I was born on a western Kansas farm and ranch operation out past where most people believe Kansas stops, just past the Central/Mountain Time change line. What, you say? Part of Kansas doesn't reside in Central Time? Yep, that's where I come from.

My love of journalism began with a part-time job during my senior year of high school when I worked at my small, weekly hometown newspaper. I loved the act of laying out pages and knowing the news before everyone else. I have worked at weekly and daily newspapers for more than a decade. I have also worked as a freelance journalist for various online and print publications throughout Kansas, Nebraska and Colorado.

My family and I moved to Minnesota in August 2012, and we are settling in to this thing called "winter" up here. My kids are enjoying the always present snow and opportunities for sledding, skiing and skating. We are having many adventures exploring the Twin Cities area since we moved from a town in Nebraska of about 5,500 people.