Building something worth supporting, one idea at a time
by Blaine Howerton | Publisher & Executive Editor | NorthFortyNews.com
Lately, I’ve been spending a lot of time building software.
That’s probably not what most people imagine a newspaper publisher doing. But then again, North Forty News has never been a conventional newspaper.
Nearly every day, I’m developing something new to make North Forty News better. Some of that work happens behind the scenes, improving how we manage advertising, communicate with readers, and keep this independent publication running. Other projects are designed to make MyNFN, our new digital community platform, a more useful and engaging place for Northern Colorado.
Some days, everything comes together beautifully. Other days, something that should take 15 minutes turns into three hours of troubleshooting.
But this week, I decided to have a little fun.
I built a word game called WordWeave, and it’s now live in MyNFN.
It’s a daily word puzzle that challenges players to use logic and a little creativity to complete a letter grid. A new puzzle appears every day, along with a little friendly competition between Northern Colorado communities.
I love the idea of Fort Collins, Loveland, Wellington, Windsor, Greeley, and our other communities competing to see who has the sharpest puzzle solvers.
It’s something simple. Something fun. And hopefully, something that gives you another reason to spend a few minutes with us each day.
But there’s a bigger reason I’m sharing this.
I’ve been thinking a lot lately about what it means to earn a community’s support.
I don’t believe we can ask people to support local journalism only because it’s important. We have to demonstrate that importance every day.
Sometimes that means reporting a story nobody else is telling. Sometimes it means helping neighbors discover a local event, understand an issue affecting their community, or celebrate someone doing something extraordinary.
And sometimes, believe it or not, it means creating a little word game that brings people together.
When I took over North Forty News, the challenge was keeping a community newspaper alive. We faced rising costs, a changing media landscape, and eventually a pandemic that forced us to rethink nearly everything.
Today, we’re doing more than keeping a newspaper alive. We’re building something for the future.
I want North Forty News to be a place where people across Northern Colorado can find reliable information, discover their communities, and feel connected to the places they call home.
And I want that experience to keep getting better.
That’s why I spend so much time developing new tools and improving the ones we already have. It’s not because technology itself is the goal. It’s because technology gives a small, independent newsroom like ours opportunities that would have been difficult to imagine just a few years ago.
Of course, none of this changes our most important commitment.
Local news belongs to everyone.
Our journalism remains free to read. No paywalls. No barriers. Just the stories that matter to Northern Colorado.
And while WordWeave certainly won’t change the world, I hope it brings a little enjoyment to your day. I hope you’ll try it in MyNFN, represent your community, and come back tomorrow for another puzzle.
More importantly, I hope you see what we’re working toward.
We’re not simply asking Northern Colorado to support its local newspaper. We’re working every day to build a newspaper and a community platform that’s worth supporting.
Thank you for reading, for participating, and for helping us continue this journey.
The news earns your attention. Our commitment earns your trust. Your support keeps local journalism strong.
If you believe in what we’re building, I invite you to support independent local journalism.
See you out there,
Blaine Howerton
Publisher & Executive Editor
North Forty News