Michaela Copeland
Assistant Editor-in-Chief
Bella Beems
News Editor
Laci Burnett
Reporters
Katlyn Boydston
Grayson Moore
Photographers
Lauraly Lane
Josephine Long
Designers
Ashlynn Bowen
Gunner Delp
Guest Writer
Miley Phillips
How To: Winter Edition
Check out our tips to survive the rest of Winter! - p. 8
Cotillion Ball
Check out DeKalb’s return to the Cotillion for Achievement - p. 9
Learn about Senior Grace Downing in this week’s spotlight - p. 10
By: Gunner Delp
On Friday, February 20th, the DeKalb FFA group attended the annual Farm Show in Kansas City. This was the first time in a few years that the weather had been cooperative, and DeKalb was able to attend.
The Farm Show is a chance for different companies from all over to show their products, present their tractors, and possibly gain some new customers. “The purpose of the farm show is to educate on what agricultural equipment is being used,” says Mr. Medsker, as well as see the way that farming will change in the near future
Not only could you learn and see things, but you could also purchase things, which I’m sure everyone loves doing. “There were lots of venues, equipment, things to purchase, and places to see,” says FFA member Delaney Frakes.
Sophomore FFA member Conner Eastbourn would suggest going to the Farm Show because “There is a lot to learn about what’s going on in the farming world.”
By: Miley Phillips
2
Track practices start Baseball practice starts
5
6
High School Scholar Bowl meet hosted at DeKalb, starts 4:30 FFA contest at Brunswick Band contest at Lafayette High School
7
FFA Trap shooting at Smithville
With all these new movies coming out lately that only give us a rush of obsession for a few weeks, I’d like to recommend a movie that has stuck with me from my childhood. Fried Green Tomatoes (1991) based on the 1987 book Fried Green Tomatoes At The Whistle Stop Cafe by Fannie Flagg.
Both the movie and the book take place in southern Alabama and follow the story of two beautiful friendships that can only be achieved through women. The first friendship is between Evelyn Couch and an elderly Ninny Threadgoode, whom Evelyn meets in a nursing home in the 1980s.
Ninny and Evelyn’s friendship grows stronger and deeper as Ninny tells stories about the rundown Whistle Stop Cafe down the road from the nursing home, specifically about the friendship of Idgie Threadgoode and Ruth Jamison, the two women who ran the cafe back in the 1930s.
Both storylines tackle modern issues like racism, the KKK, and the special ways women fight back If you want a funny and nostalgic, but also heartwarming and realistic, movie to enjoy as the weather warms up, I recommend Fried Green Tomatoes.
By: Josie Long
Looking for a new genre of music to dive into? Tide Ritual released their first album, SevenStars, on February 14, 2026. Their music is classified as surf goth, which stems from the goth genre in a more moody and stormy way
While they are a very new band, the member/s unknown, they have 161.4k monthly listeners. All seven songs consist of reverbed guitar and a catchy beat. Although not out yet, they have announced that on March 6 (or once they hit 3,000 presaves), their next song Borrowed Love will come out. While the style of their current songs leans more towards indie, it also has hints of garage punk
Their song Titanic is one of my favorites because of the unexpected accidental nearly a minute in. To me, it just adds some flair and just changes the mood, creating more intensity Some of my other favorites thus far are Stay and Kiss Me. If you are looking to branch out and try something new, I would most definitely recommend Tide Ritual!
The DeKalb Girls Basketball Team faced the North Andrew Cardinals in districts on Wednesday, February 25. The girls played their hearts out and, unfortunately, lost 43 to 40 to the Lady Cardinals. This means girls' basketball is over for the year.
“We didnt end up with the outcome that we wanted It was definitely was a good game for sure I feel that we all came ready to play together We all worked so hard and had really good energy ” states senior Kenzie Pflugradt
This year’s team made many bonds and memories. Though the team had its downs, there were also many ups, from winning the Osbourn tournament to beating Platte Valley on Courtwarming. These girls have given so much time and energy to basketball Senior Cecilla Sherlock says, “Even though we didn’t get the outcome we wanted, we all worked really hard and gave it our all ”
The team made many shots, and while they also missed some, they kept going and pushed back to be ahead at halftime. All of the girls were upset about losing to North Andrew, but there were many good things about the game. Senior Grace Downing states, “ I saw many people go up with shots they normally wouldn’t take There were also many calls on both sides of the court ”
Thank you to everyone who has come out and supported the girls this season!
Reason: He is loved by the newspaper
Reason: He is always up to fun assignments
By: Michaela Copeland
On February 25th, there was a guest who came in to ad band students, as they are preparing for the contest Ky H a road representative for for Meyer Music, located in St He is a retired band director, and he travels to schools to h suggestions to improve their performance.
