page 4 i | sunday, march1, 2015 state edition...
TRANSCRIPT
PATT JOHNSON is the eyes andears for all things retail in themetro. Her New in the Neigh-borhood and Shopping Sceneweekly columns keep tabs onwhat stores, restaurants and
businesses are moving into the city and suburbsand which are closing down. [email protected], 515-284-8367, @newbiz_dmreg
LINH TA covers the Ankeny,Urbandale and Johnston areas forthe Register. She enjoys biking,eating food and loved DesMoines before it got cool. Linhwill be graduating in May from
the University of Northern Iowa with a politicalscience degree. [email protected]; 515-284-8198;@linhmaita
DAN HOLM, sports editor for theAnkeny Register and Press-Citi-zen, has been with the Registersince 1989. He primarily coversAnkeny and Ankeny Centennialsports. Dan is a graduate of
Ankeny High and Iowa State University.dholm@dmreg .com; 515-238-2094; @danmholm
KATHY BOLTENwrites aboutthe safety ofIowans andtrends in lawenforcement,
such as outfitting police withbody cameras. Kathy, an award-winning journalist, is a nativeIowan and avid bicyclist. In1980, she joined the Register,where she has been an editorand education and businessreporter. kbolten@dmreg .com;515-285-8283; @kbolten
Page 4 I | Sunday, March 1, 2015 State Edition | DesMoinesRegister.com | Des Moines Sunday Register
“You win with people.”
If you walk down a hallwayof the Register offices inCapital Square, you’ll seethat painted on a wallabove a bank of screens
that displays achievements byour employees. If you attendone of our staff meetings,you’ll often hear a member ofour leadership team utter thatphrase.
It’s not just a mantra: Weknow our organization is onlyas good as the people workingin it.
In the newsroom, we’reblessed with a strong and tal-ented team that works hardday in and day out to deliverthe news to Iowans. Somemembers of our team are fa-miliar faces — columnists orreporters you’ve been readingfor years. Some are names youprobably wouldn’t recognizebecause they work behind the
scenes — editing stories, post-ing them across platforms andhandling myriad other tasks.And others still are new faceswho have joined the Registerin recent months.
Last fall, we reorganizedour newsroom with the goal offinding efficiencies to spendless time on production work,add more reporting firepowerand better aim our resourcesat attracting new audiences.
We said goodbye to some em-ployees. We welcomed somenew ones.
We’re almost fully staffednow (save for a few positionswe’re still looking to fill), so itseemed like a good time tointroduce our newsroom toyou. It’s a team that includesmany native Iowans and sometransplants who came fromsuch places as Illinois, Texas,Georgia and Kansas to join us.
Our newsroom is organizedaround teams of reportersfocused on government ac-countability, quality-of-lifeissues, communities, sports,entertainment and culture, andvoices. We have coaches whowork with reporters, plannerswho make sure we present thebest content at the best times,and engagement editors wholook for opportunities to con-nect with the community.
Among the changes in therestructured newsroom:
» Expanded politics team:We know how important poli-tics is in Iowa, so we added twonew positions. Jason Noblerecently moved to a new “Real-ity Check” role to fact-checkthe statements of politiciansand public officials. He wasreplaced on the Statehousebeat by Brianne Pfannenstiel,who came to us from the Kan-sas City Business Journal. JoshHafner, formerly our youngprofessionals reporter, is in anew role delving into the is-sues and role of millennials inpicking our next president.
» More columnists: DesMoines native Daniel P. Finneybecame our new metro col-umnist in the fall, writingabout important topics andinteresting aspects of life inthe metro. We added a businesscolumnist and are recruiting tofill that position. And we stillhave your favorite columnists— Rekha Basu in editorial,
Iowa columnist Kyle Munson,political columnist KathieObradovich, and RandyPeterson and Rick Brown insports.
» Community engagement:We’re more heavily focused onconnecting with the communi-ty, in ways big and small. Inrecent weeks, metro govern-ment reporter Timothy Meinchhosted a police chief candidateforum, and Reader’s WatchdogLee Rood held a charitablegiving forum. More are in theworks. We want to reach youwherever you are — in person,across social media andthrough our various products.
And we want you to know usbetter, too. So in addition totoday’s two-page spread show-casing our newsroom, you’llsoon start seeing short profilesof our staffers on Page 2A.
We hope you enjoy meetingour team. As always, thanksfor reading the Register.
