North Forty News

What North Forty News does

North Forty News is a hyperlocal digital news publication serving Northern Colorado communities, founded in 1993 as a monthly print newspaper and now operating as a digital-first platform. The publication covers communities from Longmont north to the Wyoming state line, west to the Continental Divide, and east to Greeley, with concentrated coverage of Fort Collins, Loveland, Greeley, Wellington, Windsor, and Estes Park. Publisher Blaine Howerton leads a small team of 1-10 employees producing daily morning email newsletters, a weekly digest, and a digital E-Edition, reaching approximately 13,000 opt-in subscribers across the region. The company also operates under the trade name "Northern Colorado News."

The product portfolio centers on three core offerings: the Daily Update (a 5 a.m. email newsletter with a 30-day free trial transitioning to paid subscription), the Weekly Digest (a free weekly email summary of top local stories), and the E-Edition (a digital replica newspaper distributed via the Flowpaper platform). Supporting features include a Community Calendar listing local concerts, festivals, family activities, and community happenings. The underlying technology is a digital email publication platform with a daily morning news delivery system, complemented by an SEO-driven website (NorthFortyNews.com) and content spanning news, arts, gardens, health, weather, business, education, and lifestyle categories.

North Forty News operates a hybrid revenue model combining reader subscriptions (paid support for independent local journalism) with advertising sold as "Community Messages" packages to local businesses. Pricing follows a freemium structure: core content and the Weekly Digest remain free, with optional paid subscriptions after the Daily Update's 30-day trial. Advertisers purchase monthly multi-platform packages spanning website, daily email, weekly email, and E-Edition placements. The publication is owned in full by North Forty News LLC, with no disclosed external institutional investment, private equity backing, or parent company affiliation. Distribution is entirely digital — no app and no current print circulation — across email, web, and the Flowpaper-hosted E-Edition.

Name

North Forty News

Legal name

North Forty News LLC

Website

https://northfortynews.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1993

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

North Forty News is a hyperlocal digital news publication serving Northern Colorado since 1993. It delivers a daily 5 a.m. email newsletter, weekly digest, and digital E-Edition to approximately 13,000 opt-in subscribers, monetized through reader subscriptions and local SMB advertising.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Local News and Community Journalism

NAICS

Newspaper Publishers (513110), Newspaper Publishers (51311)

SIC

Newspapers: Publishing Or Publishing & Printing (2711)

akta.pro primary industry

Local & Regional Newspapers (Print & Digital) (MPAJADAB)

Keywords

• Local news
• Hyperlocal journalism
• Community newsletter
• Digital newspaper
• Email publishing

Headquarters

HQ city

Fort Collins

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Digital Commerce or Content

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Reader Subscriptions: Paid subscriptions from readers who support independent local journalism. The publication offers a Daily Update (first 30 days free) and encourages readers to become supporting members. Revenue supports local reporting, public meetings coverage, records requests, field reporting, photography, and editing.
2. Advertising - Community Messages: Local businesses advertise through 'Community Messages' placed on the website, in the Daily Update email, Weekly Update email, and E-Edition. Packages include website visibility, email placements, multi-platform exposure, and flexible monthly options.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

North Forty News is a community-supported independent local news publication covering Northern Colorado across daily email newsletters, a weekly digest, and a digital E-Edition. It combines hyperlocal journalism with community advertising, reaching approximately 13,000 opt-in subscribers through free and paid content accessed via email, website, and a digital newspaper platform. Founded in 1993, the publication delivers local news, weather, public safety, government, events, arts, and lifestyle coverage at no cost to readers, with optional paid subscriptions and Community Messages advertising for local businesses.

