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.

• Transitions at Friends Care Community

  By Lauren ShowsMay 23, 2026

  

  Sean Riley stepped into the interim executive director role Jan. 8 — during a transitional moment for Friends Care, amid ongoing conversations about how the 46-year-old nonprofit long-term care center will continue serving the community.

• Laugh, connect at Donnell Land ‘26

  By Lauren ShowsMay 22, 2026

  

  The annual Donnell Land festivities, hosted by comedian and local resident Donnell Rawlings, will return to Yellow Springs over Memorial Day weekend with four days of comedy, outdoor recreation and community gatherings.

• Mad River Theater Works keeps evolving

  By Lauren ShowsMay 17, 2026

  

  As Mad River Theater Works continues to settle into its role in the village and surrounding region, the organization’s locally focused model has been taking shape over the last several years.

• Rural zoning updates coming for Miami Township

  By Lauren ShowsMay 16, 2026

  

  At their Monday, May 4, meeting, the Miami Township Trustees held a public hearing on the final phase of updates to the Township’s Zoning Resolution, which governs land use in unincorporated areas, and approved a first reading of all amendments to the resolution.

• Antioch College as a Federal Work College, two years on

  By Lauren ShowsMay 11, 2026

  

  According to faculty member and Dean of Cooperative, International and Community-Based Learning Luisa Bieri Rios, in those two years, the model has helped reshape what campus life looks like for Antioch students.

• Hip-hop, history at the Herndon Gallery

  By Lauren ShowsMay 8, 2026

  

  Curated by Yellow Springs–based artist Joshua Whitaker, the upcoming show, “Rightstarter: Resistance, Rap and the Golden Era,” draws inspiration from the music and culture of hip-hop from around the mid-1980s to the early 1990s.

• Advocates map road to LGBTQ+ equality

  By Lauren ShowsMay 7, 2026

  

  “The Roadmap Back to Equality,” an “Evening for Equality” conversation, will feature Jim Obergefell, the Ohio man whose name became synonymous with marriage equality in 2015 when he became the lead plaintiff in the Obergefell v. Hodges Supreme Court case that established same-sex marriage rights in the U.S.

• Meet Your Nonprofits | Enhance Worldwide uplifts girls, one student at a time

  By Lauren ShowsMay 2, 2026

  

  Founded by Yellow Springs resident Ashley Lackovich, Enhance Worldwide organization focuses primarily on girls — about 95% of participants — reflecting persistent global disparities in access to education.

• The Big Family Business returns to Yellow Springs

  By Lauren ShowsMay 1, 2026

  

  The Big Family Business, or BFB, will take the stage at the Foundry for two performances on Saturday and Sunday, May 2 and 3.

• Miami Township Fire-Rescue battles blaze at Morris Bean

  By Lauren ShowsApril 28, 2026

  

  A potentially dangerous industrial fire at Morris Bean involving burning magnesium metal was quickly contained by Miami Township Fire-Rescue and other area fire and rescue agencies early last week.