Tribune’s news team fully staffed, ready to cover La Crosse

It has been a year since I was introduced to the La Crosse community as the new executive editor of the Tribune.

A lot has happened here at the paper and in the community in 12 months.

La Crosse has welcomed my family and me with open arms, and for that I am grateful. This community has so many great things to offer and we’re still exploring and learning every opportunity we get.

The Tribune has a lot to offer the community as well.

For the first time in a long while, I am pleased to announce the Tribune’s news team is fully staffed — no small feat in today’s labor market.

Visual Journalist Saskia Hatvany joined us in July and is hitting her stride. She’s provided some amazing visuals for our news coverage and offered high-flying drone images depicting the region’s natural beauty and resources. Saskia is more than a photographer and videographer. She has written news stories about a group of women hunters and the homecoming of Heileman’s Old Style brewing to La Crosse.

Caden Perry started as a news reporter in November and has covered major news stories from former UW-La Crosse Chancellor Joe Gow’s response to his dismissal by the UW Board of Regents to details about the $300 million River Point District development project downtown.

Our newest reporter Gavin Michaelson joined us earlier this month and already has written about national recognition for Lovechild restaurant downtown and a proposal to double the size of a project that would expand the North Side Boys & Girls Club facility.

We’re in the process of establishing areas of concentration for all of our news teams across the River Valley Media Group newsrooms, which includes our sister publications the Winona Daily News in Winona, Minnesota, and Chippewa Herald in Chippewa Falls.

Once complete, this will help our reporters connect more closely with government agencies, businesses and community members to bring specific expertise to their coverage.

And there are plenty opportunities on the horizon to cover important news in the greater La Crosse region.

We’re just ramping up our election coverage with both local spring elections and national contests coming in the summer and fall.

The state Department of Transportation is working to update its north-south highway traffic corridor plans through the heart of the city of La Crosse.

The La Crosse School District is assessing its facilities and proposing to consolidate buildings in the interest of cost savings.

Mayo Clinic expects to open its new $200 million hospital on the South Side in the fall.

UW-La Crosse is searching for a new chancellor.

The city and county have partnered in an ambitious plan to seek “functional zero” homelessness in the region.

Our sports staff is also busy every day covering area games and offering a closer look at area athletes, coaches and programs.

These are just a few of the ongoing coverage opportunities you can count on our team to follow this year. In addition to these stories, the Tribune and lacrossetribune.com will remain your go-to source for breaking news and in-depth reporting in the Coulee Region.

As our new reporters learn the community, I also would like to extend an opportunity for readers to learn a little bit more about us here at the Tribune.

I will be available to answer questions readers might have about the Tribune, our news staff and coverage plans from 10 to 11 a.m. Thursday, Feb. 29, at The Root Note, 115 S. Fourth St., in downtown La Crosse.