A NEW STRUCTURE
TO BETTER SERVE YOUFOCUS OF BEATS WILL ADDRESS ISSUES IMPORTANT TO READERS
MEET THE NEWSROOM
AMALIE NASH is theexecutive editor andvice president fornews and engage-ment at the Register.She moved from
Michigan to Iowa in 2014, leavingbehind her beloved Detroit Tigers(World Series, 2015!). She enjoystraveling, running, biking — withplans to complete most or all ofRAGBRAI this year — and, inexplica-bly, hot yoga. [email protected]; 515-284-8551; @AmalieNash
TIMOTHYMEINCH coverslocal govern-ment andneighborhoodissues in the city
of Des Moines and Polk County.He also contributes outdoorfeature stories. Timothy joinedthe Register in 2011 from themountains of North Carolina.He enjoys travel and roadtripping. [email protected];515-238-9792; @timeinch
JOEL ASCHBRENNER covers realestate, development, downtownand air travel and is the Iowacorrespondent for USA TODAY.He likes maps, skiing, riding bikesand Kansas State football. Wee-
Bey is his favorite character from HBO’s “TheWire.” jaschbrenn@ dmreg.com; 515-284-8260;@joelaschbrenner
DANIEL P.FINNEY, theRegister’s MetroVoice columnist,is a DrakeUniversity
alumnus who grew up in Win-terset and east Des Moines. Hewrote his first story for theRegister in 1993 at age 17. Hehas stacked paragraphs eversince. [email protected];515-284-8144; @newsmanone
MACKENZIEELMER coverscrime, publicsafety and has apassion forinvestigative
news. She speaks fluent Spanishand has worked as a journalistinternationally. [email protected]; 515-284-8088;@mckelmer
CHRISTOPHERPRATT coverssuburbancommunitiesincluding WestDes Moines,
Clive and Waukee. A nativeIowan and lifelong Cubs fan,Christopher joined the Registerin 2012. [email protected]; 515-284-8522;@cpratt2222
METRO/COMMUNITIES
METRO/COMMUNITIES
WILLIAMPETROSKIcovers the IowaLegislature andstate govern-ment agencies.
He is a University of Minnesotajournalism graduate and hasbeen with the Register since1981. He has covered all ofGov. Terry Branstad’s six terms.bpetrosk@ dmreg.com; 515-284-8547 @WilliamPetroski
POLITICS/STATE GOVERNMENT
BRIANNEPFANNENSTIELcovers the Iowastatehouse forThe Des MoinesRegister. She
was born and raised a KansasJayhawk, drinks her coffeeblack and doesn’t trust peoplewho don’t like dogs. [email protected]; 515-803-0348, @brianneDMR
JOSH HAFNERcovers politics,culture andissues related toyoung Iowansfor the Register.
He read Joyce’s “Ulysses” and“Batman: Year One” in hissenior year of college. Thelatter changed his life. [email protected]; 515-284-8412;@joshhafner
JASON NOBLEcovers state andnational politicsand conductsfact-checks andinvestigations
as the Register’s Reality Checkreporter. He’s a Midwesterner, aBob Dylan enthusiast and aRobert Caro evangelist. jno-ble2@ dmreg.com; 515-286-2532; @jasonnobleDMR
JENNIFERJACOBS is theRegister’s chiefpolitics reporter.She has coveredpresidential
candidates across the state. Herbest friends are competitiverunners, bikers and [email protected] and@jenniferjjacobs
KATHIE OBRADOVICHwrites andtweets aboutpresidentialpolitics and
state government. She’s anIowa native and a Cyclone fanwho’s covered the past fiveIowa caucus campaigns. kobra-dov@register media.com;@kobradovich
JAMES KRAMER workswith reportersand editors toensure that Des Moines
Register and Iowa City Press-Citizen content has opti-mal presentation in print andonline and is seen by as manypeople as possible. He’s aDubuque County native and aUniversity of Iowa [email protected]; 515-284-8199; @dodgerkramer
LUCASGRUNDMEIER,in his role as aplanning editor,helps make surecontent is
prepared so that it’s as useful aspossible for readers. He takes alot of questions on our generalphone line … so to save time,here’s a common answer: Hemisses the Big Peach, too, butthe Register is not bringing itback. [email protected];515-284-8142; @lgrundmeier
JEFFREY C.KUMMERworks with thenewsroom todevelop in-vestigative and
watchdog stories that holdIowa’s officials, businesses andother institutions accountable.He’s a Wisconsin native anddie-hard Packer fan, but beganhis journalism career at news-papers in Muscatine and Daven-port. He returned to Iowa in2010. [email protected];515-284-8294; @JeffreyKummer
LYNN HICKS isthe Register'sopinion andengagementeditor. He leadsthe Register’s
editorial board. A native Iowan,he has been with the Registerfor more than 20 [email protected]; 515-284-8290; @LynnHicks
MIKETRAUTMANNoversees beatsthat affectIowans’ qualityof life, including
public safety, business, agricul-ture and K-12 education. He’s aSouth Dakota native who spentthe last 13 years in Kentucky asan editor with the LouisvilleCourier-Journal. He will com-pete in his second BostonMarathon in 2016. [email protected]; 515-284-8546; @trautguy
KELLI BROWNis the contentstrategist fordigital andmultimedia. Shehas been with
the Register since 2005. Kelliworks with the digital news,photo and video and devel-opment [email protected]; 515-284-8123; @KelliKayBrown
CAROLHUNTER helpscoordinatecoverage bymetro, politics,business and
features reporters. She’s a30-plus-year journalism veteranwho has proudly worked inediting roles at the Register formore than a decade, afterholding top editor posts inGreen Bay, Wis., and Bridgewa-ter, N.J. [email protected];515-284-8545; @carolhunter.
