I don’t have any great retrospective to offer as I turn out the lights on my time as a professional reporter in Polk County. I am encouraged by my discussions with Tribune and TBO higher-ups about their intentions for future reporting from Polk. But it will take some time for actual staffing decisions to be worked out.

Mostly, I want to thank you, the people who took time to read and think and comment about my reporting. You are the people who will save journalism by continuing to value it.

And I am extremely proud of having a small role in building the Polk-focused online reporting infrastructure now in place. I think we far exceed what I’ve seen from other counties. And that’s important, I think. Too much of what our neighbors along I-4 know about us focuses on the crime their TV stations cover. Covering Polk for a major news organization headquartered outside the county has made me far more of a Polk nationalist than I ever was working for the Ledger.

We’re a big, interesting, important county. Period. I’ve been proud to make that case to whoever would read. And I hope to continue to do so however I can.

Thanks.