🛩️ Our Midwest pit stop

🍁 Welcome to fall.

🌤️ Today's weather: Partly sunny, with a high near 76.

🎧 Sounds like: "Let's Go Crazy" by Prince.

🎂 Happy birthday to our Axios Richmond members JoAnn Adrales Ruh and Libby Dorough!

✍🏼 Programming note: We're in Minneapolis this week for a lil company retreat so our newsletters might look different for a few days (more on that below). But we're not going anywhere, don't you worry.

Today's newsletter is 895 words — a 3.5-minute read.

The loss of local news has an insidious effect on democracy.

Why it matters: The trend is "contributing to polarization, decrease in voting and government accountability," the nonprofit American Journalism Project found through an analysis of independent research.

The big picture: In Richmond, the one-time daily paper of record — the Richmond Times-Dispatch — has shed thousands of subscribers, dropping from 37,000 print subscribers in Sept. 2022 to under 23,000 as of late August.

• Its digital-only subs notched up from 22,000 to 23,873.
• That's according to the annual notice the paper is required to publish to qualify for discount postage from USPS.
• In recent years, its staff has also shrunk from what it once was even just before the pandemic, per a 2022 Style Weekly article (which, full disclosure, mentions Karri and Sabrina).

Zoom in: It's partly because of how people consume news now.

• Nearly 90% of adults say they often or sometimes get news from a smartphone, computer or tablet, per Pew Research Center's latest survey.
• That's compared to around 65% for television, 42% for radio and 25% for print publications.

Threat level: Almost a third of all U.S. newspapers have shuttered since 2005, according to last year's report from the Medill Local News Initiative at Northwestern.

• There are roughly 6,000 newspapers left in America, down from 8,891 in 2005.

Friction point: Most communities that lose a local newspaper don't get a replacement, even online.

• That's been the case in Chesterfield, which lost the Chesterfield Observer last year when the paper shut down after nearly 30 years.
• Nationwide, more than 200 counties have zero news outlets, per Medill's report.

What they're saying: Having a reporter monitor city hall, police, or local business practices serves the public good by promoting civic engagement and helping communities make better decisions, according to Knight.

Yes, but: The RTD is still around — as is VPM, the Virginia Mercury, Style Weekly, the Henrico Citizen and as of this month, the Richmonder.

• There's also our local TV stations and even more hyperlocal options like South Richmond News.

The bottom line: Support them, too.

Full story

👋 Hi there! Holly Moore, executive editor for Axios Local, here.

This week, 115 Axios employees from 30 cities nationwide are meeting in Minneapolis for our annual Local team retreat, including Karri and Sabrina.

Why it matters: Getting together allows us to share best practices, setting the foundation for our continued growth as we aim to prove that our model for local news is sustainable nationwide.

Between the lines: Axios Local launched four years ago, with 13 reporters covering five cities.

• With a newsroom that stretches from Seattle to Miami, in-person time is incredibly valuable.
• This week allows us to peel away from Zoom meetings and other distractions and focus on how our product best serves you.

The bottom line: Thank you for allowing us the time and space to do this.

If you have feedback on your newsletter or want to brag on your reporting team, feel free to reach out at any time: Holly.Moore@Axios.com.

🧱 One million Lego bricks are coming to the Virginia Museum of History & Culture next month as part of an exhibition that will include a 23.5-foot-long replica of the Titanic. (WRIC)

📵 Virginia Senate Democrats introduced legislation for school cellphone restrictions that would guard against expulsion and suspensions for students who violate cellphone-free policies. (Times-Dispatch)

👀 Richmond's electoral board vice chair wants Registrar Keith Balmer to be removed from his role following an investigation into claims accusing him of nepotism and inappropriate overspending. (Times-Dispatch)

The upcoming exhibition features floral interpretations throughout the museum, talks from guest speakers and VMFA curators, luncheons, floral design workshops, family activities and more.

General admission is free, and tickets for programs and events are on sale now.

Learn more.

The Richmond region saw another banner year for local tourism, overwhelmingly driven by sports.

Why it matters: Tourism, sports or otherwise, brings outside money to town and helps support thousands of jobs.

The big picture: Visitors spent $3.7 billion in the Richmond region last year, according to the latest stats from Richmond Region Tourism.

• That's a 7.4% increase over the previous year when tourist spending surpassed pre-pandemic levels for the first time.

Zoom in: Sports tournaments are the main driver behind the visitation surge to Richmond.

• Those can include regional fencing bouts in downtown Richmond, state softball tourneys in Chesterfield, major league bass fishing on the James or the A-10 Women's Basketball Championship, happening in March in Henrico.

And Henrico continues to be the leader in tourism dollars and sports tournaments, raking in just under $1.9 billion in direct visitor spending in 2023, a 9.2% increase over the previous year.

• Richmond: $908 million in visitor spending, a 9% increase.
• Chesterfield: $601 million, up 3.2%.
• Hanover saw modest year-over-year increases, too.

Full story including the percentage of group bookings that were because of sports tourism

Become an Axios Richmond member and fuel our mission to make readers smarter and faster on the news unfolding here.

Why it's important: The generosity of our members supports our newsroom as we work on the daily newsletter.

What's in it for you: Insider notes from the local reporters and other perks.

Thank you for trusting us.

Sabrina here, reporting back from the second annual Iron Blossom Music Festival — which unfortunately was without its highly sought-after Coachella-style Ferris wheel this year.

I went Saturday for Turnpike Troubadours and Mt. Joy, but the 22-artist lineup also included Joy Oladokun, Caamp and Chance Peña on Sunday.

The short version: It was worth it.

• Moving the festival to September made the heat bearable, though the storm that ended up cutting Iron Blossom short Saturday night might have helped, too.
• It also meant people weren't repeatedly passing out mid-concert so I consider that a win.

Yes, but: I did not find the infamous $100 chicken nuggets topped with gold flakes, caviar and shaved truffles from last year, which was devastating.

Fine Arts & Flowers transforms the museum with 76 dazzling floral interpretations. Other special events include talks, luncheons, workshops and family activities.

General admission is free, and tickets for programs and events are on sale now.

Learn more.

🤧 Sabrina is sniffling because she couldn't resist singing and dancing in the rain to Mt. Joy's "Silver Lining" with thousands of her closest friends.

🙌 Karri is super looking forward to connecting with her colleagues in Axios Local's 29 other cities this week.

Thanks to Fadel Allassan for editing today's edition.