Taylor S. Calder
Taylor S. Calder is a journalist and reporter for the Idaho State Journal who covers local food, drink and community life in Southeast Idaho. Their work links restaurant and brewery openings, neighborhood bakeries and civic initiatives, showing how small businesses and local events shape daily experience in places like Pocatello and Chubbuck. They move between feature-style storytelling and straightforward local news, often pairing on-the-ground reporting with their own photography.
Local food and drink businesses
Food coverage is anchored in detailed reporting on restaurants, breweries and bakeries serving Southeast Idaho. Calder has followed Fuji Japanese Steakhouse closely, chronicling its move to a new building in Chubbuck and the grand reopening that gave the longtime hibachi and sushi favorite more space and a refreshed atmosphere. In one piece, they frame Fuji’s relocation as a fresh start, emphasizing the restaurant’s commitment to high-quality sushi, seafood offerings and a unique hibachi experience within a stylish, comfortable setting.
In another, they focus on the logistics and promise of “more space” and “more sizzle” as the steakhouse and sushi bar prepare to shift just down Bullock Street, providing readers with a clear sense of timing, location and what will change for diners.
Calder extends this food-and-drink lens to the craft beer scene, profiling The Martlet, a new brewery in Historic Downtown Pocatello.
That coverage traces the brewery’s origins through its owner’s prior brewing experience in California, his connection to the closed Star Route brewery, and the decision to revive that space as a laid-back venue for local residents. Practical details such as the brewery’s address, opening days and hours feature prominently, making the story useful both as a business profile and as a guide for residents deciding when to visit. Their portfolio also includes a piece on a Pocatello bakery owner who is set to receive a $100,000 award after winning a Netflix food competition show, underscoring an interest in local culinary entrepreneurs whose work gains wider recognition.
Across these stories, Calder’s food reporting combines narrative about ambiance and origin stories with concrete information on menus, schedules and locations.
Community events and civic initiatives
Beyond food businesses, Calder regularly covers community events that highlight generosity, collaboration and civic identity.
One recurring theme is charitable initiatives centered on innovative donation models, exemplified by their reporting on the Light the World Giving Machine program’s return to East Idaho. In that piece, they explain how kiosks dispense donations ranging from chickens and seeds to school supplies, hot meals and clothing, outlining both the mechanics of the project and the locations where residents can participate.
The story foregrounds the tangible impact of small donations while situating the initiative within a regional circuit that includes Pocatello, Rexburg and Idaho Falls.
Calder also writes about Kind Community week, an annual event that celebrates acts of compassion and brings together local organizations and city staff.
Their coverage of the 11th kickoff describes a ribbon-cutting at Lookout Point in Historic Downtown Pocatello and notes the involvement of the Pocatello-Chubbuck Chamber of Commerce alongside representatives from both cities. The headline’s emphasis on “Everybody is welcome” reflects a broader pattern in Calder’s work: community pieces that frame events as inclusive gatherings and highlight the people and institutions working to foster kindness.
These stories sit alongside their bio description of covering human interest topics and typical local news, reinforcing a consistent focus on everyday residents and the groups that support them.
Local news and public safety
Local news coverage in Calder’s portfolio ranges from routine incidents to stories with safety implications for residents.
A recent example is their reporting on a raccoon attack that injured two Pocatello residents and prompted a response from Idaho Fish and Game officers. In that story, they walk through the timeline of the attack at a south Pocatello home and relay officials’ urging for caution around wildlife, translating an unusual event into clear guidance for the wider community. This kind of straightforward, incident-driven reporting sits alongside their human interest and community pieces, reflecting the breadth described in their own professional bio: coverage of “typical local news” in addition to more feature-oriented work.
Across beats, Calder’s stories often include their own photography, with many images published alongside the articles. Whether documenting a newly opened brewery, a restaurant’s redesigned dining room, a ribbon-cutting for a compassion-focused initiative or the aftermath of a wildlife encounter, they pair visual reporting with concise, accessible prose aimed at readers in the area they serve. The result is a body of work that consistently maps the intersection of food, community and local news, using specific businesses, events and incidents to tell a broader story about life in Southeast Idaho.
4 more food journalists.
Aaron Guerrero
Aaron Guerrero is head of the digital department at Miami’s Community Newspapers, where he pairs restaurant coverage with community-facing content. He focuses on how Miami-area restaurants evolve, celebrate, and experiment through new concepts, menus, and neighborhood-focused dining experiences. He reports on restaurant openings, such as an Italian food hall at Plaza Coral Gables, new executive lunch menus, and wood-fired Latin steakhouse brunches, explaining what sets each venue apart. He also covers awards, like a Wine Spectator honor for an Italian chophouse, and events that turn dining rooms into social hubs. His bylines extend to features on sports-themed gatherings, civic renamings, local visits to restaurant programs, sponsored community pieces, and official notices. His work is straightforward and descriptive, helping readers and local businesses connect around specific openings, promotions, and dining experiences.
Aarron Fleming
Aarron Fleming reports on how courts, jails and public safety systems work over time. He is a reporter at The Daily Memphian covering public safety, the local court system, suburban news and business developments in North Mississippi. His work follows trials, sentencing, appeals, plea deals and judicial decisions, including major cases tied to Tyre Nichols and rapper Young Dolph. He also covers jail conditions, inmate deaths, crime data, prosecution units, trafficking, shootings and public-order incidents. His suburban reporting examines cannabis businesses, restaurant openings and how commercial growth affects communities such as Olive Branch. Fleming previously covered education in the same newsroom. He uses clear, unadorned prose to explain legal steps, deadlines, institutional problems and the political, commercial and community effects of public-safety decisions.
Alana Al-Hatlani
Alana Al-Hatlani is a food writer and editor who treats recipes, restaurants, and food features as ways to explore culture, community, and the business of eating. She works on the food team at Southern Living, overseeing and contributing to print recipes and reported features. Her pastry-focused, restaurant-tested perspective comes from time in restaurant and bakery kitchens. She helps plan and write monthly food packages, including “The South’s Most Treasured Desserts,” and wrote “8 Summer Recipes Our Editors Make Every Year.” She also writes recipe tips, ingredient explainers, restaurant guides, and reported stories about workers, owners, and communities. Her subjects include regional specialties, dining scenes, kitchen basics, and food industries. Her work has appeared with OpenTable and Yahoo. She reports on the ground, explains techniques clearly, and connects specific dishes and places to larger stories about food and livelihood.
Alana Edgin
Alana Edgin is a business reporter whose strongest focus is food, restaurants and consumer-facing businesses. She works at the Lubbock Avalanche-Journal and has also had work syndicated across AOL and Yahoo News. She covers new openings, closings, expansions and franchise growth, along with retail, health, services, corporate news, data incidents, business support programs and sponsorships. Her reporting includes detailed roundups of new restaurants and businesses, coverage of El Pollo Loco’s opening, and stories on burger trucks, dessert shops, Vietnamese sandwich restaurants and gourmet markets. She also contributes to food and drink reviews, including fall coffee and jerky comparisons. Edgin reports with practical “what, when, where” details, structured comparisons and clear explanations of how offers, partnerships and business changes affect consumers and the local economy.