After months of dedicated preparation, the Hiawatha High School Scholars' Bowl team’s progress this 2025 was evident as they confidently answered questions that had stumped them just a year prior and won games. This success is reflected in their record, with both junior varsity and varsity teams securing first-place in recent meets and having a great round-wins record.

So, what is the scholars’ bowl? For the team members, like sophomores Dakota Thompson, Abella Woessner, Kenley Noll, Olyvya Johansen and Aaron Yang, they might describe it as an academic trivia competition covering a vast range of subjects, from math to literature, testing students’ knowledge.

From the coaches’ perspective, like the varsity scholars’ bowl coach Nolan Sump, scholars bowl encourages students to realize their academic potential, build self-confidence, and take pride in themselves and their school as part of a team with a common goal and desire to win with dignity.

So far, the scholars’ bowl team has been great. Both teams have a very good record of round wins and have placed first at least once.

For the junior varsity team, “this year, we have a very young JV team. Who had played before, but on the junior high school level. They are winning consequently, and it is with great pride for this team when they took first place in their first high school meet,” junior varsity scholars’ bowl coach Linda Miller said.

For the varsity team, Sump said, “on Nov. 3 at Nemaha Central, they finished 5-2, in a three-way tie, and placed third in their pool.  Still, a good record. On Nov. 6, they went 7-2 at Horton and placed first. Close contests, but it's been exciting so far!”

The team has diverse opinions when asked what the team’s greatest strength is.

“Guessing even though we could be right or wrong. Even though it could be wrong, we are showing that we are trying,” Woessner said.

“The team is good with communication, at least for the meets I've been to,” Noll said.

When it comes to the most rewarding or enjoyable part of being on the team, every member of the team said something similar.

“The most rewarding part is bringing home a win! It gets the mood up and going,” Thompson said.

Meanwhile, Yang said the most rewarding part was seeing the team’s hard work pay off when they win.

The coaches were also asked what they were proud of about the team.

“Obviously, the win at Sabetha, but beyond that, just the respectfulness of the entire team to their coaches,” Miller said.

Both junior varsity and varsity teams were asked about the things they want to improve on.

For junior varsity, team members, like Thompson and Noll, said that they need to work on communication skills and courage to buzz in even though they might get it wrong.

“I’m hopeful as they get used to high school meets, they’re more willing to buzz in, as they gain confidence,” Miller said.

For varsity, while the team seeks to improve its literature knowledge, as senior Gus Smith mentions, Sump encourages them to retain everything they learn in school, as any subject could be relevant for competition.

This drive is fueled by a positive and energetic team culture.

As Miller noted, “Currently, the team is very pumped and excited for the upcoming meets.”

This sentiment is shared by the players, with Smith simply stating, “It’s pretty positive, no one hates each other.”

Looking ahead, Sump emphasized that the team cannot rest on its laurels. His message to the players is clear: for JV, "be patient... keep learning," and for varsity, "stay focused on what matters, and that is each other. Keep supporting each other, and keep studying and learning new information while reviewing what you already know."

It’s tiiiime. You heard that right, Red Hawks; it’s officially Christmas season! With the winter holidays coming, you might be asking yourself, “what am I going to do on this two week long break?” Well, I have the perfect article for you to read. 

Some of the best things you can do during break is trying new things with your family or friends.

Watch Movies: There are tons of holiday movies that come out every year; whether it's a remake of a classic movie, or a cheesy Hallmark movie, there will always be some Christmas movies to watch. Junior, Pauly Rockey and her family tend to do this every year. 

“We watch the movie “Christmas Vacation” to get in the Christmas spirit. It’s so fun to recite the lines and have a good laugh with your family.”

Matching Pajamas: Another popular and fun tradition you could start in your family is wearing matching Christmas themed pajamas. Junior students Kyndall and Kylie Nelson, both do this every year. They start it on Christmas eve; that night, they open up their pajamas, and the next day, you’re all matching. 

Baking: Finally, you could do some baking. There are countless recipes of holiday treats to choose from. You could easily make cookies, caramel, gingerbread cookies, and peppermint bark. Or, if you’d like to spice things up a bit, you could go back to your roots and make some traditional treats like Junior Clayton Handke and his family. 

“We all get together and make Rosettes and Lefsa. They’re Norwegian foods and they are so delicious.

Wishlist: Another thing that you could do is make your wishlist. If you haven’t already made it, you could be a little stuck when it comes to ideas. Here are some of the most popular things that you may have forgotten to put on your list.

• Technology

  • Portable Charger: These always come in handy and it never hurts to have one.

  • Digital Camera: One of the most popular presents to get. They provide great quality pictures to capture your moments with your friends and family.

