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ODESSA – The 2025 portion of the Tigers’ varsity boys basketball season has helped them take steps toward becoming the team they want to be in 2026, according to Excelsior Springs coach Ian Burch.

Editor’s note: This is the first of a two-part Ray County Voices Podcast series featuring Excelsior Springs teacher, coach and Army National Guardsman Cale Lyons. Part One focuses on Lyons’ path into military service, his early deployments and the impact spending holidays away from home has had on him and his family.

From impulsive decisions to heightened emotions, adolescence can feel unpredictable for both youth and the adults guiding them. A recent virtual workshop helped parents and caregivers better understand how the developing brain influences behavior and why that understanding matters for prevention.

Lillah Shue had her back was against the wall – or rather, near the mat – in her final wrestling match of the Excelsior Springs High School Girls Tournament. Leading Richmond’s Abigail Smith 12-2 near the end of the final period, the Excelsior Springs senior suddenly found herself in danger of being pinned.

MIRANDA JAMISON A table of handmade crafts became the foundation for a much bigger achievement, allowing a young business owner to reach a goal on which she refused to give up. Kaylee Guettermann, 13, of Kansas City, recently brought her small business to The Overlook at Crystal Lakes, where she continued selling handmade items after reaching the goal that first motivated her work.

With a new season approaching, the leadership of the high school baseball program is changing, paving the way for a fresh direction for the upcoming year. That change places Cale Lyons at the helm of the Excelsior Springs High School baseball team as the district prepares for its next chapter on the field.

The opening session of Beacon Mental Health’s winter workshop series challenged families to examine the role of social media in daily youth life, presenting new research on notifications, algorithms and mental health, before the subsequent two sessions expanded on early brain development and prevention.

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