About LocalWatch
Local decisions, easier to follow.
LocalWatch helps reporters and residents follow local government, understand the issues, and find the records behind them.
We are a Minnesota-based technology company bringing public meeting information into one place. Our platform organizes available agendas, meeting packets, and minutes alongside plain-language summaries and links to original sources. The goal is to help people spot proposals early, ask informed questions, and hold local government accountable without spending hours searching scattered websites.
A clearer view before and after the meeting
Housing, school budgets, road projects, and public spending take shape in local meetings. The details are often spread across government websites, brief agendas, and lengthy meeting packets.
An agenda can give you an early look at a proposal, while there is still time to ask questions or attend the meeting. A packet adds supporting details, such as budgets, staff reports, and proposed agreements. Published minutes help you check what happened afterward. LocalWatch organizes these available records around the meeting so readers can explore the context for themselves.
Technology that reduces the research work
Our software collects public meeting materials, extracts their text, and organizes them by community and meeting. AI helps turn that text into readable summaries. Source links give readers a direct route back to the documents, where they can examine the wording and details.
For a reporter, that can mean finding a proposal worth investigating before a vote. For a resident, it can mean understanding what is on the next council or school board agenda. For a researcher, it provides a starting point for exploring local decisions.
People make the judgments
AI helps organize information and gives readers a place to begin. Reporters decide which leads to pursue, ask questions, interview people, and verify what they publish. Residents bring their own experience, weigh the evidence, and decide how to participate.
LocalWatch is a research tool. Reporting, interpretation, and decisions belong to people. We want to give them more time for investigation, discussion, and participation by reducing the work of finding and sorting public records.
Keep the source in sight
Follow the source links to read the original wording, supporting details, and context for yourself. A summary is a starting point for inquiry. AI can omit details or get facts wrong, so check the official record before publishing, sharing a claim, or taking action. An agenda describes planned discussion; minutes and other records are needed to establish what happened afterward.
Coverage depends on what public bodies publish and what we have processed. Some meetings have incomplete materials or no summary yet. During our Minnesota pilot, we are improving document coverage, summary quality, and updates as new records become available.
Built in Minnesota
LocalWatch is operated by LocalWatch LLC, an independent Minnesota company. We are starting with Minnesota cities, counties, and school districts, with a focus on dependable coverage and clear access to the public record.
Newsroom inquiries, feedback, or a correction? Contact contact@thelocalwatch.org. If you spot an error, include the meeting link and the relevant source so we can investigate.