Editorially, this semester's transition has been as smooth as any I can remember in my (brief) four-year Cardinal history. Our most successful new endeavor has been "Cardinal Courtside," a special weekly 3-page sports section covering men's college basketball. The section evolved out of our special GameDay publication, which we produce for all Badger home football games. We have since formalized the GameDay Editor position, and added Cardinal Courtside to its duty list. The development of the GameDay editor has complemented the growth of the sports department in general. Combined, the two have dramatically increased the quality and volume of our sports coverage over the past two years.

Every week we seem to be closer to our initial goal of being at least 12 pages every day. So far this semester we have settled into a pattern of 12-page Mondays, Tuesdays and Wednesdays; 16-page Thursdays; and 8-page Fridays. Sales are still improving, however, and it remains unclear where we will finish the semester.

As a result, managing editor Sarah Murray and I are engaged in a perpetual debate over the best pace for future growth. I am a bit impetuous, and she is my more conservative foil. All in all, I think we make a very good team.

In spite of recent technical problems in the office, we are still very much appreciating the addition of three new iMacs that were donated by the DCAA this fall. Their presence has greatly aided our ability to produce a now fully-digital paper. For the first time in Cardinal history, we have editors who no longer remember the paste-up process. As it stands, I cannot imagine working with hot type, and I hope the concept of paste-up soon becomes as foreign to them. The end result is (or will be, once we get all the wrinkles ironed out) a smoother production process and a cleaner, crisper product on the stands.

We recently submitted materials to the Society of Professional Journalists' Mark of Excellence competition, and we are eagerly awaiting this year's results. It is our hope to dethrone The Minnesota Daily as the region's best newspaper, and we think we have a chance at achieving that goal this semester.

Financially, the Cardinal is in good health. We should be in the position to repay the balance of our debt to student government should we choose to (we are not, however, obligated to fully repay the debt for another year). Additionally, the Cardinal is in the process of getting reapproved as a workstudy employer, which could potentially save us money in the future.