Latest news with #NorthviewHighSchool
Yahoo
6 days ago
- General
- Yahoo
Northview student qualifies for Rowing Youth National Championship
TERRE HAUTE, Ind. (WTWO/WAWV) — A Terre Haute resident and Northview High School student has qualified for the 2025 US Rowing Youth National Championship. Will Kinne has been a dedicated member of the Wabash Valley Crew since he was in the sixth grade and is the first Wabash Valley Crew rower to qualify for the championships. 'I'm very excited to make Nationals, as it's the first time in club history,' explained Kinne. 'Being around so many members of the rowing community on a national scale is exciting. I'm grateful to my coaches, parents and girlfriend who've pushed me to get better.' 'The Olympic Curse is over': ATX Rower to compete in Paris, relatives have tried to qualify for decades The Wabash Valley Crew said this accomplishment is not only a testament to Will's dedication but also the growth of the Wabash Valley Crew community. 'We couldn't be prouder of Will and his journey to this moment,' said Coach Caroline Adam. 'His perseverance, sportsmanship, and commitment to excellence embody everything we strive for at Wabash Valley Crew.' The 2025 US Rowing Youth National Championships are set to take place in Sarasota, Florida, June 12-15. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Indianapolis Star
20-05-2025
- Automotive
- Indianapolis Star
He played hooky to attend the Indy 500, owns a bar outside IMS and leads Fox's coverage
INDIANAPOLIS — On the mid-May days in the 1980s when he and his buddies made their best Ferris Bueller impressions, calling in sick to Northview High School before hightailing it up I-70, Eric Shanks spent his afternoons living an Indiana teenager's dream. As fans around the Indianapolis Motor Speedway grounds roared for "Rocket Rick" Mears, the eventual four-time Indianapolis 500 winner and six-time polesitter, Shanks would tell any pretty girl who'd listen that he was the Team Penske driver's nephew. 'I had the whole story down,' he jokes now. Sporting a Marlboro T-shirt, or perhaps a Miller High Life one — or even none at all — under the sunny skies, Shanks would pass the time lying in the infield grass or trapsing up and down Hulman Boulevard, discarding spent chicken bones up against the chain link fences and sipping on cans of crisp, cold beer. He remembers his crew from the small town of Brazil found the local Terre Haute weatherman and sweet-talked themselves onto a brief spot on the local news, only realizing later the broadcast was undeniable evidence of their exploits to any teachers watching that night of their exploits playing hooky. But those race days of Memorial Day weekend, as he and several dozen 500 fans from his hometown packed into a couple school busses to make the hourlong trip to IMS, Shanks remembers those the most. Like so many Hoosiers, even a note or two of Jim Nabors bellowing on the mic was enough to make the hairs on his arms stand straight up. Though he'd eventually attend IU, the sight of Purdue's gargantuan drum was awe-inspiring. 'Having that event in your backyard makes you really proud,' Shanks told IndyStar earlier this year. 'You don't have that opportunity just anywhere to be able to say you're part of the biggest sporting event in the world.' Shanks will be far more than just part of the 109th edition of the Indy 500. The Fox Sports CEO will be living and breathing every single second of the network's first 500 broadcast inside its production trucks as the better part of two years of negotiations, brainstorming and scheming boil down to Fox's six-hour TV window where the network attempts to flash its technological might and, combined with its legendary lineup of hall of fame sports talent from the NFL, MLB and NASCAR, lay the first bricks that Shanks hopes can lead IndyCar and the 500 back to its glory days that he fell so fast in love with as a kid. 'Ask anyone around here since I've been in this position the last 15 years, and this has always been on my bucket list,' Shanks said of finally landing broadcast rights to the 500 after Fox and Penske Entertainment inked an exclusive three-year deal last summer that landed all 17 IndyCar races, as well as chunks of both days of Indy 500 qualifying, on network TV. 'In this business, you want to produce big events, and you want to see if you can bring fans closer to the sport they love and see if you can find new ways to do that. 'You can't say ABC or NBC did a bad job with it. They did a fine job presenting the sport and making the Indy 500 a big event, but we're going to make it bigger.' That affinity for the 500 prompted the outgoing, ever-confident young Shanks one spring to take a flier on a credential request, not long after he took up writing and snapping photos for his town's local paper in his spare time. To his surprise, his answer came quickly in the mail. 