2025 Howie Hanson Best of Local Media Awards
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Howie: Matt McConico and the daily work of local FOX 21 news
Under McConico’s leadership, FOX 21 has leaned into practical, service-oriented journalism: weather that matters, road conditions, public safety alerts and local government actions that affect daily life.
Minnesota Star Tribune expands access to fact-based journalism with new sharing, subscription options
MINNEAPOLIS — At a time of heightened uncertainty across Minnesota, the Minnesota Star Tribune announced new steps to broaden access to its fact-based, independent local journalism. The Star Tribune has made its live breaking-news blog available outside the paywall, allowing all readers to follow a continuously updated stream of verified reporting
Howie: The Minnesota Star Tribune announces key newsroom leadership hires
The Bellville and Baumgarten hires reflect a newsroom making deliberate bets: on audience intelligence, on subject-matter authority, and on leadership that understands journalism doesn’t succeed just because it’s good — it succeeds because it reaches people where they actually live now.
Howie: FOX 21 promotes Maria Vollom, reinforces market-leading evening newscast
“The Northland is home to me, from my hometown of International Falls to the Iron Range and rural areas of northwestern Wisconsin." -- Maria Vollom
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Howie: Hermantown sets the standard for public education in Minnesota
In public education, trust is built through repetition — of performance, transparency and follow-through. Wayne Whitwam’s style reflects that understanding. He has avoided the temptation to overpromise, resisted reactionary pivots, and kept the district’s focus on instruction, people and systems.
Obit: Carol Fryberger
Carol Nicholson Fryberger lived her life with generosity, humility, empathy, selflessness, clarity of thought, courage, and a strong sense of purpose. Her 86 years were centered around caring for others, championing their achievements and guiding them through their challenges. She rarely spoke of herself and generally shunned recognition. Granted, she
Howie: 'You just can’t Google that.'
TEDxDuluth, like all TEDx events, is built around the idea that small ideas can have outsized impact. That a single story, told honestly, can reroute someone else’s thinking. It’s not about celebrity. It’s about resonance.
Howie: Bulldogs fighting for home ice in the playoffs
Home ice is there for the taking. The Bulldogs will either take points from Denver, survive North Dakota, and handle their business against Miami and Colorado College — or they’ll finish fifth, look back at a missed weekend or two, and tell themselves they were close.