On Aug. 12, the city of Gary, Indiana declared a local disaster emergency after a derecho – extreme winds and thunderstorms – tore through the area and left thousands without power. INN Network member Capital B in Gary covered the story immediately – and kept reporting even after the storm was over.
The derecho wasn’t the only natural disaster that hit the U.S. in August: wildfires hit Washington and Nevada, and there was flooding in Illinois. As part of an ongoing effort to support news organizations covering natural disasters, the Institute for Nonprofit News (INN) and Google News Initiative (GNI) awarded Capital B and 22 other independent newsrooms $10,000 each in unrestricted funds.
The news organizations include:
Spokane Public Radio
Omak-Okanogan County Chronicle
FāVS News (INN member)
RANGE Media
Ward Media
Latino Herald
NCEC-KDNA
Chewelah Independent
Free Press Publishing Inc. (Cheney Free Press)
Yakima Herald-Republic
Inland Publications
Northwest Public Broadcasting
Statesman-Examiner
The Lansing Journal (INN member)
Reno News & Review
Block Club Chicago (INN member)
Citizen Grit
This Is Reno
Civic Spark Media LLC DBA Western Wayne News
WJOB
Capital B News (INN member)
Third Place News Journalism Fund
Free Press Indiana (INN member)
While INN members are invited to apply for the Disaster Response Fund, the opportunity is open to independent newsrooms in affected areas.
Western Wayne News in Cambridge City, Indiana was directly impacted by the flooding.
“Having our newsroom and main office flooded and destroyed while reporting on the flooding and recovery efforts in Wayne County, Indiana has been disorienting and difficult. Our team continued to provide trusted local coverage for the community even while evacuating, cleaning and salvaging,” said Chris Hardie, the newsroom’s publisher. “Receiving these funds alleviates significant stress and uncertainty about the impact of these events on our finances and our ability to sustain operations while we figure out next steps.”
With extreme weather events on the rise, INN and GNI piloted this approach to supporting local news coverage during the California wildfires in January 2025. In 2025, INN supported 64 total news publications through the Disaster Response Fund.
