A Prior Lake family is looking to spread a little more positivity in the community.
The Schafers, including parents Matt and April and their children Eric, 14, Allison, 13, and Daniel, 5, have launched a new website, LakerPride.com, which will highlight “all things good” with Prior Lake, according to a news release.
The family recognized there were ample platforms available for criticism (which they say they understand the need for), but they wanted to provide a “parallel platform that amplified the positive, a showcase for Prior Lake,” the release said.
The website also aims to deliver a centralized portal for community links.
“The sports and community pages have all of the links a Prior Lake family needs — in one location,” April Schafer said. “And the social media feeds and forum are enjoyable to follow.”
The website will be managed by 13-year-old Allison Schafer, a Hidden Oaks Middle School student who will start eighth grade this fall. She’s responsible for the overall content of the website and ensuring all images, video and submissions are within the site’s mission: Maintaining a positive representation of Prior Lake.
“No negativity, no concerns, no politics, nothing critical, there’s other platforms for that,” Allison Schafer said. “Concerned citizen forums, editorials, complaints, we found these online communities depressing. My hope is to build an enthusiastic, grassroots following of people that want to focus on Laker Pride – the good in our community.”
The domain lakerpride.com was previously used for advertisements related to the Los Angeles Lakers NBA team, the release said. There were several other communities attempting to secure the domain. Through “successful negotiations” the Schafer family was able to take ownership of the digital real estate.
The website hopes to become Prior Lake’s online voice, the release said, and it will amplify “the strong schools, proud sports teams, parks, trails, recreational opportunities, the growing downtown, thriving business community, kind and generous residents and of course the lakes.”
In addition to a brief history of the city and an overview of area lakes, the website currently includes forums where users can share their best Prior Lake photos, their cause of choice, what they love about the city and sports updates.