  • Airpods: Whether you are on team Apple or not, any of the newer Airpods are a great present to ask for. You can connect them to any device with bluetooth and get premium sound quality along with noise cancellation depending on the model. 

• Clothes/Shoes

  • Quarter Zips: As you may already know, wearing Nike Techs is outdated. In replacement, everyone is wearing quarter zips. Stay on trend and ask for one for Christmas.

  • Uggs: These are perfect for the winter season. They are so cozy and warm which are perfect for the snow days I’m hoping we have.

  • Coat: One of the biggest investments you can make is a good quality coat. Ones from brands like The North Face are known for their premium quality. If you ask for one for Christmas, it may last you until you can afford to buy your own.

• Etc..

  • Concert Tickets: Something that people often don’t think about are concert tickets. If some of your favorite artists are on tour, this might be the perfect excuse to go watch them.

  • Book/Music Subscription: To stay entertained, you can always read. If that isn’t your thing, maybe ask for something like a music subscription to Spotify or Apple Music. That way you can stay entertained with no ads.

  • Room Decor: Some of the easiest things for our parents to get are things for our rooms. Making your room a good environment will help better your mood. Maybe ask for some room decor and it’ll help you more than you know.

On October 21, the third most intense Atlantic hurricane ever began forming. This hurricane was named Melissa. This hurricane reached winds of 140 miles per hour resulting in it reaching a category five within six days. Over five million people are suffering from the power this hurricane possessed. The impacts of this hurricane caused damaging winds, excessive rainfall, flash flooding, and numerous landfalls. 

Melissa is the largest hurricane to hit this area since 1988. She had a large impact zone and caused damage to Cuba, Haiti, the Bahamas, Bermudas, Dominican Republic, and Jamaica. All of these places suffered extreme damages, but Jamaica suffered the brunt of this with the majority of damages. The main damage caused throughout all of these places is the infrastructure damage. Hundreds of buildings have been destroyed along with hundreds of houses- leaving many homeless or in shelters. The other issues are power outages and road blockages. These issues cause many other issues because people cannot access shelters or medical assistance because of the road blocks. While physical damage is the most known damage, hurricanes cause different forms of damage. 

Health risks have increased since the hurricane took place because it is easier to obtain a vector-borne, food-borne, or water-borne respiratory disease. These are more prominent now because of the constant running water, lack of electricity, and displacement of people. This is especially concerning for Jamaica because 11 of their hospitals have been damaged. Therefore, if other emergencies arise or one of these illnesses occurs the citizens will not have the medical support they may need. 

This uncontrollable event shows that there are always negative things that will happen in our lives without being predictable. This also shows that hurricanes have a larger impact on things that we can struggle to notice such as healthcare. Many people have brought awareness and support to the victims of this hurricane as they move forward and rebuild after such a catastrophic loss.

On Nov. 4, 2025, the Brown County School Board elections took place. Particularly position numbers four, five, and six. The position number four winner was Roni Tietjens, of Robinson, position number five was won by Phil Roberts, of Hiawatha, and position number six was won by Brooklyn Schuetz, of Hiawatha.

This election day is a big deal not only because of the new School Board members, but also because this is the first election that some of the HHS seniors were able to vote. However, out of a survey of 27 seniors, only two who were old enough to vote did, and another five were 18 (and eligible to vote) and did not. That leaves 20 other seniors who were unfortunately not old enough to vote at the time. Out of the 18.5% of seniors who were 18 and did not vote, a majority of them said that they did not vote because they did not know about the elections, and the rest just forgot to register, or were not able to in time. 

Voting is a big part of what constitutes civic duty, which are the moral and legal obligations that each citizen has to participate in their community and governments, both local and federal. Although it is not a requirement to vote, it is important for citizens to do so if they are eligible, especially on local elections, because they can have more of an impact closer to home. 

For example, local elections can lead to events like local laws being passed, and new city ordinances, both of which can affect everyday life. Some might think that their singular vote does not matter, or that they don’t want to get involved in politics. However, it is important to remember that voting is a representation of the people’s voices and opinions, and that each vote matters. If nobody voted because of their vote “not mattering,” there would be no elections at all. 

Ultimately, everyone is involved in and affected by politics and the decisions that voters ultimately make every single day. This is another reason why it is important to exercise voting rights, and to help make a difference in local communities with them. 

In a world full of division, many people seek things to unify people. For many, food is one of those things. A recent survey inside of Hiawatha High School (HHS) has revealed that 93.2% of students (of the 73 respondents) have at least one problem with school lunch and that roughly one in four students do not eat the provided meals.

          Students’ primary problems come down to low quality food that is not filling, with 64.4% saying the food is low quality and 63% saying it is not filling enough. This is to no fault of the lunch ladies, who are simply creating meals that OPAA tells them to. Some secondary issues people have had is that they believe that the HHS lunch period is too short, with 43.8% saying they would like to see the period extended.

