Joel Hoekstra, editor of Minnesota Monthly for the last three years, and a senior editor for the previous four, has announced he'll step down Jan. 18 to try his hand at a new venture -- content strategy, at his new website, www.refresh-content.com.
"Editors have been producing content forever," he said. "If they can get past panicking about technology changing every six months, they realize It's about figuring out how best to use multiple formats."
Under Hoekstra's leadership, Minnesota Monthly featured more service-y covers, like the "top doctors" and real-estate issues, but maintained the longform journalism it has been known for as well, even in the face of challenging staff and resource reductions. Some of the articles he is most proud of during his tenure include one on Asian carp's arrival in Minnesota – "we called that pretty early" – and a profile of Michele Bachmann from seven different points of view. "People buy the magazine for the service, but remember it for the narrative, the meat inside," he said.
