Michael Rand, 33, is a native of North Dakota, a University of Minnesota journalism school graduate, and he has been working for the Minneapolis Star-Tribune newspaper for the past decade. In 2006, he started the RandBall blog on Startribune.com, an offbeat mix of news, opinion and strange stories that is still going strong today. In addition, he currently serves in various other capacities at the paper, including: as a team leader (assistant sports editor); content editor and main content provider for the inside sports cover’s 2day’s 2cents feature; and as a regularly featured contributor to Star Tribune sports video content. He is also a regular consumer of both blogs and more mainstream media.