Welcome
A Letter from the Editor
Dear Reader,
Welcome to The Roseville Reader, a newsletter for residents of Roseville, MN. I am so glad you’re here! My name is Naomi Krueger and I’m excited to launch this newsletter to serve the Roseville community.
Why am I starting this? I’ve been feeling the lack of a community newspaper ever since The Roseville Review stopped publishing when Lillie News closed suddenly in the fall of 2019. I know I’m not alone. Independent journalism is important to democracy and the thriving of cities, but sadly the business model for traditional community newspapers has proven to be unsustainable in the 21st century. This has had a detrimental effect on community awareness about important issues in our city.
“Research shows that the loss of local news is having an insidious effect on our democracy — contributing to polarization, decrease in voting, and government accountability. Local news is an essential lever to a healthy democracy; it helps communities understand what’s at stake in local elections, equips them to get involved in the political process by voting, contacting officials and running for office, reduces political polarization, and holds public officials accountable.” —The American Journalism Project
I appreciate the newsletter that comes out from the City of Roseville, but that’s not the same as independent reporting. Every election season, I need to do a lot of digging to find information on candidates for City Council, state House and Senate districts, school board, and local ballot measures. I’ve been wishing someone would curate this information for me to read. For years I’ve toyed around with the idea of getting involved in local journalism again. Now, thanks to to the Substack platform that makes starting newsletters so simple, I’m ready to take the leap.
I’m starting with election guides for municipal and state races and ballot measures that impact Roseville, but I have dreams to expand beyond that.
In addition to election guides, this newsletter will also curate information about issues relevant to our city, linking to articles from other publications that are covering Roseville, and digging into the details of major City Council or School Board decisions that impact Roseville residents. I’m also interested in doing the occasional personality profile to get to know ordinary folks living in Roseville who are doing interesting things.
It’s a passion project, born out of my desire to feel more connected to the Roseville community and for the community to be more connected to important information. There is no organization, business, or political party driving this newsletter and I’m not working for the city. I won’t be covering crime or major news that is already covered by bigger Twin Cities media. It is truly citizen journalism from an experienced writer, editor, and publishing professional who lives in Roseville. I’m starting small and we’ll see how things grow.
The best thing you can do to support this effort is to share this publication with your friends and neighbors and subscribe to receive the newsletter directly in your email inbox. After you subscribe, take a minute to complete the New Reader Survey so I can develop content and articles you’re interested in reading.
Let’s build something together.
Naomi Krueger