GRACE AIGNER: Hi everyone. I’m Grace Aigner from the Minnesota Daily. Welcome back to another episode of In the Know, a podcast dedicated to the University of Minnesota.
On a special episode today I’m gonna be chatting with Hannah Reynolds, the multimedia editor for the Minnesota Daily. Hannah became the multimedia editor in January. Hi Hannah.
HANNAH REYNOLDS: Hi.
AIGNER: How are you?
REYNOLDS: How are you? I’m good.
AIGNER: Could you just introduce yourself for the pod listeners.
REYNOLDS: Yeah, so I am Hannah Reynolds. I am a senior at the University of Minnesota right now. I have been a Daily reporter for about the past year and a half. And I started out as a beat reporter on the campus admin desk now campus admin desk, and now I am the multimedia editor. And I run the desk of photographers right now.
AIGNER: So what has that transition experience been like from staff reporter to multimedia editor?
REYNOLDS: Yeah, it’s been an interesting one. You know, I, I feel like when I came back, I studied abroad, and when I came back I was, you know, expecting to kind of go into more of a managerial, role and position and it definitely was that. But the last two weeks was a lot more chaotic than I had prepared for. But, that being said, I think that we all as a desk really took that on and, and, you know, did the best we could.
For me it’s, you know, I’m not writing stories anymore. I’m trying to capture them visually. And it’s a totally different, it’s a mind shift for me going back to, you know, not just like helping, you know, people figure out how to do that effectively, but also having done it, you know, in the last two weeks, picked up my camera for the first time in like five months and doing that effectively too.
So it’s just been, it’s been a transition and it’s been weird because like, again, I hadn’t picked up my camera in about five months and, and then the last two weeks I’ve picked up my camera quite a bit.
AIGNER: And those last two weeks, obviously.
REYNOLDS: Yeah. Yeah.
AIGNER: You’ve been doing a lot of on the ground coverage of ICE in Minneapolis, Operation Metro Surge.
REYNOLDS: Yeah.
AIGNER: Covering protests, covering confrontation between ICE agents and Minneapolis residents. And you were very active on January 24th, which was the day Alex Pretti was shot and killed by two ICE agents.
REYNOLDS: Mm-hmm.
AIGNER: In Minneapolis. Can you walk me through that day?
REYNOLDS: Yeah. So, I think to do that effectively, I need to kind of walk you through the day before.
AIGNER: Perfect.
REYNOLDS: Because Friday was very planned out. Me and the photo team, but also people on the video desk planned to go cover the mass blackout, economic blackout protest happening in downtown Minneapolis.
And we did that. We showed up at you know, like noon. And, and we came here to the office and then we went and we, we covered that for about five hours. We were out in, you know, sub-zero temperatures for a very long time taking photos. Our cameras got so cold that they stopped working at one point because it was just freezing.
But that was a very, it was a monumental day to be a part of because there were 50,000 people that showed up, more than 50,000 people, according to the Strib and according to the New York Times. And so, it was just a crazy day to try to document. And we did that and then we all went home and we were like, pat on the back, we did a good job. We’re gonna publish a photo story of Friday.
AIGNER: Right.
REYNOLDS: I was like, I’m gonna sleep in because it’s Saturday.
AIGNER: Mm-hmm.
REYNOLDS: I woke up to about 90 messages on my phone.
AIGNER: As did I.
REYNOLDS: Yep. And I was, it was like 10:30, 11. I did not know what was going on. But I knew that two reporters, Tyler and Is abella had gone to the site of the shooting. I broadly got up to speed and then I was like, do you have a, do you need a photographer?
So Tyler, he said, “Yep try to get here if you can.” And so I got in my car. I literally ran outta my apartment with my camera and my badge. And just drove to, you know, the place I could ditched my car, you know, closest was about five blocks away.
So I walked and when I got there, I couldn’t get to where they were because the, if I am not mistaken, I think it was state police and the federal agents had blocked off the street at that point. So I was two blocks away. They were in it.
