Welcome to CagleInk

Hello and Happy Autumn Everyone!

Spring seems to be a rebirth of sorts for people in many situations. The days are longer, the weather is warmer, and people genuinely seem happier. I, too, fit into this category somewhat. However, my own rebirth occurs sometime between the end of the summer and early fall.

And with the first official day of autumn less than a few hours away, I wanted to take the opportunity to introduce CagleInk to the world. It is a blog that will focus on my passions in life - news, politics, media, sports, and entertainment. My hope is that you find CagleInk an informative and inviting blog for lively discussions.

I am a former newspaper reporter who covered politics, health, and education for the Owatonna People's Press in Owatonna, Minnesota from July 2006 to January 2009. Before moving to Owatonna, I was a general assignment reporter for the Burnett County Sentinel in Grantsburg, Wisconsin from August 2005 to June 2006. And before becoming a pro, I was a student reporter for The Reporter at Minnesota State University, Mankato, as well as an intern for the Mankato Free Press.

I decided to start this blog after my girlfriend's aunt challenged me to get back to writing and become an informative and objective media source - especially in politics. Having grown up in Minnesota and covered politics, it is hard not being a political junkie. After all, we are the state that elected "The Body" to the Governor's mansion, as well as liberal satirist Al Franken to the U.S. Senate and the fiery conservative and tea party leader in Congress, Michele Bachmann.

One of the things I have a knack for is predicting election winners and losers before Election Day. I am proud to say I have predicted more election wins than losses. In a way it's like picking winning teams in the NFL; it all depends who you listen to and how much you pay attention to the news.

Given the polarization in Minnesota and the rest of the country today, I feel like we're all expected to drink the Kool-Aid or eat the Baja Sol without any question as to whether our preferred candidates are being truthful or not. And when I worked as a reporter, I found it nauseating listening to scripts and non-answers to basic questions on policies and why citizens should support a candidate running for office.

One thing you will learn about me is that I am a liberal thinker with an independent streak. I have voted for candidates in all four major parties in Minnesota since 2000 (the Green Party had major party status after Ralph Nader garnered more than 15 percent of the vote in Minnesota in the 2000 elections. However, they became a minority party again following the results of the 2002 elections when none of its candidates could muster 15 percent of the vote). I prefer being a critical thinker to all the issues and throw topics out there for the world to discuss as opposed to sticking with a script.

Without the script, people are able to rationally discuss things happening in their state and the rest of the country - which is what I hope to accomplish with this blog.

So sit back, grab a beverage, and enjoy the discussions of politics, media, sports, entertainment, and other things happening in the news!

Cheers!

Jeff Cagle,
Publisher and Editor of CagleInk