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Dallas Morning News hires new editor who is both female and Black

She'll start in early August.

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The Dallas Morning News has a new executive editor: Katrice Hardy, replacing Mike Wilson, who resigned in 2020.

Hardy was most recently at the Indianapolis Star, owned by parent company Gannett, where she'd been editor for about a year; she also served as Gannett's regional editor for the Midwest, overseeing newsrooms throughout Indiana, Illinois, and Kentucky.

Unlike Mike Wilson, who is a male and white, Hardy is African American and a woman, which the Dallas Morning News notes is a trend in the story they posted re: her hiring.

"In the past few months, a number of major U.S. newspapers have appointed Black executive editors to lead their newsrooms," their story says.

So they're not alone on this, or going out on a limb. Other papers are doing it, too. In fact, the Houston Chroniclealso just promoted a Black female, Maria Douglas Reeve, who was previously managing editor, to the top editorial slot.

According to D magazine, Hardy was introduced to the staff on July 21, and talked about improving the diversity of the newspaper and retaining current employees. She's due to begin on August 12.

You suppose she applied through the Linked In ad that the DMN listed back in March?

Interestingly, the news of her hire was first covered by the IndyStar. The DMN got scooped on its own editor by another paper. (The DMN also used the unfortunate "taps" as a verb in its headline: "Dallas Morning News taps 26-year veteran as its next newsroom leader," ugh.)

Prior to her stint at the IndyStar, Hardy was editor of Gannett's Greenville News in South Carolina and regional editor for the South, overseeing newsrooms in Arkansas, Mississippi, Alabama, North Carolina, and Louisiana. She also worked for many years at the Virginian-Pilot in Norfolk, ultimately as managing editor, a position she held from 2014-2016.

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Texas races to the bottom in new list of best states for cyclists

Photo by Garry Neesam on Unsplash

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In what will come as no surprise to cyclists around Dallas, the state of Texas is not a good place for bicycling riding. According to a new report of the "Most Cycling-Friendly States in the U.S.," Texas comes in at No. 47 — meaning that only three other states are worse.

The report, from Philadelphia personal injury law firm KaplunMarx, examines all 50 states based on six metrics: Air quality index, the number of cyclist deaths per one million residents, bike routes per square mile, local government actions supporting cycling, federal funding for cycling projects, and bicycle laws.

Texas musters a mere 31 points out of 100 for its "cycling friendly score."

The most cycling friendly state in the U.S.: Minnesota, which earned 84 points to claim the title.

According to the report's findings, there have been 15 local government actions per capita in Texas that integrate pedestrians and cyclists in transportation projects. Texas' has a 41 air quality index value, and there are approximately 1.2 bike routes per 1,000 square miles in the state.

On cyclist deaths, Texas does a little better, with three cyclist deaths per one million residents in Texas — about nine percent lower than the national average.

According to KaplunMarx founding partner Ted Kaplun, there is an average of 857 cyclist fatalities in the U.S. every year. He adds that every measure or community effort to improve cyclist-friendliness is beneficial for all Americans.

"It's crucial for all states to continually assess and enhance their cycling provisions, learning from both high-ranking peers and their own experiences," he says.

Top-ranking Minnesota has only one cyclist death per one million state residents. It also has about 27.2 bike routes per 1,000 square miles.

After Minnesota, the remaining top five best states for cyclists are Massachusetts (No. 2), Rhode Island (No. 3), Washington (No. 4), and Iowa (No. 5).

At the bottom of the list are Nevada (No. 48), Arizona (No. 49), and Utah (No. 50) — all of which performed far worse than Texas to be declared the three least cycling-friendly states.

The entire country still has areas for improvement when it comes to creating a safer environment for cyclists, regardless of where each state landed on the list, according to Kaplun.

"With over 53 million Americans riding bicycles regularly, the importance of cycling-friendly infrastructure and safety measures cannot be overstated," said Kaplun in the report. "This isn't just about rankings – it's about enhancing the quality of life, promoting sustainable transportation, and most crucially, saving lives."

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