Mrs. King adds, “Sometimes hearing the same thing expla different way helps ”
The band is preparing two pieces to play at Lafayette High School on Friday, March 6th.
Although preparing for a contest can be stressful, Mrs. King says that so far, “We have the structure of the building, and now we need the decorations, like the articulations, dynamics, and the length of notes We have a very strong foundation and just need the pretty decorative stuff.”
Typically, the contest takes place in Tarkio, Missouri, but this yea there is also one in St Joseph, which is much closer and more convenient for our band Throughout the day, the band spends any spare time warming up or practicing the two pieces they’ll b performing, and then they play the two pieces for three judge The judges will give voice-recorded comments as well as writt comments and ratings.
The ratings range from 1 to 5, 1 being the best you can receive, a 5 being the worst For the past two years, our band has received 1, which is a huge accomplishment. Laci Burnett says she hopes receive a 1 when we go because, “it is always fun to receive t best rating possible after all of our hard work.”
If you see any of the band students in the hallway or during school, make sure you wish them luck!
By: Katlyn Boydston
If you’re looking for something to play, I recommend UNO Flip UNO Flip is a fast-paced, double-sided twist on the classic card game where players match colors and numbers to empty their hands. You can have two to ten players to play UNO Flip.
The game starts with ensuring all the cards are oriented with the light side facing the same direction, then shuffle and deal seven cards to each player with the light side facing them. Then you will flip the top card of the draw pile to start the discard pile and play clockwise, starting with the person to the left of the dealer
By: Ashlynn Bowen
Whenever the Flip card is placed on the pile, every player flips their cards to show the opposite side that they are on. The dark side of the cards are typically worse punishments, like the draw and discard cards.
I rate this game 5 out of 5 because it is fun to play, especially when playing with other people in a group.
If you are looking for a new book to read, then I recommend Beach Read by Emily Henry
This book was published in 2020, and it is centered around January Andrews and her attempt to overcome her writer’s block. She competes with Augustus in writing a more serious book instead of her usual happy books They meet up together every weekend to do research on each other's genres, and they slowly fall in love in the process.
What I really enjoy about this book is how it shows real and common problems, like their lack of communication, and how to overcome them More of Henry’s books that I like are Book Lovers and Happy Place.
By: Grayson Moore
On Tuesday, February 24th, the DeKalb High School Boys Basketball Team played their last game of the season at Districts against King City and unfortunately lost 24-75.
Coach Aaron Matthews says, “We did some decent things, and we played hard That team was pretty good They put a lot of pressure and forced us into difficult positions, but the boys played hard, and that's all you can ask for. It was a learning year for a lot of young guys. It gave us a lot of experience to grow as a team and set a foundation for future years ”
Some of the players felt that the game, though a loss, wasn’t all bad. “I went like 0/8 on threes, so I didn't do great, but as a whole team, we played better than usual,” said freshman Reid Reagan
Although the boys hoped for a better record, they learned a lot throughout the season and are grateful for the support they received.
With the cold weather blowing in once again and delaying spring by yet another week, here is a quick list of ways to get through the winter, stay happy, and stay healthy in these last few weeks of winter.
Engage in regular exercise to increase endorphin release
Maximize natural light to get vitamin D (or take a supplement) to help support your mood and health.
Maintain routines to help keep a consistent sleep schedule and sustain your habits
Fuel your body with warm, nutrient-dense meals.
Socialize with others to nourish your mental health
Layer up to stay warm and cozy
If you’re sick, stay home and take steps to stop the spread. If people around you are sick, wash your hands often, don’t share drinks, and don’t engage in close contact with those infected
Winter will be over soon, and the weather will clear, so keep your head up and continue to push through!
By: Ashlynn Bo
Senior Presli Punzo was named a finalist in the Cotillion for Achievement program, which is a program that honors sixteen high school seniors from Andrew and Buchanan County for their academic, leadership, and service excellence The final event was held on February 2, 2026, and included a dinner as well as a waltz for each of the seniors.
Presli learned about this program from the news and also her mom, who encouraged her to try it She was very honored when she was accepted because there were only eight girls accepted, while 42 were rejected. “The most valuable part of my Cotillion experience was the job interviews and all the networking skills that you’re able to get throughout the program that you can use in real life,” said Presli Punzo
To anyone who is questioning whether to apply for this program because of the workload, “It is a lot of work, but it's very rewarding, and you can take a lot of the things you learn from it and apply them to real-life situations,” says Presli Presli’s advice to anyone thinking about applying next year is to be very involved in your community and do as much as you can. Mrs Miller is also more than happy to help anyone who is applying for it next year.
by:Mrs.Powell
