The funding lapse is likely to be short, with the House returning from a weeklong break on Monday and the Republican president fully supporting the spending package. Many Americans may not even notice since most federal employees working on weekends, such as military personnel and air traffic controllers, are deemed essential and aren't furloughed in a shutdown.

This is the second timeCongresshas failed to fund the government since Trump returned to office last year. A 43-day shutdown during the autumn was the longest and most disruptive ever, with food aid halted to millions of households, thousands of flights canceled and federal workers going without pay for more than a month.

This shutdown is more limited since some parts of the government already are fully funded through theSept. 30end of the federal fiscal year.

That includes theDepartment of Agriculture, so there will be no interruption in food stamps. National parks, veterans' services and theJustice Departmentalso already have had their funding approved for the year.

Still, the affected agencies - which include theTreasury, Defense, Homeland Security, Transportation, Health and HumanServices and Labor Departments- will go through the formal process of shutting down, according to aWhite House Office of Management and Budgetmemo.

"It is our hope that this lapse will be short," OMB DirectorRuss Voughtwrote in a memo Friday, adding that the administration will be prepared to order the government to reopen as soon as Trump signs a funding bill into law.

TheHouse Rules Committeeadded a vote on the spending measure to the agenda for its Monday afternoon meeting to send it to the floor for final passage.

It's unclear whether theBureau of Labor Statisticswill delay the release of the monthly jobs report, scheduled for Friday, if there's a brief government shutdown.

The shutdown fight erupted after aU.S.citizen,Alex Pretti, was killed in a confrontation withBorder Patrolofficers inMinneapolislast weekend.Democratsrefused to renew funding for theHomeland Security Departmentunless new restraints were placed on immigration enforcement.

Democratsare seeking requirements thatDHSagents use body cameras and obtain judicial warrants. They also want to forbid the masking of agents and stop broad immigration sweeps.

Trump and Senate Democratic LeaderChuck Schumerstruck a deal Thursday to fundDHSfor two weeks while they continue negotiations over the demands. The rest of the government would be funded throughSept. 30.

TheSenateapproved the funding deal on Friday.

Trump has indicated in recent days that he would make changes to his administration's deportation campaign. The crackdown, according to polls, has grown increasingly unpopular with voters, posing a risk to theRepublican Partyin the coming midterm elections.

---

(With assistance fromGregory KorteandMolly Smith)

No player sits there, but the whiteboard lets people know whose locker it is.

But it doesn't say Caroline Scheu, it says the name she is known as inside the program: Carol.

Chances are, you have seen the content creator donning bangs, decked out in Ball State merch, being swarmed by the Cardinals after a win in Worthen Arena.

Scheu has been running the Ball State Women's Basketball social media accounts as the Cardinals' content creator and is currently in her fourth season with the program.

But four years ago, Scheu was not even considering joining the program.

"My personality at the time, I was not going to reach out," Scheu said.

She was an anxiety-ridden, quiet person who overthought every interaction. She had social anxiety.

"I was a shell of myself," Scheu said.

She was dealing with the death of her grandfather - a large proponent of why she pursued basketball media - and was in a new town, surrounded by little to no people she knew.

But Ball State Women's Basketball reached out to her.

Scheu said she saw an email in her inbox about two weeks after coming to Ball State in the fall of 2022. While she still does not know how Head Coach Brady Sallee got her contact information, she toured the facility with assistant coach Casey Morrissette, who told Scheu the job was hers if she wanted it.

Initially, the role for Scheu was going to be helping out with recruiting and, maybe, using her skills here and there to market the program, Sallee said. But he soon figured out it could be so much more with Scheu.

"She's taken it and turned it into something crazy," Sallee said.

Scheu has grown the women's basketball social media accounts from averaging 764,000 views per season to well over 5.3 million.

Turning nothing into something

Women's basketball is a part of Scheu's identity. She grew up in a basketball house and was always in the gym. While her sister enjoyed playing basketball, Scheu said she was obsessed with basketball media, always knowing it would be her career.

There was no binder on her desk when she took the job at Ball State in the fall of 2022.

"No one ran it, there was no brand, no nothing," Scheu said.

She said it felt like she was thrown into the fire her freshman year. Scheu had never worked in collegiate athletics, was not used to the schedule and it took her time to get adjusted to the coaches and players.

She felt those same feelings she had before taking the job.

Even if it felt like she was "in the fire," the program always had her back. Scheu was integrated from day one.

She was always invited to team activities, was on every team trip and was constantly with the staff and players. Scheu said the team believed in her during a time when she did not even feel proven.

"It was something that I did not know I needed at the time, but I really did," Scheu said.

No doubt, she was still nervous, but after getting her feet wet during her freshman year, Scheu started setting goals to grow the brand.

In her sophomore year, she started with consistency. She posted more frequently and tried new things. Everything she did was self-taught, and she worked relentlessly on her design skills. Then she started creating more videos, laying the foundation for a strong social media presence.

Post by post, Scheu was building an online persona for the Cardinals. More and more views, shares and interactions started to roll in.

Sallee said he believes social media accounts have helped with recruiting, putting "butts in the seats," and have helped people understand what Ball State Women's Basketball is all about.

"I think the knowledge that people have about how special our program and our players are comes directly from the work she puts into it," he said.

