IFalls.news

07/26/2024

I completed my first presentation to my staff and partner yesterday about the new IFalls News site. They really liked what they saw and now I am ready to start presenting to stakeholders, community groups, and non-profits to demonstrate the new site and explore potential collaborations. I will be reaching out to people this week, feel free to reach out to me first.

07/18/2024

Here is an update on our timeline and a little bit of our story;
My daughter, Emma, and I have literally been working night and day to get ready for our launch. Emma goes back to UMD at the end of July but will still be working remotely on the site. Her school schedule is the driving force behind our launch timeline.

August 1st: I will start demonstrating the new site to potential collaborators and sponsors.

August 15th-ish: We will have a soft launch of the site with little promotion so we can work out any unforeseen bugs.

August 30th-ish: Full launch and change the way local content is consumed in Koochiching County.

06/29/2024

I don't want to tip my hand too much but here is a screenshot of the new IFalls.news site that will be available to the public in August.
Our team still has a lot of work to do but the infrastructure is in place and now we are focusing on design and content.
Subscriptions/ memberships will continue to be free!

06/26/2024

Update on IFalls.news 2.0:
We had a development meeting yesterday to go over our new features and our timeline. Although we don't have a specific release date, you can expect to use the new version in August.
I was already enthusiastic about the significant upgrade that this site would be over its predecessor, but after seeing our new features in action yesterday, my excitement level is through the roof.
This site will be an online experience unlike any other.

05/24/2024

IFalls News 2.0 is coming soon. Classifieds, original news content, interactive guide, public forums, a beautiful and easy to navigate interface are just a few of the features we are the most excited about.
My timeline is dependent on our Small Town Tech work but the new site will be done within 2 months.

"IFALLS.NEWS is your premier source for exclusive news content and editorials in International Falls, MN, Koochiching County, and surrounding communities. We provide comprehensive coverage of local events, government updates, tourism highlights, religious

05/22/2024

I am going to sit down with local politicians, decision makers, business owners, and local experts to have a meaningful conversation about what guides them and how they are improving and/or plan to improve our area and life for the residents who call Koochiching County home.
A few exciting guests have tentatively confirmed already. If you hold an elected office or plan to run in November, I would love to talk to you. I am also looking for experts on hot button issues that affect our community. We are facing many complex problems and I look forward to learning more about them.
Email [email protected] if you are interested in joining me for a live conversation. Let's Talk, soon.

05/21/2024

https://www.ifalls.news/government.html

05/21/2024

We have been working on a major upgrade to IFalls.news. We are not following a specific timeline, but we hope to share it with everyone this summer. We are inventing a way to consume local news that has never been done before.
In the meantime. check out our still awesome current site, www.IFalls.news .

04/30/2024

Thank you to everyone who has liked or followed our page.
Here is a sample of what I will be putting on the site later tonight.
www.ifalls.news

04/30/2024

I added a Kabetogama section. So far, I have a few recreational activities listed and the public water access. I plan to add hiking and camping soon.
https://www.ifalls.news/government.html

04/30/2024

I didn't have the right shoes on for the weather to properly explore the Loretta (Schaedler) Waldbillig Memorial State Wildlife Management Area today. I will have to come back when the weather is fair or bring boots.
https://www.ifalls.news/parks-and-recreation/loretta-schaedler-waldbillig-memorial-state-wildlife-management-area

04/23/2024

Who knew we had so many public water access sites around IFalls?
Go to www.ifalls.news/public-water-access and see if we missed any.

04/23/2024

We have slowly ramped up to a very respectable daily visitor count. Thank you and please share this post to help spread the good news.
www.ifalls.news

03/07/2024

Click on the new time and date widget on www.ifalls.news and watch it grow!

03/07/2024

Thanks for helping IFalls.news reach 3,000 page views in a single week!

03/07/2024

I added new special feature widgets to the www.ifalls.news homepage. My hope is to maximize the user experience. Please let me know if your experience has been maximized or any other comments you may have.

03/06/2024

www.ifalls.news/non-profit-listings
I would like to help local non-profit organizations and churches receive donations. I verified every donation link on the IFalls.news and they either link directly to the organization's website or to their fundraising platform like Paypal or GiveMN.
The Church section is in development and will be coming very soon.

03/05/2024

Check out the new updates to the Guide section on IFalls.news. Jump directly there by clicking, www.ifalls.guide

03/04/2024

I made updates to www.IFalls.tv and www.IFalls.news/government over the weekend.
I appreciate any feedback you leave in the comments.

03/02/2024

Dear IFalls.news reader,
I thought I would share my motivation behind IFalls.news other than practicing my web development skills.

