Get to know Wheeler Cowperthwaite: The Journal’s growth and development reporter

Wheeler Cowperthwaite has been The Providence Journal’s growth and development reporter since 2022. He came to The Journal after working at The Patriot Ledger in Quincy, Massachusetts, and at the Cape Cod Times. Hailing from Northern Nevada, he brings a different perspective to the Ocean State. Before working on the East Coast, he worked for five years at an investigative weekly newspaper in New Mexico. Cowperthwaite has covered growth and development, including housing, business, transportation, the economy and real estate since 2012.

In today’s Providence Sunday Journal, Wheeler reports on the current state of hiring in Rhode Island and the struggles businesses are encountering to maintain a workforce that is ready to step in for those heading into retirement.

His recent stories include an interview with Jennifer Hawkins, who recently left her role as the CEO of One Neighborhood Builders; the state’s current real estate situation and all the ways you can eat around the world without leaving Rhode Island’s borders, as part of our Ultimate Dining Guide series.

Let’s hear from Wheeler in his own words.

What do you find most interesting about covering Rhode Island’s businesses?

I love the minutiae, from how a construction site operates to the flow of a distribution center. The pure variety of businesses, mostly small, in Rhode Island is always intriguing. 

What are the kinds of stories – business or otherwise – you love covering the most, and why?

Increasingly, I find myself drawn to stories about zoning, because of its importance in dealing with the housing crisis, although it’s a hard topic to make interesting enough for people to care.

What do you see as your biggest challenge when it comes to covering Rhode Island’s businesses? Why?

Just getting people to talk has become increasingly hard over the last few years, a phenomenon that I first noticed covering weekend parades and festivals, that has permeated the culture. 

What are some things you want readers in Rhode Island to know about you?

I’m a mediocre German speaker and a proud cat dad to the 14-year-old diabetic Norbit.