As the Austin Daily Herald and Albert Lea Tribune prepare to send a reporter to Kuwait in early November, both newspapers are looking for story ideas to cover locally and in the Middle East.

While in Kuwait, reporter Kelli Lageson will report on local soldiers who are deployed with the Minnesota National Guard.

Some of the ideas already planned are features on the different jobs in the Austin and Albert Lea units, what the soldiers’ living quarters are like, how the soldiers pass their time (working out, watching movies, contacting family back home), what they eat, how the weather affects the soldiers and what they carry for gear.

Both units are part of 2nd Battalion, 135th Infantry Regiment, 34th Infantry Division, abbreviated as 2-135. The Austin unit is the 1135th Combat Support Company, and the Albert Lea unit is Delta Company.

Lageson plans to write profiles of Austin and Albert Lea soldiers each day and wants to look at how this deployment compares to others.

“I’m excited to have the opportunity to cover the local Albert Lea and Austin units,” Lageson said. “I’m looking forward to the chance to report while embedded with the soldiers.”

She, along with other reporters in Austin and Albert Lea, are looking for families willing to talk about what it’s like to be home while a family member is deployed.

Lageson is slated to leave Minneapolis Nov. 4 and return Nov. 13.

She will arrive in Kuwait City and be taken by Army officials to Camp Buehring, about an hour and a half away.

“I know it will be an adjustment working over there, but I think it will be fun and definitely worth it,” she said.

The stories and photos, under the title “Deployed in Kuwait,” will be published online and in print. There will be photo galleries and video online.

Lageson will describe her experience from a personal standpoint in her blog “Kelli in Kuwait” on the Herald’s Deployed in Kuwait page.

Have an idea?

People can contact reporter Kelli Lageson at kelli.lageson@albertleatribune.com or 507-402-1979 with story ideas.