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Ball State University and Heartland Film partner for film production students

Ball State University film production students are getting an opportunity to learn from Heartland Film, an Indianapolis-based company according to the press release. Heartland Film is well known for hosting the Heartland International Film Festival. It will also be a partnership between Heartland and the University’s new Radiance Cinema. 



Associated Press: The American flag wasn't always revered as it is today. At the beginning, it was an afterthought

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — In the bedroom of the Betsy Ross House, a reconstruction of where the upholsterer worked on her most famous commission, a long flag with a circle of 13 stars hangs over a Chippendale side chair and extends across the floor. Over the weeks in 1776 needed to complete the project, Ross would have likely knelt on the flag, stood on it and treated it more like an everyday banner — not with the kind of reverence we'd expect today.


Fireworks light the sky above Yorktown as part of the town's 4th of July celebration. DN PHOTO JORDAN HUFFER

Where to celebrate Independence Day in Delaware County

As Independence Day approaches there are a variety of locations to celebrate around Muncie and Delaware County. The City of Muncie will have Fireworks on The Levee. It will be on the Muncie Central High School grounds. It is an annual tradition and will also be able to be viewed from the downtown area. It is free to the public. The Canan Commons will have “Our American Character” with America’s Hometown Band. They will be playing the Fourth of July music. It is free and open to all with lawn space available. It will be concluded with fireworks. 


Associated Press: What to know about Fourth of July holiday origins and traditions

ST. LOUIS (AP) — The Fourth of July is Americana at its core: parades and cookouts and cold beer and, of course, fireworks. Those pyrotechnics also make it an especially dangerous holiday, typically resulting in more than 10,000 trips to the emergency room. Yet fireworks remain at the center of Independence Day, a holiday 247 years in the making. Here are five things to know about July Fourth, including the origin of the holiday and how fireworks became part of the tradition.


Items in a local vending machine for people in need in the Muncie area are priced at five dollars. The vending machine is located at a local Munice firestation. Maggie Getzi, DN

Associated Press: Morning-after pill vending machines gain popularity on college campuses post-Roe

SEATTLE (AP) — Need Plan B? Tap your credit card and enter B6. Since last November, a library at the University of Washington has featured a different kind of vending machine, one that's become more popular on campuses around the country since the U.S. Supreme Court ended constitutional protections for abortion last year. It's stocked with ibuprofen, pregnancy tests and the morning-after pill.



Fall 2019 Ball State graduates get ready to turn the tassels on their caps Dec. 14, 2019, at John E. Worthen Arena. Ball State's spring 2020 graduation ceremony was postponed due to COVID-19 concerns, and those graduates were invited to attend commencement this semester. Jacob Musselman, DN

Associated Press: How the Supreme Court student loan decision affects you

NEW YORK (AP) — The Supreme Court has ruled the Biden administration overstepped its authority in trying to cancel or reduce student loan debt, effectively killing the $400 billion plan, which would have canceled up to $20,000 in federal student loans for 43 million people. Of those, 20 million would have had their remaining student debt erased completely. The court's decision means, barring an act of Congress, those Americans are on the hook for payments starting in October.


Protester wears a pride flag in front of House Chamber at the Indiana State House on Feb. 20. Olivia Ground, DN.

Associated Press: Court rules for a designer who doesn't want to make wedding websites for gay couples

WASHINGTON (AP) — In a defeat for gay rights, the Supreme Court's conservative majority ruled Friday that a Christian graphic artist who wants to design wedding websites can refuse to work with same-sex couples. The court ruled 6-3 for designer Lorie Smith despite a Colorado law that bars discrimination based on sexual orientation, race, gender and other characteristics. Smith had argued that the law violates her free speech rights.


Local community events weekend roundup

Many events are going on this weekend around Muncie and Delaware County. Yorktown will have its Farm and Artisan Market from 4:30 to 7:30 p.m. The market is in Walnut Grove in Morrow’s Meadow Park. The park has playgrounds, trails and launching sites for kayak trips. Tonne Winery will have the Hunter Lee Band play as a part of their Music Series. The concert will be from 6:00 to 8:00 p.m. Food available will be La Patrona and Farmland BBQ. It is encouraged to bring your own lawn chairs. 


Mya Cataline glances down at a framed photo of her and her mother, dated 2009. Taken at Ball State University in Muncie, Ind. on 12 March, 2023. J. Doudt, Ball Bearings Magazine

Maternal Memories

The long cold hallway. Beeping coming from every room. Fluorescent lights every 10 steps… I counted.



Is Lebron’s Legacy on the Line If He Fails to Win Another Title?

In his 20th year in the league and at 38 years of age, Lebron James is still making the headlines.  For all the right reasons. He has just been voted in the All-NBA Third Team for the second year in a row, showing that his years are indeed stopping him down. Which is an absolute beastly achievement not many other players have displayed. But, for all his greatness, his team’s season is crumbling before James’ eyes.


