Home » Magazine Staff

Magazine Staff

Jeff Kurrus | Editor

Originally from Memphis, Tennessee, Kurrus completed his Bachelor’s degree at the University of Memphis in 1998 and Master’s degree from the University of Nebraska-Omaha in 2002. After seven years as a freelance writer for various regional and national publications, he joined the Commission in 2006 as Associate Editor of Nebraskaland and was named Editor in 2013. He collaborated with Nebraskaland Contributing Editor Michael Forsberg on the children’s picture book “Have You Seen Mary?” in 2013. He spends most of his time outdoors with friends and family, and his passions include bass and northern pike fishing and white-tailed deer hunting.

Tim Reigert | Art Director

Tim Reigert was hired as a Graphic Designer for the Commission in 1988 and has been the Art Director of Nebraskaland since 1995. A Lincoln native, Tim completed a Bachelor’s in Art and an Associate Degree in Anthropology from Nebraska Wesleyan University. During his tenure with the magazine, Nebraskaland has won numerous awards relating to his graphic design including the prestigious Ozzie Award from FOLIO Magazine, and numerous Gold Ink Awards and ACI Awards (Association for Conservation Information). Reigert lives in Lincoln with his wife Joleen and daughter Jamie.

Jenny Nguyen-Wheatley | Associate Editor/PIO

Nebraskaland Regional Editor Jenny Nguyen-Wheatley was born in Nha Trang, Vietnam, and moved to the United States with her parents in 1992. She graduated from Bolsa Grande High School in Garden Grove, California, in 2008 and completed her Bachelor’s at UCLA in 2012. Wheatley was editor-in-chief for her high school newspaper. She has written freelance for various publications, the Tiger Woods Foundation and her blog FoodForHunters.com. She moved to Nebraska in 2013 to join the Commission as Regional Editor at Nebraskaland and became associate editor in 2015. Nguyen enjoys hiking, camping, horseback riding, hunting, fishing and wild game cooking.

Eric Fowler | Regional Editor

Nebraskaland Regional Editor Eric Fowler was born in Hastings, graduated from Ogallala High School in 1988 and completed his Bachelor’s at Chadron State College in 1993. After six years as a writer and photographer with newspapers in Chadron and Scottsbluff, he joined the Nebraska Game and Parks Commission in 1998 as Publications Editor and has been a member of the Nebraskaland staff since 2001. Fowler spends as much time as he can in Outdoor Nebraska. When he’s not photographing wildlife, landscapes or people enjoying the state’s outdoor resources for the magazine, he’s enjoying them himself while hunting, fishing, boating, kayaking, hiking or camping with family, including his wife and son, and friends.

Julie Geiser | Regional Editor/PIO

Julie Geiser is a Public Information Officer and Nebraskaland Regional Editor based out of North Platte, where she was born and still happily resides. Geiser worked for the commission previously for over 10 years as an outdoor education instructor – teaching people of all ages about Nebraska’s outdoor offerings. She also coordinates the Becoming an Outdoors Woman program for Nebraska Game and Parks Commission (NGPC). Geiser went on to work in marketing and writing an outdoor column for the North Platte Telegraph before returning to NGPC in her current position. She loves spending time outdoors with her family and getting others involved in her passions of hunting, fishing, camping, boating, hiking and enjoying Nebraska’s great outdoors.

Justin Haag | Regional Editor/PIO

Justin Haag serves the Panhandle as a Nebraskaland’s Regional Editor and Public Information Officer for the Commission. Haag was raised in southwestern Nebraska, where he developed a love for fishing and hunting. After earning a bachelor’s degree in journalism from Chadron State College in 1996, he worked four years as an editor and reporter at newspapers in Chadron and McCook. Prior to joining the Commission in 2013, he worked 12 years as a communicator at Chadron State, serving as the institution’s media and public relations coordinator the last five. He and his wife, Cricket, live in Chadron, and enjoy introducing their two children to the many outdoor recreational opportunities of the Pine Ridge region.