Journalist's stories on social issues led to change

Sam Newlund wrote about everything from poverty to prison conditions during 32 years at the Star Tribune.

By BEN COHEN, Star Tribune

Last update: May 6, 2008 - 9:48 PM

Journalist Sam Newlund of Minneapolis, one of the first reporters to bring emphasis to coverage of social issues in Minnesota, affected how government and social agencies work.

Newlund, who reported for the Star Tribune for 32 years, died May 2 in Minneapolis of Parkinson's disease and other ailments. He was 80.

His work was honored by more than a dozen groups, such as the National Mental Health Association in 1980. He received a John S. Knight fellowship for professional journalists at Stanford University in 1968.

Robert Franklin, retired Star Tribune reporter and former Minneapolis Tribune city editor, said that when he started working at the Tribune, Newlund was one of the reporters he admired most.

"He was really a pioneer in covering social issues, everything from poverty to prisons," Franklin said. "The coverage of people at the edges of society, including the mentally ill, the state's care for those citizens, was outstanding and made a huge difference in public policy."

"He made a huge difference in the quality of life for many disenfranchised Minnesotans," Franklin said.

The Des Moines native grew up in Indianapolis and graduated with a bachelor's degree in journalism from Indiana University. He was a reporter for the Indianapolis Times before serving as a public relations specialist for the Army during the Korean War.

After military service, he worked for United Press International in Indiana and the Twin Cities, moving here in 1958.

At the Star Tribune, he covered welfare, homelessness, prisons, Native Americans, poverty, sex abuse and child abuse.

He particularly cherished two assignments from the 1960s: Uncovering the poor treatment of patients at Minnesota state hospitals and the series of articles "The Indian and the Great Society," said family members.

'Giving voice to the voiceless'

"He was very well respected for giving voice to the voiceless," said his son, Dean of Phoenix, Ariz.

Frank Wright, a former Star Tribune managing editor, said Newlund was even tempered, and the "kind of person you want in a newsroom."

"Sam was very versatile," Wright said. "He could pick up on the details on the complicated welfare stories really quickly and make them understandable."

But, "he could do anything and do it well," added Wright.

Newlund retired in 1991 and occasionally wrote op-ed articles for the Star Tribune.

In 2006, he wrote his last for the newspaper, a column that detailed national issues in the spirit and style of the Declaration of Independence.

In addition to his son Dean, he is survived by his wife of 23 years, Mary Pattock of Minneapolis; his other son, Ross of Minnetonka; step-daughter Kristin Bremer Seitz of San Jose, Calif.; five grandchildren and by his former wife, Nancy Adair of St. Paul.

Services will be held at 4 p.m. today at the First Unitarian Society of Minneapolis, 900 Mount Curve Av.

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