Later in 2012, Lussenhop left to join the "Riverfront Times" as a staff writer, before advancing to managing editor in 2013. She still conducted on site investigative journalism, however, such as her interviews and features in Ferguson, Missouri during the major protests that began on August 10, 2014. In September 2014, she received an award from the Missouri Press Association for a sports feature she wrote regarding former inmates and the competitive handball games they played, along with a separate third place award on news features for her story on an armed robbery convict who was not arrested for thirteen years.