1,000

You are reading the 1,000^th article published by Eden Prairie Local News.

Our first three stories were published mid-COVID on Sept. 25, 2020 by Brad Canham, the first editor of EPLN.

Fittingly, they introduced three candidates for the upcoming City Council election.

Informing you about news of civic importance – including elections – was one of the primary drivers that brought a group of concerned citizens together to somehow, some way, fill the news gap that occurred when the Eden Prairie News, the city’s long-time weekly newspaper, was shuttered earlier that spring.

My first byline didn’t come until Oct. 3 of that year. It was a story about Eden Prairie Schools’ nurse supervisor, who explained how COVID-19 was affecting students and teachers and everyone else in the district.

That story seems almost quaint after more than two years of living with COVID.

EPLN’s journalism staff started out as a handful of volunteers pulling together a start-up digital newspaper.

A thousand stories and nearly two years ago, a few days might pass between published stories as former journalists shook off the cobwebs of coming up with story ideas, interviewing sources, and putting pen to paper.

These days, EPLN publishes closer to an average of two stories a day. We still write about the City Council and the School Board. But we’ve branched out with new, talented contributors, who toil for much less reward than they deserve, to tell the many stories of Eden Prairie – we like to call it The Story of Us.

Behind the scenes, our volunteer Board of Directors works diligently to find new sources of revenue to keep this non-profit venture afloat. We thank them and all of you who have donated amounts small and large, and a growing group of advertisers who support our mission.

Money is nice – and necessary – but just as importantly we ask you to become a free subscriber. We value our readers. We value their support, their occasional criticisms, and their encouragement to keep getting better.

There’s really nothing magic about 1,000 stories. But it is a milepost, one way to measure our progress toward bringing you, the residents of this city, news that you can trust. News that you can use.

And we promise to keep moving forward and we invite you to join us for the next 1,000 stories of your city, Eden Prairie.