Every few years, someone decides that the local news market—which has suffered some of the most decimating effects of the print-to-digital transition—is ripe for disruption and reinvestment. Jim VandeHei made it a critical mission for Axios back in 2021, when the company launched its first six local newsletters; five years and dozens more cities later, Axios Local counts about 15,000 paying members, up from 7,000 at the end of last year. Cloudflare’s Matthew Prince has argued that hyperlocal journalism comprises some of the most valuable data in the A.I. age. And just last week, New York Times managing editor Marc Lacey announced that the paper was launching its own first-ever local newsletter, focused on the Twin Cities.