EXTRA, EXTRA, DON'T READ ALL ABOUT IT. A “news desert” is defined as “a community, either rural or urban, with limited access to the sort of credible and comprehensive news and information that feeds democracy at the grassroots level.” (Image via public domain)

As traditional newspapers have withered nationwide, many have worried about the onset of “news deserts” – geographic areas where citizens lack news sources to keep them aware of what’s going on in their hometowns.

A desire to fight this trend in the Menomonie/Dunn County area led to the formation of a grassroots organization, The Local News Group. The group – a nonprofit fund of the Community Foundation of Dunn County – aims “to help residents of Dunn County to find up-to-date, trustworthy, accurate, local news.” To that end, they’ve created an online survey for Dunn County residents that asks about local news sources, what kinds of news isn’t getting adequate coverage, and more.

The survey, which can be completed through the end of March, can be found by following this link.