One year ago, on Oct. 9, 2024, we officially launched Carver County Local News with the goal of building a reliable, community-driven news source for Chaska, Chanhassen, Victoria, Carver and greater Carver County.

Today, thanks to the support of our volunteers and readers, we’ve grown into something more meaningful than we ever imagined.

In just 12 months, our all-volunteer team has:

• Published more than 530 articles by 27 writers, covering everything from city council meetings to local recipes.
• Shared more than 300 community events from across Carver County.
• Launched community polls with nearly 1,000 responses, helping us hear directly from our community.
• Built a subscriber base of more than 1,300 engaged readers.
• Reached 350,000+ total site views, with an average of 1,500 readers per day.
• Gained 1,800+ Facebook followers.
• Partnered with civic groups, nonprofits and local businesses to deepen our community roots.
• Joined the Institute for Nonprofit News (INN) and became a proud member of the SouthWest Metro Chamber of Commerce.
• Rolled out new tools for event submissions, local polls and series-based content collections.
• Introduced the CCLN Podcast, launched our merchandise line, and continued to grow, together.

What started with a voter’s guide for the 2024 election and a vision for better local journalism is now a full digital platform powered entirely by volunteers. We are so grateful for the readers, writers, board members, partners and neighbors who make this possible.

We believe community news should be free, nonpartisan and locally grounded. But it also takes time, labor and support to keep going. As we head into year two, we invite you to stay involved:

• Subscribe and share our work with friends and neighbors
• Submit events or story tips
• Join as a volunteer contributor 
• Or make a donation to help sustain our platform
• Show your support proudly by purchasing and wearing CCLN merchandise — a great way to spread the word and represent local news in your community

Thank you to our supporters for reading, participating and believing in what we’re building together.