Maggie Menderski

About

Today I work for a metro daily, but I began my reporting career in a rural, scrappy newsroom shortly after the Great Recession. I wrote multiple stories a day, took all my own photos, designed pages and even helped stuff ads into newspapers. Juggling all those roles shaped my work ethic and gave me a deep appreciation for every facet of this industry. I joined The Courier Journal in Louisville in March 2018, and I specialize in narrative, first-person storytelling for the features desk. My work primarily focuses on what makes Kentucky, Louisville and Southern Indiana unique, wonderful and occasionally a little weird.At the same time, I'm also an incredibly flexible news reporter. I often turn narrative content quickly in major breaking news situations. In the past few years, I've covered ...2025: Southeastern Kentucky tornados that killed 19 people2024: Hurricane Milton in Southwest Florida (remote assistance)2023 The Old National Bank mass shooting in downtown Louisville, Kentucky2022: Historic flooding in Eastern Kentucky that killed more than 25 people2021: Western Kentucky tornados that killed 80 people across several cities 2020: The 120th day of Breonna Taylor protests in Louisville, Kentucky2020: The onset of the COVID-19 pandemic 2017: Hurricane Irma in Southwest FloridaOver the years, I've won five national awards, and more than 40 state and regional honors. I also co-authored the book "150 Years of the Kentucky Derby: Through the Lens and Voice of The Courier Journal," which was published in 2024. Today's Woman magazine named me the 2024 Most Admired Woman in Media.Beyond storytelling, I aim to be a team player and a thoughtful colleague. Since 2018, I've co-hosted an annual Thanksgiving Day "feast for the strays," which has become a tradition for many journalists and recovering journalists in the Louisville area.A former colleague once described me as "a one woman welcome wagon with a memory of steel," and my supervisor wrote in a recent review that "Maggie is uncommonly kind, making her the ultimate team player, willing to help her teammates at a moment’s notice."