Member News

Seasoned adventurer and journalist Eilee Heikenen-Weiss has joined the Sun Prairie Star as a local government reporter, the newspaper has announced.

A Madison native, Heikenen-Weiss returns to Dane County after nearly a decade traveling the globe as an adventure tour guide with the active travel company, Backroads. Prior to that role, she worked for seven years as a producer for WBEZ 91.5 FM (formerly Chicago Public Radio).

Katie Garcia, a Sheboygan native who graduated from Mount Mary University in May with a bachelor's degree in writing for new media, has joined Adams Publishing Group as a reporter, the company has announced.

In her new role, she will serve as the community and police and courts reporter for The (Janesville) Gazette, Milton Courier and the Beloit Daily News. During college, she served as a peer tutor for the English Department and helped create and launch the first edition of Arches, the student paper, as a creative journal.

Ava Buttacavoli, a journalism student who is expected to graduate in December, has joined the reporting staff of Hometown News Group and the Daily Jefferson County Union, the news organizations have announced.

A native of Chicago, Buttacavoli is currently a senior online at the University of Maine, where she is majoring in journalism and English, with a concentration in news writing and a minor in German. She recently relocated to Madison. 

Wisconsin Watch has hired Jack Kelly, who has spent the last two years covering the Capitol for The Cap Times in Madison, as its new statehouse reporter, the nonprofit news organization has announced.

Kelly earned a bachelor's degree from UW-Madison and a master’s degree from Northwestern University’s Medill School of Journalism. Prior to working at the Cap Times, Kelly was a contributing reporter with Wisconsin Watch reporting on judicial and environmental issues. He has also covered Congress, keeping tabs on South Carolina's congressional delegation for McClatchy.

Longtime Wisconsin journalist Matt Johnson has been named editor of the Richland Observer, he announced in a recent column.

A native of Janesville, Johnson attended UW-Whitewater and started his journalism career at the Daily Jefferson County Union in Fort Atkinson. He went on to work for the Vernon County Broadcaster and La Crosee Tribune. Johnson also served as editor of the Fennimore Times for a total of 12 years in two stints. Most recently, he was publisher of The Monroe Times for five years.

Saskia Hatvany, an Oakland, California, native who has worked as a freelance reporter and photographer for several years, has joined the River Valley Media Group as its new full-time visual journalist, the company has announced. Her first day was July 3.

Hatvany earned a double bachelor's in journalism and international relations in 2022 from San Francisco State University. In 2019, she covered the recovery efforts of communities following several wildfires in Northern California for the Sacramento Bee.

Broadcaster and reporter Mike Lucas, who has covered University of Wisconsin sports for more than 50 years, has rejoined The Cap Times as a regular freelancer, the newspaper has announced.

Lucas started his career in the Madison newsroom more than 52 years ago, he wrote in his first column since rejoining the publication. He covered sports at the paper for 39 years before leaving in 2010 to become the senior writer for UWBadgers.com, where his initial responsibility was creating a bulk of the content for Varsity, an online magazine.

Hannah Coyle, who has served as community news editor for the (Hudson) Star-Observer since March, has announced her departure from the newspaper. She has worked for O'Rourke Media Group since June 2021. Her last day was July 20.

A native of Red Wing, Minn., Coyle attended Red Wing Senior High School and DePaul University, from which she earned a journalism degree in 2021. While attending college she interned with O’Rourke Media’s (Red Wing, Minn.) Republican Eagle, where she also freelanced. After graduating, she was charged with re-launching another O’Rourke Media property, the online River Falls Journal.

Kevin Passon, a longtime Wisconsin journalist and Shawano native, has been named editor-in-chief for NEW Media, a newspaper group that includes the Shawano Leader, Oconto County Times Herald and Wittenberg Enterprise and Birnamwood News. Most recently, Passon served as editor of the Antigo Journal, a position he'd held since 2020. 

Passon succeeds interim editor, Warren Bluhm, who has held the position since March 2021. Bluhm will return to his previous duties as news editor, which includes coverage of Oconto County. 

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.