Decatur, IN

(46733)

Today

Partly cloudy skies during the morning hours will become overcast in the afternoon. A stray shower or thunderstorm is possible. High 84F. Winds WSW at 10 to 15 mph..

Tonight

A few clouds. Low 69F. Winds SSW at 5 to 10 mph.

Updated: June 20, 2025 @ 2:20 am

Thursday’s results

EGF 160 021 0 – 10 9 3

OMA 004 104 0 – 9 9 2

WP – Satterlund; LP – Bush

Highlights – EGF: Jace Van Eps 2×3, HR, 2 runs, 3 RBI, Erickson 1×4, 2B, 2 RBI, McDonald 2×2, 2B, Nowacki 1×3, 2 RBI, L. Anderson 1×3, 2B

UNI 002 000 2 – 4 10 0

EGF 000 010 0 – 1 5 2

WP – Culhane; LP – Hams

Highlights – EGF: Erickson 2×3, RBI, Varnson 1×3, run; UB: Vanis 4×4, 2B, Newton 2×3, 2 RBI, Yanez 2×4, 2B

GRA 030 000 03 – 6 6 1

WES 001 000 20 – 3 1 2

WP – Haagenson; LP – Brown

Highlights – GF: Schauer 3×4, 2B, Hensrud 2×3, Haagenson 9 Ks; W: Sweeney 1×1

GRA 100 10 – 2 6 1

BEN 111 52 – 10 9 0

WP – Utterback; LP – Tostenson

Highlights – GF: Haagenson 2×2, 2 2Bs, Larson 2×2, 2B; B: Kortan 2×3, HR, 3 RBI, Gifford 2×2, 2B, 3 runs

JAM 401 01 – 6 8 5

GRA 530 44 – 16 9 1

WP – Twedt; LP – Anderson

Highlights – J: Maulding 3×3, 2 2Bs, 4 RBI, Trumbauer 2×3, Dobson 1×2, 2B, 2 runs; GF: Widstrup 2×3, 2 runs, 2 RBI, 2B, Bouvette 1×4, 2B, 4 RBI, Houser 2×2, Waldorf 1×2, 2B, 2 runs, 2 RBI

All-conference team

Ada-Borup-West – Austin McCraven, Ames Fassino; Badger/Greenbush-Middle River – Taylor Davy; Fertile-Beltrami – Caleb Sather, Easton Petry; Fosston – Jakob Rudie, Will Christen; Kittson County Central – Brock Scalese; Norman Co. East/Ulen-Hitterdal – Will Jirik; Northern Freeze – Isaak Anderson, Alex Bray; Red Lake County – Will Gieseke, Gunnar Halverson, Ben Gullingsrud; Sacred Heart – Parker Erickson, Elliot Arntson, Nick Satterlund, Isaac Sundby; West Marshall – Derek Moehrle, Blaine Smith, Ethan Ellerbush; Win-E-Mac – Braylon Hamre, Bergen Howard, Owen Strom

Conference awards

MVP – Parker Erickson, Sacred Heart

Offensive Player of the Year – Austin McCraven, ABW

Pitcher of the Year – Braylon Hamre, WEM

Coach of the Year – Mike Gullingsrud, RLC

Ada-Borup-West – Austin McCraven; Blackduck – Wilson Lien, Jayden Rockis; Fertile-Beltrami – Kolby Hemma, Bryer Strem; Fosston – Ryne Duppong, Jake Howard, Jakob Rudie; Mahnomen-Waubun – Easton Bevins; Norman County East/Ulen-Hitterdal – Trig Anderson; Red Lake County – Will Gieseke, Ben Gullingsrud, Kegan Schmitz, Brock Seeger, Gunnar Halverson; EGF Sacred Heart – Elliot Arntson, Parker Erickson, David Larson; West Marshall – Derek Moehrle; Win-E-Mac – Braylon Hamre, Bergen Howard, Kolten Schow, Owen Strom

Coach of the Year – Mike Gullingsrud, Red Lake County

Dilworth-Glyndon-Felton – Wes Hoover, Alex Anderson, Dylan Anderson; EGF Senior High – Jace VanEps, Brody Anderson, Carson McDonald, Rylee Hams; Hawley – Tommy Slette, Wyatt Jetvig; Ottertail Central – Erik Fick, Kale Misegades; Park Rapids – Deshawn Clark; Perham – Ashton Detloff, Drew Ellington, Ty Rooney, Gavin Griffin, Alex Blume; Roseau – A.J. Klint, Eli Wensloff; Thief River Falls – Gannon Zutz, Jaxon Hams, Noah Gonzales, Bodhi Mossestad; Warroad – Liam Grover, Kason Pietruszewski

Coach of the Year – James Mulcahy, Perham

At its June 18 work session, the Warren County School Board heard a series of detailed reports highlighting positive trends in school safety, student discipline, and substitute teacher coverage across the division. The session began with a year-end update from School Resource Officer Sergeant Kristin Hajduk and continued with key data from Superintendent Dr. Chris Ballenger and Education Staffing Solutions representative Amy Chandlee.

