The Day That Mattered — When It Appeared in the Newspaper!

We think of July 4th, 1776 as the day the Declaration of Independence was signed when in truth, it took months to amass those 56 signatures and yes, John Hancock was the first to sign.

The final signature was added on July 2, 1776. But the day we commemorate was the day this document, that amounted to a declaration of war against the British Empire, first appeared in the newspaper!

If citizens of that time had relied on algorithms to inform them — receiving only information about topics they were already interested in, they wouldn’t have known that whether or not they were loyalists, we were now at war with the most powerful nation in the world! Important to know, wouldn’t you say?

With the blizzard of information coming at folks in today’s times, much of it not only inaccurate but unverifiable, many people don’t realize how relevant to democracy local print journalism remains not only as a form of communication but as a force for good.

We are excited to call out that this July 8 issue, coming on the heels of our July 1 issue, is the first edition of North Forty News to signal that we are now a weekly!!!

This July, often the hottest month of the summer, in these dog days, we have much to celebrate. Here’s just some of the fun things currently available:

Thursday Night Live Bohemian Concerts — 7pm to 9pm on the Old Town Square Stage — bring a folding chair and relax to the beat — or get up and dance!

Food Truck Rally — Tuesdays from 5:30pm to Dusk, visit 15 to 20 Local Food Trucks on Sheldon Drive in City Park, Fort Collins accompanied by Live Local Musicians chosen by The Mishawaka Amphitheatre.

Lagoon Concert Series — Wednesdays from 6pm on the west lawn of CSU’s Lory Student Center, Mantooth Marketing Company offers musical offerings including country, indie rock, old school funk and rockabilly-swing — bring lawn chairs, blankets and the kids. Local food trucks will be onsite.

Rock Garden Concerts — Thursday, July 11 from 6pm (check times for 3 more Thursday night concerts) at the Fort Collins Nursery, 2121 East Mulberry Street, Fort Collins. In its 5th season, Fort Collins Nursery’s Rock Garden Concert offers this musical fundraising event benefiting The Matthews House to support their mission to empower youth and families to disrupt the cycles of poverty and abuse.

Tickets: https://fortcollinsnursery.com/event/grant-farm-rgc/

And far more is happening than what I’ve just called out — for more activities you and your family will love, check out our events calendar both in the back of this newspaper and in our sister publication, New SCENE Magazine.

Help support our work on your behalf by subscribing to either or both of our publications on either of these links:

northfortynews.com/subscribe  or  scenenoco.com/subscribe

Or contact us to learn more about advertising with us including how your ad in our print edition will also show up in our online digital replica of our current edition along with on our website.

Blaine Howerton