Articles by Mike Rhodes

Muncie Community Schools Receives $8 Million School Improvement Grant

 Funds designated for South View, Grissom and Longfellow elementary schools By Andy Klotz, APR— MUNCIE, Ind. – Muncie Community Schools (MCS) has received a Next Generation School Improvement Grant from the Indiana Department of Education (IDOE) that will provide the district with more than $8 million over the next four school years. The grant is designed to help transform the traditional educational experience into one that better aligns to students’ needs. The schools awarded the grant funding have been identified…

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Alexis Dotson—Member of Pridemark Construction’s ‘Future Leaders of America’ Series

By Stacey Shannon— MUNCIE, Ind.—Editor’s note: The Future Leaders of America series profiles high school seniors who display leadership qualities in their school and the community. The series is brought to you by Pridemark Construction. Life is certainly busy for Burris Laboratory School senior, Alexis Dotson, but she’s figured out how to best juggle her school, extracurricular and work responsibilities: to-do lists. The lifelong Muncie resident has been working since she turned 14 in various jobs, including as a barista,…


Exchange Club Recognizes 30 Outstanding High School Sophomores

By Kallie Sulanke— MUNCIE, Ind.—The Exchange Club of Muncie honored 30 Muncie tenth-graders from Muncie Central High School and Burris Laboratory School during the Club’s annual Sophomore Honors Day luncheon on Thursday, May 5. As one way to support youth in our community, Exchange Club has hosted this event for more than 85 years. The purpose is to recognize students early in their high school careers and encourage and inspire them to continue to work toward continued high achievement as…


AAUW Names Scholarship Recipients

By Sheryl Swingley— MUNCIE, Ind.—The Muncie branch of the American Association of University Women has awarded three $1,500 scholarships – two to Ivy Tech Community College students and one to a Ball State University student. The two Ivy Tech students earning the AAUW scholarship are Kami Fulkerson and Carrie Hopper. Fulkerson is working toward an undergraduate degree in special education. Hopper is working toward an associate degree in cyber security. The Ball State student earning the AAUW scholarship is Dawnya…


George and Frances Ball Foundation Earmarks $400K to Muncie Children’s Museum

By Muncie Children’s Museum— MUNCIE, Ind. — The George and Frances Ball Foundation awarded $400,000 to the Muncie Children’s Museum More to Explore Campaign in 2020, designed to re-imagine and re-invigorate one of the community’s greatest treasures. Historically, Education and Youth have been the primary focus for the George and Frances Ball Foundation. In 2020, the Foundation awarded more than $2.9 million across 28 organizations focused on children, young adults, and educational attainment. The Muncie Children’s Museum was one of…


MuncieJournal.com’s Reflections on John Carlson, Writer Extraordinaire

By Mike Rhodes, Editor-in-Chief, MuncieJournal.com— Editor’s note: A few weeks ago we asked our readers to send us any stories or comments they wanted to make about John, and we would publish them. John passed away peacefully at his home on April 7, 2022. On Monday, May 21st, 2018 I received the following email. Hello Mike and Muncie Journal team, My name is Graham and I’m reaching out on behalf of White Castle in response to John Carlson’s recent column…


Muncie Native Awarded Prestigious National Security Scholarship

By Willow Howard— MUNCIE, Ind.—Former Muncie Central High School student and 2021 Delaware County Fair Queen 1st Runner-Up Taegan Carpenter was recently awarded the highly competitive Boren Scholarship. The Boren Scholarship is an initiative of the Defense Language and National Security Education Office of the US Department of Defense. This year, it was awarded to 208 college students across the nation and provides each of them with up to $25,000 for study abroad in areas critical to national security. Carpenter…


Teens Can Sign Up for Free Summer Film School at Muncie Public Library

By Susan Fisher— MUNCIE, Ind.—Teens in grades 9-12 are invited to learn about videography and editing using state-of-the-art equipment at the 2022 Summer Film School at Muncie Public Library (MPL). This free program provides two weeks of hands-on production experience and classes related to film production and will take place at Connection Corner, MPL’s technology center. Film school instructors are Stuart Cotton, MPL Digital Mentor, and Spenser Querry, MPL Technology and Digital Specialist. According to Cotton, this year’s film school…


Family Photos, Documents Digitized for Free on ‘Community Scan Day,’ May 14

By Ball State Marketing and Communications— MUNCIE, Indiana – Ball State University Libraries, along with a few area partners, are hosting a community scan day—an opportunity for community members to have their family photographs and documents digitized, at no charge, in an effort to preserve local history. The event, “Preserving Local History: Community Scan Day,” will be held 10 a.m.-4 p.m. on May 14 in the cantina at Minnetrista Museum & Gardens, 1200 North Minnetrista Parkway, in Muncie. In addition…


Boys & Girls Clubs of Muncie: Snack Drive to Support our Summer Camp

By Zack Hansen— MUNCIE, Ind.—Did you know that our Club members can go through over 12,000 snacks over the course of the Summer? Our youth at Boys & Girls Clubs of Muncie are continually learning and growing, and a nourishing & consistent diet is a huge part of what allows them to thrive. That’s why we’re running a Snack Drive from May 9th through May 29th: To give them the resources & support they deserve. However, we can’t provide over…