Andy Birkey
A graduate of the University of Minnesota with a degree in forestry, urban studies and sociology, Andy has been active in Minnesota’s LGBT community for the six years he has lived in Minneapolis, and has worked with and volunteered for a number of causes including LGBT rights, HIV prevention and care, transportation issues and environmental research. He has been writing Eleventh Avenue South, a blog about Minnesota LGBT news, issues, and politics, for three years and is a contributor to Metroblogging Minneapolis. Email abirkey@minnesotaindependent.com.
Paul Demko
Paul was staff writer at the altweekly City Pages for eight years and has won numerous awards for his writing, including a Frank Premack Award for Public Affairs Journalism, a Society of Professional Journalists first place Page One Award for investigative reporting, and an Investigative Reporters & Editors finalist citation for a 2005 feature he co-authored with then-colleague G.R. Anderson, Jr. He is the Minnesota Independent’s political reporter.
Email pdemko@minnesotaindependent.com.
Paul Schmelzer
The site’s editor, Paul has written for Alternet, City Pages, Ode, The Progressive, Utne Reader, and others. His interviews with activist Winona LaDuke, architect Cameron Sinclair, and artist Rirkrit Tiravanija appear in the book Land, Art: A Cultural Ecology Reader. Past editor at Adbusters and the Walker Art Center, he’s won a Frank Premack Award for Public Affairs Journalism (2007) and MN Society of Professional Journalists awards (2006, 2007) — the first time either prize has gone to a web-based journalist. He publishes Eyeteeth. Email pschmelzer@minnesotaindependent.com.
Chris Steller
A contributor to Minneapolis community newspapers since 1995, Chris served as editor of the Southeast Angle, the Seward Profile and their successor, the Bridge, from 1998-2006. He helped edit West Bank Boogie (a Minnesota Book Award nominee) and manages the Friends of the Riverfront website. Email csteller@minnesotaindependent.com.
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