It’s always a busy day in the newsroom whenever there’s a snowstorm. Like most people in the area, we thought those days were behind us for another year.
Nope.
This morning, I followed local people’s comments about the April snowstorm on Facebook and Twitter, and then compiled them into a Storify that I think pretty accurately represents how all of us are feeling right about now.
Here’s hoping the snow melts quickly and spring comes sooner rather than later. Stay warm!
Last week, I wrote about how much work we put into our annual Focus section “Rising to the Challenge,” which came out yesterday. I hope all of you had a chance to see it in the paper! If not, it’s now online, and it’s the perfect weekend reading if you’re looking to stay inside and forget that it’s actually April, not January (because someone clearly forgot to tell Minnesota).
I’ve had a chance to read most of the Focus stories now, and I have to tell you, they are really fantastic. When we first started working on the section, I was a little nervous. It seemed like a huge topic to tackle and I had no idea how it would all work out. But once again, I’m blown away by all of our reporters and editors who put this section together. From the economic challenges of farming to homelessness in Kandiyohi County to health care partnerships in the area to the growing diversity in the Willmar School District, we looked at a lot of issues facing this area and what various groups are doing to handle them.
But it doesn’t really matter what I think. We’d love to know what you think of our Focus section this year. Did we represent the different areas of the community well? Is there a story we should have done instead, or should do in the future? Leave a comment here or shoot me an email at awhite@wctrib.com. Your opinion is the one that matters!
PS: I’d be remiss if I didn’t give a HUGE shout out to our features editor Sharon Bomstad, who oversaw the section from the beginning and designed all of the pages. She did a truly awesome job!
Reporters and the rest of the news staff at the West Central Tribune are gearing up for the annual Focus edition – a showcase piece published early each spring by the West Central Tribune centered around a certain theme.
Over the years, the Tribune staff has taken a look back at history, a look ahead to the future, a look at interesting aspects of area communities and people within those communities, as well as a look at the more traditional “progress” aspects of the region.
“Made with Pride” – or some variation on that theme – has been selected by the news staff as the focus of this year’s project.
We are going to stick with actual physical items that are produced across the region, as opposed to, say, services.
We will include fact sheets on what goes into producing the product, where the product goes, etc., while taking a closer look at one of the more interesting aspects of the production process.
Statistics are available on the number and type of production manufacturers in the region, and we will tell the stories behind some of that production.
If you know of a product made across the west central region of rural Minnesota, give us a call at 320-235-1150, drop us a line at Box 839, Willmar MN 56201, tweet it to @wctrib, tell us on Facebook or stop in our offices at 2202 Trott Ave S.W. in Willmar’s Industrial Park. You can also leave your suggestions in the comments below.
While we, obviously, won’t be able to tell every story, we will strive for a good cross-section that covers the region and its offerings.
Watch for Focus 2012 coming out in April in the West Central Tribune.
-Sharon Bomstad, features editor