First, even though I own half Small Town Tech I am not wealthy. My business partner and I have a different philosophy that is customer focused and not profit driven. That means we charge as little as possible while doing a little better than breaking even. Our prices still aren't cheap, but they are honest.

My retirement plan is to travel this beautiful country in an RV with my wife to visit my kids and future grandkids. That lifestyle won't be free, but I won't need millions of dollars to achieve it. This is why almost all content on www.IFalls.news will be free to readers and businesses.

I would like to make some residual income from the site but it will mostly be a marketing expense for STT.

“Money is numbers and numbers never end. If it takes money to be happy, your search for happiness will never end.” ― Bob Marley

Second, I am not much of an artist but using beautiful scenic pictures of our area brings me joy. Some people hate that we are located two hours from "civilization" but for me that is a selling point.

Lastly, I will promote all local businesses that are locally owned or support our community and aren't just leaches. When you scroll through Facebook, you can be ten minutes into it before you realize that you haven't seen anything relevant to your real life. I want to change that.

We have big doings going on in and around IFalls and although I don't attend the activities and events as much as I used to, it still makes my heart happy to see our community still trying after all these years.

Sincerely,
Ted

03/01/2024

I need your help, especially if you are local and sell products online. One of the ways I plan to support local business is by showcasing their products that they sell from their existing eCommerce website.
When a visitor views the site, they will see local products alongside the news feeds. The visitor will be directed to the external website and the customer will make the purchase through the external eCommerce site. IFalls.news doesn't handle or track any of the transaction.
I am not charging for this. I already built the prototype and tested it with various eCommerce platforms, now all I need it local eCommerce website links.
Put your eCommerce website link in the comments. If you suggest a store that you are not the owner of, I will attempt to contact the owner.
www.ifalls.news

03/01/2024

I am still perfecting the formula. The first News Feed you see on the home page shows the latest 50 posts from local businesses, non-profits, sports, education, and government. www.ifalls.news
The Breaking News feed has one to two days of content depending on how much is going on in our community.
Bookmark or install our app to make IFalls.news part of your daily routine.

03/01/2024

I don't know if it is better to have 500 Likes on Facebook or 500 Followers but we reached 500 Followers first so that is what we are celebrating with this simple graphic.
Thank you for your interest in this project so far.

02/29/2024

63.97%. That is how far the average reader scrolls on our www.ifalls.news homepage.
That is impressive considering how much content is on the first page. I am adding more content into the main homepage feed. You will now see 50 posts of content from local businesses, non-profits, government, and other unincorporated organizations all in the main news feed sorted by most recent.

"IFALLS.NEWS is your premier source for exclusive news content and editorials in International Falls, MN, Koochiching County, and surrounding communities. We provide comprehensive coverage of local events, government updates, tourism highlights, religious

02/29/2024

We have changed how we cite our sources. Our feeds will now show the organization that is responsible for the content. All of the external links send you directly to the content source.
Any business that you see on IFalls.news is there as a courtesy to our readers and has not been charged to place their content on our website.
Check it out, www.ifalls.news

02/29/2024

https://www.ifalls.news/government.html
It's Thursday! Perhaps tomorrow will be Friday but until then, start your day off by checking out the latest updates about the City of International Falls.

02/29/2024

Quickly get up to speed on the latest from ISD 361 in an easy to navigate way.
https://www.ifalls.news/education.html
This section automatically updates so it always displays the most recent content for all of ISD 361's various feeds.

02/21/2024

I had to put a pause on all development of IFalls.news. Until we find an employee or two to work at Small Town Tech. We have multiple positions available for candidates with different tech skill levels. Learn more by visiting www.smalltowntech.shop/careers
I did build IFalls.news so most of it is automatically updated so the content is always current.

​Full Time or Part Time (20+ hours minimum) $20 per hour ​ ​

11/08/2023

Check out the latest article by Brad Krasaway from Outdoor Values

7:55 a.m. Opening morning I send the text… “are forks in season?”
You see, on a normal year, my father and I try to only target 8 pointers or better but don’t worry our standards decrease quickly as the season wears on. After considering the last few winters, increased pressure by outsiders on the land we hunt, and projected low deer herd; he replies, “Yes.” And at 8:07 he is ours.
Little did I know that this would be the beginning of many life lessons that I am still digesting...
Read more, https://www.ifalls.news/outdoors-articles/lessons-from-the-woods-deer-season-2023-edition

​7:55 a.m. Opening morning I send the text… “are forks in season?” You see, on a normal year, my father and I try to only target 8 pointers or better but don’t worry our standards decrease...

10/28/2023

Our App is back online. Try it, you might like it, https://install.page/ifallsnews

I finished migrating the DNS so the site should load faster. There are tons of content so it will always load a little slower than less dynamic sites. Downloading the app will decrease load times significantly as well.