Lys Morton joins Revelstoke Mountaineer

Hi there, I’m Lys Morton, the newest Revelstoke Mountaineer reporter. Having spent the last six years referring to myself as, “Prairie boy, Island bound,” it would appear I’m about to become “mountain man.”

Admittedly, my last two journalism roles, managing editor for The Nav and then reporter for The Discourse – Nanaimo kept me in a community I’d spent a decade in. It’s an area I was comfortable reporting on. Growing up I may have spent a chunk of time in and around the Revelstoke area, it being a favourite day trip destination and a stop point to visiting family in Kelowna. But that’s not the same as having lived in an area for at least a couple of years before you start annoying city council with the reporter notebook. I’m asking a lot from you, dear reader, that you give me the grace and opportunity to dive head first into reporting on a community I’m brand new to.

My work in Nanaimo has involved giving myself a crash course on our political systems so I can help break down federal, provincial and municipal elections. I’ve worked to bring a digestible debrief of city council meetings to readers so we can all stay up-to-date on what’s going on. Not everyone has time and ability to digest three hour long council meetings, I want to help with that.

I’ve reported on various stages of the housing crisis, the complexities of local crime indexes, what possibly led to a house exploding in town, and all sorts of the art gems in and around Nanaimo. While most of those stories aren’t unique to Nanaimo, they all sure had their Nanaimo flavor to them. I can see parallels in the work I’ve done and the stories Revelstoke is looking for, but I can’t wait to dive in and see what exactly the community wants reported on.

Thanks for having me, and I’ll see you on the flip side.