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Mary Yeater Rathbun -- reporter

The Capital Times  —  4/25/2008 12:13 pm

The Capital Times newsroom knows Mary Yeater Rathbun as an engaging storyteller with a keen wit.

The traits that made her popular here also helped her forge bonds with sources in city government, which she covered with distinction as a reporter over the past year. Whether it was telling readers the compelling story of Vietnamese immigrant and City Council member Thuy Pham-Remmele, or pointing out that Kenosha's little-used streetcar system might signal problems for Madison Mayor Dave Cieslewicz's (now mothballed) vision, Mary brought intelligence and insight to her coverage.

The insight stems in part from a long career outside of journalism. She was a historian for many years and wrote three books, including a history of the Perry Norwegian Settlement in Dane County. She also worked as a grant writer for famed landscape designer Phil Lewis at his Marshall Erdman Academy of Sustainable Design.

Mary came to The Capital Times in 2004 as an assistant city editor, in charge of correspondents and the paper's coverage of Madison's suburban and outlying rural communities. Developed a productive network of stringers, just as she had done in her previous job at the Monroe Times. That's where she started her career in daily journalism earlier this decade, and she won Wisconsin Newspaper Association awards for her invesrtigative stories there about a failed bank and political corruption in Lafayette County.

She added to that collection of awards this year with a citation from the Milwaukee Press Club for her lively account of a bicyclist whose helmet was crushed, but fortunately nothing else, after a truck ran over his head.

From Chris Murphy, city editor

The Capital Times  —  4/25/2008 12:13 pm