PATT JOHNSON is the eyes andears for all things retail in themetro. Her New in the Neigh-borhood and Shopping Sceneweekly columns keep tabs onwhat stores, restaurants and

businesses are moving into the city and suburbsand which are closing down. pjohn-son@dmreg.com, 515-284-8367, @newbiz_dmreg

LINH TA covers the Ankeny,Urbandale and Johnston areas forthe Register. She enjoys biking,eating food and loved DesMoines before it got cool. Linhwill be graduating in May from

the University of Northern Iowa with a politicalscience degree. lta@dmreg.com; 515-284-8198;@linhmaita

DAN HOLM, sports editor for theAnkeny Register and Press-Citi-zen, has been with the Registersince 1989. He primarily coversAnkeny and Ankeny Centennialsports. Dan is a graduate of

Ankeny High and Iowa State University.dholm@dmreg .com; 515-238-2094; @danmholm

KATHY BOLTENwrites aboutthe safety ofIowans andtrends in lawenforcement,

such as outfitting police withbody cameras. Kathy, an award-winning journalist, is a nativeIowan and avid bicyclist. In1980, she joined the Register,where she has been an editorand education and businessreporter. kbolten@dmreg .com;515-285-8283; @kbolten

Page 4 I | Sunday, March 1, 2015 State Edition | DesMoinesRegister.com | Des Moines Sunday Register

“You win with people.”

If you walk down a hallwayof the Register offices inCapital Square, you’ll seethat painted on a wallabove a bank of screens

that displays achievements byour employees. If you attendone of our staff meetings,you’ll often hear a member ofour leadership team utter thatphrase.

It’s not just a mantra: Weknow our organization is onlyas good as the people workingin it.

In the newsroom, we’reblessed with a strong and tal-ented team that works hardday in and day out to deliverthe news to Iowans. Somemembers of our team are fa-miliar faces — columnists orreporters you’ve been readingfor years. Some are names youprobably wouldn’t recognizebecause they work behind the

scenes — editing stories, post-ing them across platforms andhandling myriad other tasks.And others still are new faceswho have joined the Registerin recent months.

Last fall, we reorganizedour newsroom with the goal offinding efficiencies to spendless time on production work,add more reporting firepowerand better aim our resourcesat attracting new audiences.

We said goodbye to some em-ployees. We welcomed somenew ones.

We’re almost fully staffednow (save for a few positionswe’re still looking to fill), so itseemed like a good time tointroduce our newsroom toyou. It’s a team that includesmany native Iowans and sometransplants who came fromsuch places as Illinois, Texas,Georgia and Kansas to join us.

Our newsroom is organizedaround teams of reportersfocused on government ac-countability, quality-of-lifeissues, communities, sports,entertainment and culture, andvoices. We have coaches whowork with reporters, plannerswho make sure we present thebest content at the best times,and engagement editors wholook for opportunities to con-nect with the community.

Among the changes in therestructured newsroom:

» Expanded politics team:We know how important poli-tics is in Iowa, so we added twonew positions. Jason Noblerecently moved to a new “Real-ity Check” role to fact-checkthe statements of politiciansand public officials. He wasreplaced on the Statehousebeat by Brianne Pfannenstiel,who came to us from the Kan-sas City Business Journal. JoshHafner, formerly our youngprofessionals reporter, is in anew role delving into the is-sues and role of millennials inpicking our next president.

» More columnists: DesMoines native Daniel P. Finneybecame our new metro col-umnist in the fall, writingabout important topics andinteresting aspects of life inthe metro. We added a businesscolumnist and are recruiting tofill that position. And we stillhave your favorite columnists— Rekha Basu in editorial,

Iowa columnist Kyle Munson,political columnist KathieObradovich, and RandyPeterson and Rick Brown insports.

» Community engagement:We’re more heavily focused onconnecting with the communi-ty, in ways big and small. Inrecent weeks, metro govern-ment reporter Timothy Meinchhosted a police chief candidateforum, and Reader’s WatchdogLee Rood held a charitablegiving forum. More are in theworks. We want to reach youwherever you are — in person,across social media andthrough our various products.

And we want you to know usbetter, too. So in addition totoday’s two-page spread show-casing our newsroom, you’llsoon start seeing short profilesof our staffers on Page 2A.

We hope you enjoy meetingour team. As always, thanksfor reading the Register.