          When asked about his thoughts on school lunch’s quality, HHS Senior, Phoenix Entrikin says “I do not eat school lunch, it just does not taste good.”

          When asked what improvements students would like to see, a majority (82.2%) said that they would like to see an open lunch period, where leaving school for the lunch period is allowed. A close second was people wanting better food quality, with 75% of students wanting this.

            When asked if they had any feedback for HHS lunch, there was a trend that stood out. Out of 13 suggestions, eight of them (61.5%) wanted to abolish “Chicken Patty Wednesday.” These students seek variety in the menu and are exhausted with the same meal every week.

          HHS Junior, Cooper Smith says that having chicken patties every Wednesday “gets repetitive” and that “it is never served with anything good, making the lunch not filling.”

           This survey sheds light on the current state of the school lunches at HHS, showing that the student body would like better quality lunches that are actually filling, rather than the current subpar meals like “Chicken Patty Wednesday.” By listening and acting upon the results of this survey, students would feel heard, uniting the students and improving the school as a whole.

“I think that this was an example for all Latin American countries to be friends with the US rather than China, because China gives loans in exchange for ports and the US is not trying to receive anything that substantial.” Max Smith

What do you think was happening with your tax money during the government shutdown? If you thought that it was just being saved for its reopening you would be wrong. Instead,  a deal was being worked out to give a $20 billion bailout to another country. That country being Argentina,which has been through at least five recessions and declared bankruptcy three times since 2000. 

With this economic history it could be seen as strange that US economists would want to give the county a “life line.” One key thing to know is that this is not supposed to be a $20 billion gift, but much closer to a loan with a lower interest rate than normal for a nation in Argentina's place. This means that the $20 billion is owed to the United States at some point, but as of right now, there does not seem like a way for Argentina to do so. This leads to the idea that the bailout is not something economists want but instead something that is meant to protect the nation.

“I think that this was an example for all Latin American countries to be friends with the US rather than China, because China gives loans in exchange for ports and the US is not trying to receive anything that substantial,” HHS student Max Smith said.

There is no way to know if this is the reason behind the bailout, but it does make the bailout more reasonable. 

Tax payer money being spent to protect the nation can be seen as a good investment, but it would also be great if we could get the money back in some form. One idea that has been put forward is that the US would increase the quality of trade with Argentina as a whole and Argentina would not tariff US goods. This means that more US goods would be bought by Argentina. This could also have the effect of increasing the nation's imports from Argentina. Argentina’s largest export is soybeans and they also have a large cattle industry - meaning that this deal could lead to a minor decrease in the pricing of meat and soy products in the US.

The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, more commonly known as SNAP, has hit national headlines recently. Most of you likely haven’t even heard of SNAP benefits up until these past few weeks. SNAP benefits are when the government provides people with money to buy groceries, who would not otherwise be able to (www.fns.usda.gov). These benefits were cut and disabled because of the government shutdown which began on Oct. 1, 2025, and lasted forty-three days ending on Nov. 13, 2025. The discontinuation of these benefits has had ramifications to food pantries and other nutritional programs across the country, even Hiawatha High School’s Campus Cupboard. 

“Campus Cupboard is a program from Second Harvest in St. Joe from the food bank,” said Jennifer Pyle who currently runs the program which serves both the high school and middle school buildings here at Hiawatha. Campus Cupboard is a food assistance program in which students are able to get bags of non-perishable food items to take home to eat. Pyle mentioned many products such as hamburger helper, peanut butter, macaroni and cheese, and ramen noodles. This program is meant for students of both schools who need food assistance in their homes, whether that be for an entire school year, or a shorter period of time. Campus Cupboard is meant to help serve everyone, regardless of how much they need it.  

With the cutting of SNAP benefits from the government, Campus Cupboard has seen an increase in demand. During the 2024-2025 school year Pyle reported having around ten kids consistently utilizing this program and said now they are serving up to 30 kids at the present moment. In addition to that, because the government shutdown has hit foodbanks so hard and Campus Cupboard is supplemented from Saint Joseph's Second Harvest food bank, there were concerns from Second Harvest if they were going to be able to meet the supply of food that  Campus Cupboard requires. Thankfully though, the government has since reopened and SNAP benefits have been restored nationwide, so there will be less of a strain on foodbanks. 

Students at HHS can even help Campus Cupboard by donating to the food drive hosted by STUCO. 

“When the food drive comes up, if you're able to, make sure you're donating to that food drive, because it could really help some of your friends and you don't even know it!” said Pyle encouraging all who are able to help donate to the district-wide food drive which will take place on Nov. 21. Usually, this food gets donated to Hiawatha’s local food pantry, but this year will go directly back to help Campus Cupboard meet their supply and help support our very own student body. 

