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thenortherner.com

The Independent Student Newspaper of Northern Kentucky University.

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1999
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What is The Northerner?

The Northerner is the independent student newspaper of Northern Kentucky University, published at The Northerner. It covers campus and surrounding regional news, Norse athletics, and arts and life at NKU, with bylined reporting from student staff and editors.

What you'll find

  • News: Campus events, plus regional politics with a student angle, such as Ohio voting rules, candidate debates and Kentucky rallies.
  • Sports: Match reports and recaps of NKU teams in Horizon League play, including soccer and volleyball.
  • Arts & Life: Student traditions, campus events and behind-the-scenes features on theater productions.

Who it's for

Current students and staff who want campus news, prospective students and parents checking the pulse of the university, and local residents following NKU and Northern Kentucky stories. Alumni who want occasional updates will also find it useful, though coverage is oriented toward the current campus community.

How to use it

If you're a student, start with the News section for decisions that affect campus life, and check Sports after games for recaps. If you're researching the university, treat it as a student-run publication: lively and close to campus, but not an official NKU channel. For official announcements, compare against the university's own site.

Who can submit news tips or story ideas to The Northerner?

Anyone with information relevant to Northern Kentucky University and its surrounding community can submit news tips or story ideas to The Northerner, the independent student newspaper of NKU. That includes students, faculty and staff, area residents, and people outside campus who have a tip touching NKU or the region it covers.

The paper's published work shows the range it expects: campus events and sports results, student government and university decisions, plus local and state politics such as Ohio's voter ID amendment, Kentucky rallies and the governor's race. If your tip fits that mix, it is worth sending.

A practical next step is to write a short tip that answers three things: what happened, who is involved, and how you know. Include dates, locations and any documents or photos you can share, and say whether you are willing to be named or want to stay anonymous. Newsroom staff can then judge whether it fits their coverage and follow up.

For comparison, other student newsrooms set similar open-door policies, so a tip sent to The Northerner is a reasonable first move for an NKU-related story. If your item concerns a different campus, send it to that school's paper instead.

How can I find The Northerner's coverage of NKU sports teams?

Start with the Sports section on The Northerner's homepage, then use its "View All" link to see the full sports feed. The page you supplied lists recent game stories there, including NKU men's soccer's 1–1 draw with Wright State, a 7–0 women's soccer win over Purdue Fort Wayne, and volleyball sweeps, so that section is where team-by-team coverage lives.

Practical ways to narrow it down

  • Go straight to Sports, not the homepage feed. The homepage mixes politics, campus events and arts stories; the Sports block groups Norse results together.
  • Use "View All" for older games. The homepage shows only the latest few items, so the full sports index is better for finding a specific match or season.
  • Search by team name and sport. Queries like "NKU women's volleyball" or "NKU men's soccer Wright State" match how headlines are written, with the team and opponent named.
  • Follow the byline. Sports stories are credited to staff, and the sports editor's byline recurs across match reports, so that name is a quick way to spot game coverage.
  • Check Arts & Life and News for context. Stories about campus events or athletics-adjacent news sometimes sit outside the Sports section.

A quick example

If you want to know how the volleyball season is going, open Sports, scan for volleyball headlines, then continue into the full feed for earlier matches. Reading two or three match reports in sequence gives you a sense of form that a single recap won't.

Choosing your route

If you want… Best starting point
The latest results Sports block on the homepage
A specific past game Full sports feed via "View All"
A season overview Several match reports read in order
Campus reaction or context News and Arts & Life sections

For broader context on the university, the official site is Northern Kentucky University.

What does The Northerner report on regarding local and state elections?

The Northerner reports on Kentucky and Ohio elections with a strong focus on races and ballot measures that affect Northern Kentucky University students and the surrounding region. Its election coverage mixes campus-level political activity with state and federal contests.