Account Statistics

1. Monthly Growth
   1. Jan 12, 2025 averaged 439.7k views a month
   2. Jan, 20, 2026 averaged between 700k-1.1 million views a month for the past 7 months.
2. Three-year growth
   1. Aug. 2022-2023 = 764,000 views
   2. Aug. 2024-25 = 5.3 million views
3. Posts so far this season
   1. 107 Reels
   2. 224 Posts
4. TikTok Growth
   1. 5.2 million views since June 2025
5. X (Twitter) Boom
   1. Sept 14, 2022 - 6340 followers
   2. Jan 20, 2026 - 11.3k followers

It has been through the posts, videos and interactions where Scheu has found herself genuine relationships with the staff and players. It is a large reason the Cardinals are so comfortable around her camera.

A majority of her time is spent without a camera around the team. In fact, her favorite memories are off camera. The relationships formed make every long night, every bus ride and every post worth it.

She is with the program so much that she said it feels like she is roster No. 14, almost like a player under Sallee.

"I don't think they even realize how high they've set the bar," Scheu said. "I think that's just who he is and who this program is, but they don't understand that a lot of people in my position are not treated as well as I am."

She saw another opportunity to grow with the 2025 senior class, and she knew she needed to capitalize on their story. She created roughly 800 pieces of content last season.

Scheu said she always feels pressure to tell the players' stories, especially last season with the senior class. But after feeling successful in telling their stories, Scheu felt pressure to match what she did last year for this season.

"I feel pressure, but I am also confident in myself," Scheu said. "It drives me to do better. I like the pressure."

That pressure is a reward to her because before she took over, there was no pressure at all for the Ball State Women's Basketball social media to look a certain way.

Scheu usually stops by every single practice, posts multiple times a day and continues to edit and plan content for the future. Through it all, each post has a meaning. For example, the Cardinals' roster has completely changed since last season. So, for days on end, Scheu would post videos of riddles, questions and more, not to fill content, but so followers could get to know the athletes.

Sophomore guard Zuri Ransom said Scheu's heartfelt love for the job can easily be seen in the content that is produced, and the sophomore said she believes it is a reason the fans care so much as well.

Ransom said she feels nostalgia when she views older videos on the women's basketball pages because she can see relationships form through the content posted.

"She's turned a 6-foot-5 kid that wears number 22, who's a good basketball player, into someone that people feel like they know," Sallee said. "That's when you know you've got someone really good at what they are doing."

The good times

Sallee said players often enter the program wide-eyed, unsure how to navigate the collegiate atmosphere. But over time, they settle in. He said Scheu has been the same way.

"If I did not have this, I have no idea who I would be," Scheu said.

She has found herself in her work, alongside the encouragement and support from the program.

Scheu wants to leave a legacy of being known, not for herself, but for the Ball State Women's Basketball team. She said she wants their values known and wants people to know the players for who they are.

But she knows her career might never look the way it does now.

"There's that cheesy quote of, 'you don't know what you have till it's gone,' but I've always known what I've had here," Scheu said. "A lot of the time you do not know you are in the good times until you leave, but I have always known."

Scheu will never be 18-21 years old again, working with a team full of women her age. She will never experience coming into a program and college for the first time again, so she relishes this time.

"I will never be able to repay them," Scheu said.

Sallee said the Cardinals are going to try to create a position that would allow them to keep Scheu in the program after she graduates. He said there is no program that would not want Scheu, but in the age of the transfer portal, he is hoping she does not transfer.

Scheu said it has been confidence that has made her into a new person. Even if there are moments where she feels like an imposter, she has totally changed as a person from who she was just four years ago.

That confidence boost comes with the program, players and staff pouring into the work she has done. While it did not happen overnight, she still feels a real change.

"I feel like I belong here," Scheu said. "My freshman and sophomore year I felt like it was handed to me. Once I proved to myself that I was meant to be here, it transformed me as a person. It brought my old self back. It gave me back a part of me I thought I had lost."

Contact Elijah Poe via email at elijah.poe@bsu.edu or on X @ElijahPoe4.

The presentation followed the nomination convention at 5 p.m., which is where everyone can see who is running for the executive positions that will be opening up.

The presidential debate for all nominees running for the position is Feb. 10 and the vice presidential debate will be the next day, Feb. 11.

The nominees cannot nominate themselves, but any other student at Ball State University can nominate them. However, Phenis said there cannot be any campaigning before the end of the nomination convention, and there is also no merchandising, which means nominees cannot tell students to vote for them to be on the ticket.

"[Students] can ask questions like, 'Oh, when is the debate?' Or, 'Oh, how can I vote?' That's fine, but [they] can't ask very specific questions or talking points that lead to [them] supporting a ticket virtually," he said.

After SGA went over the elections timeline and rules, they moved into special orders of business with an off-campus senate applicant, Quinn Davis.

Davis, a third-year supply chain management and marketing major, is the vice president of the Sigma Chi fraternity. She is also a part of the Student Organization Fund Allocation Committee (SOFAC) and is a former member of the At-Large Caucus for three semesters last year. Davis was a former senate member of SGA, but had left due to picking up another major and taking on the vice president role at Sigma Chi.

Senator Charlie Isaacs asked Davis about what SOFAC does, and Davis said it helps allocate funds to student clubs and organizations.

"If the committee wants funding for this job, then they send them a request, and then we check to make sure it meets all the requirements, and then we either accept or not based on the payment requirements," he said.

Davis was approved for the off-campus committee with 24 yays, zero nays and three abstentions.

