From front to back, Raelynne Dershen, of Sidney, Rebecca Lopez, of Sidney, and Shyla Stiffler, of Vandalia, practice making smoothies on Monday at the newly-opened Tropical Smoothie Cafe. The restaurant, which is located next to Walmart at 2380 Michigan Street, will hold a grand opening ceremony later this month. The restaurant is a franchise location of the popular chain.

RUSSIA — There’s no doubt who the favorite to get out of Southwest Ohio in Division IV is again this year. Russia was voted the No. 1 seed in the Dayton D-IV sectional and is playing well as regular-season play winds down.