We are the Hennepin Herald.
Hennepin County has the second-largest budget in the state, after the state of Minnesota itself. But their decisions are often opaque.
Enter the Hennepin Herald. We cover the Hennepin County enterprise, their policies, their budgets, and their contracts, as well as local, county, state, and federal policies that affect how the Hennepin County enterprise delivers services to its residents.
What We Cover
County Board meetings and decisions — what's on the agenda, what gets voted on, and how it affects residents and workers
County operations and spending — how public money and staffing are allocated and how it aligns with the County’s priorities
The County workforce — the conditions, policies, and management decisions affecting the thousands of people who provide county services.
Our Mission
We help Hennepin County residents understand what their county government does, including the services, projects, partnerships, decisions, and the people who deliver them so the public can engage as informed participants in public life: backing what works, scrutinizing what doesn't, and pressing for continual improvement.
Who We Are
The Hennepin Herald is published by AFSCME Local 34, the union representing Hennepin County social services workers. We publish this paper because we believe you deserve to know how your Hennepin County government, its commissioners, as well as its partners, are addressing challenges facing the county, its residents, and its workers. Our reporters and editors maintain full editorial independence.
Clint Combs
Clint Combs is a contributing journalist at Hennepin Herald. He has also published stories in The Guardian, Unicorn Riot, Minnesota Spokesman-Recorder and Racket. Combs is a contributor to the City Cast Twin Cities podcast. Combs has written about health care union workers fighting for worker and patient protection between health giants in Minnesota. He has also written about how the federal government targeted union workers during Operation Metro Surge. Combs studied English Literature and Journalism at Miami University based in Ohio.
Chris Juhn
Chris Juhn is a Twin Cities based photojournalist. He started his career back in 2014 with a big focus on sports photography. But soon after he shifted his focus to photojournalism. Chris has covered a wide mix of coverage along with a heavy focus on covering the activist community in the Twin Cities. Some of his larger coverage has been around Standing Rock, the police killings of Jamar Clark, Philando Castile, Justine Damond, George Floyd, and others. Along with covering the conditions inside psychiatric institutions in Mexico City. He’s freelanced for the Spokesman-Recorder, MPR News, Sahan Journal, Racket MN, City Pages, Ground Truth Project, News2Share, and many others. His photography has been published globally. When Chris isn’t on assignment Chris he loves cooking, spicy foods, hiking, doing wildlife photography, and chasing the northern lights.
Cam Gordon
Cam Gordon was born and raised in Hennepin County and has worked in the area as a teacher, musician and writer. He authored the book, Together with Montessori, and operated a small childcare and music education business before he was elected to the Minneapolis City Council in 2005. He served four terms, until 2022, as Ward 2 City Council Member. His work in journalism began before he was elected has resumed since. It includes writing for the nationally distributed newspaper, Public School Montessorian, as well as for neighborhood newspapers Seward Profile, Southside Pride, Southwest Voices and the Longfellow Nokomis Messenger.
