Five Things About Urbandale Patch

Here are five tips to help you start using Urbandale Patch:

1. Add Urbandale Patch to your morning must-check list. By 6 every morning, we'll have a list of five things that might be helpful to you in your day. We'll also regularly link you to good Urbandale stories on other local sites. And you can sign up for our morning email news summary by clicking on "Follow This Patch" in the upper-right of the home page.

2. Look for at least three to four new stories throughout the day. Generally, but not always, that means you'll find the newest items in the top cluster of stories. Don't forget to check the stories under the "News" heading or on the next page for hidden gems.

3. We love our Urbandale bloggers! You can always find them under the Local Voices heading, and sometimes in the top four articles. We like to give bloggers top billing and will do so until we get so many of you we can't fit you all on top! You don't have to be Tolstoy to blog for us, just click on the green box that says "Want to Blog on Patch?" and follow the instructions.

4. News you can use. Did you know there are at least 19 pizza places in Urbandale? Click on the Places tab to find the pizza with the best reviews from your neighbors. Want to volunteer this weekend? Click the Volunteer tab — there's dozens of opportunities. Click on Events and put information about your church supper or a fundraiser on Patch. It's really easy — you just fill in the boxes. 

5. Urbandale Patch will be as interesting and useful as you make it. Imagine the wealth of information about Urbandale that you all possess. We want you to share it and make the site uniquely Urbandale. Send us a news tip to check out, or post an announcement of your 50th wedding anniversary celebration. Just look on the bottom right of any page to see how. And, puleeze, pretty please, comment on the bottom of articles or blogs. You know you want to! Get a lively discussion going. (Just remember your "Character Counts" rules and read our terms of use and we'll be fine.)