Norse News

By Alana T. Walking through the door, many visitors are blasted with a sense of nostalgia. Located on Broad Street, the Story Theater’s rich history continues to amaze visitors even 110 years after its opening. To better understand the history and operation of this wonderful theater, I contacted the owner and operator, Todd Thorson. Mr. Thorson gave many interesting insights into the history of the theater, how he runs it, and other aspects of this historical site.  The theater first opened its doors on December 18, 1913. Originally called the Grand Opera House, it hosted a variety of stage productions. These productions included motion pictures, stage plays, graduation ceremonies, and vaudeville acts. The first production put on by the theater was the melodrama stage play “The Two Orphans,” complete with an orchestra. At the time of its opening, the theater was the second-largest theater west of the Mississippi. The tickets were sold at $3 a piece, a relatively high price for the ...

By Bradey H. On April 2nd, the Roland-Story Jazz Band played at the Scheman Building in Ames for the annual Iowa Jazz Championships. After placing first at the SCIBA (South Central Iowa Band Association) Jazz Festival to qualify for the championships, the band continued participating in contests and practicing four times a week to improve for this performance. Just a few weeks earlier, the band had clinics with retired Southeast Polk band director Ted Hagan and Drake jazz professor Bob Meunier. Using the advice from these two experts, the band finished polishing the four pieces they were going to play for the championships. The songs to be performed were “Hipper by the Dozen” by Al Horney, “Chicken Scratch” by Kris Berg, “Sagebrush” by Annie Booth, and “Hit the Bricks” by Gordon Goodwin. The band had only performed “Sagebrush” once before, so a majority of the practice time was devoted to it. In the final days leading up to the event, the band’s director, Kevin Masemann, made the final...

By Owen J. On March 2, the Roland-Story Jazz Band traveled to Waukee Northwest High School for the second annual Blue Note Jazz Festival. The jazz band has played a great year so far and had its best performance yet on Saturday. Competing against three 2A bands, Roland-Story finished first, with Des Moines Christian in second, West Marshall in third, and Van Meter in fourth. Along with the first place finish, Roland-Story received outstanding soloist awards for every soloist, which included: Aubrey Britten, bass; Wrigley Propp, bari sax; Mason Schnurstein, guitar; Brooke Thompson, trumpet; Aiden Tompkins, tenor sax; Samantha Warnick, flute; Caleb Watson, tenor sax; and the entire saxophone section. In this competition, the band added a fourth song to their set, "Sagebrush" by Annie Booth, a slower, contemporary piece that adds more variety. The other songs include "Hipper by the Dozen" by Al Horney, a swing piece, as well as "Chicken Scratch" by Kris Berg ...

By Claire T. On February 14, the Roland-Story Girls’ Basketball team welcomed the Clear Lake Lions into the Norsement Gym for a Class 3A Region 4 Semifinal. The winner would face the winner of the Forest City-Crestwood game the following Saturday for a spot at the State Tournament. Previously, the Norse had beaten the Lions 58-31 on January 11, meeting them at their home in Clear Lake.  Nerves were high as the losing team of this game would close out their season. The game tipped off at 7:00 p.m. with Norse starters Elizabeth Ihle, Mati Motta, Claire Truesdell, Kamryn Lande, and Kate Berggren. Clear Lake started Xada Johnson, Madi Ott, Taylor Schwenn, Madison Loge, and Addie Doughan. The Norse Girls got off to a great run of 14-2 in the first quarter. They continued to extend their lead to 22-14 going into halftime. However, the game was only halfway done. And while the Norse were ahead, no game is over until the buzzer sounds.  With one half to go, the game was on the line. T...

By Evan V. Recently the Roland-Story Jazz Band performed at the Southeast Polk Festival at Southeast Polk High School on February 12. This was their third competition this year and by far their best performance at the time. The band won in 2A for the third year in a row maintaining their winning streak.  Every section in the Roland-Story Jazz Band won the Outstanding Section award, making each of them the best of their instrument out of every band competing. In addition, every soloist won an outstanding solo award. The soloists were Aubrey Britten, bass; Wrigley Propp, bari sax; Mason Schnurstein, guitar; Brooke Thompson, trumpet; Aiden Tompkins, tenor sax; Samantha Warnick, flute; and Caleb Watson, tenor sax.  A new addition to the itinerary this year was the “Masterclasses.” They were a set of clinics by talented and skilled musicians that focused on instruments instead of entire bands. For example, there was a Saxophone Masterclass, where all saxophone players from many dif...

By Peyton J. The Roland-Story girls have had an amazing first half of their season. They are 11-0 in the Heart of Iowa conference and 16-1 overall, which has made this an exciting season.  The girls were undefeated until they played Dike-New Hartford on January 25th. They traveled to Dike to play the number one-ranked team in 2A. Unfortunately, they played a tough game and lost 57-33. Although they lost, they responded very well during the next games they played. They won against Saydel with the ending score being 71-10 and beat West Marshall 63-54.  During the Dike-New Hartford game, there were some outstanding game leaders: Mati Motta with 15 points, Claire Truesdell with 7, and Alyssa Jones with 5. Overall, the Norsemen had a total of 27 rebounds and eight steals. The Norsemen girls are looking forward to finishing the season off strong.

By Carson B. The Roland-Story Norsemen took on the West Marshall Trojans on Monday January, 29th. The Norsemen Boys entered the game 13-2 (8-1 in conference), with the Trojans having a record of 3-10 (1-9 in conference). Earlier in the season the teams met in State Center with the Norse winning 74-44. The Norse are averaging 67.9 PPG (Points Per Game) while the Trojans are averaging 48.9 PPG. Senior Jonovan Wilkinson came into the game leading the team in points (23.4), rebounds (9.3), and assists (4.1) per game. Entering the game, senior Boaz Clark was on a hot streak scoring 20-plus points the last three games. The Norse came out hot going up 11-4 with four minutes left in the first quarter, then the Trojans took a 12-11 lead. By the end of the first quarter, the Norse were up 14-12. Then they took a big lead in the second quarter with good defense being up 33-18 heading into the half.  The Norse continued to pull away, going up 51-30 in the third quarter. They struggled a little...