Grand Rapids, Minnesota museum with a credit union that donated $45,000 to seal this deal.
- “A punk version of Bentleyville”: Duluth artists create alternative holiday attraction (Dec. 12, 2022). Pleasing sources isn’t a reporter’s job, but I will say I was glad to hear from these artists that I captured the spirit of their unique — and poignant — project.
- “Mr. Ragtime” Max Morath, public TV pioneer, is happily living his coda in Duluth (Dec. 26, 2022). Out of the blue I received an email from a man in Maine whose ragtime revue was presenting a lifetime achievement award to one of the genre’s living legends. The honoree, as it happens, lives just up the hill.
- Abukhodair family brings Palestinian cuisine to Duluth (Jan. 11, 2022). It was hard to convey the sheer magic of the spread (above) that Lyla Abukhodair and her family laid out for my colleagues and me. Response to this article suggests I’m not the only one to have been enchanted.
- Northlandia: Once upon a time, you could ride Aerial Lift Bridge for quarter (Feb. 4, 2023). The News Tribune’s Northlandia series spotlights curiosities in our region.
- At The North 103.3, a year into PBS North ownership, changes cause excitement, concern (Feb. 7, 2023). A complex story of a unique radio station at a time of transition.
- Jazzy, Classy, Queery: Depot show creating space where it’s “safe to be yourself” (Feb. 15, 2023). I appreciate the trust these artists extended in sharing their stories with me.
Prior to my Duluth move, I reported extensively on music for The Current (Minnesota Public Radio). Examples of my reporting for The Current include:
- Infographic: Music rights 101 (May 19, 2014). Explaining the inexplicable.
- Minnesota musicians having “panic and anxiety” over planned Affordable Care Act repeal (Jan. 19, 2017). This article won a Page One award from the Minnesota Pro chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists.
- Music legend Prince dies at age 57 (April 21, 2016). This obituary may be the most widely read piece I’ll ever write.
- Why bassist Liz Draper is a dazzling collaborator — and now, solo artist (Oct. 27, 2021). I appreciated the opportunity to spotlight some of the artists who are crucial, but little-known, members of the music community.
At The Current I also worked for several years on a project called Music News. It took various incarnations, ranging from a web post complementing a host’s on-air break to a daily video post and podcast; in the latter form, I was the feature’s principal writer and co-hosted with my colleague Jade.
I also reported for City Pages; unfortunately, that alt-weekly was pulled off the internet when it ceased publishing in 2020, and its archives are not readily available. From 2007 to 2013, I reported for the Twin Cities Daily Planet, a nonprofit citizen journalism project where I also served as arts editor.
