Hilde Lysiak, a 12-year-old who is nationally known for her watchdog reporting, has moved with her family to Patagonia. She’s not happy about it, but says she will accept it as a journalistic challenge.
Hilde Lysiak, a kid reporter and the publisher of Orange Street News who has gained national attention for her local watchdog reporting, has moved to an Arizona-Mexico border town.
Hilde, 12, wrote an editorial published Monday about her family’s move from Selinsgrove, Pennsylvania, to Patagonia, Arizona, just north of Mexico. Her father confirmed the move in a phone interview with The Arizona Republic.
Hilde said in her editorial that she wasn’t happy with the move but will take her parents’ decision as a way to challenge herself to become a better journalist.
“This wasn’t my choice. I didn’t ask for this move,” she wrote. But, she added, “I’m not slumping my shoulders. I intend of making the most of the move and use it as an opportunity to grow.”
Hilde has already made some waves in Patagonia.
In February, she challenged Patagonia Marshal Joseph Patterson when he incorrectly told her she couldn’t film him on a public street. The episode received national attention. Patagonia officials later apologized to Hilde and Patterson was disciplined.
‘Fell in love with the people and the landscape’
Matthew Lysiak, Hilde’s father and a journalist himself, said in an interview with The Republic that he and his wife had fallen in love with Arizona’s landscape when the family first vacationed in Patagonia about three years ago.
But before that vacation, Lysiak had come to Tucson to cover the shooting of then-U.S. Rep. Gabby Giffords in 2011. At the time, he worked for the New York Daily News, where he was a reporter for 10 years. While the shooting was tragic, he said, he “fell in love with the people and the landscape.”
“At the time, I promised myself that I would take my kids and wife,” he said.
So, three years ago, his family took a vacation to Patagonia. His wife, he said, also fell in love with the landscape. They agreed to move there, he said.
The family permanently moved to Arizona three days ago, Lysiak said.
Hilde famous in Patagonia
Patagonia is in Santa Cruz County and has a population of about 848. Other notable people that live or lived in the town include novelist and journalist Philip Caputo and poet and novelist Jim Harrison.
Hilde first garnered national attention at age 9 for breaking the news of a murder in her neighborhood. She said in her article that because Patagonia is a sleepy town, it would force her to cover other issues.