It began nine years ago at a kitchen table in Carson City.

A handful of journalists were hunched over their laptops, checking over stories that would appear overnight on a new Nevada news site, one that promised in-depth, nonpartisan coverage of this miraculous and mercurial state. There were profiles of legislative leaders, an exclusive interview with Gov. Brian Sandoval and analysis of his final State of the State speech. The small but mighty band, all of them taking a leap of faith into an adventure in nonprofit journalism, checked for story gaps, for typos, for … anything that would blemish the maiden edition.

Finally, after much fretting, in the wee hours of Jan. 17, 2017, The Nevada Independent was born. Happy ninth Indyversary to us!

I started The Indy after a long career as a reporter, columnist and television interviewer and commentator, poaching the best young journalists in the state and believing they would embrace the vision I had to do something new, broader, deeper. They did not let me down and the foundation we began to build nine years ago has not crumbled, despite a crack or two through the years.

As we enter our 10th year today, I am struck by how unreal it seems at times, this roller coaster ride we have been on for nearly a decade. As my family well knows, I generally hate roller coasters, eschewing them on every trip to every Disneyland near and far we have visited. But this one, full of exhilarating highs and frightening lows, has been the best ride of my life.

The Indy has been through many changes since that first day. Some of those who were around that kitchen table in the state capital nine years ago have moved on. We have nearly quadrupled in size. We have won many awards, and we have had near-death moments when I wondered if we would survive.

But through it all, we have produced quality journalism that has changed the media landscape here and made us Nevada’s only statewide outlet. We have broken innumerable stories, produced in-depth pieces on important issues and hosted events with newsmakers — including all three governors — since we launched.

We have also been transparent in a way few outlets are, naming all of our donors, explaining when necessary how we do what we do and acknowledging our mistakes. We have built a culture of credibility externally and a culture of collaboration internally that remains unbroken.

So many people and groups have helped us along the way, as I wrote recently. We could not have done this alone, especially without the kindness of friends and strangers. We have nearly 10,000 donors who have given single digits to seven figures. They are why we get to celebrate this anniversary.

As well as we have done, we are not sustainable yet, and this business of nonprofit journalism is hard. It sometimes feels Sisyphean, but the frustration of that boulder rolling down time after time is more than matched by the satisfaction of knowing that the summit is within reach, that we will get there. (I hope you will help.)

I have done a lot of things in my more than 40 years in journalism — in print, on the web, on television. But nothing I have done in my career has been as meaningful as The Indy experience. I am proud of our journalism, and I think the best is yet to come.

But what makes this so deeply resonant to me are the people I have worked with these last nine years, starting with the original crew and extending to the much larger group today.

These are some of the best people I have ever known, and I have had the honor of working beside them, watching them grow even as I learned from them, too. I won’t name everyone, and some have gone on to other jobs, but the pride I feel in seeing two of the people who were at that kitchen table — Michelle Rindels and Riley Snyder — ascend to become The Indy’s co-editors is simply ineffable.

None of this has been easy, and I think it will only get harder in a world in which too many people see us as the enemy, too many miscreants try to pull themselves up by knocking the media down. But I have never believed more in the power of what we can do in this business and in the people who are dedicated to doing it. I am lucky to be working with some of the best.

Happy Indyversary to us!