ICE, protests and chaos: Meet the editor in the eye of the storm

The news year of 2026 began with all eyes on Minnesota and Minneapolis. Aggressive political rhetoric from the White House and a major federal ICE enforcement operation triggered fear, protests and deadly confrontations — sharply testing the relationship between government power and civil society. In a community still marked by the George Floyd tragedy, these events reignited debates over rights, power and truth.

Kathleen Hennessey, Editor‑in‑Chief of the Star Tribune in Minnesota, joins Nordic Media Days to share insight from a Minneapolis that has become a laboratory for democracy — and for journalism that must stay calm while society burns.

For journalism, this has been a brutal stress test: how do you report accurately when conflicts are acute, information is contested, and government rhetoric seeks to define reality before facts are known?

What editorial decisions have been most critical during this period? How has she worked to protect and support staff operating in chaotic and dangerous environments? How has her newsroom tried not to contribute to further escalation in an already tense community? And perhaps most importantly — what has she learned about covering a society losing trust in its own institutions?