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Sharon Schmickle is an award-winning freelance journalist with 27 years of experience covering local, national and international news on a wide range of issues.

Through mid-2007, Sharon was a reporter for the Minneapolis Star Tribune, most recently as a foreign correspondent. She currently writes for the innovative news site MinnPost.com. In 2003, she was embedded with the U.S. Marines during the invasion of Iraq and the subsequent war, reporting for the Star Tribune and McClatchy News. She also has covered conflict in Afghanistan. In all, she has reported from 22 countries on stories ranging from Japan’s fear of biotech crops to restless youth in Egypt to tension in France over farm trade.
 
During the 1990s Sharon was a Washington Correspondent and an acting Washington Bureau Chief for the Star Tribune.

Beyond graduating from the University of Minnesota’s School of Journalism, Sharon has studied under fellowships including the Templeton-Cambridge 2007 journalism fellowship at Cambridge University in England, the Knight Science Journalism program at Massachusetts Institute of Technology and the Council For the Advancement of Science Writing Inc. in New York.

Her many awards listed below include an Overseas Press Club first place for covering global farm-trade disputes and a McClatchy President’s Award for stories about global resistance to biotech crops.

   Emmy Award for the Upper Midwest Region, 2007, as part of a Star Tribune team covering Liberians in Minnesota.
   Editor and Publisher’s EPpy Award, 2007, as part of a Star Tribune team covering Liberians in Minnesota.
   McClatchy President’s Award, 2002, for a report from Japan on the global controversy over genetically modified foods.
   Minnesota Associated Press Association, 2000, First Place in News Writing and Continuing News Coverage for articles about the human genome, stem     cells and cloning.
   Washington Correspondent of the Year, National Press Club, 1996, for articles on the stake of one Minnesota community in federal budget debates.
   Washington Correspondent of the Year, Society of Professional Journalists, 1996, for articles on the stake of one Minnesota community in federal budget debates.
   Pulitzer Prize finalist, 1996, for articles on U.S. Supreme Court justices and West Publishing Company.
   The Raymond Clapper Memorial Award, 1996, first place, for articles on U.S. Supreme Court justices and West Publishing Company.
   The Barnet Nover Memorial Award, 1996, second place, for articles on U.S. Supreme Court justices and West Publishing Company
   Overseas Press Club of America, Malcolm S. Forbes Award for the best business and economic reporting from abroad, 1994, for coverage of agricultural trade issues.
   Oscars in Agriculture, University of Illinois, 1993, for coverage of agricultural biotechnology.
   Agricultural Reporter of the Year, 1992, the National Association of Agricultural Journalists for coverage of agricultural biotechnology.
   National Association of Agricultural Journalists, 1990, first place, for coverage of U.S. sugar policy.
   Minnesota Associated Press, first place awards in 1988 for agricultural coverage, 1986 for coverage of a dogsledding expedition to the North Pole, 1984 for coverage of child abuse.