In May 1996, I exited @northerniowa with degree in American Studies, minors in journalism and writing, aiming for a reporter *somewhere* in Iowa. That took me to @carrollspaper for 6 years, then 19 years at @SCJ. A quarter century in the field will end later this week.

2/ For the 6 years at @carrollspaper, I had education and city hall beats, with the chance to learn it all. Enjoyed writing about the people of Carroll County. There were the flying twin sisters of Coon Rapids, a woman who in a crew team finished fourth place in Olympics Trials.

3/ I applied to @SCJ in 2001 for education beat, but after deciding to hire me, a hiring freeze ensued. When that lifted and the politics reporter left, was hired in Sept. 2002, with 9 weeks push to election day. Don't think I looked up or around for 10 weeks, but loved it.

4/ I got to cover 10 election cycles, and at one point had a very active politics blog, but slowly diminished after added county government beat in 2009. After downsizing of @SCJ staff began in 2017, I assumed education beat. That's a lot to juggle and I gave my best every day.

5/ I've loved my career. I never once dreaded the start of a new week, although some days were beyond challenging to pull off. We had a great team of devoted journalists at both newspapers, many of whom became great friends, and I'm smiling as I think of them.

6/ Government, politics were my main focus, and by virtue of the primacy of the Iowa caucuses, got to cover and meet many future presidents. I also had general assignment & breaking news duties, and really loved writing at least one weekly A1 centerpiece, with lots of free rein.

7/ I loved framing issues, which is the hallmark of community journalism. That means explaining what is coming down the pike, how pending legislation will impact people or what a new city or regional project will mean for people, their pocketbooks, the broader community fabric.

8/ I most enjoyed writing trend lifestyle stories, about how we live in Midwest culture, how that changed via technology or shifting demographics, etc. I relished getting area residents to talk about that, essentially person on street, with an academic thrown in for perspective.

9/ I eventually learned a good interview is merely a solid two-way conversation. I aimed to write both features & government meeting stories with some flair, to avoid cliches and to this day still seek to get the right mix of adjectives and active verbs.
(**I still loathe puns.)

10/ I'll much miss the jolt of being (often) first in Siouxland to explain the newest X or Y thing that people want or need to know. In spite of recent staffing cuts, @SCJ continues to be a regional leader for that, delivering the details in meaty chunks again and again.

11/ I'm dismayed that fewer people want to see all that info come to them in a print format (FWIW, I was an @SCJ paperboy from fourth to sixth grade), the steep circulation drop is depressing. Plus people resist paying for online product. Community journalism isn't free.

12/ So, yes, the future of newspapers is far from clear. But again, it has been a labor of love, and I will miss @SCJ greatly. I can drive all over Siouxland & a certain spot will remind me of a fun feature I wrote here, a political rally that was there, or a controversy there.

13/ My @SCJ post is only job my daughters know, with one born right before & after my 2002 start (and periodically I wrote something even they didn’t mind reading). It was “home” in many respects, we're a bit misty at my exit. But a great new challenge at @briar_cliff awaits!

14/ This is just one last one because I'm superstitious and can't end with 13. OK, a line to live by, always take The Beatles over The Stones.