Raising the bar (slightly)

LocalPigeon.com's Midjourney art, Oscar Wilde, styled by Ralph Steadman.

Hey everyone,

We've got some exciting news - we've curated over 60,000 local stories and we're ready to start sharing them with you. You may have noticed that we've been experimenting with new AI technology related to storytelling - Midjourney, Descript, and ChatGPT.

We've been publishing on HastingsNow.com, but we've been keeping a low profile while we focus on creating an even better experience for all, especially for our creative community.

Here's the scoop: HastingsNow.com is becoming a platform for local creators. We've set up the foundation to help local storytellers flourish and we're here to support anyone creating great content within 30 miles of Hastings.

Our first public channel is produced by LocalPigeon.com, based in Hastings. They've launched two social channels on HastingsNow.com that are educational, surprising, and engaging.

First up is Quick Minute - a social channel that's packed with random local stories, plus researched subject matter. The process is intriguing. The daily story is discovered during early morning hours from a HastingsNow.com feed and typically published within 24 hours. The essence of the story directly inspires the AI writing style, artwork, and design.

Next is Day Trips, a new show featuring Hastings, Minnesota's 30 neighboring cities. It highlights stories about people, groups, businesses, and events worth checking out.

We're thrilled for this next chapter and the people we'll meet. We'll do our best to minimize mistakes, keep learning, and constantly improving. Thanks for being a part of our journey and we wish you all the best!

Ash and Peter