Once again, Colorado is staking out new ground in the battle to save local news, this time with a first-in-the-nation effort to keep newspapers locally owned and thriving. For about a year now, Jerry and Ann Healey, owners of Colorado Community Media and its chain of two dozen weekly papers in eight Front Range counties, have been looking to retire. On Monday, a newly-formed group called the Colorado News Conservancy announced it will buy the company in a unique arrangement that involves the National Trust for Local News and the Denver-based Colorado Sun. The news is a welcome twist on the typical newspaper takeover. Across the country, and here in Colorado, newspaper consolidation has resulted in journalist layoffs and newsrooms suddenly zapped of their institutional memories. Meanwhile, cost-cutting private equity “vultures” circle newspapers in cities around the nation. Typically, when a hedge fund gets its claws in a newspaper, it eviscerates staff (see: Denver Post). Fewer reporters means less local news, which can lead to unchecked accountability on institutions and more.