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.

• 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.

• School board broaches new AI policy

  By Lauren ShowsApril 25, 2026

  

  During its April 8 regular meeting, the school board approved a second reading of a slate of updated district policies, including a new artificial intelligence policy. The policy frames AI as a tool to “enhance human interaction and instruction, not replace it,” while requiring human oversight of any AI-driven decisions.

• Local choirs join voices to honor Bernice Johnson Reagon

  By Lauren ShowsApril 23, 2026

  

  The World House Choir will join forces with MUSE women’s choir for “Give Your Hands to Struggle,” a pair of concerts honoring the life and legacy of the late Sweet Honey in the Rock founder Bernice Johnson Reagon, who died in 2024.

• Greene CATS proposes bus route cuts, fare hikes

  By Lauren ShowsApril 21, 2026

  

  Proposed changes to Greene CATS are on course to reshape public transit across the county — including eliminating the Flex Route that currently connects Yellow Springs to Xenia and Fairborn.

• Miami Township Trustees swear in new fiscal officer, talk MTFR grants

  By Lauren ShowsApril 18, 2026

  

  At its Monday, April 6, meeting, the Miami Township Board of Trustees covered a wide swath of business that began with officially welcoming on-board a new Township official.

• Antioch to honor Coretta Scott King’s legacy

  By Lauren ShowsApril 17, 2026

  

  Antioch College’s Coretta Scott King Center for Cultural and Intellectual Freedom will host a banquet and fundraiser later this month in Springfield, aiming to both honor Coretta Scott King’s legacy and strengthen support for the center’s work.

• 2026 Porchfest organizers seek musicians, porches

  By Lauren ShowsApril 16, 2026

  

  The annual festival is set for Saturday, Sept. 19, once again transforming porches, patios, backyards and other neighborhood spaces into stages for a day of free, live performances across the village.

• ‘Mad River’ film spotlights Miami Valley

  By Lauren ShowsApril 13, 2026

  

  “Mad River,” written and directed by area artist Jarrod Robbins, was shot in part in Yellow Springs and will make its debut in several Miami Valley theaters this month.