Email: foleymo@patch.com
Phone: 715-410-1933
Hometown: New Richmond, WI
Birthday: Feb. 17
Bio: 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 hobby 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.

Micheal has always been a journalist at heart and has worked at several print publications including The Desert Sun in Palm Springs, Calif., the Leader-Telegram in Eau Claire, Wis., and the Pioneer Press in St. Paul, Minn. He began his career as a military journalist while enlisted in the U.S. Marine Corps where he served as a reporter and photographer in Okinawa, Japan, and editor of a base newspaper in San Diego, Calif.

Micheal is passionate about hyperlocal journalism and access to public data. During the past several years, he has developed multimedia storytelling skills through the use of simple consumer electronics, guerrilla tactics, blogs and social media.

He has a Bachelor of Arts degree in journalism from the University of Wisconsin–River Falls where he also served as a veterans services representative and the editor of the Student Voice campus newspaper.

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My Beliefs

At Patch, we promise always to report the facts as objectively as possible and otherwise adhere to the principles of good journalism. However, we also acknowledge that true impartiality is impossible because human beings have beliefs. So in the spirit of simple honesty, our policy is to encourage our editors to reveal their beliefs to the extent they feel comfortable. This disclosure is not a license for us to inject our beliefs into stories or to dictate coverage according to them. In fact, the intent is the opposite: we hope that the knowledge that our beliefs are on the record will cause us to be ever mindful to write, report and edit in a fair, balanced way. And if you ever see evidence that we failed in this mission, please let us know.

Politics 
I am not registered with a party, but I am very politically charged. I describe myself as fiscally conservative and socially liberal. Others describe me as a libertarian, too liberal, or too conservative. It all depends on the issue at hand.

A few examples -- I'm against most government spending whether the Republicans or the Democrats are the ones controlling the budget. I strongly oppose most foreign wars (especially pre-emptive wars in which we are the aggressor). I am for equal rights for women, homosexuals and other minorities. I am for sound money, and I oppose inflation. I am strongly in favor of individual rights. I stongly oppose corporate personhood. I take the Declaration of Independence and the U.S. Constitution seriously.

If you'd like to know where I stand on your pet issue, feel free to email me and we can discuss it.

Religion
I'm spiritual, but not religious. I believe in God, but I choose to celebrate the deity in my own ways.