It was a normal week at MinnPost: With the busy legislative session underway, state government reporter Peter Callaghan turned in four stories with the kind of depth, insight and perspective our readers have come to expect from him.

The weeks ahead, however, will feel anything but normal, both in the MinnPost newsroom and for our readers used to seeing his byline. That’s because Peter quietly ended his run at MinnPost on Friday after more than 10 years. 

Back in 2014, Peter was among the first full-time staff reporters to join our digital nonprofit newsroom, which was founded in 2007 by Joel and Laurie Kramer. His first beat was covering the Twin Cities, where he explained to readers how the policies in Minneapolis, St. Paul and other regional governments were affecting people. That included extensive coverage of the Southwest Light Rail Transit project, which is still not up and running.

Peter became MinnPost’s state government reporter in 2018. He covered multiple legislative sessions, Tim Walz’s first and second elections as governor of Minnesota, the 2023 “transformational and bonkers” session under a DFL trifecta, a new recreational cannabis law and, most recently, a historic tie in the Minnesota House. 

The list of what Peter covered is long, but the impact those 1,400+ stories have had on Minnesota over the years has been deep and far-reaching. Peter’s reporting influenced policy making agendas and led to material changes in policy. His writing connected and illuminated how government actions affect people’s lives. Peter’s journalism has served our state countless times, and we’ll continue to see evidence of that impact long into the future.

We thank Peter and wish him all the best in his return to the Pacific Northwest. If you’d like to send him any notes of appreciation, MinnPost executive director Tanner Curl is collecting them here and will pass them along.

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