Why GraniteCitizen Exists

Granite City has a problem. It's the same problem facing small cities all across America, but knowing that doesn't make it any less frustrating.

The problem is this: Our stories aren't being told.

Oh, sure - when something dramatic happens, the regional media shows up. A plant closing. A crime. A controversy. They parachute in, grab the headline, and leave. And if you want to know who won the city council race or what's happening with downtown development or which teacher just retired after 35 years, you're mostly on your own.

That's why I'm launching GraniteCitizen.com.

Let me start with what this isn't, because that might be clearer.

I'm not trying to be the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. I don't have the resources to cover state politics or regional sports or the metro area's best new restaurants.

I'm not trying to compete with the 24-hour news cycle. I'm not going to be first with breaking news, and honestly, I'm okay with that.

And I'm not pretending to be objective in the way big newspapers claim to be objective. I love Granite City. That's my bias, and I'm not going to hide it.

What GraniteCitizen is: a local news and storytelling site focused entirely on Granite City and its surrounding communities - Mitchell, Pontoon Beach, Madison. I'm going to cover the things that matter to people who actually live here.

Here's what you can expect from GraniteCitizen:

Business Profiles. Every other Wednesday, I'll feature a local business - its history, its owners, what makes it special. Jerry's Cafeteria. Manhattan's Coffee & Socialhouse. The Speakeasy. Vin Hoa. Places you might drive past every day without knowing the stories inside.

Notable Citizens. Once a month, I'll do an in-depth profile of someone who makes this community what it is. Teachers who shaped generations of students. Longtime volunteers. Families who've been here for a hundred years. The people whose names you see on buildings and street corners - and the people whose names you've never heard but should have.

Heritage and History. Lincoln Place alone could sustain a history site for years. The Bulgarian and Macedonian immigrants who made Hungary Hollow the largest such community in America by 1915. The Armenian genocide survivors who found refuge here. The Mexican and Hungarian and Italian families who built something together in the shadow of the steel mills. These stories are disappearing as the oldest generation passes away. I want to preserve them.

Local News. As I’m able to (or as I find help), we’ll snapshot City Council meetings. School Board decisions. Development projects. The things that actually affect your daily life and rarely get covered anywhere else.

Events and Community Calendar. What's happening this weekend? What's coming up next month? A comprehensive calendar that treats Granite City like the real community it is.

You might wonder why I'm launching now, in 2026, when local journalism seems to be dying everywhere.

Here's the thing: Granite City is at a pivotal moment.

The U.S. Steel situation has dominated headlines for months - the uncertainty about Nippon, the fears about layoffs, and now the announcement that Blast Furnace B is restarting, bringing back 400-plus jobs. This is national news, and it directly affects thousands of families in our community.

But there's so much more happening that doesn't make the regional papers.

Downtown is changing. The Mill has transformed a former church into an entertainment venue. The District is emerging as an arts and culture zone. Mayor Parkinson's administration is pushing revitalization efforts that could reshape what downtown Granite City looks like in five or ten years.

Route 66 turns 100 this year, and Granite City sits on the Last 100 Miles of the Illinois stretch. The It's Electric Neon Sign Park just opened. Muffler Men are popping up around town. Tourists from around the world will be passing through, and we have a chance to show them who we are.

And the heritage stories - Lincoln Place, the steel mills, the immigrant communities - those stories have a shelf life. The people who remember Hungary Hollow before it was called Lincoln Place are in their 80s and 90s now. If we don't capture their memories soon, we never will.

So why now? Because there's never been a better time - and because waiting means losing stories we can never get back.

I believe local journalism should feel different from what you see on national news sites.

It should be warmer. More human. Less obsessed with conflict and controversy, more interested in the everyday texture of community life.

That doesn't mean I won't cover hard news or ask tough questions. I will. But I'm not going to pretend that gotcha journalism serves a community of 27,000 people. When I might run into my subjects at Schnucks next Tuesday, I approach stories differently.

My goal is to build something that makes people proud to live in Granite City - not through cheerleading, but through honest storytelling that takes this place seriously. That means celebrating what's good and investigating what isn't. It means treating local business owners and elected officials and ordinary residents as real people with complicated lives, not as characters in a narrative.

It means telling the truth, but telling it with love.

Granite City's official motto is "Where Art and Industry Meet." That's what I want GraniteCitizen to embody.

The industry part is obvious. This has always been a working-class city, built by people who made things with their hands - steel, first and foremost, but also granite ware and toys and all the products of a manufacturing economy. That heritage shaped everything about this place, from the street grid the Niedringhaus brothers designed (modeled on Washington, D.C.) to the waves of immigration that brought the world to our doorstep.

The art part is sometimes harder to see, but it's there. It's in the Heritage Festival every year, where the descendants of Bulgarian and Armenian and Mexican immigrants celebrate the cultures their grandparents brought from across the ocean. It's in the murals going up around town and the music at The Mill and the stories people tell about the old days.

GraniteCitizen is where those two things meet. I'm going to work hard - covering the news, preserving the history, profiling the people who make this community run. But I'm also going to tell stories with craft and care, because Granite City deserves that.

I should be honest about my limitations.

I'm not going to be everywhere at once. I won’t cover everything. I'll miss things. I'll make mistakes. Local journalism is hard, and doing it well requires resources I'm still building.

I'm not going to make everyone happy. Some stories will rub people the wrong way. Some coverage decisions will frustrate the people who think I should be covering something else. That's the nature of the work.

And I'm not going to be free of bias. As I said at the start: I love this place. That's going to color what I do. I think that's okay - even necessary - for the kind of journalism I'm trying to practice. But you should know it going in.

What I promise is this: I'll work hard, I'll be honest, and I'll always put Granite City first.

This isn't just a news site. It's an invitation.

If you have a story to share - about your family, your business, your neighborhood - I want to hear it. If you know someone who deserves a profile, tell me. If you remember something about the old days that shouldn't be forgotten, reach out.

GraniteCitizen will only be as good as the community that supports it. I need tips. I need sources. I need people willing to talk on the record about what matters to them. I need readers who will share stories with their neighbors and push back when I get something wrong.

Most of all, I need people who believe that Granite City's stories are worth telling.

Because they are. They always have been.

From the Niedringhaus brothers who built a planned city in the prairie, to the immigrants who transformed Hungary Hollow into a mosaic of cultures, to the steelworkers who powered American industry for a century, to the entrepreneurs and teachers and coaches and volunteers who keep this place running today - Granite City has always punched above its weight.

GraniteCitizen is here to tell that story.

Welcome. Let's get started.

Have a story tip or want to get involved? Contact me at [email protected].

GraniteCitizen is just getting started. Be sure to sign up to get notified when new stories go live - business profiles, heritage features, local news, and more. No spam, just Granite City.