New Glarus 360 launched last year with a simple goal: build a stronger local news source for New Glarus and the surrounding area and make it easy for the community to see what that could look like. Since then, readers have followed along with daily coverage of local government, schools, sports, business, history, community life and breaking news. Now, that broad introductory free period is entering its final two weeks.

Beginning April 15, New Glarus 360 will no longer operate under its launch-period free-access model. A free membership tier will still remain, but broader access to the site’s local reporting and features will be reserved for paying subscribers.

We want to thank the readers who have already subscribed. Far more people have chosen to support New Glarus 360 at this stage than we expected, especially considering the product has remained free for everyone through April 15. That early support has been encouraging, humbling and deeply appreciated. Thank you for believing in what we are building. And most of all, thank you for supporting truly local journalism in New Glarus.

For readers who stay on the free plan, New Glarus 360 will continue to offer access to newsletters, announcements, public notices, public safety-related news, and story previews after April 15. Paid plans begin at $2 a month or $20 a year for Basic Access, with higher tiers available for readers who want sports, heritage, photo galleries, archives and other added benefits.

That means a Basic annual subscription works out to about $1.67 a month. For that price, readers can support a local publication focused on New Glarus and the surrounding area, with coverage published daily rather than once a week. New Glarus 360 believes that matters. Local news is stronger when it is produced close to home by people who know the community, follow its issues closely and are here to cover what happens next.

Readers who subscribe are not just buying access to stories. They are helping support more reporting, more sports coverage, more community features, more photographs and a stronger local news source rooted in New Glarus. The launch period was designed to introduce the publication to the community. The next phase is about building something that lasts.

For those who read New Glarus 360 regularly, April 15 is the time to decide whether that kind of local coverage is worth supporting. New Glarus 360 believes it is.

– If you read New Glarus 360 regularly, now is a good time to subscribe and help support more local news, more often, right here in New Glarus.

– Licensed file photo