The Rebel Rundown’s first-trimester staff displays the inaugural issue of the rebooted Gladbrook-Reinbeck student newspaper this past September in Reinbeck. From left, Autumn Roberts, Tatum Syhlman, Kailey Larsen, Parker Schmidt, Karson Van Heiden, Jada Cheville, Ayla Baer, Jennaveve Potter, and Nolan Mathern. PHOTO BY RUBY F. MCALLISTER

REINBECK – The Rebel Yell. The Rebel Review. Gossiper’s Gazette. Through the years, the Gladbrook-Reinbeck student newspaper has been known by several different names before production ceased altogether some five years ago. But this past fall, thanks to Secondary ELA teacher Jay Beichley, the paper is back and now printing under a new moniker, The Rebel Rundown.

“Last school year I was thinking of things that would be fun and relevant to do in class. Initially, I was thinking (about) something smaller scale than what we’re currently doing, and only happening in one of my classes. … I was not fully committed to attempting a school newspaper this trimester, but I mentioned the idea to the Writing Workshop class and they seemed to like the idea. … The idea of creating something that would get students off screens was a motivator (and) to have ‘physical copies’,” Beichley explained via email when asked about his motivation for restarting the student newspaper. As far as Beichley, a G-R Class of 2008 alum, is aware, the student newspaper migrated from a print edition to an online-only publication in the years after he graduated high school. And the online-only version ceased publication altogether around 2021.

As of today, Friday, Nov. 13, Beichley’s first-trimester Writing Workshop class – composed of nine upperclassmen — is nearing completion of the first run of The Rebel Rundown and will be publishing their sixth and final issue on Tuesday, Nov. 17, before the next cohort takes over in the second trimester.

The very first issue of The Rebel Rundown came out the week of Sept. 7 and was published every other week throughout the trimester in an 11-by-17-inch format. It was initially printed in-house before local resident Bill Atkins was enlisted for his printing expertise. Previously – and per this reporter’s deep dive into old high school yearbooks housed at the Reinbeck Public Library – the student newspaper was published and carried by the local paper, including the Reinbeck Courier.

After experiencing a rousing welcome on social media in September, Beichley’s students began stocking The Rebel Rundown at several locations throughout the community, including the Reinbeck library, The Funky Bean, Roots on Main, Casey’s locations in both Gladbrook and Reinbeck, and at the elementary and secondary buildings. The newspaper will also soon be available at the new coffee shop The Gladbrook Nook, located in downtown Gladbrook across from Hometown Family Market.

Mr. Jay Beichley, the force behind the rebooted Gladbrook-Reinbeck student newspaper. PHOTO BY RUBY F. MCALLISTER

The inaugural issue’s eight pages included several hallmarks of past student newspapers such as teacher spotlights and student-athlete profiles. There was also an advice column for younger students penned by senior Kailey Larsen, a full-page profile of the G-R FFA Chapter, a preview of the fall musical (“The Addams Family” which is playing at the secondary auditorium tonight!), an extremely well-written review of the 2026 film “Spider-Man: Brand New Day,” birthday listings, and even a weather report. Each student was able to design their own page using the graphic design software Canva, Beichley said, with front page design duties alternating from issue to issue.

“I’d describe the process as student-led,” he further explained when asked about the newspaper’s final product. “I would consider myself the facilitator and feedback leader as we work together to come up with ideas to include on each page. Each student was in charge of creating at least one page of content in our first edition.”

When it comes to grading, Beichley said he is utilizing self-assessments in addition to his own grading process.

During G-R’s second trimester, which begins Nov. 17, Beichley’s Communications class will take over production of The Rebel Rundown. In the third trimester, his Applied English class will assume the masthead.

“As long as there is buy-in from the students, it’s something I’ll keep including in my classes.”

Students in Mr. Beichley's Writing Workshop class discuss the next issue of The Rebel Rundown in late September in Reinbeck. PHOTO BY RUBY F. MCALLISTER

Newspaper staff this past trimester included seniors Ayla Baer, Jenna Potter, Karson Van Heiden, Jada Cheville, Kailey Larsen, and Parker Schmidt; and juniors Nolan Mathern, Tatum Syhlman, and Autumn Roberts.

Print media

In previous years, including the late 1990s and early 2000s, the G-R student newspaper was known as The Rebel Yell. The 1999 G-R High School yearbook details the newspaper staff’s schedule, with students meeting every Thursday to “decide what was to be put on the Reinbeck Courier’s school page.”

“The articles were written about school events and other activities concerning the students. Such events may have been basketball or football games, Senior Spotlights, Guess Who’s?, and free hand writing that made fictitious stories,” the 1999 yearbook states. “There was a lot of talent, hard work, and dedication that went [into making] the newspaper work. It was usually the advisor, Mary Hurley, that had to keep the staff going.”

In the 1965 Reinbeck High School yearbook, the newspaper staff is said to have “accomplished many things this year.”

At the photographer’s request, and for comedic effect, G-R student newspaper staff playfully ham it up while perusing the pages of the inaugural issue of The Rebel Rundown. The newspaper is part of teacher Jay Beichley’s classes at the secondary building in Reinbeck. PHOTO BY RUBY F. MCALLISTER

“Besides the school news read each week in the Reinbeck paper, they produced the Ram Prints, which was distributed each week throughout the school. For the first half of the year, Tom Emmett was editor, and after the semester Jan Koch took over. With the help of the staff, all the important events taking place at R.H.S. were covered.”

In the 2001 G-R yearbook, the newspaper’s profile states, “Every Thursday at lunch, the Rebel Yell staff met with advisor Mary Hurley to assign stories fitting Virginia Woolf’s motto: ‘Nothing has happened until it has been recorded.'”

According to Woolf’s biographer, the quote is more aptly written as “Nothing has really happened until it has been described.”

Either way, the staff here at the Sun Courier newspaper – formerly the Reinbeck Courier, Northern-Sun Print, Garwin Sun, Gladbrook Tama Northern and Tama Northern – agrees with the late English writer/publisher quoted all those years ago and applauds both Mr. Beichley and his enthusiastic, driven students for restarting the student newspaper. It is all too easy these days to dismiss print media, but maintaining an archive – a paper archive – of the human experience is still immensely important.

Future generations will thank you.

A page from the Gladbrook-Reinbeck High School 2001 yearbook. PHOTO BY RUBY F. MCALLISTER

A page from the Reinbeck High School 1971 yearbook. PHOTO BY RUBY F. MCALLISTER

The Rebel Yell's 1999 motto. PHOTO BY RUBY F. MCALLISTER