Tom Lyden
Tom Lyden has covered, and uncovered, some of the biggest stories in the Twin Cities in the last 26 years. His reports have led to new laws, put criminals behind bars, led to a politician's resignation, and a governor's open hostility.
In the last few years, Tom has focused on in-depth reporting as part of the FOX 9 Investigators. He uncovered a religious cult operating in Minnesota who’s leader, Victor Barnard, sexually assaulted his underage followers. His reporting lead to an international manhunt for Barnard, resulting in his capture, conviction, and incarceration.
His reporting on the mysterious death of conspiracy filmmaker David Crowley was also featured in a full length documentary.
Tom is part of FOX 9’s “jump team” to cover news far from home. He’s brought home stories to Minnesota viewers from New Orleans during Hurricane Katrina, the massacre at Virginia Tech, and the hunt for serial killer Andrew Cunanan in Miami.
Tom has won more than 20 Regional Emmy Awards, and five Regional Edward R. Murrow Awards for his reporting.
Tom graduated from Lewis and Clark College (B.A. International Affairs) in Portland, OR., and he has a masters degree in journalism from the University of Missouri-Columbia.
He started his journalism career in newspapers at the Daily Star Progress in La Habra, CA.
Tom is an obsessive tennis fan and a moderately good player (3.8 USTA rating). He lives in Minneapolis with his husband, Fred.
The latest from Tom Lyden
Positioning, not ventilation could be key to COVID-19 treatment
From the beginning, it has been one of the tell-tale signs of COVID-19: extremely low blood oxygen saturation levels. It may also be a clue to an effective treatment.
Too close for contagion?
Six feet is supposed to be the new social distancing norm, but is it far enough?
Washington COVID-19 model based on different assumptions
Minnesota officials have been under pressure to explain why the model the state is relying on for the spread of COVID-19 differs so dramatically from one developed by the Institute of Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME) at the University of Washington.
Sheriff calls St. Paul high rise a potential 'cruise ship on steroids'
The Skyline Tower along Interstate 94 in St. Paul has become 24 floors of high anxiety. Residents said it is impossible to socially distance in the crowded public housing high rise with its crowded elevators, narrow hallways, and shared common areas.
Twin Cities pandemic lessons from the 'Spanish Flu' of 1918
Minneapolis and St. Paul took very different approaches to the last pandemic, the so-called ‘Spanish Flu’ of 1918, and the politics and policies that played out then parallel the current coronavirus.
Model behavior: Estimates of COVID-19 spread ‘all over the place’
There is no COVID-19 crystal ball, so health officials and the public alike are eager to learn about mathematical projections of how the virus will spread.
New model predicts Minnesota's infection peak will arrive earlier, be less severe
A new model of the coronavirus spread in the U.S. predicts the peak in Minnesota won’t be as severe as officials feared, but it will hit earlier than they had hoped.
Minnesota hopes to have 5,000 hospital beds for COVID-19 peak
Minnesota officials are trying to manage a complicated supply-chain to support hospitals as they anticipate the peak of the pandemic, when resources like masks, respirators, and ventilators will be in short supply.
One More Thing: Farmers worry about coronavirus ahead of spring planting
The running joke among Minnesota farmers is that they’re already pretty good at social distancing. But with Spring planting about three weeks away, even the most independent-minded farmers are genuinely worried.
COVID-19: When is the tipping point?
At this point in the pandemic, there is a relentless momentum to the numbers.