In a Season 10 episode of The Simpsons, “Mom and Pop Art,” a flood hits Springfield. In an endearing cutaway gag, young Milhouse Van Houten stands in his flooded bedroom, clad in his usual red shirt and pants cuffed high at the ankle, water beginning to puddle at his feet.

“My feet are soaked, but my cuffs are bone dry! Everything’s coming up Milhouse!” he exclaims.

That’s been the type of eternal optimism The Chronicle has been operating under since we redefined a “newsroom,” reduced our overhead, and stepped into our real newsrooms – the communities we serve – four months ago.

Water continues to pool at our feet in the form of increased costs, big tech and oligarch overreach, haphazard tariffs, limited resources, and budget constraints – but hey, at least we’re wearing our floodpants now, and several people are helping us roll up the cuffs.

Yes, 2025 seems to be the year The Chronicle is on the move – in more ways than one.

The transition from our traditional newsroom setting to the Community Newsroom has had a significant impact on our business, with many instances of “coming up Milhouse” as we explore new ways to engage with readers.

Building out the team

This week, we welcome Lindsey Black to the team as our sales manager. I’ll save the word count here and direct you to read the accompanying story in this week’s paper dedicated to Lindsey’s official announcement.

We’ve been without a full-time news reporter for the better part of a year. Last month, we welcomed Ashlin Sanderson to the team on a full-time basis.

If that name sounds familiar, it’s because she has been cranking out stories for us since December, when she joined us as a Catalyst reporter through the University of Oregon, and was able to extend her internship through the summer with us as she finished her classes.

Given a stellar internship performance, we were quick to offer her a position as a full-time community and city reporter upon graduation.

We’ve also been building out our photographer lineup. We’ve recently welcomed new-to-town Adon Eccles, who has helped us with Drifters baseball, and has since been joining in on more assignments. Josie Heacock, a senior at Pleasant Hill, has also been making valuable contributions to the sports department with her photography. Add those folks to the photography powerhouses that are Bob Williams and Craig Strobeck, and we’ve got an embarrassment of riches in the photo department.

Ben Ordonez, owner of Bold. Cool. Marketing created a brilliant video, complete with live action from recent high school practices, to help promote the Fall Sports Preview that was in last week’s edition. The video not only highlights our student-athletes and their hard work, but it also reflects the high-quality, professional content that our publication strives to produce.

Speaking of sports, our team all wore green shirts to the volleyball jamboree as Chronicle staffers turned out to support the girls in action.

We’ve invested in gear for our staff to wear and merchandise to give away to our supporters as we continue to bolster our profile and growing presence in the communities we serve.

Which reminds me … catch us at Springfield’s The Block Party on Friday! We’ll have a Chronicleized version of “The Price is Right” Plinko game for the young and the young at heart, for a chance to win our new swag. We’ll also have a Block Party deal for subscriptions if you’ve been looking for an excuse to sign up a friend.

Expanding digital, print footprint

We’ve been working on integrating our print and online presence more effectively, expanding our digital reach significantly through several initiatives.

In addition to daily uploading stories on Chronicle1909.com, we have also created an e-Editions, where readers can literally flip through the paper online as though they were reading the printed product.

The long-awaited interactive online Go2 calendar has also launched, thanks to Willamalane’s support. Folks can now upload and access a variety of events happening in the southern Willamette Valley outside Eugene, tailoring their search to a category, a city, or an activity. You can add that information to your personal calendar, too. Springfield Utility Board is on board to pick up the Go2 sponsorship after October, ensuring longevity in the asset.

Papa Murphy’s Pizza, Sanipac, and Farmlands Market have all renewed their campaigns, and Point S Tire & Auto has also renewed, this time as the sponsor of the Class Acts education page. Ike Olsson of Huddle Up again stepped in as a premier sponsor of the Fall Sports Preview, in addition to the support received through the Drifters.

We hear all the time how the Puzzles page is a weekly necessity for our readers. With that in mind, and thanks to the ongoing support of Candice Hook at Allstate Insurance, we’ve expanded our puzzles and games to our website, where readers can interact with new puzzles daily. We also added weekly editorial cartoons online for those interested.

As website traffic continues to increase, we’ve also launched “Journeys” through our newsletter initiative, where folks can sign up to learn more about us, our team, and our mission – all delivered to their inbox.

What fuels these improvements comes down to support and partnership. Readers like Judith Bachman, Rev. Norm Few, and Bobby Stevens, among others, continue to support us through donations to our nonprofit.

If you want to help support our mission, consider donating to The Chronicle Foundation.

Erin Tierney-Heggenstaller is executive editor of The Chronicle, and is a part-owner. Reach her at [email protected].