Community’s student news program, the Inkspot, has been awarded two grants totaling $6,500 to expand multimedia journalism opportunities for students. The Illinois Press Foundation, underwritten by the Illinois Farm Bureau, presented the Inkspot with $1,500 to purchase a telephoto camera lens on...

Community underwent critical infrastructure repairs and updates this summer as Unit 5 completed more than 140 maintenance and construction projects across the district—funded in part by a newly implemented school facility sales tax. The school received critical heating and cooling system upgrades...

Unit 5 may soon expand its athletic offerings to include girls flag football and boys volleyball. The Unit 5 Board of Education is scheduled to vote on the proposal at its Sept. 17 meeting. If approved, both sports could launch as early as the 2026–27 school year, according to Community Athletic...

Community will install new digital scoreboards in the East Gym this summer, replacing outdated equipment first installed when the building opened in 2004. The upgrade comes in response to the Illinois High School Association’s mandate requiring shot clocks in boys and girls varsity basketball games...

Community’s bass fishing team captured the inaugural Big 12 Conference championship on May 8 at Banner Marsh, sweeping both team and individual titles.  Johnny Thomas, Nick Rosenlund and Will Newbold led the Big 12 performance, reeling in five fish totaling over 18 pounds. Their haul included a...

A dangerous TikTok trend encouraging students to vandalize school-issued Chromebooks has prompted a districtwide warning from Unit 5’s IT Department. Known online as the “Chromebook Challenge,” the trend instructs students to insert pencil lead, staples, paper clips or other conductive materials...

After meeting with last year’s senior class, Iron volleyball head coach Ms. Christine Konopasek entered the 2025 season focused on more than just hitting, blocking and passing. She set a new priority: mental health and performance psychology. “Confidence came up again and again,” Konopasek...

Community opened the 2025 season with a 40-6 win over Richwoods on Aug. 29 at Dick Tharp Field, scoring touchdowns through the air, on the ground and on defense. The Ironmen held the Knights to just 33 passing yards and forced five turnovers in the Big 12 victory.

The Ironmen boys soccer team opened its 2025 season with a 2-2 draw against the Dunlap Eagles, a top-ranked opponent coming off a 19-2-2 season a year ago. Senior Logan Lelm put Community on the board in the match's opening minutes, converting a penalty kick.  Head coach Mr. Matt Chapman praised...

Vampires used to skulk in crumbling castles, draped in capes and centuries-old rot. Now they wear pressed suits, flash charming smiles—and drain entire cultures dry. With “Sinners,” director Ryan Coogler trades jump scares for generational trauma. His fifth feature, following “Creed” and...

What does it feel like to die? If you knew you’d be reborn, would that make the process any less terrifying? Less painful? Less traumatic? These are just some of the existential questions at the heart of Bong Joon-Ho’s “Mickey 17.” Six years after winning Best Picture for “Parasite,”...

First they came for the Center for Disease Control, and I did not speak out—because I was healthy. Then they came for the migrants and refugees, and I did not speak out—because I was a legal citizen. Then they came for paper straws, and I did not speak out—because I was not a turtle. Then...

3:30, and Community’s doors burst open—students spilling out. Backpacks slung over shoulders, hands shoved deep into pockets, they rushed toward buses idling at the curb, they wove through the parking lot chaos—horns blaring, engines revving—a steady current, all moving with one purpose: getting...

Are Movie Theaters Dying, or Are We Just Forgetting Why They Matter? In the dark ages—before mobile devices and flat-screen TVs—early man had no choice but to journey to vast structures for entertainment. These coliseums of storytelling, with their dim lobbies and the scent of butter-soaked popcorn...