NEW ORLEANS (Aug. 26, 2003) — Gambit Weekly is pleased to welcome new staff writer Katy Reckdahl.

A longtime contributor to Gambit Weekly, Reckdahl has already received numerous local and national awards for her work in these pages. Her ongoing reports on juvenile justice earned her the 2002 Casey Medal for Distinguished Coverage of Children and Family Issues; her reporting on Tallulah and other juvenile justice issues also earned her a first-place Alternative Newsweekly Award. Other top awards include first-place honors from the Press Club of New Orleans and the Louisiana Press Association, and her reporting on homelessness was recognized with a 2003 James Aronson Award for Social Justice Journalism.

Reckdahl, a native of Grove City, Minn., previously worked for the Minneapolis-based alternative weeklies Twin Cities Reader and City Pages. She has also worked extensively in radio; she served as a producer for “A Prairie Home Companion” and has contributed to “The Writer’s Almanac” and other public radio programs. She first moved to New Orleans in 1999 to work with the syndicated radio show “American Routes.” While based in the city, she has freelanced for The New York Times and People magazine, in addition to Gambit Weekly.

“Katy’s in-depth reporting and her way with a story represent alternative weekly writing at its best,” says Gambit Weekly Editor Michael Tisserand. “Her contributions as a staff writer will help this paper present an ever-truer portrait of our city.”