Crystal A. Proxmire, journalist
Crystal A. Proxmire has been a reporter and a seeker of truth for as long as she can remember. At age eight she and a young cousin began their first newspaper, The KC Times. At nine she won second place in a Why I Love America contest and was thrilled to see her name and an excerpt published in The National Enquirer. In sixth grade she managed News 2 U from 202, Clark Elementary’s first school paper, and in high school she wrote nonfiction and helped create Calliope, the school’s first literary magazine.
She is best known for creating a mini-revolution called The Muskegon 115, a completely local online news source that came out on the first and fifteenth of each month. The paper brought the community together in a way that has affected the nature of communication and neighborly behavior in the area to this day. Sadly the paper ended when Proxmire returned to Detroit in 2005 to help her family after their estranged mother’s death, but the influence and spirit of The 115 lives on in the community and in her current advocacy and journalism projects.
Here is a sampling of Proxmire’s journalism work:
Ferndale Friends, August 2008- current
(link coming soon!)
Muskegon 115 Quarterly
(coming soon!)
The Muskegon 115, June 2005- Nov. 2005
PDF of “The Best of The Muskegon 115”
Word Document “Fifteen Lessons from the 115”
Selected Stories: Dollar General Sells Recalled Necklaces, In Cindi's Words: Why Posthumus Lost the Mayor's Race (And What's Next), Requiem for a Stream,
Trans.zine!
“Tat to Trans. trans.zine! Summer 2007: page 20
The Muskegon Tribune, Oct. 2004- Dec. 2004
“Getting CLEAR About Electricity.” The Muskegon Tribune. Dec. 6, 2004: 1, 3.
“Consumer Advocates Weigh in on Obesity.” The Muskegon Tribune. Nov. 22, 2004: 2.
“New Store Gets Catholic Blessing.” The Muskegon Tribune. Nov. 22, 2004: 5.
“The Dirt on the Drain Commissioner.” The Muskegon Tribune. Nov. 22, 2004: 1,5.
“Red Cross Teaches Caring Kids.” The Muskegon Tribune. Nov. 8, 2004: 1.
“Ruddiman Creek Clean Up in the Works.” The Muskegon Tribune. Nov. 1, 2004: 1.
“A Taste of Fatland: Author Tells it Like it is.” The Muskegon Tribune. Nov. 1, 2004: 3.
“Campaign Craze Hits Local Cars.” The Muskegon Tribune. Oct. 25, 2004: 1.
“Controversial Movie Brings Students Together.” The Muskegon Tribune. Oct. 25, 2004: 3.
Midwest Business Alliance Journal, June 2004- Oct. 2004
“Help Wanted: Scam or Opportunity?” Midwest Business Alliance Journal. Oct. 2004: 6.
"Paying for Bad Credit". Midwest Business Alliance Journal. June 2004: 3.
The Madonna Herald, 2000
"Gifts for Last Minute MU Shoppers." Madonna Herald. Dec: 2000: 1.
The Endometriosis Support Group Newsletter, editor, 1998-1999