CPTV Newscast from March 6, 2026 feature news desk anchors Ariana Pantoja and Rana Stevens along with weather from Bella Angarone and Sports highlights from Gabe Trevino. Stories include a movement in NWI high schools walking out of schools to protest ICE, the U.S. and Israel begin bombing of Iran, the latest on the drama of where to build the next Chicago Bears stadium (Hammond, IN?), demolition and plans for the site of the old St. Anthony’s hospital, new budgeting rules that will affect the CP Public Library and a new student jazz band born out of CP music classes. Weather, sports and more.
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CPTV Newscast 3-6-26
CPTV Newscast from March 6, 2026
March 26, 2026
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About the Contributors
Ariana Pantoja, CPTV Staff
Ariana Pantoja is a senior at Crown Point High School, and this is her fourth year with Crown Town Media. She was interested in broadcasting due to her love for reporting and learning about news. During her time in the program, she is an award winner for CPTV QuickCut for both state and national awards. Her passion continues to grow for news reporting and being an on-air radio talent. She can be found spending her Friday nights working a camera for the football games. Her dream is to go to Syracuse University in New York to fulfill being a news anchor or working behind the scenes for a news channel.
Aiden Hielema, CPTV Staff
Aiden Hielema is a senior at Crown Point High School and in his fourth year with Crown Town Media. He joined because he enjoys looking at things behind the scenes and quickly discovered a love for radio and television broadcasting. Hielema enjoys video production work and operating social media for the CPHS Athletic Department. Outside of Crown Town Media, he enjoys marching band and light and sound for the theater department. He plans on going to Purdue Northwest and majoring in communications with a concentration in broadcasting.
Cameron Qualls, CPTV Staff
Cameron Qualls is a senior at Crown Point High School and in his 3rd year of Crown Town Media. Qualls has always loved film and broadcasting, and he puts that love into his work. His current responsibilities include operating field cameras at home CPHS sports events and editing QuickCUT and CPTV News segments. You can catch him on Mondays and Fridays at 5 and 10 pm on Dog Pound, a sports show talking about CP to the pros with Gabe Travino, Brandon Boling, and Braydon Zomojski.
RJ Swiedals, CPTV Staff
RJ Swiedals is a senior at Crown Point High School, and this is his fourth year with Crown Town Media. Sweidals has been interested in news and production, and he was able to meet Tom Skilling after watching WGN growing up, which caused his passion for CTM. He enjoys voice tracking and loves hearing how it affected a listener’s day. He also works the cameras for the CPHS football games every Friday. He hopes to go to Indiana University to follow his dream of becoming involved with the production and behind the scenes of a major production one day. Catch him on Jam Sessions at 5PM and 10PM every Wednesday.
Megan Kortum, CPTV Staff
Megan Kortum is a senior at Crown Point High School, and this is her second year with Crown Town Media. Last year, she was in the introduction class, and now Kortum is in the Advanced classes. She is on the radio show called Jam Sessions with RJ, Vanessa, and Jayla that airs every Wednesday at 5 and 10 pm. Kortum does social media for the football games, and she is very passionate about that. She plans to attend Purdue University and major in Communications with a focus on Public Relations.
Rana Stevens, CPTV Staff
Rana Stevens is an award-winning senior at Crown Point High School, and this is her fourth year with Crown Town Media. She joined to explore her interests in what happens behind the scenes of broadcasting, and over time, she fell in love with it. Stevens is one of the two radio personalities behind the weekly show, Mystery Machine She’s committed to delivering the true crime listening experience to her listeners and is proud to edit, write, and anchor for her school’s news program, CPTV QuickCut and CPTV News. Besides that, she’s also heavily involved in her school’s choir and theatre programs. Following her senior year, Rana hopes to go to college and major in Multimedia Journalism.
Gabe Trevino, CPTV Staff
Gabe Trevino is a Junior at CPHS and this is his third year with Crown Town Media. He joined this class due to his interest in Sports Broadcasting and his dreams of becoming a professional sports broadcaster. Gabe is currently involved with the Crystal Pillar Winning sports talk show, “Dog Pound” as well as doing his own radio show The Gabe Trevino Show. He also does play-by -play on the Bulldog Network for basketball, baseball and football games. He hopes the start of his dreams begin here at CPHS and at Indiana University where he plans to go to college to pursue a career in Sports Broadcasting. His dream destination would be at FOX or NBC doing Play by Play for sports.
