Molly Cotner

About Me

Read More

I am freelance writer,  sociologist, and educator.

I am drawn to stories that explore the human experience in all its complexity. Good storytelling can connect us, challenge our assumptions, and inspire us to make a difference in the world.

My goal is to craft meaningful narratives and educate in a way that is accessible to everyone. Through my work, I aim to drive progressive social change and amplify voices and stories that are often marginalized and unheard.

I hold an M.A. in Sociology from the University of Colorado Colorado Springs and I am currently pursuing a second M.A. in Journalism from NYU.

My Latest Work

South Missourian News-Avenues Magazine •

Beyond the Ruins: Breathing New Life into the Colonial Hotel

“Are you sure you want to come see it?” Mindy, the realtor, repeatedly asked. “You’ve seen the pictures, right? There is a literal hole in the back wall and that’s a long way to drive.”

One week, 813 miles later, with my mother as my co-conspirator and Mindy’s resounding warnings still fresh in my mind, I pulled into Thayer, Missouri — a small railroad town that teeters the edge of the Missouri/Arkansas border in the heart of the Ozarks. My mission was to follow my half thought out dream to buy the abandoned 1900s Colonial Hotel.
The Click •

An Unfinished Story: Stephany Rose Spaulding’s Journey of Making Change

(CHICAGO) — On the corner of South State Street and East 110th in Chicago’s Roseland neighborhood, blue skies and tree-lined sidewalks contrast the graying plywood of a boarded-up vacant home. Its Cape Cod-style bones, once beautiful with a stone façade and sun-filled picture windows, have been left to wither. Just one block up, another house sits with the same fate-a repeated pattern in Roseland. Homes once filled with working-class families, now sit as mocking relics of a bygone past and a nei
The Click •

Washington State’s Ban on For-Profit Prisons in Danger as California’s Circuit Court Finds Similar Case Unconstitutional

(TACOMA, Wash.) — The GEO Group, one of the world’s largest for-profit prison companies, is seeking to block a private prison ban in Washington state. A recent ruling in California could lend precedent in their favor.

In April 2021, GEO Group asked the U.S District Court in Tacoma for an injunction against the passing of a bill that prevents for-profit detention facilities from operating in Washington. The bill would also shut down any current operations by 2025.

As a private federal contracto
The Click •

Colorado Legalizes and Decriminalizes Psychedelics

(DENVER) – Colorado has become the second state in the country to decriminalize and provide regulated access to naturally occurring psychedelics.

In a close vote, 52% of residents approved the new law, according to the Associated Press.

“I’m so grateful. I’m grateful for all of it,” Veronica Lightning Horse Perez told The Click. Lightning Horse Perez is a community advocate and proponent from Natural Health Colorado, the organization backing the ballot measure.

The Natural Medicine Health Act
The Click •

Community, Journalism and Politics: A Q&A with Kwon Atlas - (DENVER) — Kwon Atlas wears many hats. He’s an entrepreneur, activist, politico and journalist. But around Five Points, the neighborhood he

(DENVER) — Kwon Atlas wears many hats. He’s an entrepreneur, activist, politico and journalist. But around Five Points, the neighborhood he calls home, Atlas is best known as the guy who tackles big problems with creative solutions.

In 2020, when he was just 26-years-old, Atlas founded Five Points Atlas, a hyperlocal newspaper that focuses on community and culture in Denver’s “Harlem of the West”. Now, he is running to represent District 9 on Denver City Council. If he wins, Atlas will be one o
The Click •

Pueblo School District 60 Parents Concerned About Temperatures in their Kids' Classrooms

(PUEBLO, Colo.) — Parents of elementary school students in Pueblo School District 60 are concerned that their kids’ health and safety is at risk because classrooms don’t have air conditioning during above-average heat waves.

Gloria Hinkle, whose daughter is in first grade at Haaff Elementary School, first noticed how hot the classrooms were during the school’s open house event. When she brought her concern to her daughter’s teacher, she was told, “We don’t have air conditioning.”

Camille Sanch

Follow Me