A NEW STRUCTURE

TO BETTER SERVE YOUFOCUS OF BEATS WILL ADDRESS ISSUES IMPORTANT TO READERS

MEET THE NEWSROOM

AMALIE NASH is theexecutive editor andvice president fornews and engage-ment at the Register.She moved from

Michigan to Iowa in 2014, leavingbehind her beloved Detroit Tigers(World Series, 2015!). She enjoystraveling, running, biking — withplans to complete most or all ofRAGBRAI this year — and, inexplica-bly, hot yoga. anash@registermedia.com; 515-284-8551; @AmalieNash

TIMOTHYMEINCH coverslocal govern-ment andneighborhoodissues in the city

of Des Moines and Polk County.He also contributes outdoorfeature stories. Timothy joinedthe Register in 2011 from themountains of North Carolina.He enjoys travel and roadtripping. tmeinch@dmreg.com;515-238-9792; @timeinch

JOEL ASCHBRENNER covers realestate, development, downtownand air travel and is the Iowacorrespondent for USA TODAY.He likes maps, skiing, riding bikesand Kansas State football. Wee-

Bey is his favorite character from HBO’s “TheWire.” jaschbrenn@ dmreg.com; 515-284-8260;@joelaschbrenner

DANIEL P.FINNEY, theRegister’s MetroVoice columnist,is a DrakeUniversity

alumnus who grew up in Win-terset and east Des Moines. Hewrote his first story for theRegister in 1993 at age 17. Hehas stacked paragraphs eversince. dafinney@dmreg.com;515-284-8144; @newsmanone

MACKENZIEELMER coverscrime, publicsafety and has apassion forinvestigative

news. She speaks fluent Spanishand has worked as a journalistinternationally. mel-mer@dmreg.com; 515-284-8088;@mckelmer

CHRISTOPHERPRATT coverssuburbancommunitiesincluding WestDes Moines,

Clive and Waukee. A nativeIowan and lifelong Cubs fan,Christopher joined the Registerin 2012. cpratt2@registerme-dia.com; 515-284-8522;@cpratt2222

METRO/COMMUNITIES

METRO/COMMUNITIES

WILLIAMPETROSKIcovers the IowaLegislature andstate govern-ment agencies.

He is a University of Minnesotajournalism graduate and hasbeen with the Register since1981. He has covered all ofGov. Terry Branstad’s six terms.bpetrosk@ dmreg.com; 515-284-8547 @WilliamPetroski

POLITICS/STATE GOVERNMENT

BRIANNEPFANNENSTIELcovers the Iowastatehouse forThe Des MoinesRegister. She

was born and raised a KansasJayhawk, drinks her coffeeblack and doesn’t trust peoplewho don’t like dogs. bpfan-nenst@dmreg.com; 515-803-0348, @brianneDMR

JOSH HAFNERcovers politics,culture andissues related toyoung Iowansfor the Register.

He read Joyce’s “Ulysses” and“Batman: Year One” in hissenior year of college. Thelatter changed his life. jhafn-er@dmreg.com; 515-284-8412;@joshhafner

JASON NOBLEcovers state andnational politicsand conductsfact-checks andinvestigations

as the Register’s Reality Checkreporter. He’s a Midwesterner, aBob Dylan enthusiast and aRobert Caro evangelist. jno-ble2@ dmreg.com; 515-286-2532; @jasonnobleDMR

JENNIFERJACOBS is theRegister’s chiefpolitics reporter.She has coveredpresidential

candidates across the state. Herbest friends are competitiverunners, bikers and triathletes.jejacobs@dmreg.com and@jenniferjjacobs

KATHIE OBRADOVICHwrites andtweets aboutpresidentialpolitics and

state government. She’s anIowa native and a Cyclone fanwho’s covered the past fiveIowa caucus campaigns. kobra-dov@register media.com;@kobradovich

JAMES KRAMER workswith reportersand editors toensure that Des Moines

Register and Iowa City Press-Citizen content has opti-mal presentation in print andonline and is seen by as manypeople as possible. He’s aDubuque County native and aUniversity of Iowa graduate.jkramer@dmreg.com; 515-284-8199; @dodgerkramer

LUCASGRUNDMEIER,in his role as aplanning editor,helps make surecontent is

prepared so that it’s as useful aspossible for readers. He takes alot of questions on our generalphone line … so to save time,here’s a common answer: Hemisses the Big Peach, too, butthe Register is not bringing itback. lgrundme@dmreg.com;515-284-8142; @lgrundmeier

JEFFREY C.KUMMERworks with thenewsroom todevelop in-vestigative and

watchdog stories that holdIowa’s officials, businesses andother institutions accountable.He’s a Wisconsin native anddie-hard Packer fan, but beganhis journalism career at news-papers in Muscatine and Daven-port. He returned to Iowa in2010. jkummer@dmreg.com;515-284-8294; @JeffreyKummer

LYNN HICKS isthe Register'sopinion andengagementeditor. He leadsthe Register’s

editorial board. A native Iowan,he has been with the Registerfor more than 20 years.lhicks@dmreg.com; 515-284-8290; @LynnHicks

