Star Tribune’s Jill Burcum Pulitzer finalist for editorial

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Star Tribune editorial writer Jill Burcum was named a Pulitzer Prize finalist Monday for her piece last November on the proposed Twin Metals copper-nickel mine in northern Minnesota.

The judges praised Burcum “for passionate, persuasive writing about a pristine wilderness area, accessible largely by canoe, to demonstrate to readers why a proposed mine would do incalculable environmental damage.”

The Star Tribune reports Burcum credited the team at Star Tribune Opinion, particularly assistant commentary editor David Banks, for supporting her work on the Boundary Waters Canoe Area project.

In 2015, Burcum was a Pulitzer finalist for editorial writing for her “Separate and Unequal” series on dilapidated Bureau of Indian Education schools.

The Pulitzer Prizes in journalism were first awarded in 1917 and are considered the field’s most prestigious honor in the U.S.