Members of the 2026 Legislative Reporting Project team — from left, Eleanor Steffen, Abbey Mulcahy, Mike Mulcahy, Kendra Mobilia, Shay Scanlan and Karina Kafka — stand in front of the Minnesota State Capitol in February 2026. Photo by Glen Stubbe for Report for Minnesota
Report for Minnesota Legislative Project
Reporters Abbey Mulcahy, Kendra Mobilia, Shay Scanlan and Eleanor Steffen and photojournalist Karina Kafka are covering the 2026 legislative session. More about the team from our partners at KAXE.
Student reporting team
Karina Kafka, photojournalist
Karina Kafka is covering the 2026 legislative session as a visual journalist.
She is a multimedia journalist and photojournalist based in Minneapolis, studying journalism at the Hubbard School.
Karina works across video, photography and documentary storytelling, with experience in newsroom reporting, broadcast production and long-form documentary projects. She is especially interested in visual storytelling that centers on people, culture and social issues.
Kendra Mobilia, reporter
Kendra Mobilia, from Duluth, Minn., is a junior at the University of Minnesota studying journalism. She is working at the state capitol during the next legislative session for the Legislative Reporting Project and is eager to share stories from the capitol to areas of Minnesota outside the metro area.
When she is not writing and reporting, Kendra enjoys crocheting and spending time with her family and friends, especially her miniature dachshund, Charli.
After graduation, she hopes to stay in the Twin Cities to report on politics and continue to follow her passion of writing.
Abbey Mulcahy, reporter
Abbey Mulcahy is a junior at the University of Minnesota studying journalism and English. She grew up in Maple Grove, Minn., but moved to Minneapolis for school.
Abbey currently reports for the Legislative Reporting Project at the state capitol, in addition to writing for the Minnesota Daily as an arts and entertainment reporter. Her favorite stories to write are those that highlight overlooked corners of a community.
Beyond journalism, Abbey loves to walk her dogs, attend local theater performances and spend the weekend camping. She hopes to continue reporting throughout Minnesota after graduation.
Shay Scanlan, reporter
Shay Scanlan, from Saint Paul, Minn., is a senior at the University of Minnesota studying Journalism. She is currently a reporter at the state capitol, writing for the Legislative Reporting Project.
Shay also writes for The Minnesota Daily as a city desk reporter and is passionate about political and community-based reporting.
Upon graduating, Shay hopes to continue writing throughout Minnesota and advancing in her reporting career. Outside of journalism, Shay likes seeing local music, walking around Minneapolis’ lakes, and hanging out with her family and friends.
Eleanor Steffen, reporter
Eleanor Steffen is a senior journalism student from Rhinelander, Wis., studying at the University of Minnesota. Eleanor is currently writing for the university’s Legislative Reporting Project at the State Capitol. She has written previously for the Hubbard Reporting Experience and most enjoys civic journalism and feature writing.
After she graduates this coming May, Eleanor hopes to stay in the Twin Cities and continue pursuing community-based reporting opportunities.
Aside from journalism and writing, Eleanor loves watching movies with her roommates, thrifting with her sister and camping in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula.
Editing and leadership team
Mike Mulcahy, Legislative Project editor
Mike Mulcahy spent four decades covering news and politics in Minnesota for radio and TV. He spent most of his time working for Minnesota Public Radio covering the Capitol and politics and eventually serving as political editor.
During the final decade of his career, he hosted “Politics Friday,” an hour-long program allowed political figures a chance to debate issues at length. He retired in 2023.
Mike stepped in to edit our Report for Minnesota Legislative Project stories from a Capitol space shared with the St. Paul Pioneer Press.
Glen Stubbe, Legislative Project photo coach
Photojournalist Glen Stubbe covered politics and other adventures for the Minnesota Star Tribune in Minneapolis from 1998 until his retirement in 2024. He has been covering the world’s celebrations and news events for 30 years, photographed the last eight Presidents, a few kings, queens and prime ministers.
He grew up on Long Island, N.Y., and graduated from Syracuse University with a B.S. in Photojournalism.
Assignments have taken him to China and India, Columbia and Nicaragua, the White House and the halls of Congress. He has worked for other news organizations in Washington, D.C., Florida and Pennsylvania. He earned the Minnesota News Photographer of the year award, Visual MN, in 2015, 2016 and 2017
George Bagrov, Legislative Project digital producer
George Bagrov is a second-year Master’s student in Journalism and Mass Communication at the University of Minnesota, where he conducts research on political news audiences. In his work as a graduate research assistant at the Minnesota Journalism Center, he produces stories for the Legislative Reporting Project.
In his free time, George enjoys spending time in nature, discovering new bakeries in the Twin Cities and watching documentaries.
Gayle (G.G.) Golden, associate director of educational initiatives, Minnesota Journalism Center
Gayle Golden is a senior lecturer and Morse-Alumni Distinguished University Teacher at the Hubbard School of Journalism and Mass Communication. Her teaching interests include community journalism, literary journalism, magazine writing and teaching the full range of news reporting, writing and digital skills to today's student journalists.
She has launched and coordinated practicum classes that place students in newsrooms in the Twin Cities for embedded educational experiences to move them into careers. She also coordinates summer placements for students in news organizations serving marginalized communities in urban areas and envisioned the Report for Minnesota program to serve rural communities in outstate Minnesota through student placements and support.
She also oversees a yearly class that publishes impactful student coverage of "hidden" student "communities" through an online publication known as AccessU, which teaches students to engage with all levels of communities deeply and accurately. "Our vision is to merge the needs of our students to learn the fundamentals of their craft with the needs for good journalism in every part of our state," Golden says.
2025 Reporting team
I am a sophomore at the University of Minnesota double majoring in art and journalism. My favorite part about reporting is learning about a broad range of topics and talking to diverse members of my community. As an intern at the Capitol, I have covered ambulance services, education law, forever chemicals, and more. Outside of journalism, I make pottery and design jewelry. I incorporate my creativity into journalism to tell compelling stories about my community.
I am a second-year journalism and anthropology major at the University of Minnesota, originally from the D.C. metro area. Growing up, I’ve always been fascinated by storytelling, and I’m incredibly grateful to be starting my career in this field. As one of the first students to intern at the state Capitol through Report for Minnesota, I loved learning the ins and outs of political reporting and discovering the human element behind policies. Outside of reporting, I’m passionate about attending concerts, listening to and composing music, and watching documentaries about the world around me. I’m excited to continue my journey in storytelling and see where it takes me!
I am a journalist from the University of Minnesota with a focus on audio storytelling as well as political reporting. During my time in school I covered sports, politics, written feature stories, produced audio stories and more. I am currently working as an intern at the state capitol for the Report for Minnesota Legislative Program. I hail from the great state of Maine where I have spent many summers as a camp counselor, most recently leading the Counselor in Training Leadership Program. I apply the skills and lessons I've learned at camp to help be a leader in everything I do.
Forum News Service Legislative Interns
Jack O'Connor is a fourth-year University of Minnesota student majoring in journalism and political science from Southern California. Jack is also the city desk editor at the Minnesota Daily and has published work in the Star Tribune, Iowa Capitol Dispatch and Park Bugle. In his free time, Jack goes on runs and listens to music.
Emma Ritter is a third-year journalism and political science student from the St. Cloud area. Her favorite type of journalism is political reporting. In her personal time, she loves to read, crochet, and spend time with her friends.