Why We Exist

The Marengo-Union Times closed in 2019. For seven years, nobody covered this town as a beat. City council decisions, budget shortfalls, water infrastructure, zoning changes: all public record, all effectively invisible.

Marengo Post exists to change that. We cover local government, infrastructure, and development for people who care about their community but don't have time to read 40 pages of council packets.

City council votes and what they actually mean. The budget math behind tax bills. Infrastructure projects and where the money comes from. Zoning decisions and who they affect. When national or world events reach Marengo, we explain how and why they matter here.

We read the primary documents: council packets, meeting minutes, budget presentations, state filings. Every article includes numbered footnotes linking to the original source. You can check our work.

When we cite a number, we link to where we found it. When we quote someone, we name the source. If the wording comes from meeting minutes (which are summaries, not transcripts), we note that. If we can't source a claim, we don't publish it. If the numbers tell an uncomfortable story, we publish it anyway.

Data pages like the price tracker explain what each number represents and where it comes from. When data is regional or national rather than Marengo-specific, we say so.

We keep reporting and interpretation separate, and we label the boundary. News sections present facts: what happened, who said what, what the numbers show. When we move into analysis, section headings like "Why It Matters" or "What Happens Next" tell you.

Language matters here. "The pension gap widened" is a sourced fact. "The pension gap may widen" is analysis. We choose those words carefully. Longer analytical pieces carry the "Ground Level" label. They follow the same sourcing standards as news but include more interpretation.

We will get things wrong. When we do, we fix it openly. Errors are corrected in the original article with a notice at the top stating what changed. We don't silently edit published work.

If you spot a mistake: hello@marengopost.com. We'd rather fix it fast than defend it slow.

Marengo Post is independent. We are not affiliated with the City of Marengo, any political party, or any local business. Editorial decisions are never influenced by advertisers or sponsors.

We are not neutral on whether Marengo should thrive. But we report the costs and trade-offs honestly. The goal is to give you the full picture, not to tell you what to think.

We publish detailed documentation of our editorial method and design decisions. These pages describe how we find stories, research claims, write articles, handle corrections, and make visual choices. They are meant to be commitments we can be held to.

Editorial standards →
How it's built →

Tips, corrections, or just hello: hello@marengopost.com.