Articles by Mike Rhodes

Yorktown, Burris and Cowan HS Students Receive Educator Scholarship

Education, Government May 20, 2022

Yorktown, Burris and Cowan HS Students Receive Educator Scholarship

By House Republicans Press Office— STATEHOUSE  – Delaware County students preparing to become teachers are among this year’s recipients of the state’s Next Generation Hoosier Educators Scholarship, according to Delaware County lawmakers. The scholarship program, established in 2016 through legislation supported by the Indiana General Assembly, awards $7,500 per year to 200 high-achieving students. Recipients must commit to teaching in Indiana for a minimum of five years after graduating college. Current high school seniors or college students are eligible to apply. “These star students recognize that teaching is a worthwhile and rewarding profession,” said State Rep. J.D. Prescott (R-Union City)….

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Yorktown’s Ginger Thompson Recognized With Ball Brothers Foundation’s Excellence in Teaching Award

Education, Non-Profit May 19, 2022

Yorktown’s Ginger Thompson Recognized With Ball Brothers Foundation’s Excellence in Teaching Award

By Melissa Jones— MUNCIE, Ind. — Ginger Thompson didn’t always teach this way. When the high school Spanish teacher began her career 17 years ago, she said she was “a traditional teacher.” “I had a textbook and that’s what I used to teach my students. I used the methods that my Spanish teachers had used with me in high school and in college because that was the best methodology we had at that time,” she said. But as Thompson began to attend conferences and engage in professional development, she tried out new methods like “flipping” her classroom (Thompson would pre-record…

Celebrating Entrepreneurs in Muncie, Indiana

Business May 19, 2022

Celebrating Entrepreneurs in Muncie, Indiana

By Ted A. Baker, CEO/Executive Director, Muncie Innovation Connector, Inc.— MUNCIE, Ind.—For the remainder of 2022, the Innovation Connector will be focusing its outreach efforts on “Celebrating Entrepreneurs.”  What an exciting concept, “celebrating entrepreneurs!”  While it seems fitting to celebrate entrepreneurs, what are we celebrating? Heck, most of us have trouble saying “entrepreneur,” and more cannot spell it. Let’s unpack this unique word, “entrepreneur,” and discover why it may be one of the most essential words for our community. The word “entrepreneur” was coined by economic philosopher Jean-Baptiste Say; the word comes from French, “entrendre,” where it means “undertaker”—i.e., one…

Ball State University and Ivy Tech Introduce NEST Dual Enrollment Program

Education May 19, 2022

Ball State University and Ivy Tech Introduce NEST Dual Enrollment Program

By Ball State and Ivy Tech— MUNCIE, Ind. – Ball State University and Ivy Tech Community College in Muncie have launched a dual-enrollment partnership to offer students a transitional pathway to a bachelor’s degree. Navigating the Enrolled Student Transition (NEST) is a dual-enrollment program in which select high school students who have applied to Ball State, but have not yet been accepted, will enroll at Ivy Tech in Muncie and live in Ball State residence halls. Participating students will take general education and pre-requisite courses at Ivy Tech’s Muncie campus and take one class per semester at Ball State. Students…

Over ,000 Raised for Local Food Pantries Through United Way’s ‘Feeding our Neighbor’ Campaign 

Non-Profit May 18, 2022

Over $17,000 Raised for Local Food Pantries Through United Way’s ‘Feeding our Neighbor’ Campaign 

By Kim Williams— East Central, IN – Heart of Indiana United Way’s first Feeding Our Neighbors fundraising campaign, raised $17,207 to support local food pantries. The campaign, run during the month of April, was designed to address the region’s increased need for healthy food during this challenging financial time for many families. “The reality is that 1 in 8 Hoosiers struggle with food insecurity, and 1 in 7 are children. Pair that with the increasing costs for food and we know our local food pantries are seeing more families than ever before,” Heart of Indiana United Way President and CEO Jenni Marsh said. “Through this campaign, United Way was…

Charles W. Brown Planetarium Summer 2022 FREE Show Schedule

Entertainment May 18, 2022

Charles W. Brown Planetarium Summer 2022 FREE Show Schedule

By Planetarium Staff— www.bsu.edu/planetarium MUNCIE, Ind.—Showtimes subject to change due to nearby construction. Due to the construction, select parking and pathway access to the planetarium is blocked off. Plan to arrive early to safely navigate the area and arrive on time for the program. Visit our location and transportation webpage for up-to-date information. All planetarium programs are free of charge. No tickets or reservations are required for public planetarium shows. The Moon for Kids! Fridays – June 3, 10 at 3:30 p.m. Through this mix of engaging, live presentation and short planetarium videos, learn about the Moon and its features…

May is National Stroke Awareness Month: My Stroke Story and Lessons Learned

Health May 18, 2022

May is National Stroke Awareness Month: My Stroke Story and Lessons Learned

By Mike Rhodes, Editor-in-Chief, MuncieJournal.com— Muncie, IN— A message in my INBOX from the American Heart Association said May is National Stroke Awareness Month. Hashtag #StrokeMonth How appropriate and timely. Today is the 2nd anniversary of my stroke. For what its worth, here’s my story and things you can do to watch for stroke signs in your loved ones. I don’t mind sharing my story because there are lessons to be learned that may help others. In fact, soon after my stroke when I was struggling with “why me” questions, I thought one reason “why me” might be I was…

Yorktown Elementary School Partners With Tech Company For Augmented Reality App

Education May 17, 2022

Yorktown Elementary School Partners With Tech Company For Augmented Reality App

By Linda C. Smith, Ph.D., Media/STEM/Technology Specialist, Yorktown Community Schools— WHITING, Ind. – Explore Interactive, a West Lafayette-based ed-tech company, has received $1 million in Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) funding from the National Science Foundation. In addition, Explore Interactive has been awarded $75,000 from Elevate Ventures through the state of Indiana’s SBIR/STTR Phase II Matching Program. Launched in 2017, Explore Interactive uses augmented reality to teach science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) concepts to elementary students. The company’s first product in the planned MindLabs series allows students to collaborate on engineering and circuit design challenges. Yorktown Elementary Schools will continue…

Muncie Community Schools Receives Million School Improvement Grant

Education May 17, 2022

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 as needing additional support. MCS applied for, and received, the grant for three schools: South View Elementary, Grissom Elementary and…

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

Education May 16, 2022

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, cashier, grocery clerk and pizza waitress. She’s also spent hours in rehearsals for theater productions both at school and at…