What the coverage includes

  • Statewide ballot measures: An Ohio constitutional amendment that would require certain ID to vote.
  • Voting logistics for students: Absentee and mail-in voting rules, the surrounding debate and the practical impact on students.
  • Statewide races: Ohio's governor race, framed around division over data centers and property taxes, with two candidates new to the ballot competing to succeed Gov. Mike DeWine.
  • Federal races: The first and only debate between Charles Booker and Rep. Andy Barr ahead of midterm Senate elections.
  • Campaign events on and near campus: President Trump's rally at Truist Arena, described as the first sitting presidential visit to NKU since George W. Bush, plus a counter rally staged nearby by Democrat Melissa Strange.
  • Newer political arenas: Prediction markets such as Kalshi gaining traction before the midterms.

Who it serves and how to use it

The reporting is written for a student audience, so it tends to connect election rules and campaign messages to how they land on campus—voting access, event disruption, local political mood. A student deciding how to vote by mail in Ohio, or an NKU community member wanting to understand why a presidential rally came to Truist Arena, will find that context here rather than in a national outlet.

For broader statehouse and national election reporting, compare with outlets such as LkldNow for a different region's local lens, or NPR for national races and voting rules. The trade-off is depth versus scope: The Northerner gives close campus and Northern Kentucky context but won't match statewide or national desks on race-by-race polling and analysis.

A useful next step is to read the absentee and mail-in voting piece alongside the Ohio ID amendment story, since the two together determine what a student voter actually needs to do before election day.

How can students get involved with The Northerner as writers or editors?

Students typically get involved with a student newspaper like The Northerner by pitching stories or asking to join the staff, then building a portfolio through assigned reporting. The paper's coverage—news, sports, arts and life—shows the main desks where new contributors usually start, and bylines on those sections indicate where editorial roles open up over time.

Practical steps

  • Start with a pitch, not a résumé. Email the section editor (news, sports, arts and life) with two or three concrete story ideas relevant to campus, plus a short writing sample. Editors value story sense over experience.
  • Take small assignments first. Short news briefs, event coverage and sports recaps are common entry points and build trust for longer features.
  • Ask about staff meetings. Attending an open meeting shows commitment and reveals which roles—reporter, photographer, copy editor, social media—are actually short-staffed.
  • Move toward editing deliberately. Editing roles usually go to consistent contributors who understand deadlines, style and fact-checking; say early that you're interested in that path.

Choosing where to aim

Goal Best first move Trade-off
Byline portfolio for internships Pitch news or sports stories Frequent deadlines, less creative control
Editing or leadership Volunteer for copy/production tasks Slower to see your name in print
Photography, design, social Contact the relevant editor directly Less visible writing clips

A useful next step: read a recent issue, pick one section, and send that editor a single well-reported pitch with a suggested angle and sources. If you're weighing other outlets too, compare student papers such as UKNow or NSU for how they structure student contributions before committing.

Where can I find The Northerner's arts and campus life stories?

Arts and campus life stories are collected under Arts & Life in The Northerner's main navigation, at The Northerner. That section carries campus-centered features and event coverage, such as the Big Pink Volleyball fundraiser during Greek Week, the Live at the Loch amphitheater event run with Norse Code Radio, and a behind-the-scenes piece on costume work for SOTA productions.

For a reader at Northern Kentucky University, the practical move is to open Arts & Life directly rather than scanning the homepage, where politics and sports headlines dominate. If you are following a specific series or event, note the reporter's byline (Raegan Gochoel and Nico Lemons appear on the arts pieces above) and search that name to pull up related coverage.

Related questions

More questions →
Who writes for The Northerner and how is its content organized?

The Northerner is Northern Kentucky University's independent student newspaper, and its articles carry bylines identifying student staff reporters and editors. Content is grouped into sections—News, Sports, and Arts & Life—with each story attributed to a named writer and their role, such as staff reporter, managing editor, or section editor.

Who writes the articles

Every article on the site carries a byline naming the writer and their position on the staff. The roles visible in bylines include:

  • Staff reporter — general assignment writers covering news and campus events
  • Managing editor — oversees editorial operations and also reports
  • Section editor — leads a specific desk, such as Sports Editor or Arts and Life Editor

For example, a news piece on Ohio's voter ID amendment is credited to "Lura Becker, Staff reporter," while sports coverage of NKU men's soccer carries "Michele Mcnulty, Sports Editor." This byline pattern lets readers see whether a story comes from a beat editor or a general reporter.

