After graduating from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, Rusty Cunningham started his career with newspapers in Binghamton, NY and Omaha, NE before joining Lee Enterprises in March 1979 at the Quad-City Times in Davenport, Iowa.
In August 1997, Cunningham became editor of the La Crosse Tribune. He was named publisher of the Capital Newspapers-Portage division in 2002 and returned to La Crosse as publisher of the La Crosse Tribune in 2004. He moved back to the editor’s position in 2015 and remained in the role until his retirement in 2020.
During his tenure, Cunningham’s notable achievements included youth development efforts, regional economic development and charitable contributions.
Under his leadership, The La Crosse Tribune raised hundreds of thousands of dollars for nonprofits through the La Crosse Tribune Jeans Day program. He also collaborated to develop partnerships with the 7 Rivers Alliance regional development group and the Economic Indicators regional educational series.
Other community involvement included chairing the Great Rivers United Way, the Holmen Area Foundation and serving on a variety of boards.
Under Cunningham’s leadership, the La Crosse Tribune earned many WNA Better Newspaper Contest awards, including multiple awards for General Excellence. The River Valley Newspaper Group, which includes the La Crosse Tribune, was awarded the 2011 Enterprise of the Year Award by Lee Enterprises.
Cunningham serves as a member of the Wisconsin Newspaper Association Foundation board of directors and the Wisconsin Freedom of Information Council.
