Mountain Journal, Montana Free Press, and Grist hire Ellis Juhlin as Report for America corps member covering climate in Montana

Mountain Journal, Montana Free Press, and Grist are pleased to announce the hire of reporter Ellis Juhlin to cover how climate change is impacting the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem and beyond, from worsening extreme weather to shifting energy systems and economies. The role is in partnership with Report for America, of which Juhlin will be one of 78 new corps members placed in local newsrooms across the country.

Juhlin will be an employee of Mountain Journal, with the newsrooms and Report for America splitting the costs of her salary as part of their new collaboration.

Juhlin comes to Mountain Journal from Montana Public Radio, where she worked as the environment and climate reporter covering wildlife, natural resources, climate change, and agriculture stories. She previously worked at Utah Public Radio and Yellowstone Public Radio, and worked in wildlife conservation before becoming a journalist. She has a Master’s Degree in Ecology from Utah State University.

“Ellis brings passionate curiosity, knowledge and energy to the Mountain Journal/Montana Free Press newsroom, and we’re thrilled to welcome her reporting to the team,” said MoJo Managing Editor Joseph T. O’Connor. “We’re grateful for the Grist and Report for America collaboration and look forward to working together to bring some of the best climate reporting in the country to our publications.”  

The hire marks the continued expansion of Grist’s Local News Initiative, which aims to bolster coverage of climate change in communities across the United States through partnerships with local newsrooms. Grist already has reporters embedded with WABE in Georgia, IPR in Michigan, WBEZ in Illinois, BPR in North Carolina, Verite News in Louisiana, The Salt Lake Tribune in Utah, and Flatwater Free Press in Nebraska.

Juhlin will report local stories for Mountain Journal, which will be shared for free with a statewide and regional network of syndication partners. Grist will also adapt Juhlin’s stories and bring them to its nationwide audience and publishing partners.

“Ellis cares deeply about the issues she reports on, and the communities she reports for,” said Katherine Bagley, Grist’s Editor-in-Chief.  “We’re thrilled to have her joining this partnership. Montanans deserve quality, sustained climate journalism that helps to make sense of the changes they’re experiencing firsthand. Ellis delivers that perfectly.”