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.