Mega City Special Report

The Mega Mall is currently under investigation after an explosion this morning. 

At 9:50 a.m. the Mega City Mall had an explosion that resulted in damage to the southeast corner of the mall. St. Mercy and Jean-Luc hospitals report five fire and smoke inhalation injuries as well as other non-life threatening injuries. Two are dead but identities have not been released.

Sgt. Fuglsang released at a press conference later that morning, “There’s no clear identification of why this explosion happened” and adds “or if it was caused by someone purposefully.” He says they will be reviewing survalence footage later this afternoon, and FBI and Homeland security will be making an appearance.

There were multiple eye witnesses on the scene. Assistant manager at Gun Land was leaving on her break when she heard the explosion behind her. All she remembers was waking up with smoke everywhere. The manager was taken to the hospital where she later lost her leg.

Penny from Penny Dreadful says she was, “Juling in the breakroom” when the explosion happened. A Bell Taco employee didn’t notice anything out of the ordinary. She says it was her, “Usual crowd of senior ladies and the mall cop getting his coffee.”

Sgt. Fuglsang says he does not see the mall re opening before Saturday. The gas has been shut off for safety precautions, and the mall continues to be monitored. Updates of the cause of the Mega City Mall explosion to come.

Profile- Maureen “Mo” Voller

By Grace Nordquist, Morningside Junior.

Maureen “Mo” Voller, is an active Morningside student. The busy student prepares for her future which will be full of excitement, with her dream of having five to seven children. 

Upon meeting the active student, most would say she’s nice, friendly, helpful, or funny. But there’s something you wouldn’t know about Maureen just from simply meeting or having class with her.

Some college students want to help others by becoming a doctor, nurse, police officer, etc. Others might major in human resources or non-profit to spread their compassion for others. Maureen is considered one of those people who wants to spread her love. But unlike many college students, she wants to do so through her kids- five to seven of them that is.

You read correctly, the bright, cheerful, smiling 19 year-old’s biggest dream is becoming a mother. No, she is not currently pregnant, but does look forward to the day when she is- not only once, but multiple times.

Maureen Voller is a Sophomore business major, at Morningside College. She is known for her many involvements on campus. Voller competes for the Mustang athletics as a member of the swim team. In addition to being an athlete, Maureen- also known as “Mo,” is a service chair for ALD honor society, a council member for Christ Connections, Director of Communications for Active Minds, is in the CWWL program, MMSP, and business honors.

Head swimming coach, Bryan Farris, had nothing but good things to say about Mo. Farris says on the girls team Mo is the best when it comes to cheering on and supporting her team. Not only is she one of the best on the girls side, but Farris notes,”Mo is one of the most fantastic teammates we’ve ever had.” The coach goes beyond the pool saying when Mo is your friend, “You know you have a very loyal friend.”

Perhaps Mo learned her loyalty from her family. Another thing she inherited was the desire to have an abundance of children. Mo says her love for children might stem from her mother. Mo is one of four children, and her mom said she would’ve had more, and  jokes with Mo about adopting another sibling for her. Whether she does or not, one thing is for sure- Mo plans on taking after her mom.

Often times when fellow college student learn how many children Mo wants, they’re surprised. Morningside Junior, Jonah Egli, recently met Mo for the first time. While hanging out, another friend mentioned Mo’s love for kids and her dream of being a mother of five-seven. After hearing this he said “Seven?! That’s a lot of kids. How come?” With a smile, Mo simply responds, “I don’t know, I just do [want five-seven].” The bubbly student adds the obvious fact, “I love kids.”

Senior Alisia Woodward is now aware of Mo’s love for children. Woodward, a senior, met Mo last year when the Freshman joined the team. They have formed a bond and consider each other best friends. When describing Mo, Alisia says “She’s always positive and she’s always smiling.” As for their friendship, Woodward adds, “She’s a great friend- she always brings me up.”

Alisia and Mo

When Mo told Woodward she wanted to have five to seven children, her response was similar to most. Woodward comments that she would never want that many kids and jokingly says, “She’s crazy.”

For now, Mo finds ways to spend time with kids until she has some of her own. She says the reason she got involved with MMSP (Morningside mentors in science program) was “for the kids part, not necessarily the science.” The program brings kids from the boys and girls club to science presentations on campus that MMSP puts on.

If you ask Mo what she plans to do with her business degree, she still doesn’t have a sure answer. But if you ask her how many kids she wants to have someday, she doesn’t hesitate. Some things don’t take a degree to learn.

Polar Bear News Release

By Grace Nordquist, Morningside Junior.

Midland Zoo’s Homer the Polar Bear dies at the age of 16 years old. 

Midland zoo is suffering the loss of a polar bear that died this morning at 7 a.m. