Specific details about people and place, gathered by a reporter on the scene, are rewards a writer can sprinkle through a story to hold readers. Become an expert on the community you cover. Develop your eye. Look for telling details. Let place become a character in your story.
Place is an afterthought in stories that beg for description and even wonder.
Interview subjects in their natural habitat. Never, ever, let a story subject come to your office for an interview if you can help it. Take a field trip with your story subject. Place can provoke new information, funny stories, and great dialogue. The way people talk, and what they talk about, is influenced by their surroundings.