The time has come.

One year ago I made the decision to continue journalism independently. And then in late September I took a leap of faith by choosing to do it full-time.

I love searching for facts and data to tell a story in an unbiased and straightforward manner as a member of the fourth estate.

I am proud of the work I have done; digging into the truth about the death of Jackson Kradle, highlighting injustices in the Tyler Smith death investigation, and promoting transparency in local law enforcement and criminal justice system.

I’ll concede it wasn’t the smartest idea to go independent without the proper funding, but when I witnessed Charlie Kirk, who was the same age as I, be gunned down doing what he loved to do, I was compelled to take on the challenge of independent journalism.

It was a leap of faith but I have no regrets.

There are unfinished projects of mine I wish to complete, but now I must be truthful and transparent about my current situation that is dire: I can no longer afford to do this work, as I am on the brink of insolvency. I am likely going to need to put an end to my projects.

These projects include developing the first domestic violence registry, of which I have recently obtained data for all domestic related arrests in Scott County since 2021, and I had planned to build a prototype.

On top of the registry project, I have interviewed survivors of domestic violence, and want to tell their stories to help save the lives of others currently in similar situations.

I also have the sequel story to the Tyler Smith death investigation taking a deeper dive into how the Galesburg Police Department failed Tyler and his family.

I have new details to write about regarding an arson investigation near Sterling, a homicide investigation in Kewanee and I have been following multiple death investigations in Clinton.

Not to mention I’ve also been working to get back into weather forecasting and severe weather coverage to help keep people informed and safe when storms strike.

I desperately want to keep working on these projects, but without any financial support, I will be forced to put an end to all of them in order to survive myself.

Please consider donating, or sponsoring my work, to keep this mission alive.