Transcripts

KATE MOOS: Dick Hanson was a DFL activist who lived on his family's farm in rural Glenwood with his lover Bert Henningson. 37 years old, a regular presence at farm protests and active in progressive causes, Hanson was dying of AIDS when reporter Banaszynski and photographer Jean Pieri began their story. At first, Banaszynski says she was reluctant to take on the project. But that changed when she met the two men in Pope County.

JACQUI BANASZYNSKI: And so after a few days-- spending a few days with them, I just figured we may never stumble across this again and had all of the elements there to explore all of the issues about how AIDS affects Minnesota, which, of course, is going to be mostly a story about the country because that's what Minnesota is.

KATE MOOS: Banaszynski spent four intensive months with Hansen and Henningson and continued to follow Henningson's story until recently. She says asking them to allow her to be a witness to death was the hardest thing she has done as a journalist, and that over time, she and Pieri became necessarily emotionally involved.

JACQUI BANASZYNSKI: Jean and I made no bones about the fact that we threw out the journalistic rules and came to care about these people very much. It was impossible to do this story without caring about them because we never would have gotten in that close to their lives. It was the first time I've ever watched anybody that I know really well die and go from being a rich, vital, full human being to just wasting away and dying. And it was a really fabulous experience because I think I had the opportunity to watch somebody die who did it with incredible dignity and courage. And I grieved. I cried a lot.

KATE MOOS: Aids in the Heartland is a close-up look at a rural man deteriorating, ultimately dying from a fatal disease, most often associated with the urban gay scene or illicit drug use. Banaszynski says although concerned about the story's potential to exploit, Hanson and Henningson were fully aware of the nature of the project, and that agreements on their needs for privacy and the reporter's need for access to her sources were carefully negotiated.

JACQUI BANASZYNSKI: It's a personal and professional triumph for me that comes on the heels of a terrible tragedy for someone else. And there's no way to not be aware of that. But that's the nature of this business. And I felt that that was handled as well as possible. They were not exploited.

KATE MOOS: Jacqui Banaszynski, winner of a Pulitzer Prize for Feature Reporting. Saint Paul Pioneer Press Dispatch reporter John Camp was honored last year with a Pulitzer. This is Kate Moos reporting.