We deliver neighborhood news supported by neighbors. Our local news model relies on support from local neighbors like you. We need your help to expand our coverage with more student opportunities.
Update: We had 41 new or upgraded members, shy of our goal, but we’re incredibly grateful for the support. Thank you!
- Goal: If we get 50 new or upgraded members by November 13 we’ll expand student opportunities.
- Stretch goal: More members, more opportunities.
- Rewards: Everyone gets a gift card! Plus West St. Paul stickers and swag.
- Member benefits: Keep your community informed, locally commissioned postcards, weekly updates, text alerts with breaking news, members-only events, and more.
Support neighborhood news: Membership starts at just $3 per month or pay annually and save 5%.
“Thank you West St. Paul Reader for getting answers to the questions people have been asking!” -Pam Stein
Goal: Expand Student Opportunities
We love to give students interested in writing or photography an opportunity to get experience. We’ve hired writers and photographers in the past, though it’s been irregular and infrequent. With more member support, we can offer consistent and sustainable opportunities to help students:
- Annual intern: Earlier this year we piloted a paid internship experience. Our intern wrote stories, attended events, met with professional journalists, and more. With member support we can create a sustainable internship program.
- Monthly student contributions: We hire students, but we want to do more. Students need regular and ongoing opportunities in order to improve. With more members we can have paid student contributions every month.
- Mentoring opportunities: We’ve started a partnership with the Two Rivers Tribune. Growing our support means we can commit more time and energy to mentoring students.
Why student opportunities?: We owe our career to people who gave us a chance. Those initial opportunities in high school and college confirmed our interest in writing and gave us the experience to apply for jobs and get our start. We want to pay it forward to today’s students.
“It allowed me to explore a passion that I previously wasn’t sure how to pursue. Now I have a direction to move forward and continue improving my work.” -Megan Noggle, 2024 intern
Rewards
Every new or upgraded member gets prizes worth more than $200, including:
- West St. Paul stickers and swag.
- $100 gift card to Block Portrait Studios.
- Free 10-year major component warranty on an appliance purchase from Plaza TV & Appliance (over $90 value).
- $5 gift card to Clothesline Laundromat.
- Free haircut at Sports Clips.
- Everyone gets a gift card: We have 60 additional gift cards worth more than $1,200. We’ll make sure everyone gets one while they last, with a random drawing for any extras. Big thanks to the participating businesses: Amore Coffee, Culver’s, Dairy Queen, Eco Chico, FoodSmith, Fraidy Cats, Inver Grove Ford, Jamison’s Irish Bar, Mike’s Butcher Shop, Pace’s Automotive, Southview Garden Center, Tii Cup, Turbo Tim’s Anything Automotive, WSP Chiropractic, and Zak’s Auto Service.
- (Note: All rewards have limited quantities, in the 50-80 range. Reward will go to those who sign up first until we run out.)
Party: Plus, an invite to our members-only party at FoodSmith.
Regular benefits: The above rewards are in addition to the regular benefits of being a member, which include:
- Hand-written thank you postcard created by a local artist.
- Weekly members-only updates.
- Members-only text alerts for breaking news.
- Invite to member meetups.
- 15% discount in our store.
- Plus, the peace of mind that you’re keeping your community informed.
“Didn’t know I cared about this stuff until West St. Paul Reader started covering it. I now read all of it. Thanks!” -Tim Webb
What Neighborhood News Looks Like
- Informing the community: Much of this work is about informing the community. We’ve broken stories countless times and shared local news stories other outlets don’t cover.
- Election coverage: In-depth coverage of local elections that otherwise get little if any attention.
- Local government coverage: West St. Paul City Council and ISD 197 School Board meetings are the lifeblood of a community and we make them accessible.
- History: We love digging into local history.
- Events: We support local events, including the West St. Paul Rider community bike ride.
- Local postcards: Since 2019, we’ve commissioned local artists to create postcards 18 times, highlighting West St. Paul and supporting local creatives.
“The West St. Paul Reader is the #1 source of information for our region. Thank you for posting your ‘ask the candidate’ questions and replies!” -Nikhil Joglekar
Thanks
West St. Paul Reader has shared neighborhood news since 2019 thanks to the support of our members. Thanks for making it possible.