Jeffery L. Hovind was born in Milwaukee on Oct. 22, 1956, to Lyle and Doris Hovind. After graduating from high school in Greenfield, he earned his journalism degree from UW-Eau Claire.
Jeff started his career at the (Beaver Dam) Daily Citizen before going on to serve as publisher of The (Waukesha)Freeman. In 2005, he and his wife, Susan, purchased the Merrill Courier.
They ran the newspaper until 2014, when they sold it to Multi Media Channels before moving to Oregon. He also is a past president of the Wisconsin Freedom of Information Council.
