News Printing Company announced Tuesday that former Newton Daily News Staff Writer Mike Mendenhall will be taking over the role of News Editor for its weekly publications.
He replaces former News Editor Matthew Nosco, who has left to pursue other career interests.
In his previous employment with the Daily News, Mendenhall covered law enforcement and the Jasper County Courthouse, as well as writing other feature and news articles. He graduated with a degree in journalism and mass communications from the University of Iowa in 2008 and has been a freelance writer/photographer for several news organizations throughout Iowa, including The Altoona Herald/Index and KRUI 89.7 FM in Iowa City. Mendenhall is an Iowa native, born and raised in Des Moines.
Holding a passion for community journalism, Mendenhall said he’s looking forward to becoming reacquainted with the people of Jasper County.
“The Tribune and Prairie City News belong to the people of their communities,” he said. “My goal is to make these newspapers into a portrait of the communities they serve by honoring their commitment to accuracy and relevance.”
As News Editor, Mendenhall said he wants to reflect the values of these unique communities through reporting, depth and visual elements in the newspapers. Editor Bob Eschliman said he feels fortunate to have a second opportunity to work with Mendenhall.
“Mike was awarded the coveted Harrison ‘Skip’ Weber Investigative Reporting Award earlier this year at the Iowa Newspaper Association Annual Convention,” he said. “At the time, we joked it would be fun to work together again; little did we know the opportunity would come so soon.”