Reporter who moved to Red Lake Co. after calling it ugliest in the nation says he has cancer
Update (Nov. 22): Christopher Ingraham tweeted out an update, saying his cancer appears to be a less aggressive form than it initially appeared to be, and he will be undergoing treatment for his type of lymphoma.
"It's kind of turned our life upside down in the best way, like we'd been looking into hospice options and everything. Things were looking extremely bleak," he said.
He says he has a high likelihood of being able to live a normal life after treatment, which will include chemotherapy.
Read the previous version of the story below.
RED LAKE COUNTY, Minn. -- A former reporter for the Washington Post who moved to a Minnesota county he once called the ugliest in the nation says he has cancer.
In 2015, Christopher Ingraham wrote a story that ranked all of the nation's counties based on natural beauty by using the USDA's natural amenities index, which include weather, access to bodies of water and overall sun exposure. Out of the thousands of counties in the country, Minnesota's Red Lake County came in at dead last on that list.
The story ignited a firestorm of angry tweets from Minnesotans, which provoked a response editorial from Ingraham in which he said, more or less, that Minnesotans need to get thicker skin.
Residents of Red Lake County would not back down, and offered to change Ingraham's mind with a free visit and tour of the area, which he gladly accepted. Later, he had an even bigger change of heart than many realized, announcing he'd be moving his family to Red Lake County.
"I kind of fell in love with Red Lake County when I visited last year, and we've always wanted to raise the boys in the country," he said on Facebook.
Ingraham, who is now a reporter at the Minnesota Reformer, has been living in the state ever since.
Last week, Ingraham shared on Twitter that he is being treated for bile duct cancer at Mayo Clinic.
"As far as cancers go it's a bad one, right up there with pancreatic cancer in terms of grim overall prognosis," he wrote.
Ingraham says, no matter what, he'll be posting on social media as he goes through treatment.
"If you see me cracking extremely grim jokes from a hospital room you'll know why - it's how I cope," he wrote. "In conclusion: f--- cancer."
Ingraham says his liver is functioning well for the time being and he has no symptoms.
