Meet The Pueblo Chieftain's new public safety reporter Justin Reutter

Hello everyone, my name is Justin Reutter, and I am the new public safety reporter at the Pueblo Chieftain.

I hail from Cincinnati, Ohio, where I was raised most of my life and went to college at the University of Cincinnati.

UC is where I found my passion for journalism and where I wrote for UC's "The News Record," the college's student-run newspaper.

During my time at the news record as a reporter and then News Editor, I wrote about everything from UC's Title IX crisis to the trial of a UC police officer in the shooting death of Sam Dubose, and it was during those days I found that I wanted to continue doing journalism the rest of my life.

A deadly year in Pueblo: Pueblo sees homicides double to 29 in 2021

After graduation in December 2017, I worked in a number of jobs from warehouse work to pizza delivery driver before being hired by the Chillicothe Gazette, a small newspaper in Appalachian Ohio, in August 2019.

During my time in Chillicothe, I grew a lot as a reporter and a person. In two and a half years, I spent time documenting a small town of 20,000 people in their struggles and their successes, such as the community's efforts to battle opiate addiction and the debate over designating a local waterway a "scenic" river, and a series of deaths at the Ross County Jail.

I also sat through several important trials gavel to gavel, documenting the evidence presented and the outcome for the community.

I won an Ohio Division 1 Associated Press Award for my coverage of an investigation into a community leader and local CEO who sexually assaulted several boys in the 80's and 90's.

My work led to his dismissal from his position at a local telecommunications company and the community becoming aware of him.

I also prided myself in growing relationships, not just with the local police, sheriff, prosecutor's office, and so on, but also with the community as a whole.

I moved to Colorado in January out of a desire to experience a new town and a new state, and to see more of the Rocky Mountains.

While in Pueblo, I hope to continue getting better every day as a journalist and build new relationships with the town and community.

Other things about myself: I'm a self-proclaimed "geek" who loves sci-fi and fantasy like Star Wars and Warhammer, is an avid (video)gamer (The Witcher 3 is probably my favorite game ever) and plays Dungeons and Dragons and Pathfinder weekly with friends.

More crime: Details emerge in death of Pueblo mom allegedly shot by husband

If you have any questions, comments, or story tips, contact me at Jreutterma@gannett.com. Follow me on Twitter @jayreutter1.

This article originally appeared on The Pueblo Chieftain: Meet The Pueblo Chieftain's new public safety reporter