For the start of the 2025 – 2026 school year, IHSPA is recognizing the May Story of the Month winners. May’s Story of the Month comes from the trio of Anna Greenlee, Evelyn Kraber, and Lea Abou Alaiwa from West Side Story with their piece Driven, Dangerous and Distracted.

this story reminds us of what we are capable of this year: expert sources, student sources, research, designed headlines and graphics that break down complex information. Anna, Evelyn, and Lea take two issues, distracted driving and teenage car accidents, and give them local angles. They talked to students who have done both and a teacher who was on the receiving end of a car accident. One of their sources is the city engineer who pointed out distracted driving includes food, others in the car and using vehicle controls in addition to phones.

Greenlee’s headline design grabs attention and employs alliteration. One question. Why use a hypothetical lead when you talked to sources who could give your real life stories? Eliminate hypothetical leads! You can check out their piece here!

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The Iowa High School Press Association created the Story & Photo of the Month contest for a chance for students to be featured on our social media. Students can submit a link to their best timely photos and stories to be entered in to the monthly contest. At the end of the month, IHSPA chooses a story and a photo to post on our Instagram, Facebook, and website.