'And I was like, 'Holy crap, I got a press pass to the Indy 500!'' he remembers now. He'd meet a sports marketing executive from GTE — the telecommunications company that would one day become Verizon. Those talks turned into an internship the following summer. And just a couple years later, having watched his all-state football career and aspirations of walking on to Bill Mallory's IU team fall flat, Shanks leaned on his editor at "The Brazil Times," along with Shanks family friend Chuck Crabb, the voice of Assembly Hall PA for more than four decades, to get a job inside the sports information office. A high school member of Future Farmers of America and an aspiring marine biologist who'd turned down college football scholarships at Ball State and Butler to pursue his IU football dreams, Shanks soon found a knack for watching various IU sports and crunching numbers and writing releases for longtime IU media relations head Kit Klingelhoffer. With Bob Knight's Hoosiers men's basketball teams frequently on national broadcasts, Shanks began to familiarize himself with various decisionmakers in the sports TV space. After a couple winters of driving across the Midwest tabulating stats in his spare time for ESPN, CBS and others, CBS offered him a temporary job covering the Lillehammer (Norway) 1994 Winter Olympics. When he arrived back in Bloomington after six weeks away, his professors barred him from taking their finals, asserting he'd missed too much class time and would have to retake the semester in the fall. A frantic Shanks soon cold-called up CBS coordinating producer Craig Silver, essentially begging for a job. ''I came to work for you, and it was great, but they won't let me back in school, and I don't have a job,'' Shanks remembers explaining to Silver. 'And he said, 'Well, if you want to move to New York and work as a researcher for $75 a day, you can come.' 'So there was a period there where failure for me turned into a lot of opportunity.' Soon after Shanks' move to New York, CBS saw an exodus in response to the network lost its rights and broadcast its final NFC broadcasts — a valuable piece of pro sports TV property it had held since 1970 and having broadcasted the NFL since 1956. Fox, still in its infancy in those days against domestic broadcast behemoths ABC, NBC and CBS, had out-bid CBS and would broadcast the NFL for the first time. So when Shanks' boss at the Olympics called with an entry-level NFL researcher job open with Fox, the company's future CEO jumped ship. For the next 30-plus years, he never left. It was in those early days of Fox Sports where Shanks grew a deep affinity for trying new things, sometimes in failure, others in success, in the TV world. Under the tutelage of famed Fox Sports exec David Hill, Shanks was part of an era at Fox that would launch the "Fox Box," the first permanently displayed time and score graphic it debuted with its first NFL broadcasts, as well as the first yellow first down marker and the FoxTrax technology on their NHL broadcasts that displayed an easier-to-spot glowing puck for frazzled hockey fans. As the executive vice president for entertainment at DirecTV (2004-10), Shanks stewarded the launch of the NFL RedZone as well as multiscreen coverage of The Masters, years after he helped NewsCorp. Launch Sky Italia's sports networks, including Sky Sports 1 and 2. 'Because Fox was doing everything for the first time, there were a lot of things that could be improved upon, and after a couple years at Fox, I identified all these issues and went to David and said, 'I can solve all these problems. We just need to create this particular position, and I can make Fox Sports better, cause there's a lot of things falling through the cracks,' and he said, 'OK, go do it,'' Shanks said. 'That's how you work your way up the ladder, because you're not working at a sports network that's been around for 50 years.' That eye for innovation and expansion and his love for storytelling through the lens of technology remains a highlight of Shanks' Fox Sports tenure — shown in IndyCar through the use of various tools (drones, the drivers' eye camera and the ghost car among them) that years ago made their way into the racing spaces but up until this year had been used sparingly, if at all, in IndyCar. Combined with an all-out blitz of commercial promotion throughout the NFL playoffs with three high-energy, driver-centric commercials that plugged three of IndyCar's largest stars on and off the track, Shanks and Fox Sports' approach to the early days of its IndyCar deal went so far as to drum up jealousy among those in NASCAR's fanbase who'd been hoping and dreaming for a similar type of flash and flair to coverage of their own racing series that weekly dwarfs IndyCar's audience. Shanks asserts his company's early days in IndyCar, albeit a stint that hasn't come without technological bumps in the road and that, outside a stellar rating for St. Pete, have yet to jettison the sport to another level for race viewership, exhibited the same passion Fox Sports would have shown for any new property, as it looks to inject a new sport in its family with its own original energy and flare. When pressed, though, Shanks admits perfecting this year's 500 and paving the way for electric ones to follow remains a personal endeavor that strikes a nerve in his inner Hoosier unlike other major sporting events he's tackled throughout this career. 'This definitely has an extra layer of meaning to me,' Shanks said. 'But I also think if you asked any network, anytime they try to get a new property, we're all competitive, so you always try to do something better than the people that had it before you. Personally, for me, there's a pride that you exude for the area you grew up in, working on one of the first things you ever had a passion for, and there's certain things about doing business with Roger Penske where he pushes you, and that's 'the Penske way.' You want to do right by them. 