Ryder.

When the chance to join the staff at the Times-Republican originated this spring with the departure of assistant sports editor Noah Rohlfing, it was an opportunity Jake Ryder couldn’t pass up.

Ryder rejoined a trio of former Mid-America Publishing coworkers when he started as the T-R’s new assistant sports editor on Monday, April 17.

He previously worked with current T-R office manager Rhonda James, managing editor Robert Maharry and staff reporter Nick Baur at the Grundy Register. That, and the chance to cover Marshalltown-area athletics, made the Times-Republican a perfect fit.

“Since moving to this region of Iowa, I’ve always admired the work that the T-R has done for Marshalltown and the surrounding area,” said Ryder. “When the opportunity came to contribute to that myself, I felt it would be the ideal next step to work alongside several talented writers that I knew well.”

Ryder, a University of Iowa graduate, began his journalism career as a member of the sports staff at the Muscatine Journal. He worked as a sports reporter for more than six years before moving to central Iowa.

Ryder, who resides in Holland with his wife Cali, provided sports and news content for Mid-America Publishing’s trio of newspapers: the Parkersburg Eclipse News-Review, the Grundy Register and the Eldora Herald-Ledger.

He will be called upon for occasional news coverage with the Times-Republican, but overall his focus will be on the area’s high schools and Marshalltown Community College athletics.

“I look forward to telling the stories of the many talented people that live, work and compete in this area,” he said.

Feel free to reach out to Jake with your story ideas at jryder@timesrepublican.com or at (641) 753-6611, extension 259.