What We Cover
Hudson Patch provides news, information and conversations about the city of Hudson, the town of Hudson and the village of North Hudson in western Wisconsin.
Meet Your Local Patch Team
Micheal Foley, Contributor, Editor
Since 1999, Micheal has served as an editor, writer, blogger, community manager and social media enthusiast at newspapers and public relations firms. He dabbles in photography, videography, user experience design and even some programming.
Micheal joined Patch.com in November 2010 and launched Hudson Patch on Dec. 15, 2010. Now he serves as a senior field editor for Patch sites in Hudson, Stillwater, Woodbury, Oakdale, Roseville, Inver Grove Heights and Mendota Heights. He is passionate about hyperlocal journalism and community storytelling. During his career Micheal has developed multimedia storytelling skills through the use of simple consumer electronics, guerrilla tactics, blogs and social media.
Chris Steller, Contributor, Editor
You can reach me by email at chris.steller@patch.com, or by phone at 763-218-8319. My hometown is Minneapolis. My birthday is the same as Elvis Presley's.
Zac Farber, Contributor, Editor
Zac Farber is an Assistant Local Editor for the Southeast region of the Twin Cities. He is a graduate of Macalester College in St. Paul.
Scott Carlson, Editor
I'm a journalist who has concentrated on business reporting for many years. I most recently came from Finance & Commerce business newspaper in Minneapolis. Prior to that I worked at the Sioux Falls Argus Leader for a year. I worked nearly 30 years at the St Paul Pioneer Press covering government and business. I am an honors graduate from the University of Minnesota with a bachelor’s degree in journalism, I also graduated from the William Mitchell College of Law in St. Paul, I grew up in North St. Paul and am a graduate of North High SchooI. I've been living New Brighton with my wife for about the past 20 years. We have two grown children.
Kris Janisch, Contributor, Editor
I like most of the stuff everybody else does: fantasy football, The Beatles, books and movies. I also enjoy politics and discussions about metaphysics and the Timberwolves.
Shawn Hogendorf, Contributor, Editor
Shawn has been a community journalist in Scott County since graduating from the University of Minnesota's school of journalism in 2006. He has spent the last five years as a staff photographer and reporter with the Prior Lake American and Savage Pacer newspapers covering police, fire, courts and the Shakopee Mdewakanton Sioux Community, while penning human interest and entertainment stories.
Hannah Gruber, Contributor, Editor
I am the Community Editor for sites in Minnesota and Wisconsin. I handle blogger recruitment, social media, community outreach and training for 11 sites in the Twin Cities area. I also contribute content to the sites.
Michaela Knower, Contributor, Editor
Michaela Knower was born and raised in Mandan, N.D., a small town across the Missouri River from Bismarck. Michaela has lived her entire adult life in Minneapolis. Prior to joining Patch, Michaela's professional career has been in business development, event planning and traveling the world as a flight attendant. In her personal time, Michaela enjoys spending time with her grandchildren and renovating homes.
Corey Voegele, Contributor, Editor
Corey Voegele is a 20-year veteran journalist who has previously worked in various positions at a number of daily and weekly newspapers in Minnesota, Iowa, Wisconsin and, most recently, Washington.
About Us
What is Patch?
Simply put, Patch is an innovative way to find out about, and participate in, what's going on near you.
We're a community-specific news, information and engagement platform driven by passionate and experienced new media professionals. Patch is revolutionizing the way neighbors connect with each other, their communities, and the national conversation.
We want to be the most trusted, comprehensive, and relevant news and information resource in your community. What can you do on Patch?
- Keep up with news and events
- Check out photos and videos from around town
- Learn more about local businesses and the people behind them
- Participate in discussions
- Share your perspectives via our Local Voices blogging platform
- Submit your own announcements, photos, and reviews
Who's Behind Patch?
Patch is run by professional editors, photographers, videographers, and salespeople who live in the regions they serve, and is supported by a great team in our New York City headquarters. Patch also gets advice from our Advisory Board and from many members of the community.
We look forward to meeting you and hearing your stories. If you see us around town, don't be afraid to say hi and tell us what you want to see on Patch!
Where You Come In
We hope that our sites will strengthen communities and improve the lives of their residents, but we can't do it without you. We've built Patch so that you have plenty of opportunities to comment on stories, share your opinions, post photos and announcements, and add events to the community calendar. So get to it! And if you're a business owner who wants to be listed, just let us know.
