Who are we?

The Greeley Gadfly is written and compiled by Trenton Sperry. I’ve been in professional print journalism since 2013.

My professional journalism career started at The Greeley Tribune in Greeley, Colo., where I worked just about every job from copy editor and layout designer to government reporter to features writer. I left the Tribune shortly before it was sold to Media News Group, the conglomerate that owns several major Colorado newspapers — and that’s owned by hedge fund Alden Global Capital.

These days, I do layout design for The Fence Post, an agricultural magazine that covers the High Plains region.

Recently, I picked up reporting again by covering the Greeley City Council for The NoCo Optimist, an upstart news and features website. And that simply sparked again my passion for knowing what was happening in my community — and ensuring other people know, too.

All funds that power the Gadfly come from readers like you. And I sincerely thank you for that.

Why subscribe?

Subscribe to get full access to the newsletter. Never miss an update. As we grow, you will get first crack at new features.

Stay up-to-date

You won’t have to worry about missing anything. Every new edition of the newsletter goes directly to your inbox.

Join the crew

Be part of a community of people who share your interests.

To find out more about the company that provides the tech for this newsletter, visit Substack.com.

Wait, what’s a gadfly?

A gadfly is “a person who stimulates or annoys other people, especially by persistent criticism,” according to the Merriam-Webster dictionary. That definition stems from Plato’s Apology of Socrates, which recounts Socrates’ legal self-defense at his trial for impiety and corruption of Athens’ youth in 399 BCE.

Socrates was known for questioning Athenian ethics, misconceptions and assumptions, and powerful Athenians hated him for it. Socrates knew this; he compared Athens to a large, sluggish horse and said he considered himself a pestering fly that bit and roused it to no end.

And this, dear readers, is exactly what I aspire to be for Greeley.

But this pestering will serve a purpose; I want to “comfort the afflicted and afflict the comfortable,” as our friend Mr. Dooley once said.