Harvest Public Media welcomes two new reporters, Eva Tesfaye and Xcaret Nuñez, to its regional collaborative network, covering food systems, agriculture and rural issues throughout the Midwest and Great Plains.
Both are part of the Report for America corps, a national service program that places journalists into local newsrooms to report on under-covered issues and communities for up to three years.
Tesfaye joins KCUR and will be based in Kansas City, Missouri. She was most recently an associate producer on NPR’s daily science podcast Short Wave. Tesfaye also served as a Kroc Fellow at NPR, working on national newscasts, shows and podcasts and reporting for the Gulf States Newsroom. She received her Bachelor of Arts in English from Columbia University.
Tesfaye will report on agriculture, food and the environment for KCUR and Harvest Public Media. She will also contribute reporting on air and water quality issues to the Mississippi River Basin Ag & Water Desk, an initiative of the University of Missouri’s School of Journalism.
Xcaret Nuñez will be based in Oklahoma City with Harvest partner KOSU. Nuñez is a recent graduate of the University of Missouri, where she received a Bachelor of Journalism degree. She has worked as an anchor, producer and reporter for KBIA in Columbia, Missouri. Nuñez also served as an intern for WBUR’s national program Here & Now.
Nuñez will cover agriculture and rural communities for KOSU and Harvest Public Media. Her coverage will focus on undercovered farming and food issues that affect both rural and urban residents in Oklahoma, particularly the Latino community.
“I’m so thrilled to welcome both Eva and Xcaret to Harvest Public Media,” said Harvest Editor Maria Altman. “They bring great experience with them and will help us expand our coverage of agriculture, food systems, climate and rural issues.”
Harvest Public Media is based at KCUR 89.3 in Kansas City, Missouri. Its full partners are St. Louis Public Radio; Illinois Public Media; Nebraska Public Media in Lincoln, Nebraska; Iowa Public Radio; and KOSU in Oklahoma.
Tesfaye and Nuñez both join Harvest Public Media on June 1.
