Iowa biz editor Troute leaves for novel writing

Rex Troute, the business editor of the Burlington Hawk Eye in Iowa, is leaving the paper.

Will Smith of the Hawk Eye writes, “Business editor Rex Troute, who has edited and placed this column every week for the past eight years, is moving on to the world of novel writing and other ventures. I first met Rex more than 12 years ago, back when I started here as a clerk and wrote obituaries. I don’t know how many hundreds I wrote under his watchful eye.

“He’s edited even more of those columns, and sadly, this is the last one.

“We didn’t get to know each other very well back then, but after Rex left the Hawk Eye for a period and came back as business editor, he gained the responsibility of being the first one to read my column every week. He was also the only other person to man the newsroom with me every Saturday morning — a shift I’ve inhabited for the past decade.”

Read more here.