A proven model for making money online remains elusive for most publishers, but a dedicated group of former Rocky Mountain News staffers isn’t going to let that stop them from reporting in Denver. The group, which includes former Rocky business writer David Milstead, hopes to launch The Rocky Mountain Independent sometime this summer, after plans for INDenverTimes came unraveled last month. Although that site is still operational, 7News reports that its “future is still being decided.”

According to a press release (via Westword), the RMI will partner with other local sites for content, not all of which will be free. The group plans to charge for “premium” content via “memberships” that will buy access to “live discussions with RMI’s reporters and contributors and in-depth coverage of topical issues and events.”

Staffers will also contribute money from their own pockets toward the site, and as RMI co-founder Steve Foster tells Westword’s Michael Roberts, RMI is a sure thing: “We will have enough money to launch one way or another. It’s not a go or no-go based on whether we get enough members. We will go.”

Meanwhile, former Rocky columnist turned Denver Post columnist Mike Littwin gets hip to Twitter.