On any given news day for more than 35 years, John Oslund was at the center of the day's business coverage at the Star Tribune.
As an assistant business editor, he often strolled in relatively late in the morning and then worked long past print deadlines to make sure the night production team had all elements to put together the business section.
Oslund, 70, died Saturday from the effects of Alzheimer's disease in Bloomington.
Oslund was born in Austin, Texas, to parents John Oslund Sr. and wife Catherine while his father served in the Air Force. The family soon moved to Minneapolis.
Oslund, who retired in 2014, attended the University of Minnesota but left in 1977 a few credits shy of his undergraduate degree to become a copy boy at the Minneapolis Star. Years later, he completed those credits and in 1996 earned a master's degree in business journalism as a Knight-Bagehot Fellow at Columbia University.
Oslund was a business reporter and assistant business editor at a time when business and personal finance news was gaining more importance to newspapers and readers.
He was a constant in the department, as top editors and reporters came in and out.
"He was steady, smart, curious, kind, witty and a workhorse. Beyond being a fine journalist, he was a really good man who cared deeply about his colleagues," said Duchesne Drew, who was assistant managing editor of business from 2005 to 2007 and now is president of Minnesota Public Radio.