For decades, local news in New Glarus was easy to find. Residents tuned into one of three or four television channels, listened to the local radio station, and read a thriving local newspaper that landed on nearly every doorstep. News traveled in a straight line — one message, one medium, one community. That world no longer exists.

Today, the media landscape is fragmented. Local TV viewership has declined, radio listening is scattered across dozens of stations and streaming services, and print newspapers no longer reach every household the way they once did. Whether you are a government entity, business, nonprofit, school, or club, reaching everyone in the community is increasingly difficult — and expensive.

Direct mail campaigns through the USPS carry a hefty price tag and are often tossed out immediately as “junk mail.” Email newsletters might seem like a solution, but there’s no universal email list for the entire village. Even public institutions are cautious about collecting email addresses, worried about Freedom of Information Act requests that could expose private lists to spammers.

New Glarus 360 was created to solve this challenge by bringing the community back together in a shared space. Our mission is to gradually coalesce the diverse demographics of New Glarus — current residents, alumni, and even former neighbors who still care about what happens here.

We’re starting where the people already are: Facebook. This is the simplest and most cost-effective way to capture attention and get the conversation going. Soon, we’ll expand to Instagram to engage younger audiences who spend less time on Facebook. And once we have built a strong following, we’ll launch a dedicated New Glarus 360 website to be the permanent home for local news, features, and community information.

This move is more than just smart planning — it’s necessary. Facebook has made several changes over the last year that should give every community manager pause. The platform has already removed the ability to schedule posts using outside tools, and more recently, it shut down Facebook Groups chat. There are persistent rumors that Groups themselves may be phased out in the future. By creating a website, we ensure that our community and its stories don’t disappear at the whim of a tech company.

A website also has advantages for readers. It will serve all demographics, offer a permanent and searchable archive of stories, and allow us to share full photo galleries and multimedia without the limitations of social media. Residents will even be able to save it as a button on their phone’s home screen so it behaves like a news app.

Our goal is to have the website ready sometime after the first of the year, with news still being shared on Facebook and Instagram so no one is left behind.

Together, we can rebuild a central place for news in New Glarus — one that honors the past, embraces the present, and creates a future where everyone can stay informed, engaged, and connected.

– Follow New Glarus 360 for trusted New Glarus news and timely updates on schools, business, and community life in New Glarus.

– Photo by Todd Klassy