New reporter Larry Lease joins the Havre Daily News staff

Larry Lease, 30, has joined the Havre Daily News staff as a new reporter.

"I like the news and I like writing, so I kind of just put them together," Lease said.

Lease grew up and spent most of his life in Wasilla, Alaska, population of more than 10,000 people, he said, and while he lived there he became interested in politics. He added that the area he grew up in was political and was something people just got involved in. He said that he enjoys discussing politics.

He said one of his parents served in the U.S. Air Force, and his family, inclduing him and his three older sisters, moved around the country quite a bit. In his free time, he said, he enjoys relaxing and watching television, his favorite program being "Criminal Minds."

Lease said he has spent time in California, Washington, D.C., and Texas, and he moved from Texas to Havre. He added that his favorite place to live so far is Washington D.C.

He said he rode the Empire Builder into town Feb. 28, and his first memory of Havre is the statue of James J. Hill, which stands in front of the depot.

He grew up home-schooled, he said, finding it a simpler way of doing school. His favorite subject being history.

After finishing school, Lease traveled to Florida, attended and graduated from the University of South Florida, earning a bachelor's degree in mass communications in 2017. He said he picked Florida because of family and because of the school.

After he graduated, he traveled to Rawlins, Wyoming, and worked for the Rawlins Times in 2017, he said. He said one of his biggest stories he worked on while he was there was about a plane that crashed in Minnesota and killed three Rawlins residents. He said it was a big story for his community and it was an interesting story to work on.

He added that he enjoys working on feature stories.

After he left Rawlins, he said, he moved to Texas to be near his family and worked at a movie theater before joining the Havre Daily News team. He added that he is looking forward to growing as a news reporter.

"I enjoy how people do different things in different areas," Lease said.