Back in January, Flipboard launched the “Local” tab to highlight news from local publications in select North American cities. It gives users a way follow stories about their homes through one curated feed. Now, Flipboard is expanding its Local program to add 15 new cities in the US and Canada, bringing the total to 50. The new additions are: San Antonio, Texas; Kansas City, Mo.; Hartford, Conn.; Columbus, Ohio; Cincinnati, Ohio; Milwaukee, Wis.; Oklahoma City, Okla.; Louisville, Ky.; Memphis, Tenn.; Honolulu, Hawaii; Omaha, Neb.; Montréal, Quebec; Ottawa, Ontario; Edmonton, Alberta; Calgary, Alberta.

The Local feed will show news, the latest updates on the coronavirus pandemic and the elections, traffic updates, as well as dining, sports and weather information from local newspapers, TV stations and blogs. Flipboard has also introduced the ability to personalize Local feeds by giving users the ability to select sub-topics related to the area they’re in. They’d be able to select specific topic tags, such as the name of their local sports teams.

Finally, Flipboard is slated to start testing localized notifications in June. The feature will show users a notification whenever an important local story breaks, though it will only be available in Houston, Chicago and Philadelphia when the tests begin. Flipboard’s VP of content and communications Marci McCue said the company plans to expand the initiative even further this year. “It seems more relevant and important than ever as the coronavirus impacts media companies on the one hand, while on the other hand citizens’ need for reliable information is at an all-time high,” she added.

Source: engadget.com