Tim Nelson is a general assignment reporter for MPR News. He has covered education and the Republican National Convention for MPR. He is a 20-year veteran of newspapers across the Upper Midwest. He spent 16 years at the St. Paul Pioneer Press, where he covered city government. He has also covered crime, written a recreation page and produced blogs and podcasts. A native of Coon Rapids, Minn., Nelson attended Gustavus Adolphus College and the University of Minnesota. He's an avid runner and once swam across lake Minnetonka. He lives in St. Paul with his wife, Erika, daughter Emma and son Gunnar.