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Recent additions to the Tribune newsroom are bolstering the newspaper’s coverage of local and state news.
Jackie Jahfetson is reporting on energy and environment issues in North Dakota. David Velázquez is covering local governments along with the business scene and health care issues. Photojournalist Darren Gibbins is capturing area happenings with his lens.
“The latest additions to our team here at the Tribune will strengthen our commitment to covering the community,” Editor Amy Dalrymple said.
Jahfetson is a native of Keweenaw Bay, Michigan. She graduated from Northern Michigan University in 2019 with a bachelor’s degree in multimedia journalism. She was editor-in-chief of her college paper.
She worked as a city reporter at The Mining Journal in Marquette, Michigan, before moving to the Dickinson area following visits to western North Dakota. She freelanced for The Dickinson Press and worked a temporary copy editor position for the Tribune before becoming city reporter at the Dickinson newspaper in October 2020, a role she filled until being hired full time at the Tribune.
“When not fulfilling deadlines, I enjoy performing at local open mics, horseback riding, photography, hiking, weekend road trips to Montana and learning about ranch life,” she said.
Jahfetson can be reached at 701-250-8252 or jackie.jahfetson@bismarcktribune.com.
Velázquez is a native of North Carolina. He graduated from Wake Forest University in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, last May with a bachelor’s degree in communication. He is covering the Bismarck and Mandan city commissions, the Burleigh and Morton county commissions, as well as area school boards and park boards.
“I came to Bismarck with professional and personal goals,” Velázquez said. “One of my professional goals is to help the Bis-Man community be more aware about how local government impacts their life on a day-to-day basis. A few of my personal goals are to survive the winter and to see the Great Plains.”
Velázquez is fluent in English and Spanish. He enjoys cooking, skiing, swimming, visiting national parks, and music. He plays the trumpet and piano.
He can be reached at 701-250-8264 or david.velazquez@bismarcktribune.com.
Gibbins has returned to the Tribune after more than three decades to fill a photojournalist role vacated by his longtime mentor Mike McCleary.
Gibbins is a 1985 graduate of Bismarck High School and has been documenting life on the Plains for various newspapers including The Forum since black-and-white film was still an industry standard in the early 1990s. With stints in North Dakota, South Dakota, Minnesota and Wisconsin, he has covered everything from Green Bay Packers Super Bowl runs to presidential visits.
“Having paid my dues here under (photographer) Tom Stromme as photo lab tech decades years ago, I look forward to picking up where Mike left off assisting Tom with visual storytelling from behind the camera lens,” Gibbins said. “It’s great to be working with friends.”
Gibbins previously worked with Dalrymple at The Forum and with Tribune crime reporter Travis Svihovec at The Mobridge Tribune.
Gibbins enjoys spending time with his German shepherd, Chance, and spinning vinyl on his Technics turntable.
He can be reached at 701-250-8206 or darren.gibbins@BismarckTribune.com
Jackie Jahfetson
David Velazquez
Darren Gibbins
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Jackie Jahfetson
David Velazquez
Darren Gibbins
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