Articles by Mike Rhodes

Kent C. “Oz” Nelson is pictured. Photo provided.

We Fly September 19, 2018

Ball State To Dedicate Logistics Center To Honor Retired UPS CEO

By: Marc Ransford— Muncie, Indiana – During a ceremony beginning at 4:30 p.m. on Friday, Sept. 21, Ball State will dedicate the Kent C. “Oz” Nelson Logistics and Supply Chain Management Center for Excellence to honor the 1959 graduate for his remarkable career and lasting impact on the university and the Miller College of Business. Nelson graduated from Ball State with a bachelor’s degree in business administration and received an honorary doctorate of laws in 1994. He worked for UPS for 37…

Read More
Over 25 restaurants and organizations will be present at the 2018 Soup Crawl to benefit Second Harvest Food Bank. Photo provided.

Business September 18, 2018

8th Annual Soup Crawl Scheduled for October 4th During Artswalk

By: Vickie Copley— Muncie, Indiana– PrimeTrust Federal Credit Union has announced the 8thannual Soup Crawl, slated for Thursday, October 4 from 5:00 to 8:00p.m. at sites throughout downtown Muncie. Soup Crawl features nearly 30 soup and beverage entries for attendees to enjoy while strolling through downtown.  Tickets are $20 and limited to a quantity of 500 to ensure that every attendee is able to sample as many soups as possible. Tickets are available while supplies last at all three Muncie-area PrimeTrust FCU…

Aerial photo of Muncie and Delaware County by Michael Wolfe

Non-Profit September 17, 2018

Community Champions Fund Awards Over $27,500 In Grants

By: David Huhnke, Community Relations Manager, Old National Bank— Muncie, Indiana– The Community Champions Fund is pleased to announce that it has awarded grants to five organizations totaling $27,875. Community Champions Fund is subsidized by Old National Bank’s 100 Men Who Cook event to support organizations within the community to provide programming, services, and activities that endeavor to reduce violence as well as provide security and care for victims of violence.  Since 2015, Community Champions Fund has awarded over $320,000…

Flor De Toloache. Photo provided.

Entertainment September 17, 2018

Flor De Toloache To Headline Free Concert at Canan Commons Sept. 20

By: Rick Zeigler— Muncie, Indiana–All-female Mariachi ensemble Flor De Toloache will be returning to Muncie and performing in a FREE outdoor concert as part of the 2018 Muncie Three Trails Music Series. This concert is sponsored by Ball State University and will take place at 7:00 PM on Thursday, September 20th at Canan Commons (500 S. Walnut Walnut St.) in the heart of downtown Muncie, IN. Dance troupes Anderson Ballet Folklorico and Indianapolis’ Ballet Folklorico Mosaicos will combine forces and open…

Henry Lee Summer performing at the Gaston Street Festival Saturday evening. Photo by: Mike Rhodes

Entertainment September 15, 2018

Gaston Rocks Out With Henry Lee Summer Concert Performance

By: Mike Rhodes, Editor-in-Chief, MuncieJournal.com— GASTON, IN—The small Delaware County town of Gaston put on a really BIG show Saturday night as singer-songwriter Henry Lee Summer hit the stage in the heart of town and cranked out a full two hours of his hit songs from the 80’s & 90’s without a break. Now age 63, Summer put his heart and soul into his performance in front of an appreciative crowd of hundreds who sang and danced along with him…

This crowd packed Walnut Street in downtown Muncie for the Voices (Re) United Concert. Photo by: Mike Rhodes

Non-Profit September 14, 2018

Thousands Show Support As Voices (Re) United Stirs Downtown Crowd

By: Juli Metzger & Mike Rhodes Photos by: Amanda Kishel, Lorri Markum & Mike Rhodes— Muncie, IN—Voices (Re) United, together again for the first time since 2007, stirred memories and emotions Thursday night, as thousands packed onto Walnut Street in downtown Muncie all for a single cause —live united to end generational poverty. The United Way of  Delaware County officially kicked off its 2018 campaign, announcing a goal $1.43 million. In last year’s campaign, United Way surpassed its goal by…

What’s in waving a rag? The fate of hopeful racers. Photo by: Nancy Carlson

Carlson September 13, 2018

John Carlson: The Non-Checkered Flag

By: John Carlson— A few weeks ago I was watching the Indycar race at Pocono Raceway on television, when driver Robert Wickens spun up into the catch-fence in what was a very ugly crash. No doubt about it, he could have been killed. Witnessing that accident reaffirmed a nagging belief: Maybe it was good I hadn’t become a famous  Indycar racer after all. That’s not to say I didn’t want to become a famous Indycar racer. I did want to….

Back row, L-R Keith O’Neal, Carl Storie, Brett Cook. Front row, L-R Michelle Cook, Jennifer Stanley and Jennie DeVoe. Photo by: Lorri Markum

Non-Profit September 13, 2018

Voices (Re) United Take Stage to End Generational Poverty

By: Juli Metzger— Muncie, Indiana—There was magic in the air Monday night as five area musicians, all with their own demanding schedules, came together for a marathon rehearsal – the first of several planned — for the upcoming Voices (Re) United concert in downtown Muncie. It’s been 11 years but it felt like just yesterday, they said. Musicians picked up where they left off in 2007, which was the last time Cook and Belle, Jennie DeVoe, Keith O’Neal, Jennifer Stanley,…

Muncie Public Library (MPL) content management coordinator Katherine Mitchell, Muncie Community Schools certified teacher librarians Rhonda Cowan and Melinda Sheffield, and MPL assistant director Beth Kroehler show off the UCAT Read! Card outside of South View Elementary School. Photo by: Akilah S. Nosakhere

Education September 13, 2018

Muncie Public Library and Muncie Community Schools Featured in National Publication

By: Susan Fisher— Muncie, Indiana—A collaboration between Muncie Public Library (MPL) and Muncie Community Schools (MCS) was featured in the September 1, 2018 issue of Library Journal magazine. The articled details how these two Muncie organizations worked together to create a Union Catalog (UCAT). The UCAT makes the collections of both, the library and schools, more accessible for students and library customers alike. In addition, all MCS students are issued a special “READ” card that allows check outs at their…

Ron Stallworth, guest speaker. Photo provided.

Business September 13, 2018

NAACP 2018 State Convention To Be Held At Horizon Convention Center

By: Joseph Anderson, President, Muncie NAACP Branch— Muncie, Indiana—The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People will hold their 2018 State Convention, October 25 thru 28, 2018, at the Horizon Convention Center, 401 S. High Street, Muncie, IN 47305. The State Convention provides a vehicle to train and empower our membership and to make policy on state and national levels. Over the three days during the convention, we will renew our commitment to changing and improving the landscape of education…