How content is organized

The homepage groups stories under three main section headings:

Section What it covers Example stories
News Campus, regional, and state politics; elections; university events Voter ID amendment, Trump rally at Truist Arena, Ohio governor's race
Sports NKU Norse teams and Horizon League play Men's soccer draw vs. Wright State, women's volleyball sweeps
Arts & Life Campus culture, events, and student life Big Pink Volleyball fundraiser, Live at the Loch, SOTA costume work

Each section lists recent stories with headlines, bylines, and short excerpts, plus a "View All" link to browse the full section.

Is it news or opinion?

The publication describes itself as "The Independent Student Newspaper of Northern Kentucky University." News stories are reported and bylined; the site's structure separates reporting (News, Sports, Arts & Life) from commentary. When reading, check the byline role and section label—a staff reporter's news piece differs from an editor's analysis or a labeled opinion column.

What this means for readers

  • Credibility check: Use the byline to identify who wrote a story and their staff role.
  • Topic navigation: Go straight to News for politics and campus events, Sports for Norse athletics, or Arts & Life for culture coverage.
  • Student perspective: Content reflects student journalists covering their campus and surrounding region, including Kentucky and Ohio politics.
How to Find News, Sports, and Arts & Life Sections on The Northerner

The Northerner (thenortherner.com) organizes its content into three main sections—News, Sports, and Arts & Life—each with its own labeled area on the homepage and a "View All" link to browse the full section. To find a specific type of story, scan the homepage for the section heading, then follow the "View All" link at the end of that block to see every article in the category.

Finding each section from the homepage

The homepage presents the sections in sequence, each with a heading, a few recent story previews, and a "View All" link. The table below shows what each section covers and how to reach it.

Section What it covers How to browse it
News Campus, regional, and political stories Find the "News" heading on the homepage; select "View All" to see the full list
Sports NKU teams, match recaps, and league play Find the "Sports" heading; select "View All"
Arts & Life Campus events, performances, and traditions Find the "Arts & Life" heading; select "View All"

News

The News section carries campus, regional, and political reporting. Examples visible on the homepage include Ohio voters deciding on a constitutional amendment requiring certain ID to vote, absentee and mail-in voting rules, prediction markets ahead of midterms, and a Senate debate between Charles Booker and Rep. Andy Barr. Campus events also appear here, such as a presidential rally at Truist Arena and counter-protests nearby.

Sports

Sports focuses on Northern Kentucky University teams. Homepage examples include NKU men's soccer drawing 1-1 with Wright State, women's soccer shutting out Purdue Fort Wayne 7-0, and women's volleyball sweeps over Purdue Fort Wayne and Milwaukee. Each item names the sport, the opponent, and the result, so you can scan for the team you follow.

Arts & Life

Arts & Life covers campus culture: traditions, performances, and student life. Examples include Big Pink Volleyball, a Greek Week fundraiser for breast cancer now in its 13th year; Live at the Loch, a Norse Code Radio event at the amphitheater; and a behind-the-scenes look at costume work for SOTA productions.

Tips for locating a specific story

  • Start with the section heading, not the search bar. The homepage groups stories under clear headings, so the fastest route is to scan for "News," "Sports," or "Arts & Life."
  • Use "View All" when the story isn't in the preview block. Each section shows only a few recent items; the "View All" link opens the complete category.
  • Check bylines if you're following a writer. Stories list the reporter or editor—for example, Michele McNulty covers sports, while Lura Becker and Erin Senn file news and voting stories—so a byline helps confirm you're in the right section.
  • Expect overlap between News and campus life. Political and campus events (rallies, protests) appear under News, while traditions and performances sit under Arts & Life.

If a story doesn't appear under any of the three headings, it may be a newer item not yet surfaced on the homepage; browsing the relevant section via "View All" is the most reliable way to confirm.

What Is The Northerner and What Kind of News Does It Cover?

The Northerner (thenortherner.com) is the independent student newspaper of Northern Kentucky University (NKU). It publishes campus-centered reporting alongside regional political coverage, with sections for News, Sports, and Arts & Life. Content is produced by student staff reporters and editors, whose bylines and roles appear on individual articles.