After the SGA had approved Davis, it moved into executive reports starting with President Chelsea Murdock. She reminded the senate they are helping out with upcoming events such as Dance Marathon Feb. 6 and events surrounding Sexual Assault Awareness Month coming up in April, which are meant to shine a light on the prevalency of sexual assault cases on campus.

"... We usually like to do something for Sexual Assault Awareness Month in support with Fraternity and Sorority Life," Murdock said.

SGA will meet again Feb. 4, at 3:15 p.m. in Cardinal Hall B at the L.A. Pittenger Student Center.

Contact Landon Jones via email landon.jones2@bsu.edu.

Comedy actress Catherine O'Hara, who starred in film classics like "Beetlejuice" and "Home Alone" as well as the television hit, "Schitt's Creek," has died. She was 71 years old.

The Canadian actress and comedian died Friday, her manager confirmed to Variety. TMZ was the first to report the news.

The cause of death was not clear and few other details were provided.

O'Hara kicked off her career as a performer and writer on the Canadian sketch comedy show "Second City Television," or "SCTV." She went on to star in several Christopher Guest films, including "Best in Show," "A Mighty Wind" and "For Your Consideration." Some of her other popular roles include that of Macaulay Culkin's mother Kate McCallister in the first two "Home Alone" movies, and Moira Rose, the uppity matriarch of the Rose family on "Schitt's Creek."

O'Hara earned an Emmy for her work on the show in 2020, decades after she scored her first Emmy for her writing contributions to the sketch comedy TV series "SCTV Network 90."

©2026 New York Daily News. Visit nydailynews.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.

This year's theme was the beach, and students had creative freedom to interpret that in whichever way they wanted. Students were judged based on a rubric. The rubric had multiple scoring categories. Scoring focused on the use of materials, how well the theme was conveyed and presentation. The winning cake featured a theme of friendship, showcasing the cartoon characters SpongeBob and Patrick.

In addition to cake decorating skills, the RHA also encourages its members to build their communication abilities. Activities director, Haley Shipley, explains how this has helped her.

"It really helped me build my confidence. It really just built my resume essentially to do further things."

Shipley helped organize the event and has been planning for the past couple of months. She was hopeful about bringing the event back to life after the success of the previous year. Most importantly, Shipley wants to build an environment where everyone can feel safe and welcome. She elaborates that being a part of RHA is all about having fun, and that's something she thinks "Cake Warz" does well. She also encourages more students to get involved.

"We'd like students to understand what we do, and go up from there," Shipley said.

Although there could only be one winner, all teams participating were sure to enjoy their evening. The students got to take their cakes home with them, and the winning team was awarded mini trophies. The RHA has more events planned in February. You can learn more on BeConnected.

Contact Addison Hampshire with comments at addison.hampshire@bsu.edu

Last Week to sign up for Walt Disney World Summer Course

his course explores how Disney translates fairy tales into immersive storytelling within its theme parks and how that process creates authentic nostalgia tourism experiences. Students will experience this firsthand during a six-day visit to Walt Disney World, studying how Disney represents cultures from around the world in its parks.

All undergraduate students are welcome to join the course. The deadline to submit the participation form is Feb. 6. For more information, emailrblom@bsu.edu.

Come in From the Cold and Enjoy a Concert! Jazz Ensembles on February 3 & Orchestra on February 5

Tom Shah Memorial Concert | Tuesday, February 3 | 7:30 PM | Sursa Hall

Each year, Ball State's Jazz Ensembles honor veteran, alum and trumpet player Tom Shah with a concert and award ceremony. Join them for jazz favorites and a time-honored tribute. Tickets are available in person at the College of Fine Arts box office, online or by phone at 765-285-8749.

Ball State Symphony Orchestra | Thursday, February 5 | 7:30 PM | Sursa Hall

The Ball State Symphony Orchestra will present its first concert of the spring semester, featuring works by Beethoven, Mozart and Stravinsky. Tickets are available in person at the College of Fine Arts box office, online or by phone at 765-285-8749.

Ball State's Artificial Intelligence Symposium is Less than a Month Away. Register Now!

Ball State's first-ever Artificial Intelligence Symposium will take place Feb. 18 in the Student Center Ballroom. The day will feature tool trainings, roundtable discussions and opportunities for faculty and staff to explore the evolving world of AI.

Pro licenses for AI tools will be raffled off every hour, and attendees must be present to win. Food will be provided, and the day will conclude with open feedback and discussion. Don't miss the opportunity to innovate and help ensure these potential grant resources are used where they matter most. You can registerhere.

For more information, go toBall State's Communication Center.

As a nonprofit organization based in Indiana, Firefly has expanded its outreach across the country, opening new branches in multiple states and counties.

Firefly is one of the oldest businesses in Indiana and has opened over 20 locations across the state, including a recently opened shelter in downtown Indianapolis.

Not only that, but the organization has also grown from $13 million in revenue to $50 million in 2025, according to CEO and President Tina Cloer.

But it is not the number of locations or the amount of revenue they bring in that makes Firefly so special - it is the children and families that the organization has helped and continues to help.

"Firefly specializes in working with families that have experienced all forms of trauma," Cloer said. "We do services to strengthen families, which are largely child abuse programs that are working with families that are at-risk and really trying to help get them the help they need."

Firefly's resources vary by case, offering educational resources and mental health services intended to help families and kids across the state avoid involvement with federal systems and services. The organization also provides services for survivors of domestic violence, domestic assault, sexual assault and human trafficking.

