Member News

Brian Wilson, news editor for The (Medford) Star News, and Peter Weinschenk, who worked as the editor of The Record-Review before retiring in October, were recognized last month for outstanding editorial writing during the annual conference of the International Society of Weekly Newspaper Editors in Reno, Nevada. They were honored with Golden Dozen Awards — the 12 best editorials as picked by this year's judge, journalist Brian Duggan.

Wilson’s editorial, "Tragedy is a wake-up call," was published in the May 5, 2022, and written in response to the murder of Lilly Peters of Chippewa Falls. Weinschenk's editorial, "We seek justice," was published on Sept. 14, 2022, and was written about inmates in the county jail system who sometimes wait years for a trial.

Andrew Fayler is the new multimedia marketing executive for the advertising and sales team of the Duluth Media Group, which includes the Duluth (Minn.) News Tribune, Superior Telegram and Cloquet (Minn.) Pine Journal. His first day was May 18.

A native of Afton, Minnesota, Fayler attended Stillwater Area High School and earned a marketing degree from the University of Minnesota Duluth. Prior to joining the news group, Fayler worked at Selma's Ice Cream Parlor in Afton, Minn. — the oldest ice cream parlor in the state.

Roger Mathews, who has worked at newspapers in both Wisconsin and Texas, has joined the Ripon Commonwealth Press as a reporter.

Mathews, 69, previously covered Markesan for the Berlin Journal newspaper group. Most recently, he was a reporter at the Kerrville (Texas) Daily Times, a three-times-weekly newspaper about an hour northwest of San Antonio. He now lives in Green Lake and plans to move to Ripon in the coming years.

Matt Anderson, who worked as an editor of Sentinel Publications from 2018 to 2020, is returning to the news group as editor of The (Osceola) Sun and (Scandia, Minn.) Country Messenger, the company has announced.

A native of Rockford, Illinois, Anderson earned a bachelor's degree in English from Carthage College in Kenosha. Since leaving Sentinel Publications in 2020, he has worked as a writer for Birdeye and Osceola-based extraktLAB.

Emily Pyrek, who has worked as a reporter at the La Crosse Tribune for more than seven years, is leaving the newspaper, she announced in a farewell column.

Pyrek, a graduate of UW-La Crosse with a degree in journalism, joined the Tribune in 2015 as a news clerk before moving up to general assignment reporter and later assuming the community health beat. In her new role, she will be working in community health, helping people seeking assistance with housing, health care, employment and other services in the La Crosse region.

Chris Mertes, who has served the Sun Prairie area as a reporter and editor for 33 years, has retired from his position as managing editor of the Sun Prairie Star, he announced in a farewell column. His last day was Thursday, June 8.

After earning his journalism degree in 1987 from UW-Eau Claire and spending a year as a reporter for The Clark County Press in Neilsville, Wisconsin, Mertes began his tenure with the Star on Sept. 5, 1989.

Jonathan Richie, who has worked as a reporter and editor in Wisconsin for the last decade, has joined the Oshkosh Herald staff as a general assignment reporter and assistant editor.

Most recently, Richie served as a reporter and photographer for the Portage Daily Register, where he covered city and county governments, small businesses and courts. Prior to that position, he was editor of the Burnett County Sentinel in Grantsburg. He's also written for Conley Media, Urban Milwaukee and Media Milwaukee, the student newspaper of UW-Milwaukee, where he earned a bachelor's degree in journalism in 2015.

Kaitlyn Doolittle, who graduated in May with a degree in English, film and media studies from Gustavus Adolphus College in St. Peter, Minnesota, has joined the Hudson Star-Observer reporting team, the newspaper has announced.

A native of Plato, Minnesota, Doolittle began her reporting career as an intern for Greenspring Media, where she wrote for Minnesota Monthly and Midwest Home. While in college, she wrote for the student newspaper, as well as the Fine Arts and Marketing and Communications offices, she wrote in an introductory column to readers.

Tom Ackerman, who has spent the last year-and-a-half writing, editing, and taking photos for newspapers in Montana, has been named editor of the Jefferson County Daily Union.

Originally from the Northwest suburbs of Chicago, Ackerman most recently served as editor of the Big Horn County News in Hardin, Montana, which is owned by Adams Publishing Group — the Daily Union's parent company.