Tornadoes that swept through Bloomington-Normal on April 17 left Community’s athletic facilities with significant damage—destroying a softball dugout, bending baseball fencing and stripping sponsor signs from two fields, Athletic Director Mr. Nic Kearfott said. The most severe blow came to...

For two decades, Mrs. Mindy Ewalt coached the Iron dance team, leading them to IHSA state six times, including a program-best finish in 2022, and winning the Illinois Drill Team Association state title seven times. All this from someone who never danced in high school. Ewalt, who has taught dance fitness...

The Inkspot placed sixth at the IHSA Journalism State Final at Heartland Community College on April 24, scoring 16 points and sending home four medal entries—both program records—as junior Anna Chang claimed the top spot in Copy Editing. Chang becomes just the third Ironman in school history to...

The Unit 5 Board of Education unanimously approved an amended enrollment plan Wednesday, shaped by community feedback and aimed at improving equity across the district, with some changes taking effect as early as the 2027-28 school year. The vote marks the district’s first substantial redistricting...

Five sectional champions helped lead Community’s journalism team to a record-setting performance at the IHSA Sectional Journalism Competition April 12.  Community finished third in the sectional team race with 55 points—behind Washington (66) and Oswego East (58), and qualified 14 entries for...

The spring musical “Something Rotten!” opened April 16 and runs through April 19 on the Ms. Kevin Yale Vernon Stage in Community’s auditorium. The show follows Nick and Nigel Bottom, two brothers jealous of Shakespeare’s success, as the pair schemes to steal the bard’s greatest play. After...

More than 40 students, staff members, parents, grandparents and community members addressed the Unit 5 Board of Education on March 18 as the district moved closer to an expected April vote on enrollment planning proposals that could reshape attendance boundaries and change how some buildings are used. A...

Play It Again Sports, a resale sporting goods chain, opened in Bloomington in January, offering families a lower-cost option for sports equipment as youth sports costs continue to rise. The store’s model can help families manage one of the biggest financial pressures in youth athletics, Community...

The chess team placed eighth at the 52nd annual IHSA state tournament Feb. 14, the program's first top-10 finish in Community history. “This is not an accomplishment that we’ve done in Normal Community history,” team sponsor Ms. Megan Wright said. The historic finish surpassed the team's own...

Andrew Naour was one of 26 students selected to the Illinois High School Association’s All-State Academic Team on Saturday, Feb. 21, an honor recognizing students for academic and extracurricular achievement. Naour, a two-sport varsity athlete, member of The Inkspot staff and a vocalist in Community’s...

Fifty-seven years after the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that students do not “shed their constitutional rights to freedom of speech or expression at the schoolhouse gate,” the legacy of Tinker v. Des Moines is colliding with a new round of debates over what student expression looks like in 2026. That...

Superintendent Dr. Kristen Weikle outlined how McLean County Unit District No. 5 decides whether to hold in-person classes, shift to an e-learning day or cancel school during inclement weather at the Jan. 28 board meeting. While the district’s first priority is safety, Weikle said, those decision,can...

Unit 5 schools will hold an e-learning day Friday, Jan. 23, as forecasters predict dangerous cold, with wind chill values expected to drop to about minus 33 around 8 a.m., according to an email from Dayna Brown, the district’s Director of Communications and Community Relations. Students should not...

Illinois public school districts, including McLean County Unit District No. 5, will be required to offer annual mental health screenings to students in grades 3-12 beginning in the 2027-28 school year under Senate Bill 1560, signed into law by Gov. J.B. Pritzker. Because Unit 5 already administers...