He spent the last 19 of those years covering the Iowa Legislature, governor's office and executive branch agencies - including the Iowa Ethics and Campaign Disclosure Board. He was also a member of the Register's political team that reported on elections and the Iowa caucuses, and he was chief writer of the Iowa Poll. Earlier in his career he was a reporter at the Cherokee Daily Times and Waterloo Courier. He majored in political science and journalism at Iowa State University and is a member of Phi Beta Kappa. He and his wife, Diane, have three grown sons and five grandchildren.