The new year will bring a new community news source to Ashland, founders of the nonprofit Ashland.news group announced Thursday.

“Nonprofit news is a growing answer to a growing problem,” said Bert Etling, executive editor of Ashland.news. “Local groups are coming together all over the country to fill the gap left by the closing of so many newspapers and the withering of so many more. According to the Institute for Nonprofit News, an average of almost one new nonprofit news group per month has launched over the last three years.”

Ashland.news, which is both the name of the nonprofit and its web address, will launch its full website and begin sending out email newsletters on a regular schedule on Jan. 14. The free site will include reports about all things local, including city government, schools, business and labor, housing, the environment, sports, arts and entertainment, letters to the editor and viewpoints on local issues.