Readers of the Juneau Empire may have noticed a new byline appearing in the newspaper.

The Empire welcomes Dana Zigmund to the editorial staff, augmenting the current reporters and increasing the Empire’s ability to cover the community of Juneau rapidly and accurately.

“We’re excited to add Dana to our news team,” said Ben Hohenstatt, the Empire’s editor. “I think the breadth of her experience as well as her professionalism will greatly add to our ability to cover stories that matter to our readers.”

Dana Zigmund

Moving to Juneau from the Midwest with her husband, who works for the state of Alaska, Zigmund’s previous experience as a reporter and as a public affairs officer for U.S. Bank have allowed her to come off the blocks with speed.

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“I started my career working at a newspaper. I had probably 5-6 years of newspaper work,” Zigmund said. “It’s a different perspective covering the news rather than generating it.”

Hohenstatt said he’s impressed with how quickly Zigmund has readjusted to working in a (socially distanced) newsroom.

“She’s certainly hit the ground running in the short time she’s been here,” Hohenstatt said. “I couldn’t be happier with the addition of our newest reporter.”

When not working, Zigmund said, she enjoys walking, hiking, and Pucker Wilson’s.

Living in Juneau since late 2019, Zigmund said there’s a few subtle differences between the greater Chicago area and Alaska.

“The weather is more consistent here. You get a lot of ups and downs there,” Zigmund said. “Chicago gets much colder. And it’s a dry cold.”

Zigmund said width and breadth of stories available are great. Her favorite so far was a timely one.

“The museum piece, about the COVID artifacts they’re collecting,” Zigmund said. “That was fun and interesting.”

The variety of things to write about in Juneau is fabulous, Zigmund said.

“One thing I really like being back at the paper is the large variety of topics that come up,” Zigmund said. “Instead of banking, it could go from schools to a shot eagle to who knows what.”

• Contact reporter Michael S. Lockett at (757) 621-1197 or mlockett@juneauempire.com.