From The New Editor

Hi Folks,

I’m Doug Miner, the new editor of the Maplewood-Brentwood Patch, but not new to Patch or the area. Many of you know me as a freelancer for .

Ryan has built a real community around this news source, that lots of you use daily. He's left me in in good shape. Thanks, Ryan.

Ryan has taken a new job in Patch and I'm honored to be moving into his old position. I plan on continuing to make Patch your best source for news about Maplewood ad Brentwood.

I’m probably best known around the high schools, and to be honest, I’m sure a few more Maplewood residents know me than Brentwood. That’s because two football seasons ago, Ryan gave me the Blue Devils beat and he took the Eagles.

I’ve been in St. Louis 26 years. My wife, Nancy and I started out in an apartment in Clayton, then moved west in St. Louis County.  A year ago we came back east to Maplewood. My parents lived in Ballwin, before they retired, and I had grandparents who lived in Kirkwood since the 1940s.

High school sports are one of my favorite things. The start of every season feels like Christmas–especially football. Now that spring break is over, I’m thinking about baseball, girls soccer, and track, and how to cover it all. At the very least I’ll try to get to the Maplewood-Brentwood matches.

I can sit in front of a computer only so long, then I have to get out and see what’s out in the real world. It’s a great way to run into stories. I have a weakness for backhoes and dump trucks; any public works thing going on.

I also bring 25 years of experience making a living as a photographer to the job. Back to sports–it’s a favorite of mine to shoot. After a game, I’ll use a handful of pictures for the story, and dump the rest onto the appropriate Facebook page.

I also like to shoot with my iPhone, which is always handy.

Every day is an adventure now. I’m happy and excited to take on this position.

Reach me anytime at doug.miner@patch.com.