Lauren Shows was born to a preacher and a preacher's wife, and spent the majority of her earliest childhood years rollin' 'round the bible belt, to end up in Panama City, Florida. After graduating from Florida State University in Tallahassee, she spent the next several months in existential crisis, making lattes for snowbirds and spring-breakers, before moving to Kentucky to get an MFA in writing from Spalding University. A chance meeting at Spalding landed her in Yellow Springs. She was graciously hired by the News, though her only previous dealing with newspaper publication was in third grade, when she wrote a story about a bunch of skeletons rising from the dead on Halloween, which was printed in the Owenton News-Herald. Lauren enjoys cheese, giant squid, and Michael J. Fox.

• Man arrested in connection to recent break-ins and burglaries

  By Lauren ShowsJuly 23, 2025

  

  On Tuesday, July 15, YS police arrested a 21-year-old man in Kings Yard, later announcing on social media that the individual is likely connected to a series of downtown business break-ins and burglaries over the last month, including three between July 11 and 14.

• Villager publishes new novel — a blend of fiction, memoir and baseball history

  By Lauren ShowsJuly 17, 2025

  

  If you could go back in time and change just one thing, what would it be? For the protagonist of villager Philip King’s debut novel/memoir, the answer is simple: He’d go back and make sure the Cleveland baseball team could clinch the 1950 World Series.

• Feast For Friends progressive dinner returns next month

  By Lauren ShowsJuly 16, 2025

  

  Five years ago, Yellow Springs’ biggest progressive dinner never made it to the table — but next month, it returns to finally fill local appetites: Feast for Friends, Friends Care Community’s longtime annual fundraiser, will be held Saturday, Aug. 23, beginning at 5:30 p.m.

• Township Trustees update agenda process, zoning code

  By Lauren ShowsJuly 15, 2025

  

  “Public bodies have a duty to keep the public informed if they’re making major decisions that affect the public purse and public well-being,” Trustee Marilan Moir said.

• State budget spares schools, housing

  By Lauren ShowsJuly 10, 2025

  

  Late Monday, June 30, Gov. Mike DeWine signed the state’s $60 billion, two-year budget and issued a slate of 67 line-item vetoes — including several that will, for now, keep YS Schools and public school districts across the state from major financial upheaval.

• WYSO, Neenah Ellis receive public media awards

  By Lauren ShowsJuly 9, 2025

  

  The WYSO news team recently returned from Kansas City, Missouri, where the team received one first-place and three second-place awards from the Public Media Journalists Association, or PMJA.

• Meet the new Miami Township fire chief, James Cannell Jr.

  By Lauren ShowsJuly 8, 2025

  

  James R. Cannell Jr., a seasoned firefighter with more than three decades of experience at the Columbus Division of Fire, began Monday, June 30, what is planned to be a year-long tenure at the helm of Miami Township Fire-Rescue.

• Villagers launch Civil Discourse Pilot Program

  By Lauren ShowsJuly 5, 2025

  

  This summer, local organizers hope to help chart a constructive path with the launch of the Civil Discourse Pilot Program, an initiative designed to foster more thoughtful dialogue by modeling civil discourse through a series of public events.

• PTO supply drive expands

  By Lauren ShowsJuly 4, 2025

  

  This year’s supply drive continues the PTO’s tradition of providing free school supplies to families who need them, but also introduces a new option for all Mills Lawn families to order bulk school supplies through the PTO.

• Small budget, big premiere

  By Lauren Shows

  

  The Little Art Theatre will host the premiere of “A Light Amidst Ashes,” an independent feature written and directed by 20-year-old Dayton-based filmmaker Rose Combs, on Thursday, July 3.