Evey Arleth waits for instruction from her group's team leader during a rehearsal at Music For All Summer Symposium, June 27, 2023. Several hundred students from across the country converged on Ball State's campus for the weeklong event that included not just musical instruction, but games and other team-building events. Madelyn Moore, DN

Band student moves to the beat of her own drum

She stands at 5 feet, 6 inches tall, with a pounding heart. There’s a moment of silence. Counts are whispered. She breathes, then, drumsticks are flying. When the question of ‘who’s good?’ was on the table, students at the Music For All Summer Symposium, held June 24 through July 1 on the campus at Ball State University, were quick to turn their heads and look at Evey Arleth. 


Haze sits over the Ball State University Campus on June 28, 2023. The haze is from the Canadian Wildfires. Elijah Poe, DN

Associated Press: Smoke and haze from Canadian wildfires leave Detroit with some of the worst US air quality

DETROIT (AP) — The Detroit area woke up Wednesday to some of the worst air quality in the United States as smoke from Canada's wildfires settled over most of the Great Lakes region and unhealthy haze spread southward, as far as Missouri and Kentucky. The Environmental Protection Agency’s AirNow.gov site showed Detroit in the “hazardous” range and warned that “everyone should stay indoors and reduce activity levels.”



Anxiety: Effective Strategies for Coping and Management

Anxiety is a common human emotion that manifests as worry, fear, and apprehension about various situations or events. With the hustles and challenges of modern life, it is unsurprising that many individuals encounter varying degrees of anxiety daily. While some degree of anxiety is completely normal, excessive or constant anxiety can significantly impact an individual's life and become a clinical concern.


Vivian V. Conley, pictured here, was a civil rights activist in Muncie, Indiana, at the forefront of many community issues relating to education, civil, and elderly rights. A ceremony recognizing honorees for the Coalition of Women’s Organizations 2022 Women's Equality Day celebration is scheduled for August 28, 2023, with each honoree recieving a Vivian V. Conley Certificate. (WaTasha Barnes Griffin)

Nominations wanted for the 31st Annual Women’s Equality Day Program

The Muncie-Delaware County Coalition of Women’s organizations is looking for local nominations of women to honor during the 31st Annual Women’s Equality Day Program. The Coalition invites nominations of women who have made an impact and contribution in the arts, education, religion, business, politics, environment and social or community service by improving the quality of life in the communist. Other categories will also be considered, according to the release.


Abortion-rights protesters chant during a session of the Indiana state Senate at the Capitol on July 25, 2022 in Indianapolis. The legislature held a special session to consider curtailing abortion rights in the wake of the U.S. Supreme Court ruling overturning Roe v. Wade last month. (Jon Cherry/Getty Images/TNS)

Associated Press: One year later, the Supreme Court's abortion decision is both scorned and praised

Activists and politicians are marking the one-year anniversary of the U.S. Supreme Court ruling that overturned a nationwide right to abortion with praise from some and protests from others. Advocates on both sides marched at rallies Saturday in Washington and across the country to call attention to the Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization ruling on June 24, 2022, which upended the 1973 Roe v. Wade decision.


A Ukrainian soldier walks past a building that was destroyed in the midst of battle with the Russians, on the outskirts of Irpin, Ukraine, Tuesday, March 1, 2022. (Marcus Yam/Los Angeles Times/TNS)

Associated Press: Belarus deal to take in leader of Russian rebellion puts him in an even more repressive nation

Russian mercenary boss Yevgeny Prigozhin was notorious for unbridled and profane challenges to authority even before the attempted rebellion that he mounted Saturday. The reported agreement for him to go into exile in Belarus would place him in a country where such behavior is even less acceptable than in his homeland. Prigozhin on Sunday was uncharacteristically silent as his Wagner private army forces pulled back from Russian cities after a Kremlin announcement that he agreed to depart for Belarus; it remains unclear whether he’s actually there.


Ukrainian servicemen get ready to repel an attack in Ukraine's Lugansk region on Feb. 24, 2022. - Russian President Vladimir Putin launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine on Thursday, killing dozens and forcing hundreds to flee for their lives in the pro-Western neighbor. (Anatolii Stepanov/AFP via Getty Images/TNS)

Associated Press: Russian mercenary chief says his forces are rebelling, some left Ukraine and entered city in Russia

The owner of the Wagner private military contractor made his most direct challenge to the Kremlin yet, calling for an armed rebellion aimed at ousting Russia’s defense minister. The security services reacted immediately by calling for the arrest of Yevgeny Prigozhin. In a sign of how seriously the Kremlin was taking the threat, security was heightened in Moscow and in Rostov-on-Don, which is home to the Russian military headquarters for the southern region and also oversees the fighting in Ukraine.


Illustration by Meghan Holt

How to Catch a Catfish

Looking back, Bridget Cardno said she suspected it.  Online dating was easier for her due to her shyness, and she said the person she was talking to was “sweet.” Going to the lake and hanging out, she wanted a long-term relationship, and she said she thought the person she was interacting with was a good guy.