When I joined Kari Mar to start a new newspaper back in January, it was supposed to be part-time. Within weeks, the work — and the joy of it — grew into full-time hours because the community’s stories deserve that kind of attention. I don’t regret a minute; it was hard to say goodbye.

@apnews.com any thoughts on date style for social media posts? Feeling like the whole day of the week thing might not be best for platforms where users could be reading something in a feed days, weeks or months after it was posted. 🤔 School started Wednesday or School started Sept. 3?

"What if that comfort has become our greatest strategic vulnerability?" This. ⬆️ www.newsroomrobots.com/p/the-hard-t...

Actual footage of me trying to survive the SoCal heat at Disneyland. 🥵

These are the times we are living and working in folks. My business partner, Editor & Publisher Kar Mar writes: "In a time when visibility can feel dangerous, presence takes on a whole new meaning." laconnercommunitynews.org/2025/06/25/o...

🍓 Fresh off the press! This week’s La Conner Community News is bursting with berry goodness. 🗞️

"It felt like if you stepped outside anywhere in Skagit County on Saturday, you were bound to run into people exercising one of our most precious — and most contested — liberties: the rights enshrined in the First Amendment." substack.com/home/post/p-...

Some of our recent front pages, so proud of our team. Newspapers FTW! 🗞️

This little town made a big statement today. More than 220 people gathered in La Conner, Washington's Gilkey Square at noon to participate in the “No Kings” day protest. 📷 Nancy K. Crowell/La Conner Community

Lord. Last week was a week. But It’s in these moments—the late-night software failures, the layout marathons, the last-minute fixes—that you find out what you’re made of. open.substack.com/pub/startthe...

The Tulip Festival/Daffodil/Pet Parade in La Conner was a lot of fun on Saturday! 🌷 La Conner Community News walked in the parade and handed out newspapers. 📰

"The La Conner Community News’ all-female leadership stands out in an industry where leadership is still male-dominated despite more and more women joining the ranks of journalists." 💪💪💪

Corrections from our 4/1 issue that will haunt me this week: Lightening not lightning 😱

In the early days, I kept asking, “What if we publish this newspaper and people don’t want it?” 🗞️ But now, just a couple of issues in, I’m thrilled to say the community has shown up. *Community* news is truly something special! 🫶🏻 startthepresses.substack.com/p/building-a...

The Seattle Times wrote about our new nonprofit newspaper La Conner Community News! It's a labor of love and a leap of faith in the future of community news. I'm so lucky to be part of a community that believes in the power of local news. 🌷🗞️ www.seattletimes.com/opinion/a-ne...

Our newspaper made it on TV! 🤩 @king5news.com.web.brid.gy www.king5.com/article/news...

🗞️ The first print issue of La Conner Community News dropped yesterday! 🎉 I couldn't be more excited, humbled and exhausted by this experience.

"Please act now to take this one reasonable step to support the local free press. It's not one of the branches of government but a democracy will not survive without it." - Washington resident Carolyn Boatsman, said in support of SB 5400, which would create a state grant to support journalism jobs.

Crazy how fast we went from, "La Conner needs its newspaper" to printing our first edition. 🗞️ As our editor and publisher wrote, "...nothing quite prepares you for the last mile before launching a print newspaper." Startup newspapers are not for the faint of heart! 🥴

📢 Educators: Apply now for our District Fellowship! ℹ️ As part of the 3-year program, design & implement innovative district-wide action plans for integrating news & media literacy! 🔗 Learn more / spread the word: newslit.org/district-fel... #EduSky #TLsky

We’re just one week away from launching our print edition of La Conner Community News! 🗞️ 🎉 Our Editor & Publisher Kari Mar is sharing some of the lessons we've learned along the way.

I've done more reporting and writing these past two months than I have since, well, a while. 🥵

Educating the next generation of journalists is so important. La Conner Community News aims to provide PAID internships for budding journalists and to provide free newspapers to local schools. We're looking for supporters for these programs, please help us spread the word!

The lull in rain this morning meant a decent-size crowd turned out for the annual Chicken Parade in Edison, Washington! 🐔🎉

My goal for La Conner Community News is to balance the principles of “Big J” journalism with the deeply personal, immediate, and relationship-driven nature of community journalism. open.substack.com/pub/startthe...

Ugh. I ❤️ StoryCorp so much! Please enjoy this compilation of stories from StoryCorps. The title is "Listening Is an Act of Love." www.youtube.com/watch?v=8rgJ...

For once in my life, I did not have to plan, design, or build a website. Hallajelliah, thank the Gods! It is SO refreshing to have a partner who speaks tech. We officially launched LaConnerCommunityNews.org today! laconnercommunitynews.org/2025/02/12/w...

Tom Robbins, the celebrated author whose whimsical and irreverent novels captivated readers for decades, died Feb. 9 at his home in La Conner. bit.ly/3QaMh95

📢 Educators: Have you grabbed our activity planner for National #NewsLiteracyWeek? The resource: ✨ Lays out 5 primary standards for teaching news literacy ✨ Links to infographics, Checkology lessons + more! 🔗 Download it here: bit.ly/ActivityPlan... #EdTech #EduSky

We held our second community meeting in La Conner yesterday to answer questions and share updates on our plans for La Conner Community News! I know I keep saying this, but I feel so grateful to be part of a community that is so engaged. www.goskagit.com/news/local_n...

“The issue with younger generations is deeper than media mistrust. It’s that no one knows what a journalist is.” www.poynter.org/commentary/2...

This—>Journalism needs to decenter journalism. “I trust in the power of listening and building, unbounded by the constraints of what was but instead grounded in the urgency of what must be. We must be agile in our approaches... Be ready to build and build again.” www.linkedin.com/posts/activi...

As our editor/publisher writes, things have been "moving fast" with La Conner Community News. We've been publishing stories, growing our subscriber base and raising money. It's amazing to see how much we've accomplished in just one month. startthepresses.substack.com/p/one-month-...

🌨 La Conner got a dusting of snow this morning. 🌨 📷 by Nancy Crowell for La Conner Community News

We have a lot of work to do folks. "Nearly half of teens (45%) think the press does more to harm democracy than protect it." Read the report on News Literacy in America: A survey of teen information attitudes, habits and skills (2024) newslit.org/news-literac...

It's National News Literacy Week and the @newslit.org has great resources/activities for educators and students. Check them out at newslit.org/news-literac...

How great is this? I just bought the sticker from www.urbanreaderbook.com/products/bel...

Oh, wow. AI tools for image generation are still really, really rough. I didn't think the text would get so, uh, creative. I tried to explain what I wanted in several ways, but we just couldn't quite get there. Love the retro-feel of the art though.

My career has been a series of interesting twists and turns. But local news has always been near and dear to me. Which is why, when Kari Mar asked me to join her to bring a community newspaper back to La Conner, I said yes without hesitation. open.substack.com/pub/startthe...

"It’s easy to forget how critical newspapers are to the daily functions of small towns, especially when distrust of national, mainstream media dominates so much of the conversation. But community newspapers are different." startthepresses.substack.com/p/filling-th...

Oh yay. Trapped on I5 S 13 mi from Exit 225. Apparently, there was a car jacking?! 🤦🏻‍♀️ I was just trying to run a quick errand. Kid is asleep in the backseat. Please let him sleep through this.