Last week, my colleague Joe Timmerman and I published a story about a group of teenagers who run their rural village’s only local newspaper. For over 80 years, as other local news has dwindled, students at Pulaski High School have kept their community informed by publishing the weekly Pulaski News.
Meet the teens keeping this northeast Wisconsin village from becoming a news desert
Pulaski News is a fixture of the community, a tool to prepare students for the workforce and the last official source keeping residents informed about hyperlocal happenings.
“You’ve seen other local papers close and their communities really don’t have anything,” said Bob Van Enkenvoort, the school district’s communications coordinator and the paper’s editor. “So the district sees this as a valuable community service.”
It’s the (unfortunately rare) kind of story that shines a light on people making a real difference in their community by connecting with their neighbors. And it began by listening to readers like you.
Before I was hired last summer, our team conducted listening sessions, surveys and interviews with people across northeast Wisconsin to hear what kind of news they want as we prepare to tell more stories in the region. In one of those interviews, a director at the Pulaski Chamber of Commerce mentioned that Pulaski High School’s newspaper is the only source of consistent local news in the area.
Our “pathways to success” reporters want to talk to Wisconsin high school teachers who a) have taught dual enrollment courses or b) want to, but lack the proper training. We want to hear about the draws or drawbacks of teaching these classes. If you know someone who fits the bill, email mdunlap@wisconsinwatch.org or nyahr@wisconsinwatch.org.
That fact came across my desk several months ago and piqued my interest. As a reporter tasked with writing about how Wisconsinites are preparing for the workforce, I really wanted to meet the students who are carrying out an important job typically left to experienced adults.
Joe and I spent several months learning how Pulaski News has become a trusted fixture of the community and a workforce development tool, which included several visits to the classroom the paper runs out of and a trip to Pulaski’s local museum.
We have reason to believe the final product resonated — as of Monday afternoon, people spent nearly 10,000 minutes with it, and over 80 accounts have shared the story on Instagram.
Listening to our readers in this way has helped me better understand the northeast region. As time goes on, you’ll continue to see more stories from this part of the state. So consider this an invitation to keep the ideas and feedback coming. What stories should be told? We’re listening. Email me at mdunlap@wisconsinwatch.org, or fill out my form.
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