An Indianola mother was at wits’ end when she contacted Lee Rood, the Register’s Reader’s Watchdog.

Her 13-year-old daughter told her a boy in her class had touched her twice sexually, then harassed her while using unmonitored school computers. The mother didn’t think the district was doing enough to protect her daughter and other students.

In a column earlier this month, Lee examined steps the district had taken and raised larger questions about how far schools need to go to protect students from sexually aggressive behavior by fellow students.

One reader who emailed her later called the piece “informative and compelling” journalism. “As a father to a child entering the education years, this gives pause for thought.”

Lee's work is the kind of trustworthy, in-depth local reporting Iowans have depended on from the Register and its predecessors since 1849. It’s also the kind of exclusive news coverage and analysis that the Register is making available only to subscribers starting July 16.

Why the change? We need readers to subscribe. Your financial support is vital to sustaining local journalism.

Subscriptions support our work

In bygone years, full-page department store advertisements and classified ads for jobs, cars and homes provided most of the revenue needed to publish a daily newspaper. But the digital revolution has ushered in new reading habits (with many people preferring to get their news on their phone rather than in print). It also led to waves of brick-and-mortar store closings as online shopping increased.

Advertising remains a major part of our revenue stream, but a sustainable business model for delivering local journalism today demands other sources of revenue, and subscriptions are a big part of that.

The Register’s journalism holds elected officials accountable, informs you of developments in the local business community that could affect your career and pocketbook and keeps you up to date on what’s happening in central Iowa's ever-diversifying dining and entertainment scene.

Our coverage is unmatched across many topics

Strong local journalism is a building block of a strong community. Our journalism is valuable, and we have no qualms asking you to pay for it.

Want to know how Des Moines is going to spend the extra 1 cent in sales tax it began collecting July 1? Des Moines reporter Austin Cannon is tracking plans for street improvements, flood prevention projects, demolishing abandoned homes and more.

What new restaurant should you try for date night? Dining reporter Brian Taylor Carlson, a former chef, keeps tabs on openings, closings and taste trends, and taps his sources and his own expertise to compile “best of” lists, such as the “50 best restaurants in Des Moines.”

Are new housing developments or business expansions planned in the metro? Growth and development reporter Kim Norvell scopes out what will be built where and how it will affect existing neighborhoods.

Who are all these presidential candidates crisscrossing Iowa, and what are their plans for the country? We’ve got reporters assigned to every candidate, and they are examining their backgrounds and stances on key issues.

Already getting excited for the Cy-Hawk football game on Sept. 14? Our tandems of Iowa State columnist Randy Peterson and beat reporter Tommy Birch as well as Iowa columnist Chad Leistikow and beat reporter Mark Emmert bring veteran expertise to covering all things Cyclones and Hawkeyes. Randy alone has covered Iowa sports for parts of five decades.

Subscriptions help make all of that possible.

Breaking news, game coverage still available to all

Most of our content — including breaking news, routine coverage of government and business, and sports game stories — will remain under the current model that gives you multiple articles monthly before you are asked to subscribe. But major investigations, explanatory projects, in-depth profiles and other exclusive work will be reserved for subscribers.

For readers who don't yet subscribe: I hope you’ll keep coming back to sample our work, and I urge you to buy a subscription.

For current subscribers: I thank each of you for supporting our newsroom and the local journalism we produce.

Need-to-know details

To subscribe, take advantage of a new-customer offer at DesMoinesRegister.com/Deal

Print subscribers already have unlimited digital access. If you haven’t done so, you’ll need to activate your digital account at DesMoinesRegister.com/Activate

Carol Hunter is the Register’s executive editor. She wants to hear your questions, story ideas or concerns at 515-284-8545, chunter@registermedia.com, or on Twitter @carolhunter.