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.

• Summer beats with Tronee Threat and Extraordinary Twins

  By Lauren ShowsJune 27, 2026

  

  The show, billed as “A Multimedia Extravaganza!” is set for Wednesday, July 1, beginning at 7 p.m., and will feature visual elements, including a light show, and a pair of acts who are joining forces based on a shared vibe rather than a shared genre.

• School facilities project enters final stretch

  By Lauren ShowsJune 26, 2026

  

  At its Wednesday, June 10, regular meeting, the YS Board of Education received an update on the district’s ongoing facilities project, which is entering its final summer stretch; the meeting was held at MVECA while both Mills Lawn and YS Middle and High School remain under construction.

• At Springs Content Studio, the work is the story

  By Lauren ShowsJune 23, 2026

  

  Through Springs Content Studio, village resident Alissa Paolella focuses on strategy, writing, design and public relations storytelling — or, as they put it, “how you get your story out there.”

• ‘Gender X’ returns with greater hope

  By Lauren ShowsJune 18, 2026

  

  Last year, when local artist Iden Crockett launched “Gender X,” the art exhibition — which aimed to highlight the work and stories of trans and gender-nonconforming artists — was intended as a sort of alarm bell, as Crockett told the News at the time.

• Casselli, AAUP question Antioch’s handling of suspension

  By Lauren Shows

  

  A longtime presence at Antioch College, Michael Casselli told the News that being suspended indefinitely with conditions, in his view, amounts to being fired without the due process historically afforded to, and expected by, tenured faculty — a concern also raised by the American Association of University Professors.

• Miami Township Trustees broach staffing, levy

  By Lauren ShowsJune 13, 2026

  

  Miami Township Trustees approved several fire department personnel changes during their regular meeting Monday, June 1, including hiring Andrew Reichert as a part-time firefighter/EMT.

• Superintendent Terri Holden signs off, reflects on seven years

  By Lauren ShowsJune 12, 2026

  

  Terri Holden stepped into the superintendent role in August 2019 with nearly three decades as a teacher, principal and administrator behind her.

• Radio history, returned

  By Lauren ShowsJune 11, 2026

  

  On Wednesday, May 13, the HBCU (Historically Black Colleges and Universities) Radio Preservation Project held a return ceremony for Central State University’s historic radio station, WCSU 88.9.

• Weekend events in village center immigration, connection

  By Lauren ShowsJune 4, 2026

  

  A weeklong series of events centered on immigration and community connection is coming to Yellow Springs next week, anchored by a June 5 speaker event featuring journalist Jose Antonio Vargas and author and University of Michigan public health professor William Lopez.

• Finding beauty in the useful things at ‘Mingei’

  By Lauren ShowsJune 1, 2026

  

  “Mingei” will debut as a pop-up show in the former YS Hardware store space on Xenia Avenue, June 1–14 — the first public use of the building since the hardware store closed last year.