Minnesota

Shelby Swanson

Shelby Swanson covers sports business for The Minnesota Star Tribune. Born and raised in North Carolina, she most recently covered UNC athletics for The Raleigh News & Observer. At the N&O, she broke news pertaining to university legal matters and led coverage of the Smith Center arena debate — using public records and source-building to give readers visibility into decisions that weren’t meant to be visible. Her work at the N&O earned four APSE Top-10 finishes in breaking news, long feature and short feature categories. Swanson’s journalism career started when she joined her high school newspaper and soon discovered nobody wanted to lead the sports desk. She holds degrees in Media & Journalism and Hispanic Literatures & Cultures from UNC-Chapel Hill, where she served as sports editor of the independent student newspaper, The Daily Tar Heel. When she’s not chasing a story, Swanson is playing pickup basketball, discovering new music or binge-watching Larry David’s Curb Your Enthusiasm.

Bridget Bennett

Born and raised in Minnesota, Bennett is a visual journalist based in Minneapolis, working in photography and video. Prior to joining MinnPost, she was freelancing in Nevada, covering national politics, labor, and climate across the American West. She is a frequent contributor to national outlets, including The New York Times, The Washington Post, and The Wall Street Journal.

Ben Austin

Prior to joining The Timberjay, Ben conducted investigations as part of American University's Investigative Reporting Workshop and wrote and edited for the campus magazine The American Way of Life. During that time, he maintained one of the country's leading databases tracking state-level anti-trans legislation in the United States. While writing for the magazine, he put a spotlight on American University's finances, investigating structural issues in the school's revenue streams. He has also worked with WJFF Radio Catskill and the Natural Resources Research Institute in Duluth, Minnesota. He holds a bachelor’s degree in journalism from American University, with a minor in data science. Outside of journalism, he enjoys photography and painting.

Claire Carlson

Before joining MinnPost as the reporter covering drinking water in Minnesota, Claire Carlson was a reporter for the Daily Yonder, where she spent four years reporting on the nexus of climate change, food systems, and rural communities. She also worked as a freelance journalist for Civil Eats, Offrange, FoodPrint, Minnesota Reformer, Sierra Nevada Ally, and other regional and national publications. She credits her career to the single journalism class she took in graduate school that showed her how to write a lede, nut graph, and how to pitch editors (and not get her feelings hurt when rejected). She holds a master’s degree in environmental studies from the University of Montana and a bachelor’s degree in international affairs from the University of Nevada-Reno.

Stella Mayerhoff

Stella Mayerhoff, a scientist-turned-journalist, covers Minnesota’s Mississippi River headwaters region for KAXE/KBXE. Previously, Stella wrote for Mongabay, Eos, the San Jose Mercury News, the Monterey Herald, Georgia State University Research Magazine, and Stanford University’s Wu Tsai Neurosciences Institute. She was a Taylor/Blakeslee Fellow through the Council for the Advancement of Science Writing and earned a master’s degree in science communication from the University of California, Santa Cruz. She also holds a master’s degree in psychology from Georgia State University and a bachelor’s degree in psychology and anthropology from the University of Wisconsin. She's a regional finalist for the Society of Professional Journalists Mark of Excellence Award in Science/Environment Reporting. Stella enjoys spending her time with her cat, TBD, who owes his perfectly odd name to a moment of writer’s block.

Ellen Schmidt

Before joinging the Associated Press, Ellen Schmidt was a visual journalist, CatchLight Local fellow and Report for America corps member at MinnPost. Her career began while earning an undergraduate degree in journalism and art at the University of Minnesota, where she worked as a reporter, photographer and the multimedia editor at the Minnesota Daily student newspaper. Her roles there propelled her to internships at Minnesota Public Radio News, The Minnesota Star Tribune, The Duluth News Tribune and the Las Vegas Review-Journal. In Nevada, her success led to five years as a staff photojournalist visualizing breaking news, community stories, enterprise coverage, the environment and major sporting events.

KAXE / KBXE

Community radio station KAXE has served rural Northern Minnesota since 1976, broadcasting in Grand Rapids, Bemidji and Brainerd. In 2023, it launched a newsroom to expand its commitment to communities through trusted journalism, inclusive storytelling and public service. KAXE highlights underrepresented voices, supports civic engagement and celebrates the region’s diverse people and landscapes.

Minnesota Star Tribune

With more than 230 journalists, the Minnesota Star Tribune is the largest newsroom in the Midwest and a trusted local news organization nationwide. Th Star Tribune earned this trust through Pulitzer Prize-winning reporting and a deep commitment to accuracy and fairness. In 2024, the Star Tribune rebranded as The Minnesota Star Tribune, reflecting its investment as a statewide news organization.

MinnPost

MinnPost is an independent, nonprofit newsroom producing in-depth reporting on the most consequential civic and cultural affairs in Minnesota. MinnPost exposes problems, highlights solutions and inspires informed action. Its areas of greatest expertise include city and state politics, Minnesota’s congressional delegation in Washington, health, the environment and arts & culture.

The Timberjay

The Timberjay a weekly newspaper in northern St. Louis County, serving the communities of Tower, Soudan, Cook, Orr, Ely, Babbitt, and surrounding townships. Published every Saturday with a circulation of about 3,500, the Timberjay serves as the official newspaper for the city of Tower and numerous area townships including Vermilion Lake, Bearville, Morcom, Leiding, Eagles Nest, Field, Embarrass, Kabetogama, and Kugler.