Writing & Editing

General News & Features

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Fire and Ice: Remembering the Night the Emlenton Mill Burned

This story marked the 10-year anniversary of when a local landmark building burned down. Not only did much of the community have longstanding memories of the Emlenton Mill, but the fire itself was a major ordeal for such a small town--fire companies from five counties were called in to battle the blaze. It was an honor to be able to pay homage to the local firefighters as well as this historic building.

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The Comfort of a Sandwich: Clarion Woman Donates 200 Homemade Sandwiches to Wildfire Victims

I love writing stories about everyday people doing good things, and this story exemplifies that. I especially enjoyed writing this story, because it shows that helping others doesn't need to be complicated or difficult.

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Stop, Shop, Relax: Historic Knox Antique Shop Is All About the Experience

When you work in a rural community, you meet a lot of small business owners. This business profile was fun to write, not only because of how passionate the owner is about business, but because it gave the shop some much-needed exposure.

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Keystone Elementary School Announces New Playground Named in Honor of Spc. Ross McGinnis

The kids at Keystone Elementary School were incredibly excited about the announcement of a new school playground. This story was a full multimedia news piece, as I took the video and photos for it as well.

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Back in Action: Landmark Emlenton Tavern Re-Opens for Business

When this popular tavern changed ownership at the end of last year, a lot of local customers were concerned: How much would the business change? This story attempted to answer those questions, as well as let everyone know they were open for business again.

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Help from the Heart: New Bethlehem Church Group on Mission to House Hurricane Victims

This story put a spotlight on a local group that is helping Appalachian hurricane victims in a big way by building them temporary shelters.

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Who’s a Good Boy? Badger, Tri-County Animal Shelter’s Oldest and Longest Resident, Finally Finds a Home

Who doesn't love a story with a happy ending?

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Local 10-Year-Old Brings Home Champion Honors at 4-H State Horse Show

As a former Venango County 4-H horse club member myself, I was more than happy to shine a spotlight on the program and the kids who worked so hard to get to the state show.

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Blue-Ribbon Baker: Knox Woman Awarded 21 First-Place Ribbons at Clarion County Fair

The woman I profiled for this story seemed shocked that I wanted to write a story about her, but she was very gracious, and before long, it had become one of the funnest interviews I've done.

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Agriculture News

 

2014 Outlook: Prepare for a Stagnant Corn Market

This story was part of an annual series that was published on AgWeb.com, where we would ask market experts to share their insights on agriculture markets in the coming year. This was one of our most-read stories that year, and I'm particularly proud of it because commodities markets can be a challenge to understand and write about.
 

Acreage Report Could Be a Shocker

USDA's annual Acreage Report is a big one for the agriculture markets. In 2014, it was expected to be especially disruptive, as some mid-season rains drowned many fields. I interviewed a leading market analyst to get his take on the report.
 

Northern States Face a Frosty Spring

This was part of a series published on AgWeb predicting expectations by region for the 2014 planting season. I combined insights from university extension experts with user-generated reports to create a full outlook for planting in the northern states.
 

Corn Prices: Look Out for Unplanted Acres

This story was one of the many weekly grain market updates we published each Friday on AgWeb. I believe it was one of my first markets-focused stories.
 

Fight the Blight

Seedling blight is a disease that can really damage corn and soybean crops, and in 2012, there were reports from farmers all over the Corn Belt who were experiencing this issue. This story explains how to identify it, and how to manage and prevent it.
 

AP Ethanol Report: 'It's Just Not True'

In 2013, the Associated Press published a rather scathing investigative report on the ethanol industry and the environmental damage it allegedly causes. However, some farmers who were quoted in the report said they were misled and misrepresented. This story was a response to the AP report.
 

Slugs Slither Through No-Till Fields

One of my very first agronomy stories, this piece was part of a larger "Pest Watch" series that we ran during the summer of 2012. (There was an audio component to this story as well, which has since gone missing.) This story will always make me smile, because that summer I learned that entomologists are some of the most enthusiastic and delightful people to interview.

 

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Opinion

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More bang for your cluck with new chicken ordinance

When I worked as an editor at The Columbia Missourian, I tried my hand at writing an opinion column. This one defended a newly passed ordinance that allowed city residents to keep backyard chickens. As someone who has always had a backyard flock of her own, this topic was near and dear to my heart.
 

 Upside of pain is that it teaches life lessons

When I was expecting my first child, I was flabbergasted by how much the baby-products industry preys on the worries of new and soon-to-be parents. This was my response.