As New Glarus 360 launches its new website, one of the most common questions we’ve heard is simple and fair: So what happens to the Facebook group now?

With more than 4,000 members, the New Glarus 360 Facebook group has become an important part of how people share information, flag issues, and stay connected. That is not changing. What is changing is how the group fits into the bigger picture now that we have a dedicated news website.

The easiest way to think about it is this: the Facebook group will now be the community front porch. It is no longer the newsroom.

The finished reporting, full stories, photos, archives, and in-depth coverage now live on the New Glarus 360 website. That is where news is organized, searchable, and preserved. Full reporting lives at NewGlarus360.com.

The Facebook group becomes the place for tips, conversation, questions, and discovery. And, where we fall short of the mark, a place for you to tell us so.

Why Posting Was Restricted, and Why That’s Changing

For the past several months, posting by members in the Facebook group was turned off. Many submissions were made and all were rejected. That was not done lightly, and it was not done to discourage participation.

It was part of a strategy. Every new post in a Facebook group pushes older posts down, often before they’ve had time to be seen or read. By creating posting windows, we gave news articles more visibility and a longer shelf life inside Facebook’s fast-moving feed.

With the launch of the new website, that approach is no longer necessary. The website is now the primary home for news, and it organizes stories in a way Facebook never can.

Starting immediately, community posting in the group will be opened back up.

A few rules still apply. Advertising is not permitted, and posts must be germane to New Glarus. Beyond that, the goal is to make the group useful, active, and community-driven again.

​What We Want the Group to Be Used For

This is where the Facebook group becomes especially valuable.

We want to know what you’re seeing around town. A road closure. Emergency vehicles. A community event. Something that doesn’t look right. Something worth asking questions about.

We will also use the group to ask for help with stories. That might mean asking for ideas, requesting quotes, helping recall local history, tracking down details, or exploring new angles we may not have considered. In many ways, the group becomes part of the reporting process.

Think of it as a place where stories begin, not where they end.

What Stays on Facebook vs. What Lives on The Website

To be clear about how this works moving forward:

Facebook is for headlines, quick updates, discussion, and community conversation.

The website is for full stories, photos, archives, and in-depth coverage.

Some articles will still be shared in the Facebook group as links back to the website, but not all of them, and not always immediately. The priority now is keeping the website current and accurate. That means Facebook links may be less frequent and sometimes less timely than before.

You can expect breaking or time-sensitive stories to be shared, along with occasional daily or every-other-day summaries of our coverage. When you see a link, it will point you back to the website, where the full story and updates live at NewGlarus360.com.

One more important change: you can comment on articles on the website, too. The conversation no longer has to live only on Facebook. Readers can engage directly with stories where they live, alongside the reporting itself.

The goal here is not to abandon Facebook, but to use it more intentionally. The Facebook group remains a valuable community space. The website becomes the long-term home for local journalism.

Together, we believe they can work best when each one has a clear purpose. We hope you agree.