Even with the recent November 2025 opening of Firefly's new shelter in downtown Indianapolis, which contains single bedrooms for all the children who reside there, sensory integration systems, classrooms for teachers, a place for therapists to perform their practice in a safe, secure environment and an art therapy room, most of what Firefly does takes place in people's homes.

"We are mostly home-based," Cloer said. "We go to them to remove the barriers of folks getting help, because for many of the people we serve, transportation and child care are significant barriers to seeking services. So, we go to them and eliminate those things."

Oftentimes, Cloer said, the Department of Child Services (DCS) will not remove kids from their homes but rather send them to Firefly. It is then Firefly's job to assess the family's lifestyle and determine how best to keep those kids safe in their home environment, despite any changes that may have occurred, she said.

Whether it be because a parent believes their child has a neurological or physical disability and they do not know how to properly care for or discipline them, or a family is in need of a helping hand to get by, Firefly is there to offer that help.

Cloer said the organization manages to keep 90 percent of the families it works with together, but in the instances where "too many terrible things have happened," there is a foster care program for kids who are removed from their families.

During that time, Firefly works with both the children and the parents to resolve their issues, whether that be their mental health or substance abuse. While a case is open, Cloer said Firefly works to prepare the home for the child to return.

In the instances that a child does not go back home to their family, Firefly will even take care of the older youth who are aging out of the foster system.

However, in most instances, therapists and case workers go to people's homes to work with them on an array of things, such as introducing families to prevention programs, helping them improve their budgeting and parenting skills and even helping them get employment and housing if necessary.

These house calls can be as frequent as once a month, and sometimes, especially in the beginning of cases, Firefly will visit their client's homes approximately five to six times a week as they work to assess the situation at hand.

In most cases, Cloer said, Firefly tends to work more with children than adults. Their goal is to try to create an environment that is trauma-informed and a space where children are allowed to adjust to whatever has happened to them.

"If you grew up in a reasonable home, you would think that the worst thing that could happen in your life is that somebody comes and takes you out of that," Cloer said. "But for our kids, sometimes that is not the situation."

In the instances where it is best for children to go to Firefly's shelter, the non-profit organization uses an evidence-based model called "Teaching Family" in order to teach children social skills, how to manage anxiety and uncertainty, how to navigate change and how to deal with conflicts from their family and their peers.

Tashia Weaver's job as the director of prevention services for Firefly allows her to oversee two of the organization's main prevention programs - Community Partners for Child Safety and Strengthening Indiana Families Family Resource Center.

Community Partners for Child Safety is where liaisons meet families in need and provide them with the support and education they need.

"We want to connect families to resources in the community and then break down those barriers preventing them from being readily accessible," said Weaver.

One of the most valued resources that Firefly administers is the Child Care Development Fund (CCDF), which provides subsidized childcare services across Indiana.

Joanne Crouch, a member of Firefly's Parent Advisory Committee and a former Firefly client, was assigned a case manager in 2014 after being involved in a domestic violence situation. To keep herself and her three children safe, one of Crouch's friends gave her Cloer's phone number-a life-changing lifeline.

Crouch received a case manager who went to her house and helped her with positively disciplining her children in a way that is acceptable for children who have been abused in the past. Crouch also recalled times when Firefly paid her electric bill because she could not afford it.

At the time, Crouch had to tread a fine line because she made too much money to get federal assistance, such as food stamps - but she did not earn enough to buy anything extra for her children - like Christmas presents

The main resource Crouch said she benefited from the most was the child care vouchers, which are available in 66 counties.



"As a single mom with three children in 2014, it was $600 a week for childcare services, and I was not making enough money to go to work and have my kids go to daycare," Crouch said. "So, I signed up for the CCDF program."

To this day, Crouch remains heavily involved with Firefly as a member of its Parent Advisory Committee and has used her position to share the organization's resources with the rest of the world.

"I just want so many people to know about Firefly's services, and I thought that if I could get out in the community and spread the word, then sign me up," Crouch said.

But more than anything, Crouch wanted the chance to offer hope to parents in desperate situations who think there is no way out - that there is light amid such darkness.

"We had reached out to a number of our clients and asked them what our organization meant to them and their family," Cloer said. "And that is where the whole notion of bringing light to darkness came from, and that is how we became Firefly."

In 2024 alone, 88,000 kids were impacted by Firefly's services, with approximately 50,000 in Indiana, Cloer said.

"We do not have to change every family we touch," Cloer said. "The reality is, if we can change one person in those 50,000 families, we are going to change the community for generations to come."

Contact Jayden Vaughn via email at jayden.vaughn@bsu.edu.

Tonight: Temperatures dropping below zero, with a low of minus 2. Calm winds will increase as we go throughout the evening.

Tomorrow: Very cold start to the morning with a temperature of 2 degrees at 8 a.m. High temperature will reach the mid-teens. Winds will shift to come from the north, bringing in chilly air.

Seven-Day Forecast: High temperatures will stay in the teens until Sunday where we will break the 20 degree mark. Temperatures will continue to be in the mid to upper-20s for the next work week. Low temperatures get down to 6 degrees below zero this weekend. Mostly sunshine is expected this Saturday and Sunday, with clouds returning Monday.

-Weather Forecaster Elia Stowers

Follow us on Facebook, Instagram, and X @NLIWeather for breaking weather updates.

NewsLink Indiana is a proud Ambassador for the NOAA Weather-Ready Nation program.