'What I've told everybody is that it's really cool to be part of something where you can look back not that long ago, to the mid-90s, and say, 'There's absolutely no reason this sport shouldn't be as popular right now as it was then,' so it's like, you don't have to reinvent the wheel, because you saw it back then. Let's do what we did back then as a starting point and then go from there. I see real green shoots of growth with this sport.' Even before he took over as IndyCar's president in February, longtime IMS president Doug Boles had already spent untold hours on the phone with the TV visionary who would be taking the reins of the broadcast of the Greatest Spectacle in Racing. When the two first met at the Music City Grand Prix in 2023, as IndyCar began its fullcourt press of courting TV execs for its new rights deal, Boles vaguely knew Shanks was a 500 fan. He'd soon find out just how much. Just weeks after Fox and IndyCar announced the new future home of the series and the 500, Boles recalls getting cold calls from Shanks wanting to talk ideas for 500 promotional ideas or new spins to put on the race's pageantry-filled, fairly regimented prerace show. So much so, Boles told IndyStar, that he made a special trip out to L.A. late last year, to get a first-hand look at the Shanks-led operation and learn for himself how much of this was the CEO having a pet project, and how much of this was a network-wide passion to make their mark. 'When we announced (Michael) Strahan (for the 500 pace car driver), I wanted to go out there — not because I wanted to be there for the announcement, but to see how the people in the trenches actually doing the events and putting things on TV, if they had the same passion for this that Eric did, or if it stopped at him,' Boles said. 'And I could tell that Eric may be the reason they started feeling this way, but down the organization, they're super passionate about telling the IndyCar series' story. 'And I had to hustle to get on a plane back here, and I drove back to the airport thinking, 'This is exactly what we wanted. Not just one guy in an organization that's passionate about trying to make a difference for us, but an entire group of people, and it does filter all the way down.' From an outsider's perspective, Shanks has felt present at races early this year, leading off with his outward display of love for the sport and the quirky way in which he showed it at St. Pete — sporting a self-designed band tour-like T-shirt with Fox's IndyCar slogan "Fastest Racing on Early" on the front and all 17 race dates on the back underneath text calling it IndyCar's "Kickstart the Heart" tour. But as much as Boles has taken an appreciation to his frequent phone calls with the fellow Hoosier, ones that are now daily as he's become IndyCar's president, it's the proactiveness and two-way line of communication with those below Shanks that have left the deepest impression. That passion for creativity and collaboration clearly feeds the entire organization, Boles said. 'I think both ABC and NBC, they were always available to us anytime you needed them, and you could call, and when we led into the 500, we'd have (our teams) get together with theirs, but what you didn't get from them was almost the proactive side you get with Fox,' Boles said. 'Fox oftentimes is originating the call and coming to us with ideas, where 90% of it used to be from our end to theirs. 'I'm not saying that was wrong. But (with Fox), it's been a constant dialogue, and that starts because it's the way Eric operates. Last night, he picked up the phone to give me thoughts on a meeting he had that had nothing to do with us directly, but there were opportunities in it, and that's how you know he's out there every day doing his broader Fox job, and he's finding a way to talk about IndyCar or the Indianapolis 500. It's definitely a more robust, two-way conversation than I think we had with ABC or NBC, and there's more ideas that come from them that I think, long-term, are going to be helpful for the product.' Most notably for this year's 500, Shanks' mark will involve living up to his promise that he and Fox would 'blow the doors off' the 500, particularly in the way in which the network has grabbed the peak of its famous on-air sports talent and cleared their calendars for May 25. Alongside Strahan, Super Bowl-winning tight end Rob Gronkowski will serve as this year's Snake Pit grand marshal, as he gets a taste of the party side of the 500 and roams the grounds as a roving reporter throughout the day. And in the biggest catch of all, G.O.A.T. NFL quarterback turned top Fox NFL in-game analyst Tom Brady will hop into the two-seater for a ride in the "fastest seat in sports", driven by seven-time NASCAR Cup series champ Jimmie Johnson, during the 500 parade laps – with Brady micd up in order to be able to chat with the booth. 'With ABC and NBC, we dealt with just their sports people, and we'd say, 'Hey, there's a celebrity on a show, can we get them?' And they'd tell us, 'Well, we can ask, but we're literally separate groups.' There just wasn't that one person who could put it all together,' Boles said. 'When we first heard Eric say, 'Hey, we're going to pull some levers' we said, 'Well, we've heard this before.' 