Familiar face joins DNR staff

MARQUETTE — A new and familiar face will be seen around Marquette County representing the Department of Natural Resources.

John Pepin is the new Deputy, Public Information Officer for the Marquette County Department of Natural Resources. He replaces Debbie Munson-Badini who recently left for a position in her hometown of Minnesota. Pepin is an Ishpeming native and says he looks forward to carrying on a great legacy Munson-Badini left behind.

“Ever since I was a kid I have loved camping, fishing, bird watching and outdoor activities. I covered the DNR quite a bit through my years at the journal and when the opportunity came up to advocate for the department and get out the news about a lot of the great things they have going on I thought it was a good opportunity to take advantage of, said John Pepin, Deputy Public Information Officer, DNR.

Now if Pepin looks familiar, he was also a staff writer for the Mining Journal for twenty one years. While looking forward to the new challenges, he says he will miss the deadline pressure reporters often worked under.

“I think a lot of the things that I am going to need to know here I have already had experience with here at the Journal. I understand what deadlines reporters are under and what type of materials they need and I want to do whatever to help out the news agencies and provide that sort of link between news outlets and the department,” continued Pepin.

Pepin says he is excited to be working with such a knowledgeable team and that quality will help him in getting up to speed quickly.