Rico Ardister, CPTV Staff, Excalibur Staff, Lead Writer
Driven by working in the media and production world since he was 7, Rico Ardister, now a Junior at Crown Point High School, is a dedicated member of the CPTV media team, where he channels his creativity into the world of radio and TV. Rico is actively involved in two podcasts on The Dog Radio: The Mystery Machine, which he co-hosts with Rana Stevens, and The Reel Review with Two Regulah Guyz, which is also a co-hosted show with Barandon Boling. These two shows showcase his versatility both on air and behind the scenes. This year marks Rico’s first year joining Excalibur Yearbook, and he has joined Inklings Newspaper this semester, further expanding his involvement in student journalism. Beyond media, he is a passionate global warming activist and a political voice on social media platforms, using his influence to advocate for environmental action and engage in important conversations. What began as an appreciation for storytelling has become a passion and an excessive outlet for him. With a blend of outgoing charm and thoughtful introspection, Ardister is focused on honing his media production and speaking skills to share compelling stories and explore new ideas with a diverse audience.
Jayla Miller, CPTV Staff
Jayla Miller is a graduating junior at Crown Point High School, and this is her second year with Crown Town Media. Last year, she did voice-tracking every Tuesday morning from 8-10. Jayla, being a musician, has a deep passion for music and displays that passion on a radio show called Jam Sessions, which discusses music to its very core. However, Jayla also has a passion for live broadcast and acquired experience volunteering at football games as a camera operator, photographer, and red hat for Marquee Sports. She loves working with the camera and using her creativity to bring life to every shot, which she got to do at the Chicago/Midwest Emmys Backstage Show. While Jayla is choosing to pursue Musical Theatre as a major at Columbia College Chicago, she will be minoring in Broadcasting because it has taught her some of the most important skills in life, like networking. However, not only does she want to do this to fulfill her dreams, but fulfill the dreams of others with any profit she makes from pursuing her aspirations.
Vanessa Cervantes, CPTV Staff
Vanessa Cervantes is a junior at Crown Point High School and is now in her second year at Crown Town Media. While working on her talk show, Jam Sessions, with some of her fellow classmates, Cervantes is working towards her goal of going into cinematography and marketing. Her original plan was to become a screenwriter; however, being in broadcasting has given her a love for graphic design and video editing. Cervantes also enjoys working backstage as a stage manager for the high school’s theater department, and she is currently working on her seventh show! Her current plan is to attend Butler University and major in Marketing with a minor in Film Studies. After college, her goal is to work in advertising as a camera operator.
Annabella Angarone, Editor-in-Chief, CPTV Staffer
Annabella Angarone is a junior at Crown Point High School and is the co-editor-in-chief of the Inklings newspaper, and this is her third year on staff. This is also Angarone’s first year on the radio and TV staff for CPTV. When she is not writing or designing for Inklings, she takes part in the Show Choir and the Bulldog Ballroom club. Even though Angarone still has a few years before college, since she was seven years old, she has been writing screenplays for her future career.
Owen Evener, CPTV Staff
Owen Evener is a senior at CPHS, and this is his third year with Crown Town Media. Evener joined to pursue a career in sports journalism and broadcasting. Evener is currently the audio engineer and an on air talent on the Bulldog Network, and may appear on The Ruff Draft every Tuesday and Thursday at 6 and 11 pm. Evener is also a part of the Bulldog Mentors and Best Buddies as well as a 3x Letterwinner for wrestling. He will attend Trine University, where he will wrestle and major in Media and minor in special education and golf management.
Taizer Koelmel, CPTV Staff
Taizer Koelmel is a sophomore at CPHS and in his second year at Crown Town Media. Last year, Koelmel did sportscasts; he is now on the sports talk show Ruff Draft with Owen, Luke, and Bella. Currently, Koelmel has gotten together with some friends and formed a jazz band, where he is the lead for the band’s social media. He also runs social media for his Mom’s pierogi store and his Aunt’s hair cuttery. He hopes to attend Western Michigan University one day and major in media. You can catch him on Tuesdays and Thursdays at 6 pm on Ruff Draft.
Braydon Zamojski, CPTV Staff
Braydon Zamojski is a Junior at CPHS and this is his third year with Crown Town Media. He joined the program with hopes to go into the broadcasting field after schooling and to learn more about videography. Zamojski is an on-air talent on Crown Point’s Dawgcast live sports broadcasts and is a co-host on Dog Pound Chalk and Dirt Sports Talk Show. Outside of CTM, he is a member of the Crown Point hockey team. Zamojski h,opes to attend Liberty University to pursue a major in Sports Journalism.
Brandon Boling, CPTV Staff
Brandon Boling is a Senior at Crown Point High School. This is his third year with Crown Town Media. He joined the program to explore his interests in sports broadcasting. Boling is an on-air talent on Crown Point’s Bulldog Network. He also co-hosts the radio show Dog Pound. Boling plans to attend Indiana University, where he plans to study Sports Media. Afterwards, Boling hopes to attend law school to become a lawyer.