Mike Venso is a photojournalist for the Lewiston (Idaho) Morning Tribune. He has worked there for the last five years covering everything from brownie recipies to Bob Dole. After interning at the Tribune in the summer of 1990, he returned to North Idaho to work full-time in 1992.
A native of Newton, Kansas, Mike first became interested in newspaper photojournalism during his junior year of high school. He dropped his chemistry course to enroll in a newspaper class and began working for his local paper, the Newton Kansan. After high school, he attended Kansas State University working as a photographer, photo editor, reporter and editorial page editor for Student Publications, Inc. until 1992 when he graduated with a B.A. in Journalism. During his four years at Kansas State, Mike interned at the Hays (Kansas) Daily News, the Hutchinson (Kansas) News, the Wichita (Kansas) Eagle, the Lewiston (Idaho) Morning Tribune and the Louisville (Kentucky) Courier-Journal.
Mike placed third overall and won best single photo in the William Randolph Hearst National Photojournalism Championship in May, 1991. That same year he placed second in the general news category of the NPPA/University of Missouri's College Photographer of the Year Awards.
When he's not rediscovering America and himself hiking and canoeing the Lewis & Clark Trail, Mike is spending time with his family. His wife, Kathy, daughter, Amanda and their golden retriever, Bart, can all be found enjoying life in Idaho under the state's largest Dogwood tree in their own backyard.
