‘A bright light’: Nancy Cassutt Ison worked in journalism for more than 40 years
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A prominent Twin Cities journalist and media executive is being remembered by friends and former colleagues as an energetic and compassionate leader at a time of change and uncertainty in the journalism industry.
Nancy Cassutt Ison, 64, died of a glioblastoma brain tumor on June 19 at her home in Hudson, Wis., according to her obituary.
During more than four decades in the journalism industry, Ison worked her way up from reporting for a TV news station in Duluth to helping to lead the newsrooms of both WCCO-TV and MPR News, according to her LinkedIn profile. She also helped lead the American Public Media program Marketplace through the pandemic and a company called Internet Broadcasting, which helped TV stations post their stories online in the early days of the Internet.
In a post on LinkedIn, Sahan Journal founder Mukhtar Ibrahim recalled the support she provided him in starting the site.
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“Nancy believed in me when I didn’t quite believe in myself, and that belief became the foundation for everything I’ve built,” Ibrahim wrote. “That's the Nancy I will always remember. The one who made the impossible feel possible.”
A memorial at Sahan Journal said Ison was dedicated to the power of journalism, “and she used that power with humility, generosity, and always a radiant smile.” The Hudson Star Observer detailed how Ison stayed physically active by playing golf, running and dancing with friends, even after her cancer diagnosis last spring.
She was married to former Star Tribune journalist and retired University of Minnesota journalism professor Chris Ison, who told WCCO-TV that she passed quickly with he and their daughters by her side. “You know Nancy, she had things to do elsewhere,” Chris Ison told WCCO-TV.
In an email to staff, MPR News executive editor Jane Helmke called her “a bright light and champion of exceptional journalism.”
She is survived by her husband, Chris Ison; daughters Kathryn (Craig) Skarnes and Alison Ison; granddaughters Esme and Lena Skarnes; and brothers Michael and Mark Cassutt, according to her obituary at O’Connell Funeral Homes.
Visitation is scheduled at 10 a.m. at St. Joan of Arc Church in Minneapolis. Her funeral will be held at 11 a.m. In lieu of flowers, Ison’s family has asked for donations to Arm in Arm in Africa or Sahan Journal.
