Articles by Mike Rhodes

Muncie Youth Stock ‘ReFreeGerator’ on Southside

By Kate Elliot— More than 30 high school students lead innovative project to combat food insecurity.  Muncie, IN — Masked high school students gathered around an unplugged refrigerator painted with vibrant pastel triangles. They took turns packing nonperishable food items into every tray and compartment, then they left. A week later, the refrigerator was gone. “It was terrible to lose the fridge, but it shows the need in Muncie,” said Jacob Emert, a junior at Muncie Central High School. “It’s a lot for somebody to steal a fridge without a cord, likely because they needed to sell it for scrap…

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United Way to Celebrate Campaign With Outdoor Concert On May 15th

By Juli Metzger— Muncie, IN—United Way of Delaware, Henry and Randolph Counties invites the public to join in celebrating a remarkable fundraising campaign on May 15 at Canan Commons. “The generosity of our communities is astounding,” said United Way President & CEO, Jenni Marsh. “I’ve never seen the kind of persistent collaboration among the non-profit community as I did this past year and it’s meant so much for so many,” she said. The celebration will be 3:30-5:30 p.m. with an in-person concert downtown. To keep everyone safe, masks and social distancing will be required following CDC and local health department…


Daleville’s Melissa Crist Recognized with Ball Brothers Foundation’s Excellence in Teaching Award

By Melissa Jones— Muncie, IN — Respect. That’s the leading principle in Melissa Crist’s classroom. An English and journalism teacher at Daleville Junior/Senior High School, Crist puts “relationships first, subject matter second.” “When a kid walks into school in the morning, they are not coming into school unmarked or pristine; they have left many things behind. Those things are not far from their mind as they navigate the hallways and their various classes throughout the day. As one of seven classrooms they will visit, I want my room to be welcoming and safe,” Crist said. “My daily goal is to…


Altrusa Club Recognizes Local 4th Grade Students During Annual Essay Contest

By Erika Hayes— Muncie, IN – The Altrusa Club of Muncie has awarded winners of its annual fourth grade essay contest. Adam Stout of Burris Laboratory School, Colton Dill of East Washington Academy, Jade Conner of Wes-Del Elementary, Kinley Norton of Selma Elementary, Giselle Sanchez of North View Elementary, and Mahak Tabar of Virtual Learning Program were all recognized during the Altrusa fourth grade essay contest. Students were asked to complete the statement “Reading is my super power because…” for this year’s essay theme. Hundreds of area students completed essays for the contest. Members of the Altrusa Literacy Committee and…


Ball State University Honors Spring 2021 Graduates During In-Person Commencement Ceremonies

By Ball State Marketing & Communications— MUNCIE, Indiana – Approximately 2,500 participating Spring 2021 graduates participated in five in-person commencement ceremonies on Friday and Saturday at Ball State University. One ceremony Friday evening honored Graduate School students (Doctoral, Specialist, and Master’s candidates). Four ceremonies throughout the day on Saturday were being held to honor undergraduates (Bachelor’s and Associate candidates). The ceremonies were held at Scheumann Stadium on Ball State’s beautiful campus. Physical distancing and other health and safety protocols were followed throughout the two days, and the venue was sanitized between each ceremony. The return of in-person ceremonies demonstrates Ball…


Returning to Emens Auditorium, Crowder to Perform New Album Tour

By Kristi Chambers— Muncie, Ind. – With over 3 Million records sold and 3 GRAMMY® Nominations, Crowder returns to Emens Auditorium for his new album tour, Milk & Honey, on November 11, 2021 with special guest Sean Curran. Tickets go on sale on Friday, May 14 at 10 a.m. at the Emens box office or online at ticketmaster.com. For more information visit bsu.edu/emens or call 765-285-1539. Crowder’s first solo album, Neon Steeple, debuted at No. 8 on the Billboard 200, was named iTunes 2014 Christian Album of the Year, garnered multiple radio hits, two GRAMMY® nominations, a Grand Ole Opry…


Registration for Cornerstone Center for the Arts Summer Classes Now Open

By Claire Yazel— Muncie, IN – Cornerstone Center for the Arts will host an eight-week-long session of classes this summer starting June 14 and continuing until August 8. Registration for these classes is available online at cornerstonearts.org until June 4. Both in-person and online classes are available for students of all ages. Class offerings for the summer session have doubled that of the spring session earlier this year. The catalog will feature returning favorites, like family ceramics and fluid art, along with new classes in burlesque performance and an opportunity to learn street art with the BoxBox! project. Martial arts classes…


Faith Congregations Sought for Interfaith Build with Habitat for Humanity

By Eileen Oaks Molter— Muncie, IN —During this challenging and unprecedented time, Muncie Habitat for Humanity is working together with the Muncie community to build homes, unity, and hope. Muncie Habitat for Humanity Interfaith Build is an opportunity for all faith groups to come together as one, united for one common cause – HUMANITY. The Interfaith Build program is bringing together congregations and communities from a variety of traditions to volunteer, side-by-side, to build affordable homes for families in Muncie, IN. It will be a time of celebrating tolerance, cooperation, and love for one’s neighbor. The 2021 Faith Build is slated…


Neighborhood Cleanups and Dumpster Days Scheduled for May

By Heather Williams, MAP Task Force 2 Leader— Muncie, IN—With the winter snows melted and the ground beginning to burst with color, the site of trash and debris hidden by the winter has become an eyesore. Spring is the perfect time to organize volunteers to beautify our city’s streets, alleys, and sidewalks. Muncie’s neighborhood associations partner with the Muncie Sanitary District each spring and fall to coordinate cleanups and those are set to begin on Saturday, May 8th and continue for the next two weekends. Cleanups are scheduled for the following neighborhoods: May 8th McKinley – Meet at 8 a.m….


John Carlson: Illness, Injury and Pain

By John Carlson— Since a nasty cold struck Nancy and me recently, I have been thinking a lot about illness. What I have been thinking about illness is that, even in these deadly pandemic days, just catching a stupid old-fashioned cold is no barrel of monkeys. It calls for preparation! Grabbing tissues, Tylenol and our fancy digital thermometer, I reread the instructions to press its little button for two seconds, then stick the skinny end into the far reaches of one’s mouth for a minute to get a reading. That sounded about right. But then I read a little further….