COLUMN: A new chapter for The Owen News

If you're a regular reader of The Owen News, you've probably noticed this issue looks a little different. You're right.

The calendars are shorter. There are fewer columns than usual. And this issue is arriving on a Thursday, not the usual first Friday of the month.

While the holiday explains the Thursday publication, the shorter calendars and fewer columns have a different explanation. Beginning this month, The Owen News is expanding to a twice-monthly publication schedule.

Four years ago this month, the founding board of what would become The Owen News met for the first time.

None of us knew exactly what would come of that first meeting. All we had was hope and a vision for what local journalism could mean for Owen County and a belief that our community deserved it.

I personally am forever grateful for those founding board members who generously gave of their time and talents based on an idea that had never been done in Indiana – a nonprofit newspaper. You could almost even call it a pipe dream.

But as we all know, two years ago, thanks to the support of this community, that dream became a monthly paper. Since then, you've helped us build something remarkable. Throughout the last two years, the paper has grown, nearly doubling in size from 16 pages to 28 pages, to tell more stories and dig deeper into the challenges and successes in our community. We've produced special sections, increasing what we offer each year, for the fair, graduation and elections. Each one reflects our commitment to documenting the moments that shape Owen County and embracing the important role that a local, community newspaper should play.

And now, it's time to increase it some more, offering two editions each month on the first and third Fridays. We're also investing in how we deliver the news online, bringing more timely reporting to our website and launching an app this fall so local news can reach readers directly.

None of these changes are about growing for the sake of growing. They're about serving Owen County better. Publishing twice each month means we can share more of Owen County's stories. Every step we've taken has been guided by one simple question: How can we better serve our community?

That question has shaped nearly every decision we've made, including hosting our first Meet the Candidates forum in April, investing in digital news and deepening our reporting.

That same question also led us to another exciting milestone as part of our next chapter: leasing our own office space on Spencer's downtown square. We'll be moving into the former office of the late John Fuhs, whom we miss deeply. John devoted decades of his life to serving Owen County. Being in the space that was John's for more than 30 years is an ever-present reminder of what it means to serve our community well.

While we have appreciated the start and beautiful space at The Exchange, we've quickly outgrown it, not only in terms of space, but in its ability to meet the unique needs of a growing newsroom. In order for us to continue to grow and build The Owen News, we need a home of our own, where our staff can gather and our community can connect with us.

Once our space is ready, we can't wait to share it with all of you, to honor John and the Fuhs family and to specifically celebrate and thank those that have or will step up to help us take this next step. (And yes, we're still looking for furniture if you have something you'd like to donate!)

Four years ago, I wasn't sure if we'd ever be able to publish our first issue. Today, we're publishing twice a month and opening our own space downtown. That's not something I take for granted.

Because at the end of the day, our success is the community's success, and we're only able to do this because of our community's support. I've long said that if you take care of your community, your community will take care of you. The last four years have proven that to be true.

Maybe you've donated or become a member.

Maybe you've bought an ad.

Maybe you've called with a news tip, written a letter to the editor, shared one of our stories, picked up a copy for a neighbor or simply encouraged us when we needed it most.

However you've supported The Owen News, you've helped write our story. As we begin this next chapter, I know we'll continue writing it together because Owen County believes local news is worth having and worth supporting. So yes, this issue looks a little different, and I can't wait to see what we write together next.