They were closer than I could get. But I stood, I stood there as they were, you know, dispersing the crowd that had gathered at the end of I’m gonna maybe get this wrong, but the 26th and Blaisdell.
And so we were standing there and it was a very like, tenuous moment. because we, I think everybody up the block was like, what’s gonna happen next? And they did, you know, use less lethal, you know, ammunitions and tear gas. And that happened. It went from, they were, you know, barricading the block to dispersing the crowd within minutes.
AIGNER: ICE agents or state police?
REYNOLDS: State police, state police. It was a combination of, of state and federal forces.
AIGNER: Right. Yeah.
REYNOLDS: That were working together. And so, but I was, you know, I was there, I showed up, I started taking photos, and then they just. Started to disperse the crowd. I was standing on the sidewalk.
I didn’t have a press vest so I was keeping my distance just out of my own safety because I wasn’t visibly press. I had a small little badge, so I was standing up the block a little ways. And then the federal they said FBI over the loudspeaker. They said this is the FBI disperse. Move.
And so then everybody started to get out of the way. But I, there was a guy that came marching up the block from, I, I swear he like literally came out of a house. I, I don’t know. He kind of just appeared and he had the Minnesota flag in his hand and he marched into the middle of the street as the armored cars were coming up the street and he got right in front of the car.
And he just stood there. And he didn’t move and he knelt and I got that photo. I stood partly in the street to try to get that photo which was a little, you know, I was playing it a little unsafe at that point. It was, you know, it was just this crazy, insane couple seconds and I didn’t know what was gonna happen next.
And that was just like, it was just wild to witness and be there. And so then after that I got texts from Isabella and Tyler and they said they’re deploying more tear gas. I was like, I don’t have a vest. I’m not necessarily in the best protective gear. Right. And so, you know, he was like, get out, go.
And so again, like here, we’ve all had the same conversation, like our safety is number one, and we’re not gonna like put ourselves at greater risk than we need to. And so I left shortly after all that happened. But yeah, that was the first time I’ve ever gone into any situation like that.
I mean, I’ve covered organized demonstrations and, and photographed those things, but I’ve never gone to, you know, a site of even two blocks away from where somebody was shot and killed only hours before. And in like the intensity of everything going on in Minneapolis, the amount of people that were just showing up, like people were streaming outta their houses in whatever gear they had to go and stand on the side of the street.
It was just an, it was an insane moment to just experience standing there in, in like the chaos of what was unfolding, but then all these people coming together to protest at the same time.
AIGNER: Did you recognize that when you were there or did it not quite register with you? What exactly.
REYNOLDS: Yeah,
AIGNER: You were. In the midst of and trying to capture until later?
REYNOLDS: I honestly think when I saw all the messages on my phone and I saw, “Hey, yeah, we need a photographer.” I immediately flipped into work mode. And I think that, you know, as you know, student reporters were taught how to do that, right?
In a stressful situation, we have to kind of be. We have to be calm. And like I, for me, in those types of situations as is like when something is scary or stressful, I do get calm. And that’s just kind of my baseline. And so I just immediately was like, I got it. I’ll grab my camera, I’ll go.
And so it wasn’t only until after I was driving away that I called my dad and I was like, did you, have you seen the news and have you seen anything? And he was like, no. And I’m like. I don’t even know how to begin explaining the last three hours of my life.
AIGNER: Right.
REYNOLDS: And so it was just really, really, and then when I was explaining it to him, I’m like, oh my gosh, like there is this man who was shot and killed. And that was when I was really recognizing it. I was like another person, you know, because this is the second death, you know, following Renee Good you know, being shot and killed by federal agents.
And it was just this tragic, like heartbreaking moment that I had as I was pulling into the parking lot of my apartment. I’m like, oh my God. Like what? Like how, and again, like I’ve grown up here most of my life, like I never would’ve imagined these were like the headlines that would be happening about art, like my state and, and, and it’s just so tragic and sad and, I just felt a lot in that moment.
But then again, I kind of had to dive back into work mode because photographers on my desk, we started to send people to, you know, different sites, you know. People protesting and then demonstrations and then the vigils, right? So I had to flip back kind of into what’s next?
