At the beginning of Route 66, reporting on a shifting US
Reporter Harry Bruinius found a crossroads of America in the middle of Will County, Illinois, southwest of Chicago.
Not far from the legendary Route 66, Harry saw waving grasslands and bison-dotted vistas alongside a jumble of railroad tracks and cities of shipping containers. It is a place, he reports in this week鈥檚 magazine, of contrasts and transformation; progress and disruption; of debates about what it is to be American and what is worth protecting, changing, or expanding.
The story of Will County, and of what it is experiencing as an army of trucks moves an ever-expanding supply of goods across the country, is fascinating. And it is exactly the sort of piece we had hoped Harry would find as he set out to travel the entirety of Route 66, which turns 100 years old this year.
Why We Wrote This
A guiding principle for putting the Monitor鈥檚 mission into practice is to investigate ideals and endeavors, not just events. Our magazine this week does just this, with stories such as a piece from Harry Bruinius, who found a crossroads of America in the middle of Will County, Illinois, southwest of Chicago.
When we first discussed Harry鈥檚 idea to find stories along the celebrated roadway, he and I had both recently changed positions at the Monitor.
For almost two years, Harry was my editor, working with me on many of the stories that appeared on the cover of this magazine. Now, he was setting out to be our roving Heartland correspondent.
I was the new editor responsible for this magazine, and my job was to help Harry and his editor, Scott Blanchard, figure out what sorts of stories Harry might look for, how we would package his reporting, and how all of this could fit into the Monitor鈥檚 mission to give our readers the sort of news that expands one鈥檚 understanding of the world.
I didn鈥檛 have to do much. Harry and Scott embody one of our five guiding principles for putting the Monitor鈥檚 mission into practice: to investigate ideals and endeavors, not just events. And Harry鈥檚 story this week 鈥� the second of many we plan to include in these pages from along Route 66 鈥� epitomizes that Monitor approach to news and storytelling.
Other stories in our magazine this week show similar insight. Simon Montlake reports on the American superfans who are hoping 鈥� one day, at least 鈥� to give U.S. soccer a home-field advantage. Howard LaFranchi writes about the way Ukraine鈥檚 expertise in drones, hard-earned from more than four years of battling Russia, has turned the country from one begging for aid into a sought-after military expert. Story Hinckley writes about the complications of communicating climate science, and how even 鈥済ood news鈥� can be misinterpreted.
And don鈥檛 miss Cameron Pugh鈥檚 piece about the Gen Z delight for crossword puzzles.
