Megan Pacer has reported up and down the eastern Peninsula, starting as an Alaska journalist at the Peninsula Clarion before moving to the Homer News two years ago.
“At the Clarion, I was mainly the public safety reporter, covering crime, courts and breaking news. I was also the reporter covering the city of Soldotna, and did photography and design layout for the paper as well. Here at the Homer News, I’m the only full-time reporter,” Megan said.
As the sole reporter, Megan covers education, city government, local sports, crime and, sometimes, arts and entertainment. She also handles the community announcements, obituaries, birth announcements and takes some of the photos in the Homer News.
“That’s pretty important because, without any one of the three people that work in this building, we just wouldn’t have a newspaper. I feel a lot of people don’t realize there are only three employees at our office who work to put the Homer News together,” Megan said.
Megan doesn’t have a set schedule as a reporter, and spends her day where the stories take her.
“I don’t have a set 9-5 schedule so I start and end my days whenever the stories that I’m covering dictate. Sometimes it’s an early morning to catch a boat across the bay, other times it’s late nights photographing a football game that goes into overtime or covering a city council meeting that goes late,” she said.
When she’s not working, Megan enjoys spending time with her cats, Moose and Bear, working on her photography business or finding new ways to be earth-friendly.
“This summer I started my first-ever compost and it feels great! One of my biggest interests is the death industry and learning about how we can all work to have a more eco-friendly death that helps the planet instead of hurting it,” she said. “Homer in particular is a great place to practice this as there several options for traditional burials. We even have an artist who weaves eco-friendly caskets.”
This summer, she’s been enjoying the unseasonably warm weather through gardening and different trips through Alaska and Outside.
“Something that’s pretty important to me is staying in touch with friends and family. Earlier this summer I took a long trip back home, rented a car, and made all around the Midwest to see most of the people who are most important to me,” she said. “Some of these are friends I’ve had since middle school. That felt amazing and was much needed. A real accomplish would be fitting in visits with the people I missed before the end of this year.”
When she does get the chance to visit her hometown in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, she’s in good company.
“The town where I grew up is home to a “humongous fungus.” Scientists discovered the humongous fungus in the early 1990s, and at the time, it set the record for the largest single living organism. It stretches on under the ground for acres and weighs 440 tons, which is roughly equivalent to three blue whales,” Megan said. “Every year of my childhood, I helped celebrate this big mushroom by participating in the Crystal Falls, Michigan Humongous Fungus Festival, which still happens every year. I highly recommend it if you’re ever pay a visit to the Northwoods.”
