MINNEAPOLIS—Today marked the start of two Pinion staffers Spring 2026 JEA/NSPA National Journalism Convention experience as they attended the pre-convention workshop and tour: Statehouse reporting. The day started with a presentation at the Minneapolis Convention Center with featured speaker, Ellen Austin, who is a former teacher and journalism adviser as well as retired director of the award-winning journalism program at The Harker School. Then the Pinion staffers rode the light rail to the state capitol.
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On the light rail they met with and talked to Hennepin County Communications Manager, Kyle Mianulli and Hennepin County Budget Manager, Lindsey Wollschlager, about the light rail. The officials discussed how in Minnesota, light rails are beneficial since they have a fully electric operation that works well in cold weather. Also, it brings economic benefits to the community by initiating higher property taxes on properties in proximity to the light rail. The light rail took four years to be developed and it had a negative effect on some small businesses and homes in the way of the development. Learning about the financial aspects of the roughly $1 billion light rail project, the Pinion staffers learned legislators decide how much revenue is allocated for each area of government spending while keeping in mind short-term and long-term needs.
At the capitol Pinion staffers went on a tour where they saw the legislative meeting room, the governor’s reception meeting room, and even up to the roof where the gold statue, titled the Quadriga or “Progress of State,” sits atop the capitol building overlooking the city. The staffers also met with Dana Ferguson, a journalist from Minnesota Public Radio, who explained her journey as a high school journalist who pursued journalism as a career. She shared her perspective and experience with journalism in this time and age considering politics and the state of the world. She concluded her talk by expressing her hope for the journalism world as she sees all of the journalists who are in attendance at this convention and interested in possibly pursuing journalism as a career.
To conclude their day, Pinion staffers went to the Opening Ceremony and Keynote Address located back at the Minneapolis Convention Center where Jon Bream spoke about his experience as a longtime pop music critic. He has interviewed many prominent music artists including Taylor Swift and Prince. One of the main points he expressed was to expect the unexpected and prepare one unexpected question when interviewing people. The Convention continues tomorrow with workshops starting at 8 a.m.