SRO Report: Criminal Investigations Drop by Over Half

Sergeant Kristin Hajduk opened the reports segment by presenting her annual review of school safety activity, comparing the 2023–24 and 2024–25 school years. Her data revealed a dramatic 57% decrease in criminal investigations across the division. Last year, SROs handled 280 criminal cases. This year, the number dropped to 120.

Sergeant Kristin Hajduk presents the annual School Resource Officer report, noting a 57% drop in criminal investigations and an 80% reduction in court petitions across Warren County schools.

“I think that just kind of speaks for the positive relationships and the things we’ve built with our students and schools,” Hajduk told the board.

The number of juvenile court petitions also saw a sharp reduction—down by 80% compared to the previous year. Sergeant Hajduk explained that the SRO program emphasized working with school administrators and families to resolve many situations informally when appropriate, rather than sending every case through the juvenile justice system.

“We want to make sure that kids are still being held accountable,” Hajduk said, “but not necessarily pushed into court when it can be addressed through the school or family.”

Other key decreases included a 76% drop in threat-related incidents, an 80% drop in weapons-related cases, and a 48% reduction in marijuana and THC vape possession. The most significant decline was in general vape-related offenses, largely due to changes in Virginia law that removed criminal penalties for simple possession in many cases.

Hajduk also introduced two new reporting categories—pending and prosecution declined—to provide more clarity about cases still under review or not pursued by juvenile intake. Additionally, she broke down data by offense types and demographics to give the board a fuller picture of the year’s safety landscape.

Discipline Report: Middle Schools See Dramatic Improvement

Dr. Chris Ballenger, delivering the final discipline report of his tenure as superintendent, followed with a school-by-school comparison of May 2025 discipline incidents versus the same month in 2024.

Superintendent Dr. Chris Ballenger shares the May 2025 discipline report during his final school board meeting, highlighting major reductions in incidents at both middle schools.

Several elementary schools showed mixed trends. A.S. Rhodes reported seven incidents in May, up from zero the previous year. E. Wilson Morrison saw a slight decline, while Hilda J. Barbour cut its total in half—from 10 down to five. Leslie Fox Keyes Elementary experienced an increase from 12 to 18 incidents, and Ressie Jeffries reported a modest uptick as well.

“Unwanted or inappropriate physical contact was one of the main areas where we saw an increase,” Ballenger noted, especially at the elementary level.

But it was the middle schools that showed the most dramatic turnaround. Skyline Middle School dropped from 55 incidents in May 2024 to just 11 in May 2025. Warren County Middle School followed a similar path, reducing its total from 52 to 9.

“I really want to thank our middle school administration and staff,” Ballenger said. “That’s a huge reduction, and it reflects the consistent work they’re doing with students.”

At the high school level, results were more varied. Skyline High School saw an increase of 23 incidents compared to last year, while Warren County High School recorded a decrease from 38 to 17. Non-traditional programs, such as the Diversified Minds initiative, reported only two incidents for the month.

ESS Report: Fill Rates Improve, Staff Morale on the Rise

The evening’s final report came from Amy Chandlee, representing Education Staffing Solutions (ESS), the contractor responsible for substitute teacher staffing in Warren County Public Schools. Chandlee, who has worked closely with administrators this year, shared promising statistics and updates on community engagement.

Amy Chandlee of ESS reports a 99% effective substitute fill rate in May, earning praise from board members for improved staffing and strong community engagement.

May’s base fill rate reached 80%, and when in-building permanent substitutes were factored in, the district achieved an actual fill rate of over 99%. That marks the third consecutive month with at least 80% coverage—up from 75% for the 2023–24 school year overall.

Chandlee said more than 7,100 substitute jobs were filled this school year, and ESS hired 75 new staff members since last August. Another 20 to 25 are already in the hiring pipeline for next year.

“We’ve had new hires jump right in—they’re eager, they’re excited, and that enthusiasm is showing in the buildings,” she said.

Feedback from building administrators and office staff was overwhelmingly positive. A recent internal survey showed that 89.4% of respondents rated ESS’s performance as “good” or “excellent.” Classroom management was highlighted as a top area for additional training, which Chandlee said would be offered through summer enrichment programs.