For more information about the Weather-Ready Nation program please click HERE

Kelly, who has been swimming since she was eight, wasn't always the greatest at swimming.

"Growing up, I wasn't the greatest swimmer. I did it because it's what my friends did. Then once we got into high school, all of my friends kind of stopped their sports, but I kept going," Kelly said. "It taught me how to be really coachable, the value of hard work, and that I don't have to be good at something the first time."

The women's swimming and diving team has two more meets before the Mid-American Conference Championships, which has the entire team excited. Kelly is right there with the rest of the team in terms of excitement, but this last MAC Championship means a little extra to her.

"I just want to take in every moment, they're fleeing by. I mean, we've had a countdown of how many meets are left in Lewellen, and it's just getting too real," Kelly said.

The women's swimming and diving team faces Indiana State University this Friday in Lewellen at 5:30. This will be the last time they're at home this season.

Contact Caleb Murphy with comments at caleb.murphy@bsu.edu.

Today: Slightly warmer than yesterday. Winds will be calming down compared to what we have been experiencing here in the region recently. Expect cloudy conditions throughout the afternoon, then headed into the night expect winds to pick up with a low of -2 degrees.

Tomorrow: At the bus stop, expect the overnight temperatures still lingering around, with the temperature being below zero. Bundle up before going out, as frostbite can occur in less than 30 minutes on exposed skin, especially with temperatures being sub zero. Headed into the afternoon, we will warm up slightly to 11 degrees. Then eventually by your evening commute, expect the temperature to be 14 degrees with winds starting to pick up coming from the north east at 10 mph. Make sure to cover exposed skin and reduce the amount of time spent outside if possible.

Seven-Day Forecast: Expect temperatures for the rest of the week to be bitterly cold. Highs will only reach the teens and lows will be below zero, dipping into the negatives. Expect the rest of the week to have cloudy skies with winds calming down. However, on Sunday, we start to see temperatures increasing again, but with that comes a chance of snow. If it were to precipitate, expect snow flurries, with it being nothing like what we experienced this past weekend. Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday, we do see persistently increasing highs and lows. Next week, we have hopes for a better and slightly warmer week compared to what we have been experiencing here in Muncie!

- Weather Forecaster Kendra Heath

Follow us on Twitter @NLIWeather for breaking weather updates.

NewsLink Indiana is a proud Ambassador for the NOAA Weather-Ready Nation program.

For more information about the Weather-Ready Nation program please click HERE

The team claimed two ranked wins against Stanford University and Charleston, and competed well with the No. 1 ranked University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), taking them to four sets and nearly winning.

Head Coach Mike Iandolo credited the team's success and fight against their early-ranked opponents to a lack of errors.

"We're just playing pretty clean volleyball," Iandolo said. "When you're playing tight matches against good teams, the ability to stay clean is pretty important."

The 2025 Ball State Men's Volleyball team got off to a less-than-ideal start to their season, with three losses in their first six games. The 2026 squad has completely flipped the script.

Sophomore opposite Ryan Louis said the team feels "more like a team" this season than it did last season after the team's win over Maryville Jan. 22. Sophomore outside hitter Wil Basilio said the on-court feeling among the team has been great, with everyone feeling connected.

"It's been helping a lot in terms of making sure we all stay meshed and on the same page during games," Basilio said.

The head coach said the team has been doing a good job of supporting one another on and off the court. Iandolo said there is a lot of "good vibes" surrounding the group, which allows them to push each other hard on the court.

Iandolo was an assistant coach on last year's team before becoming a head coach on this year's team. There were seven seniors on last season's team, and the head coach said there was uncertainty at times on who would take on what role.

But Iandolo has seen the three seniors on the 2026 team ensure the team spends quality time together outside of volleyball and does the extra things to bring the team together.

With seven new players and a pair of new coaches, Iandolo knew things could go one of two ways, but the head coach is happy with the team so far.

"We just have a good group of guys," Iandolo said.

With more youth on this year's team, Basilio is one of many young Cardinals players to step up into bigger roles. The outside hitter said that, despite fewer seniors, there is no lack of leadership on a fairly young roster.

"The young guys have done a great job of really stepping up," Basilio said. "The young guys that have come in have done a great job of following the steps of the older guys and doing it so much that they themselves have become leaders."

Last year's Cardinals squad lost three of their first four ranked games of the season, while this year's team has won two of three ranked matches they have played in.

There are a handful of returners from last year's team, and Iandolo said those players did not want the same results this season.

"It's a conscious thought of like, 'hey we gotta be better than we were last year,'" Iandolo said.

A big strength for the team this season has been the setting and passing. Senior outside hitter Patrick Rogers credited his uptick in kills to the team's passing after a win against Maryville Jan. 22.

Iandolo believes the team can end the season as one of the best passing teams in the country statistically.

"[It's] where some of our skill really lies," Iandolo said. "If you have a guy running the show, a setter who's making good decisions and putting up a good ball, our offense is going to be pretty effective."

Ball State has two more non-conference games coming up. The team will travel to Fairfax, Virginia, for a pair of games Jan. 30 and 31. The Cardinals will take on Maryland Eastern Shore in the first game and George Mason in the latter match.

Maryland Eastern Shore is a perfect 4-0 in the Northeast conference in their first season as a program. George Mason is 1-3 in the early season with losses to number 13-ranked Ohio State and number two-ranked Long Beach State.

So far in the early season for the Cardinals, the team has only played in front of its home crowd or on neutral-site courts. But their match with the George Mason Patriots will be the team's first true road test of the season.

