TOWER- “At heart, I’m a never-ending learner,” said David Colburn, the Timberjay’s newly-hired news editor, who started work this week. “Small town journalism is a wonderful way in which to engage that passion.”
Colburn will be covering news and sports in Cook and Orr, as well as a wide range of regional news.
Colburn grew up in a small town in Kansas, and has lived and worked both in the Midwest and on the West Coast, most recently in Missoula, Mont.
“I was introduced to the newspaper business in my Kansas hometown as a high school intern,” he said. “And I returned to that hometown in 2014 to work as news editor for three weekly newspapers.”
Besides the newspaper business, Colburn has spent a lot of his career in early childhood education, running Head Start programs, teaching early childhood education and child development, and supervising student teachers. He taught early childhood education at the college level in Kansas, Chicago, and St. Louis.
But after returning to journalism in 2014, he feels he has found his calling. And moving to northern Minnesota, in the winter, has not dampened that enthusiasm.
“I’m excited about what I’ve discovered so far in my week living in Minnesota,” he said.  “For their size, all the towns in this area are more vibrant than rural towns I’ve encountered in Kansas.”
Colburn has already made friends and is planning on making quite a few more.
“All the people have been incredibly welcoming,” he said. “It feels like an excellent fit.”
Colburn is now prepared for the winter weather, after visiting Ely and outfitting himself with a Wintergreen jacket and Steger mukluks, and he is ready for adventures in the outdoors.
“I love nature photography,” he said.
Colburn, who cut his teeth in journalism as a sportswriter, is also excited to cover local high school sports, including the North Woods Grizzlies.
“High school sports is competition at its purest,” he said. “The enthusiasm of the players and fans is something that’s really appealing.”
Colburn has already seen the Grizzly girls in action and met their coach and is hoping that the teams play well into the tournament season.