Member News

Photojournalist Justin Runberg has been named editor ofthe Amery Free Press, the newspaper has announced. His first day on the job was Dec. 4. A Balsam Lake native, Runberg attended UW-River Falls and UW-La Crosse, earning a bachlelor's degree in communication studies in 2018. He went on to work as a photojournalist at WKBT News 8 in La Crosse before moving to Colorado in 2021 to photograph wildlife.

Dana Egler also has joined the newspaper as sales coordinator in the advertising department. Egler is the owner of ELEmark, which provides business-to-business appointment setting and database development for insurance companies. She has over 20 years of experience in sales and customer service.

Mitchell Keller, editor of the (Theresa) Dodge County Pionier has resigned his position, effective May 14.

After serving as editor of the Pionier for the last two and a half years, Keller is leaving to accept a deputy editor position with a global construction magazine. He will continue to write a weekly column for the newspaper and produce its annual visitors guide.

April Ziemer, who has served as editor of the Amery Free Press for the last five years, has left the newspaper. Ziemer, whose previous background included photography and customer service, joined the Free Press in July 2018.

In her farewell column, Ziemer said she plans to start her own company. She noted a heavy workload that pulled her away from family and other commitments and increasing vitriolic attacks on social media contributed to the decision.

Caden Perry has joined the La Crosse Tribune newsroom as a general assignment reporter.

Perry is from Portland, Oregon, where he recently completed a photojournalism internship with Oregon Public Broadcasting. He is a graduate of the University of Oregon with a double bachelor’s degree in journalism and public relations with a focus in multimedia. During college, he worked as a freelance videographer and photographer.

Manitowoc native Danny Spatchek has been hired as a reporter for the Antigo Daily Journal.

Spatchek graduated from Lakeland University in Sheboygan with a degree in English in 2012 and has spent the last 10 years teaching high school in South Korea. During college, he served as the editor-in-chief of the student newspaper, The Lakeland Mirror.

Ben Priesgen, a vegetable farmer and local official, has joined the staff of the Dodge County Pionier, the newspaper has announced. In the new role, he will cover local sports, Lomira community stories and Village of Theresa government.

A Lomira native, Priesgen has a degree in management from UW-Oshkosh and is the owner of Country Blossom Organics. He also serves on the Dodge County Board of Supervisors and previously served on the Village of Lomira Board of Trustees.

Sam Bailey, who graduated this year from Emporia State University in Kansas with a degree in communications, has joined the Sheboygan Press as a reporter. She will cover local government and general news.

Bailey served as managing editor for The Bulletin student newspaper at ESU and as editor of The Hutchinson Collegian at Hutchinson Community College. She was named Kansas Collegiate Media Journalist of the Year twice — for four-year schools in 2023 and for two-year schools in 2021. She also recently completed an internship with the Kansas Reflector, an affiliate of States Newsroom.

Eric Wharton, who graduated this year from Denison University in Granville, Ohio, with a degree in journalism, has joined the staff of Adams Publishing of Southern Wisconsin. He will serve as the new arts and culture reporter for several Dane County communities.

A native of Centerburg, Ohio, Wharton is passionate about the arts, particularly music and painting, and enjoys writing nonfiction stories about his travels.

Ethan Ferrell, who graduated this year from UW-Madison with a degree in journalism, has joined the staff of Adams Publishing of Southern Wisconsin. He will report on the villages of DeForest, Windsor, Waunakee, Marshall and McFarland, along with the cities of Monona and Sun Prairie.

A Madison native who grew up in McFarland and graduated from McFarland High School, he is passionate about local government and writing. While in college, Ferrell wrote for The Badger Herald student newspaper and served as an international communications intern with CESI, a technical consulting and engineering company serving the electric power sector based in Milan, Italy. 

Sue Mizell, publisher of The Globe in Ironwood, Mich., has retired after 34 years in the industry and 11 years with the newspaper. In 2012, Mizell was named publisher of The Daily Globe, which transitioned to a weekly in September 2022. Before joining Stevenson Newspapers, she worked for the Sidney (Neb.) Telegraph, Media News Group – owner of the Denver Post, and newspapers in New Mexico, Idaho and Colorado.

Mizell is succeeded by former advertising director Heidi Ofstad, a native of Ironwood Township who graduated from Luther L. Wright High School. Ofstad joined the newspaper 20 years ago, starting in circulation.