AIGNER: Managing people mode.
REYNOLDS: Managing people, because I wasn’t just a photographer. I had other people that I had to direct and make sure they were safe. And that was the next like six, eight hours of my life. Like I didn’t get back to my apartment until probably almost midnight that night.
AIGNER: And I ran into you.
REYNOLDS: Yeah. At the vigil. It was in Van Cleve, right. And that was one of like hundreds happening across the city and across the state. Which I learned going on social media. There was just people finding the corner of blocks on their street in Minneapolis to just go stand with a candle. It was wild.
AIGNER: One last quick question about that day and then. We’ll kinda move on a little bit. You had a mo, you left the site where Alex Pretti was killed and the protests that kind of were starting to form.
REYNOLDS: Mm-hmm.
AIGNER: You spoke to your dad, you had a moment of recognition.
REYNOLDS: Mm-hmm.
AIGNER: About what you were just a part of.
REYNOLDS: Yeah.
AIGNER: And what you were seeing. You go back into work mode, where are you at? At around eight, 9:00 p.m. that night in terms of like emotional, mental, work focus?
REYNOLDS: Honestly, I was sitting in the daily office and I was just exhausted. I was just like pouring over like hundreds of images that, you know, people had gone and gotten at the vigils and like just exhausted.
I think emotionally, I just wasn’t, again, I think even after like days after, they’re like, “Oh, how are you?” And I’m like, I don’t know how to answer that question. And it’s not because I, like, I don’t feel sad or I don’t, you know, it’s just because it’s a lot to like. Kind of walk through, and then like for us, we’re trained to be the observers, right?
We’re not necessarily there because of political affiliation or belief or you know, like we’re supposed to show up and be the neutral party. And in those situations, you know, it’s like we’ve, we’ve talked about it in class, but like those are things that you really don’t like know, or like how to deal with until you’re in it is like how to separate yourself emotionally.
And so you do kind of have to emotionally distance yourself from it, but that like you’re human and like somebody died. And so again, I was like exhausted, but then I finally at like eight or 9:00 p.m. funny that you bring up that time I literally was sitting in the office and like I finally got to watch the video all the way through.
I’d only seen a clip before I had to like, just go and get in my car and leave. Like a very brief part of the clip. I hadn’t seen it all. I hadn’t seen the entire interaction.
AIGNER: You mean between Alex Pretti and, yeah.
REYNOLDS: Yeah. Between Alex Pretti and the federal immigration agents. And so I, I didn’t see that like he had been helping a bystander. I didn’t see, you know, the aftermath of how he had been shoved down to the ground and all these things, these factual facts as a reporter that you’re trained to, like, you know, pay attention to and, and, and recognize. And I was just, you know, I, as a person and as a reporter, I was horrified by what I saw and I just was really horrific.
And so, again, that was another moment where I was just like, holy crap. Like this actually happened. Because you’re kind of like, you know, running on adrenaline. And I think I told Sophia, who’s the arts and entertainment editor.
AIGNER: Sophia Arndt. Yes.
REYNOLDS: Yeah. And she, she was like, “How are you,” at the vigil. I was like, “I’m running on adrenaline.” Like I’m not, I don’t think I’m mentally here right now, so, yeah. Yeah.
AIGNER: So you mentioned vests.
REYNOLDS: Yeah.
AIGNER: You were just mentioning a vest.
REYNOLDS:Yeah.
AIGNER: And I wanna talk to you a little bit about, PPE. You said you kind of were at that site in a flash.
REYNOLDS: Yeah.
AIGNER: You weren’t, you didn’t feel particularly prepared?
REYNOLDS: No.
AIGNER: No vest on, which means a press vest, um, that goes over clothes for those listening. In block letters in white, it should say press or something like that. So it designates you as an observer, essentially.
If you were to go out and cover an instance like what happened at the site, Alex Pretti was killed, or another protest in downtown Minneapolis, what would you need to wear? What would you need to have? Tell me about how you as a journalist have to try and keep yourself safe.
