Chelsea Self / Post Independent
Hello Rifle and Garfield County. I wanted to take a little bit of time to introduce myself.
My name is Kyle Mills, and I am the new editor of The Citizen Telegram serving western Garfield County.
My wife Angela and I recently purchased a home here in Rifle, along with our daughter; we have lived in Garfield County for two years now.
I grew up in a Jerome, Idaho, a small farm community very similar to Rifle and the surrounding area, just not as close to the mountains.
The son of a fourth-generation farmer, my blue-collar parents raised my three brothers and me to work hard and follow our passions.
Being the youngest, I knew my chances of taking over the family farm were slim, and at an early age I decided that I wanted to document and tell people’s stories through photos.
With the help of my high school yearbook teacher, I chose to work in the newspaper field covering local communities. I was able to cover several events for my local weekly, the North Side News, and still remember the pride I felt seeing my first photo published in newsprint.
After earning an associate degree from College of Southern Idaho and a bachelor’s degree from Western Kentucky University, I spent a year interning at daily newspapers in Idaho and later Indiana.
May career path took me back to Idaho once again, landing my first full-time journalism job in Lewiston, Idaho, at the Lewiston Tribune.
For 17 years, I covered Lewiston and the surrounding communities as a staff photographer.
I learned what community journalism is all about — meeting community members and telling their stories — covering town and local school sporting events.
That is where I learned the true meaning of community journalism.
In order to truly tell a community’s story you must be a member of the community.
I retired from my staff photography position in 2017 to follow the love of my life to the great state of Colorado.
The first year in Colorado I did odd jobs and picked up a few freelance jobs with local papers, but mainly I enjoyed the beauty that is the Western Slope.
But something was missing; I felt the pull to return to storytelling.
Ink runs through my blood, and I jumped at the chance to become a member of Swift Communications a year ago.
For the last year I have been working as the features/creative editor at the Post Independent in Glenwood Springs.
There, I have been covering human interest features, arts, entertainment and even documenting local events from Carbondale to Parachute.
Something was still missing. I felt like I didn’t belong to the community of Glenwood, because I didn’t live there.
I had been drawn to Rifle almost since the day I set foot on Colorado soil — the charm of Third Street, the rustic feel of the county fair and of course the picturesque backdrop of the Roan Plateau.
When the word came that former CT editor Alex Zorn was leaving, after a short conversation with my family I decided to throw my hat in the ring.
Monday marked my first official day on the job, and I hit the ground running chasing stories and filing through emails.
You will be able to find me at The Citizen Telegram office in the Midland Building on Third Street in Rifle.
Feel free to stop by and say hello, and if you have a story or know of someone who does, don’t hesitate to call or email.
I hope when you pass me on the street, you’ll say hello. I look forward to meeting the community, and it will be an honor to lead your community newspaper.
