by Blaine Howerton | NorthFortyNews.com
A New Year’s reflection on family tradition, showing up, and why North Forty News kept publishing during the launch of our Daily Update
I usually try to take the first week of the new year off. It’s a small tradition—one week, once a year—reserved for a bucket-list trip with my sons before school, sports, and schedules take over again.
This was supposed to be that week.
But with the recent launch of our North Forty News Daily Update, I decided to keep this edition going. It felt too important to pause at this time. New habits are fragile, momentum matters, and showing up—especially early—is part of earning trust.
So instead of writing this from home, I’m writing from an RV parked just a few miles from the Las Vegas Strip.
At midnight on New Year’s Eve, we stood among roughly 300,000 people as one of the most coordinated fireworks displays I’ve ever seen unfolded above us. Each casino launched from its rooftop in perfect timing—colors matched, patterns mirrored, LED screens synced across buildings. I even saw technology I hadn’t seen before: massive rotating lasers projecting messages into the sky.
It was loud, overwhelming, and oddly inspiring.
Standing there with my sons, I found myself thinking less about the spectacle and more about what comes next—for them, for us, and for North Forty News. I caught myself hoping that 2026 would be a year of steady growth, deeper connection, and continued trust from the communities we serve.
We’ve marked New Year’s in a lot of different ways over the years. One year, we camped on the beach. Last year, we welcomed the new year among the saguaros at Saguaro National Park. This year, we found ourselves in the middle of one of the wildest celebrations on the planet—and somehow, it still felt grounded because we were together.
That’s a theme I keep coming back to: place, people, and showing up—even when it’s inconvenient.
As we head into this new year, thank you for being part of North Forty News—whether you read one story a week or start every morning with us. Your support, your attention, and your trust are what make it possible for us to keep publishing, even during weeks that were supposed to be quiet.
Be sure to read this week’s complete edition online at NorthFortyNews.com/this-week. Bookmark the link—the new edition is posted there automatically each time it comes out.
See you out there,
Blaine Howerton
Publisher, North Forty News
https://northfortynews.com