A pair of University of Iowa journalism students will soon be hitting the streets in Solon seeking out stories to tell.

Reanna Robb and Lily Graham are in this fall’s Iowa Community News class and have Solon as their assigned beat. The class is considered a “capstone” class – a course in which students put the knowledge gained throughout their college career into practical experience.

Ty Rushing, Assistant Professor of Practice and instructor this semester, explained the thought process behind the course.

“The idea behind this class is multifaceted: It provides the University of Iowa journalism students a unique real-world experience while in a classroom setting guided by veteran community journalists. This partnership also allows us to support local newspapers (The Solon Economist and the Mount Vernon-Lisbon Sun), which are the backbone of any thriving small town, alongside the schools, churches and business community.”

Rushing and Erin Jordan co-taught the course this past spring with students “pitching” story ideas for both newspapers.

“One thing I wanted to try this semester was to assign the students community beats,” said Rushing. “The idea is to get those students familiar with a particular town rather than the scattershot approach we did previously. I want them to become invested and knowledgeable about the towns they cover, which will make them better reporters, but also let the community get to know them, too.”

Rushing based the pairings on transportation and experience levels.

“I wanted to make sure each student either had a car or a partner with a car. I’ve also had half the class in a previous reporting course, so I partnered students I’ve already taught how to cover local government with students who may not have that experience to balance out each team’s skill level.”

This fall Reanna Robb of What Cheer and Lily Graham of Sioux City have been assigned Solon as their beat.

“Reanna took public affairs reporting with me in the spring, and she’s passionate about uncovering the truth in small towns. I haven’t had Lily in class yet, but I know she’s serious about journalism and has a nose for news,” said Rushing.

The pair, and their five classmates, took a tour of Solon last Tuesday and will be out and about in the community in the coming weeks.

“They will be a great fit for Solon,” said Rushing.