Giving Back
You can't truly serve a community unless you provide the help it needs most, which is why giving back is so important to us. We do it as part of our coverage — in a dedicated space that lets local charities and volunteers find each other — and with a program called "Give 5," through which we donate advertising space to charitable organizations and contribute our own time as volunteers. Want to know more? Email us at give5@patch.com.
Advisory Board
Phil Meyer
Phil Meyer is Professor Emeritus in the School of Journalism and Mass Communication at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, and was inducted into the North Carolina Hall of Fame in Journalism in the spring of 2008. He joined the Journalism School in 1981 and served as Knight Chair in Journalism Professor from 1993-2008. Prior to joining the school, he held a number of reporter and research positions at various media outlets.
He has won numerous awards including the 2005 Sigma Delta Chi Distinguished Service Award for Research About Journalism (with Scott Maier). He was named a Fellow of Society of Professional Journalists in 2005. In 2004, the Newspaper Division of the Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication gave him its Professional Freedom and Responsibility Award. And in 2000 he received the American Association for Public Opinion Research Award for Exceptionally Distinguished Achievement.
Meyer is the author of several books including The Vanishing Newspaper: Saving Journalism in the Information Age and Precision Journalism: A Reporter’s Introduction to Social Science Methods. Journalism Quarterly in 2000 listed this book as one of the 35 significant books of the 20th century in journalism and mass communication; and the American Association for Public Opinion Research, observing its 50th anniversary in 1996, listed it as one of 50 significant books on public opinion research.
He received his B.S. in technical journalism from Kansas State University and his M.A. in political science from the University of North Carolina.
Steven Berlin Johnson
Steven Berlin Johnson is a pioneer in the web world, as a co-founder of FEED, Plastic.com, and Outside.in, which was acquired by Patch in March of 2011. He also co-created Findings.com, which launched in late 2011. Steven was the 2009 Hearst New Media Professional-in-Residence at The Journalism School at Columbia University, and served for several years as a Distinguished Writer in Residence at NYU’s Journalism School. He is a bestselling author of seven books, and won acclaim and a Newhouse School Mirror Award for his 2010 Time Magazine cover story, "How Twitter Will Change the Way We Live."
Speaking of Steven's editorial prowess, check out this video based on Steven's book, Where Good Ideas Come From, which was named one of the best books of 2010 by The Economist.
Brian Farnham, Founding Editor-in-Chief
Brian was Editor-in-Chief of Time Out New York magazine before coming to Patch. Before that he worked for a variety of publications both online and off, including Details magazine, New York Magazine, and the old, dearly departed Sidewalk.com. He has written for numerous publications, from the New York Times magazine to Harper's Bazaar. He graduated from Bowdoin College and got an MFA in creative writing at Columbia University so he could put his novel in a drawer with distinction. He lives in Manhattan with his beautiful wife, adorable son, angelic daughter and the world's most dog-like cat. He’s proud as hell of what the Patch team has built.
Ken Paulson, President and Chief Executive Officer of the First Amendment Center
Ken Paulson is president and chief executive officer of the First Amendment Center at Vanderbilt University and in Washington, D.C.
Previously, Paulson served as the editor and senior vice president/news of USA Today. He is now a columnist on USA Today’s board of contributors, writing about First Amendment issues and the news media.
Throughout his career, Paulson has drawn on his background as both a journalist and lawyer, serving as the editor or managing editor of newspapers in five different states.
He also is past-president of the American Society of News Editors, the nation’s largest organization of news media leaders.
Paulson also was the host of the Emmy-honored television program “Speaking Freely,” seen in more than 60 PBS markets nationwide over five seasons, and the author of "Freedom Sings," a multimedia stage show celebrating the First Amendment that continues to tour the nation's campuses.
He was an early advocate of making newspaper content available online, launching online newspapers in both Florida and New York in 1993.
For 12 years, Paulson was a regular guest lecturer at the American Press Institute, speaking to more than 5,000 journalists about First Amendment issues. He was honored with the API Lifetime Service Award. In 2010 and 2011, he served as chair of the PBS Editorial Standards Review Committee.
In 2007, Paulson was named fellow of the Society of Professional Journalists, “the highest honor SPJ bestows upon a journalist for extraordinary contributions to the profession.” In 2008, he received the Robert S. Abbott Memorial Award for Meritorious Service in Mass Communications from the Southern Regional Press Institute. He has also been elected to the Illini Publishing Hall of Fame at the University of Illinois.
He is a graduate of the University of Illinois College of Law and the University of Missouri School of Journalism. He also has served as an adjunct professor at Vanderbilt University Law School. In 2008, he received an honorary doctorate in Humane Letters from American University.