What the site covers

The homepage shows the publication's range across three main areas:

  • News — campus events and regional politics. Recent examples include a presidential rally at NKU's Truist Arena, a counter-rally by Democrat Melissa Strange, Ohio's gubernatorial race, Ohio's voter ID amendment, absentee and mail-in voting rules, and prediction markets ahead of the midterms.
  • Sports — NKU Norse teams, mostly Horizon League play. Examples include men's soccer's 1-1 draw with Wright State, women's soccer's 7-0 win over Purdue Fort Wayne, and women's volleyball sweeps of Purdue Fort Wayne and Milwaukee.
  • Arts & Life — campus culture and student life. Examples include the 13th annual Big Pink Volleyball fundraiser during Greek Week, the Live at the Loch amphitheater event run by Norse Code Radio, and a feature on costume work for SOTA stage productions.

Who writes it

Articles carry student bylines with staff roles, such as staff reporter, sports editor, managing editor, news reporter, and arts and life editor. The publication describes itself as independent and student-run.

When it's useful to you

  • Prospective or current NKU students and families who want a sense of campus life, events, and student activities.
  • Readers following Northern Kentucky and Ohio Valley politics who want student-reported coverage of local races, voting rules, and campus visits by political figures.
  • Anyone tracking NKU athletics at the Horizon League level.
  • Student journalists or media researchers studying how a student newsroom organizes its sections and beats.

What to keep in mind

The coverage is student-produced and campus-focused, so treat it as a window into NKU and its surrounding region rather than a national news source. For topics like voting rules or election dates, verify details against official state or county election sources before acting on them. The site lists Stripe among its payment platforms, which suggests some form of paid transaction is possible, but the available information does not specify subscription prices or whether any content sits behind a paywall—check the site directly if access terms matter to you.

To start, open thenortherner.com and use the section navigation (News, Sports, Arts & Life) or "View All" links to browse by topic.

What Topics and Regions Does The Northerner Report On?

The Northerner is the independent student newspaper of Northern Kentucky University (NKU), and its coverage centers on the NKU campus and the surrounding Northern Kentucky region, with regular reporting on Kentucky and Ohio politics and elections. It is a relevant read if you want student-life news, NKU Norse athletics, or local political coverage from a campus perspective; it is not a general national or international news outlet.

Coverage Areas

NKU Campus Events and Student Life

The paper reports on campus happenings and student traditions. Examples from its pages include Greek Week's Big Pink Volleyball fundraiser, now in its 13th year, and Live at the Loch, a campus amphitheater event run by Norse Code Radio. Arts and life coverage also goes behind the scenes of campus theater, such as the costume work for SOTA productions.

NKU Norse Athletics

Sports coverage follows NKU's teams, particularly in Horizon League play. Recent items include a 1-1 draw for men's soccer against Wright State, a 7-0 shutout win for women's soccer over Purdue Fort Wayne, and women's volleyball sweeps of Purdue Fort Wayne and wins over Milwaukee to open league play.

Kentucky and Ohio Politics

Political reporting is a substantial part of the paper's output, focused on state and regional races rather than Washington. Topics have included:

  • An Ohio constitutional amendment vote on ID requirements for voting
  • Absentee and mail-in voting rules and their impact on students
  • Ohio's governor's race, including debates over data centers and property taxes
  • Kentucky's U.S. Senate race, including a debate between Charles Booker and Rep. Andy Barr
  • Prediction markets such as Kalshi ahead of midterms

Campus and Community Happenings

The Northerner covers events that bring politics and community onto or near campus, such as a presidential rally at NKU's Truist Arena and counter-rallies held nearby.

What This Means for Readers

If you are… The Northerner is useful for…
An NKU student or employee Campus events, student life, and Norse athletics
A Northern Kentucky resident Local campus and community news
Following Kentucky or Ohio politics State races, election rules, and campus-area political events
Looking for national or world news Not a fit — coverage is regional and campus-focused

The paper identifies itself as independent and student-run, with content organized into News, Sports, and Arts & Life sections. If your interest is specifically in how state elections and voting rules affect students in the Kentucky–Ohio region, that is where its reporting is most concentrated.

