Features
Inside the Tragic Life and Controversial Execution of Marcellus Williams
The state of Missouri put him to death despite serious questions about the evidence against him, jurors’ misgivings, and the victim’s family asking that he be spared. Did he die an innocent man?
Esquire, November 2024
The Moose Antler Murder
How a shocking crime divided a small town in its search for truth and justice.
The Atavist, May 2024
A Son’s Decision to Help His Father Die
Ben Griffith’s dad chose a method to end his life that was controversial — but protected by a Supreme Court ruling
Washington Post Magazine, December 4, 2022
Meet the Millennial Nuns
In a generation known to shun commitments, these women are embracing lifelong vows.
America, December 2021
The Reckoning
Inside Minneapolis’s Lake Harriet homeless encampment, where a city’s growing housing crisis took on faces and names.
Mpls St. Paul Magazine, November 2020
The Pretender
People in Blooming Prairie, Minnesota, thought Lois Riess was a nice wife and grandmother. If she had a vice, it was playing the slots. Then she committed murder.
The Atavist, October 2020
A sinister parade float
In 1923, with the Ku Klux Klan’s popularity on the rise in the North, the hooded brotherhood entered a float in the University of Minnesota’s homecoming parade.
Minnesota History, Spring 2020
Excommunicated: St. Thomas proved too good at sports — and building a college
The University of Saint Thomas became so dominant that the Presidents Council of the MIAC kicked them out of the conference. But this wasn’t about athletics.
City Pages, October 2, 2019
The Old Man and the Clinic
In 1961, the most famous author in the world secretly came for treatment at the most famous hospital in the world. This final chapter of Ernest Hemingway’s life story is a strange–and ultimately tragic–medical saga.
Mpls. St. Paul Magazine, February 2019
Winner 2020 Page One Award for Best Feature Story from the Minnesota Society of Professional Journalists
Myth and fact part of legacy from Sandy Koufax’s Yom Kippur choice
Koufax famously sat out Game 1 of the 1965 World Series. What really happened that day in Bloomington?
Sports Illustrated, September 2015
Rarely told reason cited for Bill Masterton’s death underlines concussion issue
Bill Masterton, the only player to die from injuries suffered during an NHL game, might not have died in vain. The underlying cause of his death almost 50 years ago elevates awareness about the risks of undiagnosed concussions — and the NHL’s responsibility to address them.
ESPN, March 2016
How simple conversation turned adversaries into friends
An unexpected friendship between an anti-war activist and a Vietnam vet developed thanks to one discussion about peace.
U.S. Catholic, February 2017
The Irreverent Relics of the Baseball Reliquary
It’s been called “the fans’ Hall of Fame,” “the antithesis of Cooperstown,” and “the motherlode vein leading to the heart and soul of baseball.” And yes, that’s a jock strap behind glass.
Vice Sports, August 2015
How Casinos Enable Gambling Addicts
Modern slot machines develop an unbreakable hold on many players—some of whom wind up losing their jobs, their families, and even, as in the case of Scott Stevens, their lives.
The Atlantic, December 2016
Winner of the Donald Robinson Award from the American Society of Journalists & Authors, 2017 Nominated for a National Magazine Award and a Pulitzer Prize
The Casino Trap
As the gambling industry booms, aggressive marketing targets older patrons
AARP Bulletin, October 2016
The Goal
When Warroad and Roseau renew one of the best rivalries in sport, it’s more than a game.
SB Nation, February 2013
The Rocket Richard Riot
“No one can know when the anger of men, whipped indefinitely, becomes sculpted into political revenge. And more, it is not just a matter of hockey.” —Quebec journalist André Laurendeau
SB Nation, March 2015
A Game of Their Own
They play the national pastime a little differently in Lake Tomahawk, snowshoe baseball capital of the world.
Sports On Earth, July 2014
Fists of Freedom
When American Joe Louis squared off against German Max Schmeling, he fought for more than personal vindication. He fought to free his people and preserve democracy
The History Channel Magazine, January / February 2005
To Hell and Back
Imagine the torture of Idi Amin. The torment of losing your soul. A place where you can find it again
Mpls. St. Paul, January 2005
Honorable Mention for Reporting on a Significant Topic from the American Society of Journalists & Authors, 2006
Runaway Bride
Seven years old, she walked and walked to escape her fate: circumcision and marriage to a man with five wives
Mpls. St. Paul, January 2007
The Lakers vs. The Globetrotters
How One Game Paved the Way for Integration of the NBA
Mpls. St. Paul, March 2008
Honorable mention as Outstanding Article from the American Society of Journalists & Authors, 2009
Sacred Rights of the International Two Spirit Gathering
Gay and transgender Native Americans find acceptance in tradition
Utne Reader, February 2009