How I Found Myself in the Midwest: Reinvention and the Power of Going Local

Just after turning forty, Steve Grove left Silicon Valley as a Google executive to move to his home state of Minnesota. Gone from the Midwest for two decades, Grove traded his career at Google for a position in state government with Governor Tim Walz. In How I Found Myself in the Midwest, Grove tells a story of reinvention that took on new urgency when crisis struck, as the coronavirus pandemic and the tragic murder of George Floyd unfolded just miles from his newfound home, thrusting Grove’s work into an unexpected spotlight. Tasked with distributing billions in aid, rolling out pandemic restrictions, redeveloping neighborhoods, and navigating deep divisions in a state long proud of its exceptionalism, Grove’s journey through crisis brings new insights about himself and his new community. His experiences of the political, geographic, and racial divisions in his home state yield surprising discoveries about what also binds us together.

Join New America's Future Security Program as they welcome Steve Grove to discuss his new book How I Found Myself in the Midwest: A Memoir of Reinvention. Grove is the CEO and publisher of the Minnesota Star Tribune. Previously, he was Minnesota’s commissioner of employment and economic development. Before moving back to his home state, Grove built a career in Silicon Valley as an executive at Google and YouTube, most recently as the founding director of the Google News Lab and previously as YouTube’s first head of news and politics. A graduate of Claremont McKenna College with a master’s degree from the Harvard Kennedy School, Grove has written for several national publications and has served as an advisor to the White House and State Department on counterterrorism strategy.

Join the conversation online using #HowIFound and following @NewAmericaISP. 

Participants:

Steve Grove

Author, How I Found Myself in the Midwest

CEO and Publisher, Minnesota Star Tribune

Moderator:

Peter Bergen
Vice President, New America
Co-Director, Future Security
Professor of Practice, Arizona State University