Website Overview

Identifiable technologies and additional version or configuration signals make the service easier to fingerprint, which may help targeted scanners narrow their checks. An established domain and managed infrastructure suggest continuity of operations and may support dependable delivery, although neither guarantees service quality.

Domain and Registration

Registered in 1999, this domain has about 26 years of history. That suggests continuity, although ownership and purpose may have changed. Transfer-protection status is present, helping reduce the risk of unauthorized domain transfers. The registrar is NameCheap, Inc., a widely used domain service provider. The domain uses the common .com extension, which is not an independent safety signal.

DNS and Email

MX records exist, but SPF, DKIM and DMARC were not detected. Protection against domain impersonation may be incomplete. The lowest TTL is 60 seconds, supporting rapid record changes at the cost of more frequent lookups. Nameservers are provided by Namecheap, indicating managed DNS hosting. MX records point to the Google Workspace email service. No CNAME was found; the observed records resolve directly to addresses.

TLS and Certificates

The certificate uses an RSA 2048-bit public key, offering broad client compatibility. The server supplied a complete certificate chain. No organization name is present in the certificate; the available fields are consistent with domain validation. The certificate was issued by Let's Encrypt, commonly associated with automated certificate services. The certificate's total validity is about 89 days, consistent with a short renewal cycle.

HTTP and Browser Security

No X-Powered-By header was found, reducing one common source of backend fingerprinting information. All six checked browser-security headers are present. Their effectiveness still depends on the policy values and application behavior. No obvious internal addresses or debug information were found in the headers. The Server header contains the custom value LiteSpeed. No explicit CDN or WAF marker was found in the response headers.

Technology Stack Analysis

The public page identifies WordPress 7.1.3, jQuery, Google Analytics, Stripe, with exact versions exposed for 1 technologies. These details can narrow vulnerability checks, although exposure alone is not a vulnerability.

Search and Social Sharing

The title has 83 characters and may be truncated in search results. The Generator tag identifies WordPress 7.1.3, making the publishing system easier to fingerprint. No homepage canonical URL was detected. If duplicate URLs exist, consolidation may be less explicit. Open Graph is partially configured; og:image is missing. A meta description is present, with 66 characters.

Hosting and Email

DNSNamecheap
HostingLiquid Web, L.L.C
EmailGoogle Workspace
Approximate IP geolocation (inferred; a CDN or proxy may differ from the origin server) United States flagUnited States Inferred 96.30.2.14

Registration details

RDAP / WHOIS

RegistrarNameCheap, Inc.
Registered1999-11-22
Expires2026-11-22
Domain statusclient transfer prohibited
Nameserversdns1.registrar-servers.com、dns2.registrar-servers.com
DNSSECunsigned

DNS records

DNS

TypeNameValueTTLPriority
Awww.thenortherner.com96.30.2.141800—
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MXthenortherner.comaspmx5.googlemail.com6030
NSthenortherner.comdns1.registrar-servers.com1800—
NSthenortherner.comdns2.registrar-servers.com1800—

TLS and certificates

TLS / SSL

AssessmentNormal configuration
Supported protocolsTLSv1.2、TLSv1.3
Negotiated protocolTLSv1.3
Certificate subjectthenortherner.com
IssuerLet's Encrypt
Valid until2027-01-09T08:01 · Remaining when checked: 76 days
Verification detailsCertificate trust: Passed · Hostname match: Passed

HTTP response headers

HTTP

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content-typetext/html; charset=UTF-8
serverLiteSpeed
strict-transport-securityincludeSubDomains; preload; max-age=63072000
content-security-policyframe-ancestors 'self';
x-frame-optionsSAMEORIGIN
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referrer-policystrict-origin-when-cross-origin
permissions-policyaccelerometer=(), camera=(), geolocation=(), gyroscope=(), magnetometer=(), microphone=(), payment=(), usb=()

Identified technologies

WordPress 7.1.3jQueryGoogle AnalyticsStripe

Pages, Search and Sharing

Meta descriptionThe Independent Student Newspaper of Northern Kentucky University.
Canonical URLNot detected
LanguageEnglish (default)
Twitter CardNot detected
All bots 0 allowed · 3 disallowed
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dotbot 0 allowed · 1 disallowed
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