'But to be able to leverage that and bring in a lot of celebrities even though yes, a lot of them live in the sports world. But even back in the ABC and NBC days, it was hard to get past the concept stage or beyond saying, 'Man, wouldn't this be cool?'' Seventeen years ago, just a couple years from taking the reins of Fox Sports as one of the youngest network CEOs in TV history, Shanks made a grand return to his boyhood stomping grounds. He and two buddies from high school that he used to skip school with in May found a single-wide mobile home for sale, gutted it and turned it into what's now known as the Trackside Lodge in the grassy fields just outside Turn 1 at IMS. One of his friends, Brad, the owner of a local lumberyard in their hometown, helped gut it and turn it into the party spot where a couple hundred people flock to on race day morning in the trailer lot. But any time cars are on track in May, the Lodge is open for business. And surprising to none who know him best, it used to be the only place outside the track you could watch cars on track during practice and qualifying. 'When (the Hulman-George family) owned the track, and the only way you could watch practice was on the in-house feed, it wasn't broadcast anywhere, we convinced the track to run a cable across the street from the top of the grandstands just to our trailer,' Shanks said with a hearty laugh. 'So the only place in the world you could watch practice was in our bar, because we had this black coaxial cable running across the street from the track.' This May for Shanks will look a bit different. He'll make four separate roundtrip flights from his home just outside L.A. to Indianapolis — for the Grand Prix, qualifying weekend, the week of the race and then race day itself — in part because of a scheduling quirk for his family this year. 'For some reason, my daughter's high school scheduled graduation the Saturday of Memorial Day weekend,' he said with an exasperated sigh. 'The Month of May is pretty tight around here.' But for a man whose Mays started as a Ferris Bueller remake, before moving into press passes, a roving bar and then a suite in the Pagoda, perhaps it's only fitting Eric Shanks made his way into the TV truck where magic watched by millions around the country and the world will be made. And when Jim Cornelison grabs the mic and begins to bellow, 'Back home againnnn …', you can bet the goosebumps on his arms from 40 years ago will still be there.
Yahoo
07-03-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
A Brazil native wins Country Music Award in Nashville this week
BRAZIL, Ind. (WTWO/WAWV) — A Brazil man has won his very own Country Music Award this past week at the 19th Touring Country Music Awards. Most of us know the Country Music Awards with lots of glitz and glam, on live television all while awarding some of the biggest country stars. With that, there is also CMA Touring Awards, which awards the crew members who work behind the scenes of tours. Recently, a Brazil man won his very own Country Music Award for Tour Video Director of the Year. Although, this is not the first year he has been victorious. Tyler Hutcheson, born and raised in Brazil, a Northview High School graduate, and former Indiana State University student, was heavily involved in theatre and arts his whole life. Fast forward, he now serves as the Tour Video Director for country-star Luke Combs. And has won his very own CMA award. Hutcheson was up against some of the biggest tour video directors in the business including Tim McGraw, Chris Stapleton, and Miranda Lambert. 'There (are) so many fantastic people in the category, I never think that I even had any chance,' said Tyler Hutchenson. 'It's always mind-blowing to hear my name. It's been such a special thing not only for me but for the community. There's so many people that have worked to help make this possible. It's not just me. It's my name on it, but it's so many other people.' Moving forward, Tyler is in his 11th year in the touring business and now has a new trophy to add to his collection. He plans to add it on his piano, next to his 2023 CMA award. 'I'm still a little numb from it. I don't believe it's real. It's something magical and very special for sure,' said Hutcheson. He also mentioned that Dave Targett, a Wabash Valley native was a part of the recent Luke Combs' CMA Crew of the Year Award. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
07-03-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Northview High School bands holding fundraiser
BRAZIL, Ind. (WTWO/WAWV) – You can show your support to bands at a local high school with a fundraiser this weekend. Northview High School in Brazil will hold a Pops Concert and Chicken Noodle Dinner fundraiser on Sunday, March 9. Funds raised during the event will support the bands' operating budget. Food will be served from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. The menu includes chicken and noodles, mashed potatoes, green beans, coleslaw, applesauce, homemade rolls and desserts. Concerts will be in the auditorium and floor performances will be in the gym. Concert bands perform at 12:30 p.m., gym performances are at 1:30 p.m. and the jazz band concerts are at 2:30 p.m. 'There's just a wide variety of music and performances that we have, so our concert bands are working on some musicals like 'Wicked' and 'West Side Story'. You've got the indoor groups that are performing on the floor with the guard and the percussion doing some really cool things. Then, the jazz bands are playing some classics like 'In the Mood',' said Dominic Thompson, Director of Bands at Northview. Pre-sale tickets are $10 and tickets at the door are $12. You can learn more about the event and getting tickets online here. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