MIKETRAUTMANNoversees beatsthat affectIowans’ qualityof life, including

public safety, business, agricul-ture and K-12 education. He’s aSouth Dakota native who spentthe last 13 years in Kentucky asan editor with the LouisvilleCourier-Journal. He will com-pete in his second BostonMarathon in 2016. mtraut-mann@dmreg.com; 515-284-8546; @trautguy

KELLI BROWNis the contentstrategist fordigital andmultimedia. Shehas been with

the Register since 2005. Kelliworks with the digital news,photo and video and devel-opment teams.kkbrown@dmreg.com; 515-284-8123; @KelliKayBrown

CAROLHUNTER helpscoordinatecoverage bymetro, politics,business and

features reporters. She’s a30-plus-year journalism veteranwho has proudly worked inediting roles at the Register formore than a decade, afterholding top editor posts inGreen Bay, Wis., and Bridgewa-ter, N.J. chunter@dmreg.com;515-284-8545; @carolhunter.

LEADERSHIP TEAM

NATHANGROEPPER isthe Register’sConsumerExperienceDirector, which

means he works with every-body. Nathan grew up on afarm in central Iowa and oftengot scolded by his dad forstealing the Big Peach sectionon Sunday mornings. Nathanhas worked as a manager anddesigner for the Register since2000. ngroeppe@dmreg.com;515-284-8438; @ngroepper

CHARLESFLESHER is thecommunitycontent editorfor a team ofreporters cov-

ering Des Moines business anddevelopment, government andcommunity issues. He is a life-long Des Moines resident whograduated from DowlingCatholic High School and enjoysHawkeye football and wres-tling. cflesher@ dmreg.com;515-284-8481; @charlesflesher

ANNAHBACKSTROM isin charge ofpolitics andhigher educa-tion coverage at

the Register. Despite being anoutspoken Michigan State fan,she was hired nearly three yearsago by the Register. And she isalways ready to tell you whythe Great Lakes are better thanthe ocean. abackstrom@dmreg.com; 515-284-8243;@AnnahBackstrom

LEADERSHIP TEAM

LEE ROOD hasbeen the Read-er’s Watchdogcolumnist at theRegister formore than

three years. A longtime in-vestigative reporter and editor,Lee’s reports have led tochanges in state and federallaw, criminal investigations andcharges and consumer protec-tion probes and numerousgood deeds for those in need.lrood@dmreg.com, @leerood

JASON CLAYWORTH isan investigativejournalist whohas worked forthe Register

since 1998. His focus is govern-ment spending and account-ability. Clayworth is an Iowanative and a Drake Universitygraduate. jclayworth@ dmreg-.com; 515-699-7058; @Jason-Clayworth

WATCHDOG REPORTERS

QUALITY OF LIFE REPORTERS

QUALITY OF LIFE REPORTERS

GRANT RODGERScovers Iowa'sstate and feder-al courthouses,as well as

various criminal justice andlegal issues. He graduated fromOttumwa High School andpursued a journalism degree atSimpson College. He enjoysmusic and trout fishing. 515-778-2847, grodgers@dmreg.com, @GrantMRodgers

DONNELLEELLER writesabout businessnews, trendsand personal-ities in agricul-

ture, the environment andenergy. Previously, she reportedon Iowa’s economy during oneof the worst recessions in U.S.history. Donnelle is a nativeIowan who has also worked inFlorida and Oklahoma. dell-er@dmreg.com; 515-284-8457;@DonnelleE

MATTHEWPATANE coverstechnology,innovation, theeconomy andgeneral busi-

ness news. Before joining theRegister, he spent about twoand half years covering Missouripolitics. mpatane@ dmreg.com;515-284-8211; @mattpatane

MACKENZIERYAN coversstatewideeducation issuesfor The DesMoines Register.

Mackenzie has worked as areporter in Maryland, Minneso-ta, Oregon and Florida beforerecently moving to Des Moines.maryan@dmregister.com;515-284-8543; @macken-zie_ryan

JEFF CHARIS-CARLSONcovers state-wide highereducation issuesfor the Des

Moines Register and the IowaCity Press-Citizen. After spend-ing the years as an opinionpage editor, he’s happy to beback to reporting – rather thancommenting – on the news.jcharisc@press-citizen.com,319-887-5435, 319-330-3321;@jeffcharis.

KATHERINEKLINGSEIS is abreaking newsand generalassignmentreporter for the

Register. She is an Ames nativeand an Iowa State Universitygraduate. kklingseis@ dmreg-.com; 515-284-8194; @katkling

TONY LEYSwrites abouthealth care,including howit’s providedand who pays

for it. Tony has covered healthcare issues since 2000 and hasworked for the Register since1988. tleys@dmreg.com; 515-284-8449; @tonyleys