Iandolo said that before the season, George Mason's coach said teams would leave their gym "bloodied and bruised" because of the team's style of play. The head coach said it will be a good test to play against a team of that nature in a true road environment.

"It's not going to be a cake walk by any stretch, we're going to go in there, we're going to have to fight," Iandolo said.

Basilio said the team sees the game against George Mason as another opportunity to get a win.

"It'll be fun to be in someone else's gym and have some other people's fans, but at the end of the day, we're telling ourselves it's another game and another opportunity to show what we got," Basilio said.

Basilio believes the team has established an early standard on their trip to Arizona, where they played Stanford and UCLA. The outside hitter said the team needs to continue that standard in their next two games to prepare for Midwestern Intercollegiate Volleyball Association (MIVA) play to start.

The sophomore said the team realized they could have success against high-level competition.

"We've done a good job so far, but just going into conference play, maintaining that high level and confidence that we got in Arizona," Basilio said.

After the team's next two games against Maryland Eastern Shore and George Mason, the team will have a chance to prove themselves in MIVA play, when they will go on the road to face Queens University Feb. 5 and 6.

Contact Kyle Stout with questions via email at kyle.stout@bsu.edu or on X @kylestoutdailyn.

The D20 Dungeon is a fully immersive gaming experience, a place where players can come and escape the real world.

"This is a fully immersive experience, I don't want you to be thinking about anything going on outside of this building the moment you cross the threshold. I want you to be in the world you want to be in," Lucius, the owner, said.

When the hit show Stranger Things finally came to an end, the D&D outbreak was almost immediate.

"I think DND has been popular for a very long time, I think it just kind of made it easier for people to say hey I could come out and say that I like that without being labeled as a geek or a nerd," Lucius said.

Dungeons and Dragons is a game that completely relies on imagination and creativity. It is all up to the players to create the world that they want to play in.

"I used to think it was a nerdy game where you roll dice and things are random, then a guy tells you what is happening, but in reality it is the most immersive way to storytell without anything but your voices," Thomas, D20's social media marketer, said.

While also prioritizing accessibility for all players, no matter how much you know about the game.

"A lot of the pricing for it is meant to be so entry level like a small group can easily afford it," Thomas said.

For more information, go to www.D20dungeon.net

Contact Mira Bloomer with comments at mira.bloomer@bsu.edu.

The Ball State Daily News has compiled a timeline of upcoming dates regarding the midterm elections. Not all events are listed, but all dates and deadlines can be found on the Indiana government website, displaying the 2026 Indiana election calendar.

Feb. 6 - Deadline for political candidate to register

In the state of Indiana, the deadline for declaring candidacy for a major political party nomination is noon Feb. 6, or for election as a Democratic Party precinct committeeman or state convention delegate of either major party at the primary, according to the 2026 Indiana election calendar.

Depending on the state, different dates apply for when a candidate can file as well as the deadline to file, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures.

Feb. 13 - Deadline to withdraw candidacy

Candidates who wish to withdraw from the upcoming elections must file their withdrawal by noon Feb. 13.

Once a candidate has withdrawn from an election, their name will be struck through on the ballot with the word "withdrawn" displayed in bold, red letters, according to Simply Voting.

April 6 - Voter registration ends for primary elections

Voters need to register before the deadline at the voter registration office's close of business by April 6. The deadline requires all voters applying to register or transfer registration, or for voters completing and submitting a voter registration application online by midnight.

To register to vote, voters can do so online at indianavoters.com. After voters complete the steps, they should receive a voter registration acknowledgement card to confirm their registration.

RELATED: Preparation for the primary elections: here is a step-by-step guide on how to vote in Delaware County.

May 5 - Primary election day

Polls will be open from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. May 5 for voters to vote in the primary election. To find a polling place, individuals can visit Indianavoters.com and click on "Find My Polling Place."

For individuals who will not be able to vote in person on election day, voters can submit an absentee ballot in person or by mail. To vote early in person, each county has different locations for early voting, which voters can view by going to the Indiana government's website and navigating to the "voter portal."

For voters who wish to vote early by mail, they will need to complete an application stating their reason for not attending the primary in person, along with their personal information. A copy of the application can be found on the Indiana Secretary of State's website.

May 19 - Voter registration opens

Voting registration will open again May 19 for the general election taking place later in the year.

Individuals can submit applications for their registration by mail, fax, email or online on Indianavoters.com. This will be the first day when the circuit court clerk may receive absentee ballot applications from most voters for the general election, according to the 2026 Indiana election calendar.

July 15 - Deadline for candidacy withdrawal

Any candidates wishing to withdraw their candidacy from the general election in the fall will need to do so before the deadline at noon July 15.

This date also marks the deadline at noon for the Democratic, Libertarian and Republican Parties to file their certificate of nominations for candidates nominated at the state party conventions. Independent or minor party candidates need to file a consent and a petition of nomination by this date at noon, after county verification of petition signatures.

Oct. 5 - Voter registration ends for the general election

Similar to the deadline for registering to vote in the primary elections, voters must apply to register by midnight Oct. 5 at the voter registration office's close of business to vote in the general election.

The same goes for voters who wish to transfer their registration as well.

Nov. 2 - Deadline for circuit court to receive absentee ballots

By noon, Nov. 2, all absentee ballots need to be received by the circuit court clerks from confined voters or voters caring for a confined person requesting delivery of a ballot by the absentee voter board.