Who doesn't love a good romantic, heartfelt book or movie? After reading the book and watching the movie, I can officially say I recommend this story. Regretting You, the book, was published in 2019 by Colleen Hoover and adapted into a film six years later.

 The book followed an emotional and traumatic storyline that led the readers wanting more. The story follows a mother and daughter dealing with a horrible accident that will uncover secrets. With alternating perspectives, I was able to connect with each character in a way romance books might not do. Hoover succeeded in writing a difficult storyline about love and loss. 

“I thought the movie was very heartwarming to see the idea of someone chasing their dreams after a heartbreaking event,” Hiawatha High School Student Clayton Handke said. “Overcoming and crushing challenges were also fun to see on screen. I feel like the characters were represented very well from the book. The movie also represented the plot of the book amazingly well.” 

When I first heard about the book being turned into a movie, it was very exciting. Seeing the characters come to life and being able to experience the story all over again, I was so ready. The movie showed more of the difficulties that played into the storyline rather than the book. The movie also was more dramatic than the book. The cast was perfect and I wouldn’t change anything about the selection. 

“I really loved the new movie, Regretting You, because it shows that there can always be a second chance and to go after what makes you happy,” said HHS Michaela Williams. 

Mini Turtle Cheesecakes- Marla Olson

Crust

24 chocolate graham crackers (break into pieces)

8 tbsp. of salted butter, melted

½ c. of sugar

Filling

3 packages (8 oz. ) of cream cheese, softened

1 c. of sugar

2 whole large eggs

1 tsp. Vanilla extract

½ c. jarred salted caramel sauce

Ganache

12 oz. semi-sweet chocolate,chopped

¾ c. heavy cream

Topping

1 c. pecan halves

½ c. mini chocolate chips

½ c. salted caramel sauce

Crust

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

• For the crust: Line a 24-cup muffin tin with cupcake liners. Pulse the graham crackers and sugar in a food processor until fine crumbs form. Add the butter, then pulse until well combined. Distribute the crumbs among the prepared cups, about 2 tablespoons in each, and press to firm them up. Set the crust aside.

Filling

• Beat the cream cheese in an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment until smooth.Mix in the sugar and eggs. Add the vanilla and salted caramel and mix again. Distribute the batter among the muffin cups, about 3 tablespoons per cup. Tap the tin on the counter to distribute the batter evenly.

• Bake, watching to make sure they don't burn, until set in the middle, 15 to 17 minutes. Cool on a wire rack, then chill for 2 hours.

Ganache

• Place the chopped chocolate in a bowl and set aside. Heat the cream in a side pan until warm and bubbles begin to form around the edges, 1 to 2 minutes. Mix until smooth, then set aside to cool slightly.

• Place about 1 tablespoon of ganache on top of each cheesecake. Add 1 pecan half and mini chocolate chips to each one. Drizzle with the remaining caramel sauce. Chill in the fridge or freeze, uncover, for 1 hour. Transfer to an airtight freezer container and freeze for up to 3 months.

• Allow to thaw at room temperature for 30 minutes before serving.

Vanilla Macarons- Morgan Handke

Cookie

136 g. of egg whites

136 g.of granulated sugar

163 g of almond flour

163 g. of powdered sugar

Frosting

1 c. of butter

5 c. of powdered sugar

2 tsp. of vanilla

2-3 tbsp of milk

a pinch of salt

Cookie

• Wipe bowl, baking tray, spatula,and mixing tool with lemon juice to remove grease.

• Mix together almond flour and powdered sugar in a bowl.

• Pour egg whites into a mixing bowl and turn onto a low speed.

• Add the sugar to the egg whites when bubbles form (add half and let mix for 2 minutes then add in the other half) then turn up to a medium-low speed for 10 minutes.

• Add mixture to a bowl and gently fold in the almond flower and powdered sugar mix. (do not deflate the batter)

• deflate batter until it ribbons of the spatula.

• pour batter into a piping bag fitted with a piping tip. ( she uses a Wilton 12)

• Pipe batter onto a silicon macaron baking mat. (Parchment paper or a Silicon baking mat on a flat baking tray will also work)

• Tap tray on a table to release air bubbles and let sit out for 15 minutes to set up.

• Preheat oven to 300 degrees while cookies sit.

• bake for 18-20 minutes (one tray at a time) Check by wiggling the top of the cookie if it moves its not done; if it doesn't its done.

• Let cookies sit in the refrigerator for 24 hours to set before frosting and eating.

Filling

• mix powdered sugar and butter in a electric mixing bowl on a low speed.(increase speed to high for 1 min until light and fluffy)

• Add vanilla,milk, and salt and mix for 1 minute- if too thick, add more milk. If too thin, add powdered sugar.