Product overview

North Forty News operates as a digital local news platform delivering hyperlocal journalism to Northern Colorado communities. The company offers a multi-format content portfolio anchored by the Daily Update (morning email newsletter), Weekly Digest (free weekly email), and E-Edition (digital newspaper). Additional features include a community calendar for local events. Coverage spans multiple geographic areas including Fort Collins, Loveland, Greeley, Wellington, Windsor, and surrounding communities, with content categories covering news, business, education, arts, health, gardens, and weather. The publication was founded in 1993 and is owned by North Forty News LLC.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Daily Update A morning email newsletter delivering local news, weather forecasts, and community events across Northern Colorado at 5 a.m. daily. Readers can subscribe for a 30-day free trial and continue with a paid subscription to support independent local journalism.
• Weekly Digest A free weekly email publication summarizing the top local stories, community news, and events from Northern Colorado, also available as a digital E-Edition.
• E-Edition A digital version of the weekly newspaper accessible through the website and Flowpaper platform, featuring comprehensive local news coverage across Northern Colorado.
• Community Messages Advertising Monthly advertising packages for local Northern Colorado businesses to reach 13,000 opt-in subscribers through website visibility, email placements, and multi-platform exposure across the Daily Update, Weekly Update, and E-Edition.

Quantifiable outcome

• Reaches 13,000 opt-in subscribers across Northern Colorado

Named customers1 record

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Regional players

• Denverite: Denverite is a digital-first local news outlet from Colorado Public Radio covering Denver and extending into broader Northern Colorado. While primarily Denver-focused, it overlaps with North Forty News' coverage of Northern Colorado news and competes for digitally-engaged local news readers.

Broad incumbents

• Boulder Daily Camera: The Boulder Daily Camera is a digital-first regional newspaper owned by a media group covering Boulder County and broader Colorado. While not strictly hyperlocal, it competes for Northern Colorado readers' attention and shares the digital community news format that North Forty News has adopted.
• Denver Post: The Denver Post is Colorado's largest statewide newspaper, covering Northern Colorado as part of its broader regional remit. While not a hyperlocal competitor, it competes for advertising spend from Northern Colorado SMBs and for reader attention across the same geographic market.

Emerging players

• Colorado Public Radio (CPR): Colorado Public Radio provides digital local news coverage across Colorado, including Northern Colorado communities served by North Forty News. It is a nonprofit alternative that competes for engaged local news readers and increasingly for nonprofit and foundation support in the regional news ecosystem.
• Yahoo Local / Patch: Patch is a national network of hyperlocal news sites, including coverage in Northern Colorado communities like Fort Collins and Greeley. While centrally managed, Patch competes directly for digital local news readership and SMB hyperlocal advertising in the same Northern Colorado footprint as North Forty News.

Others

• Scene Magazine: Scene Magazine is a Northern Colorado lifestyle magazine acquired by North Forty News in 2018. While now part of the North Forty News portfolio, it represents an adjacent regional media property that illustrates the type of small community publication that could be rolled into a broader Northern Colorado hyperlocal media network.

Direct peers

• Greeley Tribune: The Greeley Tribune is a daily newspaper serving Greeley and Weld County, directly overlapping with North Forty News' eastern Northern Colorado coverage footprint. Both compete for local news readership and SMB advertisers in the same region.
• Estes Park Trail-Gazette: The Estes Park Trail-Gazette is a local weekly newspaper serving Estes Park, a community explicitly included in North Forty News' coverage area. Both publications compete for hyperlocal news consumption and local advertising in the Estes Park tourism corridor.
• Loveland Reporter-Herald: The Loveland Reporter-Herald is a daily newspaper covering Loveland and Northern Colorado communities that overlap with North Forty News' coverage area. Both publications compete for the same hyperlocal news audience and regional advertising dollars in adjacent Northern Colorado cities.
• Fort Collins Coloradoan: The Fort Collins Coloradoan is the dominant legacy daily newspaper serving the same Fort Collins/Northern Colorado market as North Forty News. It competes directly for the same readers and local advertisers, though as a Gannett-owned chain title it offers broader regional/state coverage rather than purely hyperlocal focus.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/northfortynews

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A1 record

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about North Forty News