REYNOLDS: Yeah, no, a lot of newsrooms are having that conversation and even, I think we’ve all had the conversation in our newsroom of like, what do we need to invest in? And it’s a lot of stuff that we didn’t think we ever had to invest in.
So, if I’m going into that type of situation, given what’s been going on which for context, like, you know, federal agents have been deploying some, you know, things that are known as less, less lethal, ammunitions and.
AIGNER: Like rubber bullets.
REYNOLDS: Rubber bullets.
AIGNER: Tear gas.
REYNOLDS: Yep.
REYNOLDS: Pepper spray. Yep.
AIGNER: Some more dangerous gases as well.
REYNOLDS: Correct.
AIGNER: Yeah.
REYNOLDS: And we’ve seen on social media that that’s not just been used on protesters. It’s been used on journalists. Jana Shortal or KARE 11.
AIGNER: Mm-hmm.
REYNOLDS: She was not only physically assaulted, but she was pepper sprayed right in the face as she was covering what was going on the same day as, you know, the Alex Pretti shooting. And so, so, no reporter and I have to give a lot of credit to the guys on the video desk. Specifically Casey, because he was out at Whipple.
He was doing a lot of coverage and, and Neil, um, was also out covering the aftermath of both of them were out covering the aftermath of Renee Good’s shooting. And they, they did, you know, they put gas masks on, they had, you know, a lot more of the PPE that you need. And so, to kind of backtrack, like what we do need when we’re in those situations is you need a gas mask, preferably a, a good one.
That’s not, you know, the Home Depot ones that we went out and got ourselves we’re fine, but you know, there are different types of gases being used. We learned in a training that we did a HEFAT training, which is like a Hostile Environment Training at the Star Tribune, that they’re not just using like tear gas.
They’re also using corrosive gas. That’s been, that was, you know, found out they use corrosive gas in, Portland, Oregon. At least that was found after one of the demonstrations. And so, you know, that’s as like, you know, that’s as toxic as it can really get. For somebody that’s inhaling that stuff. So you need a good gas mask, you need goggles. You need to be able to have saline that you can, you know, pour, you know, squirt in your eyes if you do get tear, tear gassed.
Having a first aid kit in your car, you know, that’s accessible. Something that we learned at the Strib is actually having a tourniquet on you. That can save a life. You know, I never would’ve thought to pick that up and put that in my bag of supplies, but now I’m. It’s literally on its way from Amazon.
Like I’ve invested in some of this stuff myself. And as a newsroom, like we’ve invested in more press fests, we’ve invested in more first aid kits. We have a whole big beautiful shelf now dedicated to it, and it’s good, right?
AIGNER: Mm-hmm.
REYNOLDS: Like, it’s kind of crazy that that exists now, but I, I think if that had existed a, you know, a week ago or two weeks ago now that the shooting of Alex Pretti occurred, I would’ve come here first and gotten that gear and then I would’ve gone into the scene. I just didn’t, we just didn’t have that set up yet.
AIGNER: Right.
REYNOLDS: And so again, I will never go into that situation ever again doing that. Because that was the first lesson I was like. Oh, they don’t, they won’t know that I’m press if I get too close. And so I was holding my badge out at the last resort and shooting with my camera in the other hand.
AIGNER: Right.
REYNOLDS: Just to like make it a little bit more obvious. So again, gas masks you know, saline, press vest. Absolutely. Just some of these things that you kind of feel like you’re gearing up to go into war and like, it’s hard not to feel that way, but you’d rather be safe than sorry.
And so at least that’s the lesson that we’ve all kind of gained over the last two weeks. Like, don’t put yourself in greater danger or greater risk than you have to.
AIGNER: I, in conversation with just other co reporters here, editors here at The Daily, I think for sure the, the fact that we are now purchasing protective gear is definitely another moment of recognition of what, the reality of what’s going on in Minneapolis right now and our role as journalists there. I did not anticipate that The Daily would be purchasing bulletproof press vests.
REYNOLDS: Right.
AIGNER: Personally.
