Lately, a game called Dartball has started up again in the Audubon area amongst church groups. It has a lot of history and quite a bit of potential for the future. It uses a dart board but has a baseball set up, and it is played with nine or fewer players.  Approximately 20 feet from the board, the player throws the dart underhand. Depending on where they hit the board, with steel tipped darts, they could score a hit, strike, ball, foul, or out. The team with the most runs wins.

According to wisdartball.com, the official dartball website made in 2007, the first dartball tournament took place in 1939, around the Milwaukee area. The Wisconsin State Dartball Committee was formed in 1951, and held a state tournament yearly. For a while the game was just men, but in 1981, a women’s division was added to the annual tournament. In 2010, the Dartball Hall of Fame was introduced.  Monday night is considered the Dartball Night across the country.

Many leagues are formed by Lutheran Churches and it has become a pretty big deal in the Audubon area. The Lutheran leagues opened it up to the Knights of Columbus, a Catholic group. Some of the men from the Knights of Columbus have gone to the St. Patrick’s Youth Classes teaching them about the game. Linda Kerkhoff mentioned, “A lot of people aren’t aware of it [dartball], and the men wanted the kids to try something new.”

Rachel Mosinski was at CYO, a Catholic Youth Game Night, on March 26 and she said, “It’s a very fun game. I will definitely play it again.” 

The Boy Scouts of America motto is “Be Prepared.” Teens and young adults today need be prepared for many things: Tornadoes, accidents, possible thefts, tests, upcoming sporting events, etc. The topic on the minds of many juniors and seniors this time of the year though is not natural disasters, but preparing for the next big stage in many of their lives: college.  With big life decisions on the horizon for students, some may wonder if they are prepared for the "real world", whether it be the working world or college.

Senior Adam Steffes said he plans on joining the Iowa National Guard after high school, and utilize their tuition assistance to pay for college. All colleges offer some sort of financial aid, with thousands of dollars at the high school and millions more in the private sector up for grabs to new and already attending students. However, not everything is about money, as there are other things to prepare for. Such as going on college visits to get to know the campus, checking out the dorm rooms, looking into the work study programs, and prerequisites for a degree. Choosing a degree is also an important step in preparing for college. Senior Sean Card will be studying for a degree in engineering after high school at Iowa State University.

Another way to prepare for life after high school is by attending a career fair, like the one the sophomores attended on Thursday, March 20, in Harlan. The students were able to experience different job opportunities that might interest them, but is only having one day to explore careers enough for students? Many students change their minds daily. How can a student be expected to know what they want to pursue after high school, or even if they want to pursue a higher education? There is a state required program called "I Have a Plan" that the students have to complete in order to graduate. Students begin filling out "I Have a Plan" during 8th grade year, but many have no idea what they want to do the next day, let alone after graduation. 

Senior Maddie Christensen shares her opinion about her experience with I Have a Plan: “It’s the stupidest thing ever. I don’t think anyone actually tries to fill it out right; they just do it to get it done.”

High school guidance counselor Courtney Walter said, “When students do it independently they don’t always complete it to their full potential, but I believe there is a lot of good stuff that would be beneficial in the program to go through with some direction.”

Which brings up another point, if schools have programs that are supposed to prepare kids for their careers, why is the college dropout rate so high? According to USA today, “35% of students who enter college will dropout during the first year and only 63% of students who enroll in a 4 year university will get a degree.” So why is the school system pushing students to look so far into the future, when in reality, it would be more beneficial to focus on getting into college and getting a degree. Mrs. Walter also expresses, “I think kids should be developing skills to choose a career and experience career options, but we shouldn’t be funneling kids into a career at a young age.” Although career exploration is important, maybe schools should spend more time preparing students for life after graduation; such as a workplace/college readiness course required for all students.  Students could be held accountable by making "I Have a Plan" part of the assigned curriculum, maybe then all students would fill it out more accurately.

Many children believe that snow days are the best ever, until the summer when they have to make up all those missed days. In an interview with principal Eric Trager, I asked his opinion about the snow and snow days. He told me that, “as a principal, I prefer to have a full day of school whenever we can; however, safety must come first.”

On the other hand, some students have mixed thoughts about the snow. Senior Adam Steffes said, “I love the snow days, now that I’m a senior, I don’t have to make it up.” Which is true for most of the time, but this year Audubon Community School District has turned one of the professional development days [March 7] into another day of school. Steffes said, “This is lame that we [the seniors] have to make up a day of school.”

All students attending Audubon Community School District do not share that same opinion. Sophomore Dustin Mennenoh said "I love school and I’m sad that we missed the one day, but luckily we get to make it up on Friday.”