Geiger Heights man named managing editor

CHENEY -- The Cheney Free Press has hired a new managing editor to lead coverage of the West Plains.

Lucas Walsh, 33, of Geiger Heights, joined the newspaper staff Tuesday, Sept. 20.

“To help contribute balanced and fair journalism to this great community,” Walsh said.

“We’re excited to have a journalist on staff committed to providing readers ‘just the facts’ coverage,” Publisher Roger Harnack said.

A working editor, Walsh will personally cover local news while leading reporters in the Free Press coverage area.

The son of a pastor and theologian, he developed a respect for literature and history, as well as a deep loyalty to the pursuit of truth for the benefit of his greater community.

Walsh was born in Spokane and migrated to Winston Salem, N.C., with his family, where he would spend most of his childhood. At age 13, he returned to Spokane with his mother and sister.

In his 20s, Walsh worked with several mental health advocacy groups, and met his future wife, then a colleague. He also established himself as a freelance writer, editor and essayist.

In 2018, Walsh and his wife (then fiance) moved to the West Plains and began focusing more on the future of their family as well as their community. Both worked in outpatient settings through most of the pandemic and found that persistence and dedication to keeping the family together gave them a renewed sense of purpose concerning their responsibility to the community.

Walsh said it became clear he needed to vest interest in the cities of Cheney and Spokane through his writing.

“We are all citizens of this community, and we have a common interest in preserving and enriching it, not only for ourselves, but for all those who come after us,” he said.

Walsh said he believes strongly in his new responsibility to Free Press readers; he defines that responsibility as “journalistic integrity, objectivity and truth.”

Outside of writing, he finds structure, fraternity and purpose with the Freemasons, as well as other community-oriented organizations.

At home, he cooks, reads and spends time with his wife and children, who help keep him grounded.

“We want the citizens of our community to be informed and to feel heard, so give us call or write us a line if you have a story!”

Email story ideas and news tips to Walsh at [email protected]