Despite recent buyouts, they’re still hiring reporters over at 425 Portland, and two new business correspondents were announced Thursday.

One may be familiar to locals: the Chicago Tribune’s Mike Hughlett, who once toiled at the Pioneer Press. Hughlett covered the food industry in Chi-town, and conveniently, that will be his beat here. The job has been open since Matt McKinney slid over to cover Minneapolis cops late last year, and uses the slot vacated by transportation reporter Liz Fedor, who resigned for a job at the Bremer Foundation.

[Update: Though Fedor was legendary for her Northwest Airlines coverage, she left as the paper's manufacturing reporter, a job being taken by Susan Feyder, which ought to really confuse sources. Feyder's slot as commercial real estate reporter hasn't been filled yet.]

The other hire is the Nashville Tennessean’s Wendy Lee. Lee replaces Thomas Lee, who covered “emerging and growth companies” before leaving in November to become Minnesota bureau chief for the online-only MedCity News.

The Strib is still searching for a business editor to replace Eric Wieffering, who quit last fall, and presumably, replenishing the reporting corps will make the job that much more attractive. Hughlett and Lee start the end of this month or in early April.