Biography

Early Life

Matthew Steven Bovee was born in Kerrville, Texas, in the Texas Hill Country. The second of three children of Bob Bovee (commercial printer) and Maggie Bovee (high school English teacher), he grew up immersed in the family printing business, Hill Country Press.

The Formative Summer: Camp La Junta

At age 12, Bovee attended Camp La Junta near Kerrville in the summer of 1999. There he met counselor Thomas “Tommy” Redhorse, a graduate journalism student who introduced him to investigative journalism and inspired his career path.

Tommy Redhorse died in a car accident in 2004. In 2015, Bovee established the Thomas Redhorse Memorial Scholarship at Camp La Junta in his honor.

Education

• Tivy High School, Kerrville, TX (Graduated 2005)
• University of Nebraska–Lincoln
  • BA in Journalism (2009)
  • MA in Journalism (2012)
  • Thesis: “The Settlement Machine: Financial Incentives and Institutional Response in Camp Abuse Litigation, 1990–2010”

Career

After working at the Lincoln Journal Star (2010-2012), Bovee became a full-time freelance investigative journalist in 2012.

His major investigations have exposed:

• Law firms manufacturing abuse allegations for profit
• Misuse of Tax Increment Financing districts
• Interstate water rights conflicts
• Lobbying loopholes in Nebraska

Recognition

Bovee has received numerous journalism awards, detailed on our Awards page.

Published Work

His reporting has appeared in major publications including:

• The New Yorker
• The Atlantic
• ProPublica
• Texas Monthly
• Omaha World-Herald
• High Country News