Melissa Thorud, who joined the (Red Wing, Minn.) Republican Eagle in April 2022, has been named the newspaper's community news editor.

A native of White Bear Lake, Minnesota, she joined O’Rourke Media, owner of the Eagle, after earning a degree in journalism from UW-River Falls. She succeeds managing editor Jim Johnson, who is leaving the newspaper to pursue new opportunities in Maryland.

Peter Fox, former executive director of the Wisconsin Newspaper Association and longtime Wisconsin journalist, was inducted on May 17 into the Wisconsin Dells Education Foundation’s Distinguished Achievement Hall of Fame. The honor was bestowed on Fox for his contributions to the Dells area and school district.

A 1966 graduate of Wisconsin Dells High School, Fox wrote for the Wisconsin Dells Events and Wisconsin State Journal early in his career. His induction into the WDEF Distinguished Achievement Hall of Fame is his second such honor in less than a year. He was inducted into the Wisconsin Newspaper Association Hall of Fame on Nov. 10.

Hunter Turpin, a recent journalism graduate from UW-Milwaukee, has joined the BizTimes in Milwaukee as a reporter. He will cover commercial and residential real estate.

During college, Turping also studied served as news editor for school newspaper, the UWM Post. He has worked as a reporter for The Waukesha Freeman and as an intern for the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.