REYNOLDS: Right, yeah. With the ceramic plates. Yeah.
AIGNER: Yep.
REYNOLDS: Yep.
AIGNER: Yep. So.
REYNOLDS: It’s a wild time.
AIGNER: And like you said, but it’s good.
REYNOLDS: Yeah. Yeah.
AIGNER: A crazy thing to say, but it’s, it is. Yeah. So do you have any moments from covering the two, economic blackout protests in downtown Minneapolis, either from behind your camera that you caught or in interacting with folks who showed up to protest that have really stuck with you?
REYNOLDS: Yeah. So I only covered the, the one before the death of Alex Pretti.
AIGNER: Apologies.
REYNOLDS: Um, but, the two, back to back was wild. So, but the, the one that I did cover with the, the people on the photo desk and a video desk was just, again, I think for me, when I got onto the crowded like metro line and it was packed.
Like, I, again, I studied abroad and so something in London that you’re used to, that you get used to is this packed tube line and the tube is the metro system there. And it was that. It was that. And I, and I was just like, oh my gosh. Like this. This is, I have not seen a metro line that packed in ever.
I don’t think I’ve ever in, you know, I’ve used the metro when I’ve lived as I’ve lived here, and it’s never been that busy. Shoulder to shoulder, you couldn’t squeeze more people in. And then we got there, and again, it was the sheer number of people that showed up. In subzero, subzero temperatures is not even really giving it the full picture. Like it was negative 40 with windchill. It was really, really cold. And so, it was the people, the number first of all, that just like really stuck with me.
But then like some of the conversations I had a really great conversation with he was a former vet, he was a corporal in the, in the military. And he, he was just so raw and honest about how he felt about the situation. You know, and like I have it in a quote in the caption, in our photo, in our photo story that we published, he was just like, these people are evil.
Like what they’re doing is not what I, basically what he was saying was like, I, this is not what I went to war for. This is not why I fought for my, this is not the, this is not what I stood for as I, like, you know, fought for my country. And, that was just a very heartbreaking interaction, because you could see it on his face that like, he was just devastated that like, this is what was happening.
Because it’s clearly, you know, it just was such a, it was such a moral, ethical dilemma for him, as somebody that, you know, was in the military and he was, he was really, really upset. So that was a conversation that really stuck with me. And then another woman who we met in the skyway, because people were resorting to going in the skyways to get breaks from the cold.
She, she just was watching and she was almost in tears. She was like, “This is beautiful.” She told us that she lived near George Floyd Square and she was like, we need more people to show up for our neighbors, especially our, our diverse neighbors, because Minneapolis is incredibly diverse and we have so many different cultures that make up the different wards and neighborhoods, you know, in our city.
And so she was just very moved by the crowd and we have this great picture of her standing in front of the window and then just. Thousands of people behind her or in front of her. And, that was just a really great moment too, just to talk to them and then hear their, their input and their stories, so.
AIGNER: Powerful.
REYNOLDS: Yeah.
AIGNER: Getting into my last couple questions for you just generally, you’re also a student.
REYNOLDS: Yeah, somehow.
AIGNER: Quick reminder! How has your experience as a student here and your perspective on the ongoing Operation Metro Surge been changed by your role as a journalist as well in terms of how you feel on a day-to-day basis going to class the decisions you make about anything. Um, where you go, whatever. How have those two pieces of your life been kind of intertwining?
REYNOLDS: I think that, again, there’s, I, it’s like it’s hard for me to separate myself from the job that we do, a little bit. But I think if I were to put myself in just the student shoes of like, “Oh, you know, you actually have to care about homework and things like that.” And I’m a senior too, so I think that’s part of it that I’m just like, I don’t, like, I don’t have the mental capacity. Some days I really don’t have the mental capacity to deal with it.
And I think everybody, at least people I talk to, it’s like we’re still supposed to be normal somehow when we’re living through such a historic moment. But it’s like historic in a really kind of like fearful we don’t know what’s gonna happen next kind of way.
