“McDonnell, who grew up in small-town Iowa, still carries a disarming, take-charge sunniness.” — Laura Yuen, The Minnesota Star Tribune

Kelly Jo gets paid to tell stories. And after 30+ years, she still can’t believe her luck.

A seven-time Regional Emmy Award-winning writer, senior producer, podcast creator, and voice-over talent, Kelly Jo has spent her career finding extraordinary stories in ordinary people. Her work has appeared on Prime Video, ESPN, Discovery, History Channel, Outdoor Channel, KSTP/ABC, and beyond.

As a longtime creative force behind Minnesota Bound and other programming at Ron Schara Productions, she’s helped bring thousands of stories to life, from the first spark of an idea to the final edit. She’s equally comfortable developing a story, leading a production, mentoring creative talent, or finding just the right words to make an audience feel something.

She also co-created, co-hosts, and produces Latchkey Logic, a podcast celebrating the wonderfully weird, wonderfully resilient generation known as Gen X.

Raised in the tiny town of Royal, Iowa, Kelly Jo still believes the best stories come from real people. She’s an unflinching optimist, an aspiring mystery novelist, a proud boy mom, a crazy herb gardener, a concert junkie, and an unapologetic collector of Chuck Norris jokes.

When she’s not behind a keyboard, she’s probably on a back road, in the woods, on a lake, or plotting her next adventure with her husband, filmmaker Cy Dodson.

She also serves as board president of the Jim McDonnell Scholarship, helping the next generation write stories of their own.

Because everybody has a story. And the good ones deserve to be told.

 You can find her at kelly@mnbound.com or https://kellyjomcdonnell.com/