Eight years ago today, after a sleepless night, I went to Calgary city hall with a whole lot of butterflies in my stomach.

I had been to city hall many times before as a journalist. But this day—September 18, 2017—was different. This time I wasn't filing stories for someone else. This time, on the same day that candidates were filing their nomination papers to run for city council, I was launching a new independent Calgary journalism outlet called The Sprawl.

The idea was that rather than trying to cover everything in the city, The Sprawl would focus exclusively on the municipal election. We would dig deep. It would be upbeat. There would be no paywall. And the hope was that, if people appreciated the work, they would step up and support it.

It was all an experiment. We called it "pop-up journalism" at the time. And I had no idea if any of it would take.

Thankfully, it did—enough to keep going. The rest is history!

Today marks The Sprawl's 8th birthday as we head into another municipal election. That's eight years of our team serving Calgarians with in-depth, curiosity-driven journalism that is inquisitive, incisive and fair. Today I'm reflecting on what this work means locally, which is perhaps best summed up by some of the comments we've received this week after our latest deep dive on school trustee candidates:

I hear encouraging comments like these all the time and am truly grateful to receive them. But the reality is that a small, independent newsroom like ours can't run on encouragement alone.

Eight years ago I took a chance on Calgary, not knowing what would happen. Today I'm doing it again: For our 8th birthday, we're aiming to get 80 new monthly donors—and I'm asking you to be one of them!

Think of it as a birthday gift. Not so much to us, but to your neighbours and your community. Because that's what this has always been about: helping Calgary become a more connected city. Journalism is just the tool we happen to use. In these divided times, and with independent journalism increasingly under threat, that aspiration is as important as ever.

So rather than wishing us "happy birthday"—although you can do that, too—take a moment now to mash that support button! If you prefer to give a yearly or one-time donation, those options are available as well. But monthly donors are the backbone of our operation, providing us with steady support we can count on.

As for a big ol' birthday party, that will have to be another day. Today I'll be busy updating our candidate tracker (new candidates keep joining!) and our election forum list, important civic resources that thousands of Calgarians are using every day to stay informed about the election. We are continually pulling this fragmented information into a centralized place because it's so clearly needed—and The Sprawl is the only one doing it.

When you become a paying member, you also get added to our invite list for member-only events. So when that party does happen, you'll be invited.

Okay, enough from me. Now it's up to you: support strong independent journalism today. And encourage your friends to do the same!

Jeremy Klaszus is founder and editor of The Sprawl.