The Statesman newsroom just said goodbye to Shawn Raecke, a staff photographer and page designer. After 10 years in Boise, he and his family are moving to Montana.
Raecke was a full-time page designer when he started at the Statesman, but he wanted to take pictures. He began receiving occasional photo assignments, which eventually grew into regular ones. He kept designing, too. He has been Business Insiders designer for most of the past year, crafting our covers and inside pages, where his pictures appeared frequently. My favorites include his Feb. 8-14 cover on Steve Appletons death and the striking inside pages of our Jan. 18-24 package on commercial real estate.
I worked closely with Raecke and came to appreciate not only his design and photography talents, but his reliability, conscientiousness and easy-going nature. Right on! he would say where others would say Good or OK. Well miss him.
Driving on Karcher Road east of Nampa the other day, I noticed signs in some farmers fields. The signs labeled the crops being grown: mint, onions, sugar beets.
I sometimes cannot identify the small plants in some fields as I pass them. Those signs were made for people like me. So heres a thank-you to the Agribusiness Committee of the Nampa and Caldwell Chambers of Commerce, which sponsors the signs, and to participating farmers. Youre making the rest of us a little smarter about what you do.
David Staats is the editer of Business Insider. Email him at dstaats@idahostatesman.com.


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