Dietrich said he enjoys covering an area where his family has lived for several generations. Photo by Debra Dingman

DIXON, CA (MPG) - After a long and interesting career in journalism, the new editor of the Dixon Independent Voice, has returned to his family’s roots. Kevin Dietrich lives on a family farm between Davis and Dixon where his grandfather, who graduated from Dixon High School 100 years ago, grew up. 

Dietrich graduated from the University of Maine with a degree in journalism. A sports fan for as long as he can remember, his first job was a sportswriter, and he later spent many years covering business. He’s also handled marketing and communications including a stint as a speech writer for the governor of South Carolina.

“The advantage of being a business writer was work hours were from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. and no late nights – it gave me time to be a dad,” he said. He has five grown children and a stepdaughter, all with interesting careers, including a son who investigates meteorite landings and a daughter who works in archeology, studying old buildings and history. The others are in communications or teaching. They may have developed their interests from their dad who openly admits he “finds everything interesting.”

His career highlights include covering the final game of the 1990 Stanely Cup Finals at the Boston Gardens, where he got to go into the locker room as champagne was being sprayed. 

He later spent many years as a business writer, covering banking and finance. He said the most difficult part of being a journalist is covering crime and having to talk to a family after a tragedy. 

Over his career, Dietrich welcomed the expansion of online resources. 

“It has made it much easier to research – as long as you are discerning. And, if you work long enough, you know where to look,” he said looking satisfied. “But there is always a learning curve. It’s been harder than I thought to interview or talk with City of Dixon staff, but I hope with time that will change.” Dietrich is also the editor of the West Sacramento newspaper and splits his time between the two publications.

“Most people here are dedicated to this city – they are interested in Dixon and their goal isn’t necessarily moving on to something bigger. West Sac is a little island in itself. Some of the people there seem to be wanting to go somewhere,” he said 

Dietrich likes his boss, Paul Scholl, who took over the publication in 2020 and who now owns 20 newspapers covering 13 cities across six Capital Region counties. Some are small town newspapers – print and online – similar to Dixon. 

“I like that he lets you go after whatever you think is best,” he said.

“My favorite writing is feature stories, but I also enjoy news stories that give me a chance to educate people, such as the recent Dixon school bond issue,” he said. “We were already paying for two bonds when the latest bond was put on the ballot. It is rewarding to educate people about what’s going on.”

“Although not everyone agrees on any one subject, facts are facts,” he said. “My job is to report the facts and usually people are pretty nice.”

Dietrich said he enjoys covering an area where his family has lived for several generations.

“My family has been here a long time. My great-great-grandfather came here in the 1850s, and I have a lot of relatives buried out at Tremont Cemetery,” he said. 

He lives in the house his great-grandfather helped build more than a century ago, and his family leases land to growers who plant a lot of different crops, including almonds, tomatoes, sunflowers, corn and melons.  

“Growing up, we moved around a good bit as my dad was a metallurgical engineer who worked on projects around the country. But we would always come back and visit family in Dixon,” he said.