Board members praised Chandlee for her leadership and the noticeable improvement in substitute support this year. School Board member Melanie Salins, who had previously voiced concerns about ESS service, publicly commended her: “You really have turned this around,” they said.

Chandlee expressed appreciation for the support and noted her personal investment in the work.

“I have three kids in the school system,” she said. “If I can support in any way, I’m happy to.”

Photos and Video by Mark Williams, Royal Examiner.

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College basketball coaches around the country have been attending events around the country the last six weeks, scouting recruits mainly in the 2026 and 2027 classes.

2026 recruits are starting to lock in official visits over the coming months as they are set to begin their senior years. Many of these visits will take place later this summer and into fall before the high school basketball season starts.

One visit BYU has locked in is talented 2026 Guard Austin Goosby. Sources close to Austin tell me that he has scheduled an official visit to BYU September 26-28. September is still a few months away, so we’ll see if that date gets adjusted as we move closer.

Austin is arguably the best LDS prospect in the country and is rated as the #30 overall recruit in the 2026 class according to 247 Sports. Austin lives in the Dallas area but has family on his mom’s side that lives in Utah. He has one cousin that is attending BYU and other on a mission after starting at BYU.

Austin took an unofficial visit to BYU the weekend of March 8 and attended the BYU-Utah game in the Marriott Center. I spoke with his dad after that visit.

“Kevin Young is a basketball genius; it’s a whole other level of intelligence.” Austin’s dad told me after the visit. “We were blown away by Coach Young and BYU.”

Austin has offers from all over. Duke offered him this past week, and he also has offers from Texas, Kansas, Baylor, Texas A&M, UCLA, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, Miami, Florida State, Kansas State, and others.

Texas should be right at or near the top of Austin’s list during his recruitment. Austin’s brother, Trevor, is an offensive lineman on the football team and the family is a UT family.

Austin is one of the top priorities for BYU this class. Kevin Young has been in consistent communication with Austin, and BYU established themselves as a real player in Austin’s recruitment after Austin’s visit back in May.

You can watch highlights of Austin below. Austin is a talented scoring wing that can really get to the basket and knockdown outside shots. He projects as a NBA player and would likely be in school for multiple seasons.

June 19, 2025 6:00 am

If you live in a small town, you probably have fewer grocery stores than you did 30 years ago — and fewer choices inside them.

Independent grocers have disappeared, replaced by big national chains that now decide what’s on the shelves, how much it costs, and who gets to profit.

In 1990, the top four grocery chains controlled just 13% of nationwide sales. By 2019, the top four retailers — Walmart, Kroger, Costco, and Ahold Delhaize — controlled 34% of U.S. grocery sales, according to the USDA.

That concentration hasn’t gone unnoticed. Just last year, the Federal Trade Commission and nine states sued to block a $25 billion merger between grocery giants Kroger and Albertsons, arguing that the deal would harm both shoppers and workers by reducing competition, increasing prices, and consolidating power into fewer hands. The merger has since unraveled, but only after a court battle and mounting public pressure.

In rural counties, market concentration more than doubled between 1990 and 2019, according to USDA data.

One way to measure concentration is the Herfindahl-Hirschman Index (HHI), a tool used to track monopoly risk. In rural areas, HHI scores jumped from 3,104 to 5,584 — more than twice the threshold where federal antitrust regulators start to worry about competition. According to a 2023 USDA report, the USDA considers anything above 2,500 is considered highly concentrated.

Now that trend may speed up. The White House has proposed nearly $7 billion in USDA budget cuts, including $721 million from Rural Development programs — the ones that help small towns open grocery stores and other local businesses. One program on the chopping block is the Rural Business-Cooperative Service. Loan funding for community facilities and rural businesses would also drop by 45%, with no new grant dollars offered.

At the same time, the administration’s “Make America Healthy Again” initiative discusses improving nutrition, but proposes cuts to the very programs that help people buy food, including Women, Infants, and Children (WIC), school meal equipment, and farm-to-school efforts.

The bottom line? Rural communities already hit hardest by grocery consolidation are now facing even more roadblocks.

This article first appeared on Investigate Midwest and is republished here under a Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License. PARSELY = { autotrack: false, onload: function() { PARSELY.beacon.trackPageView({ url: “https://investigatemidwest.org/2025/06/18/usda-data-highlights-monopoly-risk-in-rural-grocery-markets/”, urlref: window.location.href }); } }

https://missouriindependent.com/briefs/usda-data-highlights-monopoly-risk-in-rural-grocery-markets/