At the Albert Lea Tribune, we are dedicated to being the leading source for your local news and commentary.

That is why we will replace our existing Web site, which we agree is rather clunky and outdated, with a brand new, refreshing Web site. The site will allow us to bring news to you from nearly anywhere with Internet capability. And thanks to air cards &8212; those plug-in cards that allow computers to reach the Internet via the cellular telephone network &8212; that means just about anywhere.

Imagine a sports writer covering the Albert Lea Thunder hockey game at City Arena. He is taking notes with his laptop and meanwhile updating information on the game. You couldn&8217;t go to the game, but you&8217;d like to know what the score is. The best place for you to go will be

AlbertLeaTribune.com.

Imagine a photographer covering a tornado&8217;s damage. After she is done shooting photos, she can right away post them to AlbertLeaTribune.com, no matter where she is.

In the old media, you&8217;d see images first on television, even if the newspaper people were on the scene first. In the new media, the Internet allows the online newspaper to be the place you see the damage first.

No more checking our site once a day. AlbertLeaTribune.com will update as news develops.

In fact, you&8217;ll see the newspaper people carrying video cameras around, beating the TV folks at their own game. Why stay up until 10 p.m. to see the footage of, say, a house fire when you&8217;ve already seen a video at AlbertLeaTribune.com?

It gets even cooler.

You get to participate, too. Let&8217;s say you shot photos of the tornado itself. The new Web site will allow you, the reader, not only to post your comments but also your photographs. You can post shots of your family or your flower garden or your youth soccer team or your baby&8217;s first steps. This will be Albert Lea&8217;s community gathering place online.

It debuts June 1.

We can barely wait.