Meet Ben Hovland
Ben Hovland is a visual journalist for MPR News.
Before joining MPR News, Ben served as a multimedia producer at Sahan Journal, a nonprofit digital newsroom that covers Minnesota’s immigrants and communities of color. His photojournalism has also appeared in The Washington Post, Agence France-Presse, Reuters, NPR, the St. Paul Pioneer Press and the BBC.
Along with his work at MPR News, Ben believes in supporting the next generation of journalists and he dedicates time to mentoring students at MPR News’ Radio Camp, ThreeSixty Journalism, the Center for Broadcast Journalism and the Hubbard School of Journalism at the University of Minnesota Twin Cities.
Before his journalism career, Ben worked as a bicycle mechanic and marketing specialist in transportation infrastructure. He has a bachelor’s degree in political science from St. Olaf College with concentrations in media and Middle Eastern studies.
When he’s not behind a camera, Ben enjoys exploring his surroundings by bicycle. His favorite street in the Twin Cities is Osceola Avenue between Pleasant and Grotto.
You can find Ben Hovland on Instagram, X and Bluesky.
Recent Contributions
- Inside a Minneapolis neighborhood’s impromptu speed-skating race on a lake
- Celebrating the winter solstice with a puppet procession in Minneapolis
- Hunting for male voters: Walz steps into the field for the pheasant opener
- Inside the grueling 24-hour ‘Day Across Minnesota’ bike race
- Challenge of the DAMn-ed: 242 miles, 24 hours to bike across Minnesota
- St. Cloud native Alise Willoughby misses the medal in BMX racing, gets 6th place
- High on an Austrian mountain, a Minnesotan finds pieces of his family’s past in a WWII bomber wreck
- Popular Keefer Court reopens in Eden Prairie’s Asia Mall
- Rare sight: See inside an empty Mississippi River lock and dam as it’s cleared for repairs
- 'Bear Witness' exhibit opens at Minneapolis art gallery