Absentee ballots can be submitted in person, by mail, fax, email or online at Indianavoters.com.

Nov. 3 - General election day

To vote in the general election, the polls will be open from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. Nov. 3. The location at which voters wish to vote will vary depending on their county, similar to the primary election.

Dec. 1 - Voter registration opens

At the end of the year, voters can once again register to vote for the 2027 municipal primary election.

Absentee ballots can also be accepted Dec. 1, with both voter registration and absentee ballots could be submitted in person, by mail, fax, email or online at Indianavoters.com.

All information can be found on the Indiana government website about upcoming dates regarding the primary and general elections.

Contact Linnea Sundquist via email at linnea.sundquist@bsu.edu.

The loss to the number one seed in the Mid-American Conference (MAC) did not waver any of the head coach's confidence in the team.

All of that proved true when the team traveled to Central Michigan to take on a red-hot Chippewas team, who entered the game with three straight wins.

The Cardinals snapped Central Michigan's win-streak, beating them 76-70 in a tight contest, and it was Ball State's eighth straight win against the Chippewas.

Head Coach Brady Sallee said that as a head coach, he has moments where he is just "flat-out proud" of his team. He said that this win was one of those moments.

"The way we prepared, the way we bounced back, we really just got into the process and had ourselves ready to come up here and play well against a good team," Sallee said.

It was a back-and-forth contest in the game, one that Sallee described as having a "Cleveland feel" to the game.

With just over a minute to play, sophomore guard Zuri Ransom checked into the game for the Cardinals. In a short minute, Ransom recorded a steal and came up with a block to seal the deal on the team's eighth conference win.

While Ransom only recorded three minutes of play in the game, Sallee said the guard was ready, and was locked in to the gameplan as much as everybody else.

"It's hard in that situation, you're sitting over there for 35 minutes and all of a sudden you get thrust in and it's winning time," Sallee said. "One thing with Zuri [Ransom] is she's proven she's going to be ready."

Junior guard Karsyn Norman has played the floor general role for the Cardinals this season, recording just under five assists a game, which leads the team.

But Norman has had success scoring the basketball in recent games, as she has shot 40 percent or higher from behind the arc in her last five games. The guard was a big reason for the Cardinals success, as she scored 17 points and shot 3-6 from behind the arc.

Sallee said Norman noticed how the Chippewas were guarding her on ball screens, and with a small adjustment, the guard was able to get more space to shoot the ball.

"We've all got a lot of faith in her when she shoots it," Sallee said. "Not many people let her get a bunch of them off, but tonight she had some great looks."

Norman was not the only Cardinals' player with scoring success, as all five of the team's starters scored in double digits.

There is no easy win with the nature of a game like this, Sallee said, but the head coach said it makes it easier to win when everybody is scoring at a high level.

"When you're playing good teams, it's going to be possession by possession," Sallee said.

All season, Sallee has said closing games out and excelling in late game situations was a big point of emphasis for the Cardinals to improve on. The head coach saw some of that come to fruition in the win.

"When you're working with a young team that is brand new together, seeing all those things take shape and come out helping you win a game, it's certainly why we do what we do," Sallee said.

Although it is still January, this game gave shades of the MAC tournament coming up in March with the intensity and atmosphere of the game.

Sallee said that win or lose, these games are something the team can learn from that can prepare them for March.

"The key right now for us is as we are in the dog days of conference play, [is] we have to fall in love with the process and just keep it that simple," Sallee said.

Ball State will have a chance to stay in the win column when they go on the road to take on Kent State Feb. 1.

Contact Kyle Stout with questions via email at kyle.stout@bsu.edu or on X @kylestoutdailyn.

Tonight: There will be very cold temperatures tonight dipping below zero. There will be some moderate cloud coverage with pretty calm winds coming out of the west at 5 mph.

Tomorrow: It won't get above zero degrees until after 8 a.m. and only get up to about 13 degrees at 5 p.m. Overcast skies will make it gray and gloomy all throughout tomorrow.

Seven-Day Forecast: To start the weekend, the temperatures dip down to just above 10 degrees, but we see what seems like a heat wave compared to what we have been experiencing. Temperatures rise up to 31 degrees on Wednesday. Despite this warmup, there are some slight chances of flurries on Monday and Wednesday. Fortunately, the clouds start to clear out and we get some mostly sunny skies throughout most of the week and those lows finally get out of the negatives at the end of the week.

-Weather Forecaster Orion Lucas

Follow us on Twitter @NLIWeather for breaking weather updates.

NewsLink Indiana is a proud Ambassador for the NOAA Weather-Ready Nation program.

For more information about the Weather-Ready Nation program please click HERE

When temperatures do reach these low levels, extended exposure can be quite dangerous without a source of heat. Due to this, warming centers across Muncie are opening their doors to provide residents a safe place to stay.

The Young Women's Christian Association (YWCA) is one of the organizations that is providing to those who may not have a source of heat in the freezing temperatures.

"So 32 degrees or under, people can just walk in off the streets and come say, I need to be warm. They can make phone calls and say, hey, I am cold, I don't have a place to be," the CEO of YWCA of Muncie, WaTasha Barnes Griffin, said.

The YWCA isn't the only location in Muncie that is offering heated spaces. The Muncie Indiana Transit System (MITS) released on Facebook a list of several locations supplying a warm place to stay. Some of these locations include the Center Township Trustee Office, The Muncie HUB and more. A full list can be seen below:

Today: Expect partly cloudy skies with a high of 14 degrees with winds out of the west at 14 mph. Wind chills are currently sitting in the single digits for the remainder of today.