LEADERSHIP TEAM
NATHANGROEPPER isthe Register’sConsumerExperienceDirector, which
means he works with every-body. Nathan grew up on afarm in central Iowa and oftengot scolded by his dad forstealing the Big Peach sectionon Sunday mornings. Nathanhas worked as a manager anddesigner for the Register since2000. [email protected];515-284-8438; @ngroepper
CHARLESFLESHER is thecommunitycontent editorfor a team ofreporters cov-
ering Des Moines business anddevelopment, government andcommunity issues. He is a life-long Des Moines resident whograduated from DowlingCatholic High School and enjoysHawkeye football and wres-tling. cflesher@ dmreg.com;515-284-8481; @charlesflesher
ANNAHBACKSTROM isin charge ofpolitics andhigher educa-tion coverage at
the Register. Despite being anoutspoken Michigan State fan,she was hired nearly three yearsago by the Register. And she isalways ready to tell you whythe Great Lakes are better thanthe ocean. [email protected]; 515-284-8243;@AnnahBackstrom
LEADERSHIP TEAM
LEE ROOD hasbeen the Read-er’s Watchdogcolumnist at theRegister formore than
three years. A longtime in-vestigative reporter and editor,Lee’s reports have led tochanges in state and federallaw, criminal investigations andcharges and consumer protec-tion probes and numerousgood deeds for those in [email protected], @leerood
JASON CLAYWORTH isan investigativejournalist whohas worked forthe Register
since 1998. His focus is govern-ment spending and account-ability. Clayworth is an Iowanative and a Drake Universitygraduate. jclayworth@ dmreg-.com; 515-699-7058; @Jason-Clayworth
WATCHDOG REPORTERS
QUALITY OF LIFE REPORTERS
QUALITY OF LIFE REPORTERS
GRANT RODGERScovers Iowa'sstate and feder-al courthouses,as well as
various criminal justice andlegal issues. He graduated fromOttumwa High School andpursued a journalism degree atSimpson College. He enjoysmusic and trout fishing. 515-778-2847, [email protected], @GrantMRodgers
DONNELLEELLER writesabout businessnews, trendsand personal-ities in agricul-
ture, the environment andenergy. Previously, she reportedon Iowa’s economy during oneof the worst recessions in U.S.history. Donnelle is a nativeIowan who has also worked inFlorida and Oklahoma. [email protected]; 515-284-8457;@DonnelleE
MATTHEWPATANE coverstechnology,innovation, theeconomy andgeneral busi-
ness news. Before joining theRegister, he spent about twoand half years covering Missouripolitics. mpatane@ dmreg.com;515-284-8211; @mattpatane
MACKENZIERYAN coversstatewideeducation issuesfor The DesMoines Register.
Mackenzie has worked as areporter in Maryland, Minneso-ta, Oregon and Florida beforerecently moving to Des [email protected];515-284-8543; @macken-zie_ryan
JEFF CHARIS-CARLSONcovers state-wide highereducation issuesfor the Des
Moines Register and the IowaCity Press-Citizen. After spend-ing the years as an opinionpage editor, he’s happy to beback to reporting – rather thancommenting – on the [email protected],319-887-5435, 319-330-3321;@jeffcharis.
KATHERINEKLINGSEIS is abreaking newsand generalassignmentreporter for the
Register. She is an Ames nativeand an Iowa State Universitygraduate. kklingseis@ dmreg-.com; 515-284-8194; @katkling
TONY LEYSwrites abouthealth care,including howit’s providedand who pays
for it. Tony has covered healthcare issues since 2000 and hasworked for the Register since1988. [email protected]; 515-284-8449; @tonyleys