I have been working with Managing Editor Tim Engstrom on a project for the Albert Lea Tribune that involves an area of our readership that I think is important, but is very tough to reach and to tap into. That area is the 18- to 24-year-old range.

It is a tough age range because many of the young adults in this range happen to be away at college or working full time or a bit of both. My wish is to tap into some of the area’s young adults and have them write articles about different topics about what they are going through. The articles could range from being away at college for the first time, working and earning a steady income, a mixed bag of topical events like the economy and how it is affecting them, to what is popular for young adults to do with their free time.

We have been pretty successful in arranging writers and you may have seen the great articles that Jason Schoonover, Emily Bodensteiner, Brandi Hagen, Rachel Rietsema, Ashley Stewart, Steve Block and Samantha Overgaard have written over the course of the last year.

The Tribune is now going to expand our range of writers, photographers and journalists and is looking for some younger folks (18 to 24) who would like to share with us the talent that is stored within them.

So if you think that you are someone who wants to do some writing or in some cases photojournalism, please contact me at scott.schmeltzer@albertleatribune.com and inquire.

If you are 17 about to be 18, please make sure you have a parent contact us and make sure it is OK with them.

We want this experience to be fun, educational and something that can help you either in your own life or help others who might be going through the same things you intend to write about.

Tim and I are excited for this new venture and you will be seeing some new journalists such as Katie Walker and Abraham Swee real soon.

Thanks.

Southern Minnesota

The Venus edition of Southern Minnesota, a magazine we publish, will be coming out at the end of April, and I think it will be our best edition yet! A couple reasons for it to be so good is that Crystal Miller is the publisher of this magazine and I am not. Crystal has some very good insight into how women think, shop and take care of themselves. You see, the Venus edition is all about women in southern Minnesota.

The Venus edition is edited by Katie Johnson with all the layout and graphics created by Stacey Bahr. It is written for women by women as the whole staff of this edition is well, women.

Look for it at the end of April, beginning of May.

Tribune Publisher Scott Schmeltzer’s column appears every Thursday.