Dave Nimmer

Dave Nimmer has been a constant steward of the highest standards of journalism in this community for 38 years. He joined the staff of the Minneapolis Star in 1963 as a cub, and cut his teeth in the trenches as a cops and courts reporter. His style began to
develop along with his saw tooth personality; informed by the characters he covered on both sides of the law.

Eleven years on the beat, with stints as a tough investigative reporter, Nimmer was
selected to become part of the Star's management team. For four years Dave led the paper as its managing editor, fighting to keep the afternoon daily alive in the face of
competition from evening television newscasts. As Nimmer built the paper's strategy, he analyzed the strengths and values of broadcast journalism, and found them attractive.
In 1979 WCCO-TV hired Dave Nimmer as a general assignment reporter. He
immediately became a community favorite. His natural mix of hard-bitten, Chandleresque prose, and his love of this community and people, was a perfect
combination to set him apart from his fellow storytellers. In 1983 WCCO recognized the same leadership qualities the newspaper had discovered and elevated Nimmer to the
position of Associate News Director. That move certified a role he'd been playing since he arrived at the station: mentor. Hundreds of young reporters today say that Dave Nimmer was an instrumental figure in their own professional and personal development.

In 1986 WCCO-TV began a new style news program called Newsday. Teamed with a good friend and veteran journalist Marcia Fleur, the program broke new ground in public affairs reporting. It was also in 1986 that Father James Whalen selected Nimmer to teach young journalists at the College of St. Thomas. It was a part-time job, but Dave quickly discovered that it was his full-time passion. When he eventually left WCCO-TV, he
permanently joined the faculty of the new University of St. Thomas. Students in his
classes learned that journalism is nothing more than the first draft of history, written as a story. Very few journalists have so completely grasped the importance of story telling to public comprehension of critical issues. As if to demonstrated the point, Nimmer quietly authored two books of short stories, based on the people he met and places he admired through his career. He was honored with the Minnesota Book Award for his very first effort.

In honoring Dave Nimmer one wonders how best to describe him. Investigative Reporter? Editor of a large metropolitan daily, television reporter, professor, or author? He may choose, storyteller. We choose teacher. Because, in every one of his
journalistic roles, we never stopped learning from him.