Reporting + Essays
Chicago Reader
Why sweep the streets?
“He’s among the Chicago residents for whom street sweeping feels like nothing more than a nuisance, which they consider a sporadic and futile endeavor solely meant to squeeze cash from taxpayers …”
Chicago Tribune
FOIA for beginners: A state law guarantees access to public records. But it isn’t always that easy.
“A state law called the Illinois Freedom of Information Act, usually just dubbed FOIA, gives private citizens the ability to request records from most public bodies in the state …”
WBEZ
From ‘Hopeful’ To ‘Terrified,’ Here’s How Some Voters In Chicago Are Feeling
“Ahead of what is arguably the most fraught general election in recent memory, WBEZ checked in with the voting public to get a pulse on their hopes, dreams and desires for the future…”
AJC
Caretakers of MLK’s legacy: Rangers help visitors absorb importance of key King sites
“As Marty Smith comes barreling up the stairs and through the front door, he removes his rain-soaked ranger hat, coated in a shield of plastic to protect it from the elements…”
2021 Atlanta Press Club Awards of Excellence winner
AJC
Kirkwood newcomers pitch in to help longtime residents facing displacement
“Kirkwood, which sits on the city’s east side, is quickly gentrifying, like many intown neighborhoods. Displacement is an issue facing aging homeowners throughout Atlanta, especially elderly Black residents…”
WABE
Grieving Mothers Turn To Each Other To Find Strength, Community
“After six years of pouring everything she had into caring for her youngest daughter Stephanie, the quiet, 18-year-old softball star died from the bone cancer she’d been fighting…”
WBEZ
My first year sober: Why I did it and what I’ve learned
“Too many activities became, over time, just a reason to drink. As the world emerged from COVID restrictions, I started to imagine a life beyond booze…”
Star Tribune
Grandparents downsized, and a lake family was born
“When I was 4, my paternal grandparents sold the home in Falcon Heights where they had raised my dad, Mike, and the brothers he is sandwiched between in birth order, Jim and Dan…”
Atlanta Magazine
The Last Good Day
“It was just a month ago, but it feels more like a long-lost scene, lived out by a version of myself I no longer know. It was a sunny Saturday in mid-March, one I have come to think of in the weeks since as ‘the last good day…’”
The Washington Post
Dear Washington, this is ridiculous. Go back to school. Love, a Minnesotan
“When we were children coming of age in our Minnesota suburb, a snowy forecast came with a ritual series of events for me and my two siblings…”
Medium
What do you remember about
being 26?
“As my type-A mind tried desperately to assign it meaning, my fingers typed out a message. In the subject line I put the question I was seeking answers to: ‘What do you remember about being 26?’…”
Chippewa Valley Writers Guild
Hope Is The Thing Penciled In For Sunday Afternoon
“In the world B.C. (before coronavirus), I carefully made sure to not commit to any such events on Sundays. The occasional brunch or hike with a pal was sometimes permissible in the morning hours, but come noon — I might as well have turned into a pumpkin…’”