How many Boulder Monitor editors does it take to screw in a light bulb? For a while now, my answer to my own joke has been, two: One to screw in the bulb, and a second to hold the door open as the first leaves.
But really, it takes just one – and I’m pleased to introduce him now.
Meet Conor Reilley, who found his way to Jefferson County last week. He is new to the West, and to Montana. His roots, rather, are in flat land: He grew up in Belvidere, Illinois, a small manufacturing city surrounded by rural communities near the Wisconsin border.
You will find Conor a curious, energetic and restless dude. He is intensely concerned with and knowledgeable about the nature of community; the importance of localism; and the critical role that the news plays in informing civic life.
But you’ll be just as likely to engage him in conversations about geopolitics in the Middle East, Russian history or popular Chinese music. His thoughts and tastes are eclectic in that way.
And in fact, Conor has been around the block a few times. He most recently lived in Namibia, in southern Africa, where he wrote about that country’s energy sector. He also has worked for an education company in Beijing, China; done public-sector consulting in Washington, D.C.; and taught school in South Bend, Ind.
That’s an impressive journey for a young guy — and also one you wouldn’t necessarily expect to lead to Boulder, Montana. But I return to “curious, energetic and restless”: Conor is an explorer, eager to understand and tell stories about this beautiful, complex community. And he feels very much at home in a rural place. It makes perfect sense to me that he would find The Monitor, and vice versa.
Conor will partner with Chick Bruce, who has been learning the ropes as The Monitor’s contributing reporter covering the north-county communities of Montana City, Clancy and Jefferson City. Many of you know Chick — or at least his voice — from Elkhorn Mountains Radio, where he broadcasts Jefferson High sports and other events. I’ve been grateful to work with him for the last month or so.
I’m both excited and relieved to have Conor here. I’ve been editing The Monitor more or less remotely for the last four months — and while I’ve had plenty of help from Chick, Kate Austin Payne, and others, not being fully present isn’t the best way to run a news organization. Y’all deserve to have someone in town, on the ground, paying full attention.
Please welcome Conor to the community. Ask him to have coffee (or, for him, a Diet Coke). Let him know what’s important to you, and what you think should be covered. He’s very eager to learn.
Contact Keith Hammonds at keith@boulder-monitor.com.