And I think that it’s really difficult because something I, my sister, she called me after Renee Good, was shot and killed and she just was like, “It just keeps getting worse.” And like, what? What are we gonna like, what do we do?
And it’s really hard because like, like that’s my younger sister and it’s like, how do you, you know, and it’s, it’s so, it’s difficult. It’s like, it’s difficult to confront what’s going on and then try to be a normal person, if that makes sense. And like, take care of yourself and all these things that like basic normal functions, you’re, you’re a human being at the end of the day. But yeah, I, it’s just, it’s just something that, it’s not easy for me to do. I’ll lose track of that very easily. But yeah, so yeah.
AIGNER: Yeah. I think your experience is very relatable for a lot of people in this office, including myself in some ways. So, my last question for you is, what is something that you want people who maybe don’t live in Minneapolis or don’t totally understand what’s happening here, or are maybe apathetic to what’s happening here, to know about your experience, what you’ve seen? What the reality of what’s happening here? The fear.
REYNOLDS: Yeah.
AIGNER: That people are experiencing.
REYNOLDS: Yeah, that’s a good question. I, I think it’s twofold really, because, I think you have to understand that if you don’t live here, you don’t understand how beautiful Minneapolis is as a city. And I think Minneapolis truly has gotten just a, like a not great rap in the news and in the news cycle.
And from people’s point of view, they’re like, “How do you live there?” And I’m like, “Well, let me tell you a little bit about it and maybe I’ll change your mind.” Because again, I’ve grown up here most of my life. Like I’ve lived in the cities and I’ve, you know, lived in different parts of Minnesota and it’s, it’s a beautiful place to be and it’s a beautiful, you know, city and there’s a lot of people here that we’re seeing kind of come together during this time in a really really wild way.
And in a way that’s very unique from, you know, other places where this has happened and where federal immigration has gone in the amount of community organizing and neighbors, you know, going and getting groceries for people and all this stuff. So that’s the part that I don’t want people to lose track of is that there is, there is this community that exists and that we, like our people really genuinely care about each other.
And I think that that’s, that’s really hard to like see from all the crazy footage that you’re gonna see on like CNN, where it’s literally looks like a war zone. That’s not, I mean, I, I hope that like mainstream media can show more of the community organizing that’s going on, the neighbors that are pulling together resources to go shopping and or get diapers or, you know, this, that and the other thing.
There’s so much of that going on too, which really speaks to like the character of people that live in the city, but also the state. And so, while there’s a lot of ugly and there’s a lot of sad right now, there’s also a lot of things that you can look at and you’re like, “Oh, that is like the character of that city and it’s not defined by what’s happening to it at the same time.”
AIGNER: Well said. Do you have anything else you wanna share with people?
REYNOLDS: No, that’s, you know, it’s just, again, crazy time to be a student. Crazy time to be a young adult. And I think that yeah, I think, you know, we’ve talked about this, but like, it’s just we have to take it day by day.
And so for anybody that’s like processing what’s going on and like they’re at a distance, you also have to take it day by day. Something we’ve been told, don’t be constantly saturated in your newsfeed. Like we’re, you know, in news like we’re, we’re, you know, student reporters.
I literally have to take 48-hour breaks from my phone. So you have to still remember that, again, you’re a human. Don’t lose track of that. And the new cycles are always gonna be there. Take a break and take care of yourself. Because we have to maintain some type of composure during this time. And so the best thing you can do is just like protect your peace a little bit here and there.
AIGNER: Thank you so much Hannah for being here today. This was a wonderful conversation. I’m so glad that I got the chance to sit down with you. You do excellent work here.
REYNOLDS: Thank you.
AIGNER: You can find her on the Minnesota Daily website. Alright, that’s all I’ve got for you today, folks. This episode was recorded by Grace Aigner, that’s me, and Hannah Reynolds, and produced by Ceci Heinen.
Thank you for listening and if you have any questions, comments, or concerns, don’t be afraid to send us an email at [email protected]. I’d love to hear from you.
My name is Grace Aigner. Be safe, be well and I’ll talk to you next time on In The Know.