Tonight: Expect extremely cold temperatures with a low of six degrees below zero. Prepare for partly cloudy skies and wind chills well into the negative teens.

Tomorrow: Much of the same is expected for tomorrow with a high of 15 degrees and mostly cloudy skies. Early in the morning wind chills will be dangerously cold so don't forget to bundle up, frostbite can occur to unexposed skin within minutes in these conditions. The winds will start to die down throughout the day but are expected to ramp up heading into the weekend.

Seven-Day-Forecast: Temperatures are expected to rise slightly over the next seven days. Highs are expected to reach the high 20s, but those lows are still dangerously cold throughout the next seven days. Additionally there are cold weather advisories in place for the next couple of days due to the low temperatures dipping into the negative single digits and wind chill values in the negative teens. Lastly there are chances for snow on Monday and Wednesday next week.

-- Weather forecaster Zachary Alberson

Follow us on twitter @NLIWeather for breaking weather updates.

NewsLink Indiana is a proud Ambassador for the NOAA Weather-Ready Nation program.



]]> MUNCIE, Ind. - At Ross Community Center, the sound of scissors snipping and hair dryers filled the air at the "Styled for Stability" event on Saturday, Jan. 24. Care Cuts is a nonprofit that's new to Delaware County, hosting this event and many more to come.

Actively operating now for four months, Care Cuts has served nearly 230 individuals through haircuts, hygiene kits and job searches. Founder Michael Carroll says it all started with a conversation with a past coworker, a veteran whose son was homeless and had died.

"I could tell that he was very unkempt and hadn't had a haircut in a while, and so I asked him the question of when the last time he had a haircut was," Carroll said. "He could not remember when that was."

He began brainstorming how he could help the population that is in a similar situation.

"What I found is that a lot of people who need haircuts are not getting that service," Carroll said.

The organization partners with an additional nonprofit, Hygiene Ladies, to give out kits with hygiene products to whoever they serve. Hailee Campbell, co-founder of Hygiene Ladies, met Carroll at the Common Market when he had just started Care Cuts.

"We've just kind of been supporting each other as we're figuring everything out," Campbell said.

She had the idea after working on her capstone project at Ball State University while pursuing her undergraduate degree in psychology. As the lead facilitator of a support group, she researched community resources.

"There is no place in town that consistently has hygiene supplies, a lot of it comes from shelters, or the Boys and Girls Club or the Indy Hub, but for the Muncie population, it's not really accessible," Campbell said.

After collecting donations alone didn't suffice, she reached out to Ball State professor Kimberly Hennessee to help found the nonprofit. Together, the organizations consistently hold events targeted to people who are experiencing homelessness, poverty and hardship.

"We're trying to fill the gap between the barber's chair and getting them mental health help," Carroll said.

If you are in need of their services, you can visit their website for more information.

Contact Allison Branecki with comments at allison.branecki@bsu.edu.

]]> MUNCIE, Ind. - Braving the cold weather and approaching winter storm; members of the Minnetrista Museum and Gardens attended an early preview of the latest exhibit on Jan. 23. Guests gathered in the downstairs event hall which had a sea of tables and buffet food. As everyone took their seats, Dr. John Anderson, the keynote speaker for the night, addressed everyone.

"That is the potential of being courageous and taking an honest look at the story of Emmett and Mamie Till-Mobley," Anderson said.

It started out as an exhibit by the Children's Museum of Indianapolis, and would later become a traveling exhibit that tells Emmett Till's story across the country. The exhibit was last housed in Cincinnati before it found its way to Muncie. Sebastián Encina, an employee at Minnitrista who worked on the exhibit, said before he even started working at the museum, they were looking to bring the exhibit to Muncie.

"When I started here, just about two years ago, this was already on our radar to host this exhibition," Encina said."It was only a matter of making sure it fit into our calendar. So, this has been three years in the making for us, and we finally get to host it here.

Each piece of the exhibit was curated carefully. Showing the early stages of Till's childhood, then focusing mainly on the events of his death, before finally ending with how his death ignited a movement.

"There are components that need to come in and we just need to put it together. However, it came with a lot of emotions as well. As this is a story we are all very familiar with," Encinca said.

As emotionally heavy the exhibit can be, staff at Minnitrista and Dr. Anderson both agree the exhibit is more about hope.

"While it can be easy to see an exhibition like this and feel very downtrodden, feel very heavy, the point of the exhibition is to inspire hope," Encina said.

"I know that individuals who come and visit the exhibit will have a lot of great things to think about," Anderson said. "Things that will contribute to the edification of their humanity, critical thinking and reflection. And that's what arts and culture is supposed to do; it's supposed to expand our consciousness and get us more in touch with our humanity."

The exhibit's official opening was on Saturday, Jan. 24. Encina and others who worked towards the opening hope that people who come to the exhibition walk away learning something. He said they wanted to display the exhibition that would make the community proud.

"At the end of the day, this museum doesn't belong to me; it doesn't belong to the staff. It's a museum of the community, and the stories we are trying to tell are community stories. These are stories that we want our community to be proud of," Encina said.

Contact Aiden Murray with comments at aiden.murray@bsu.edu.

]]> Minnetrista is now home to an exhibit about the impact of Emmett Till; started by the Children's Museum of Indianapolis. Aiden Murray, Newslink

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