The Free Press, Mankato, MN Joe Spear

Spear: No quotas on our letters

2012-02-25T23:07:35-06:00

There is perhaps no other more controversial, more democratic and more misunderstood feature of newspapers than the “letters to the editor.”

Spear: How do we decide what to cover?

2012-02-24T22:29:04-06:00

There’s no real secret or intense science to how newspapers or news organizations decide what to cover as a story.

Spear: Does anchor’s DWI warrant all the coverage?

2012-02-04T23:39:29-06:00

Covering DWI of a "public figure" leaves room for doubt, debate

Spear: ‘Gunshot’ news must be fast, accurate

2011-09-30T23:21:11-05:00

People need to know about crime.

Spear: 10 years after 9/11, the kids are still all right

2011-09-11T22:40:49-05:00

The day after 9/11, 10 years ago, I was driving my elementary-age children to school and their baby sister to day care.

Spear: Mankato riding the 'goattails' of an unusual national story

2011-09-05T19:00:00-05:00

Unless you have been out of the universe for the last week, you now know the tale of the little girls and the goat making Mankato famous.

Spear: Don’t miss out on 5,000 ducks of hope

2011-08-24T23:26:40-05:00

There are 5,000-plus reasons you might want to check out Sibley Park and Land of Memories Park Saturday around 1 p.m.

Spear: Sister paper loses colleague in tornado

2011-05-27T16:37:03-05:00

It was announced Thursday that one of The Joplin Globe’s page designers, Bruce Ballie, who was 56 and had a college-age daughter, was among the 125 people killed by the storm.

Spear: Readers help make our paper strong

2011-05-05T23:44:32-05:00

The Free Press was recently recognized with an honor that means a lot to me personally and to a vast majority of the folks who work at The Free Press.

Spear: Clearing the air on Santa, Head Start

2011-04-03T00:05:39-05:00

The story of Santa Claus and Head Start during the holidays stirred uneeded anger against the Somali community and Head Start.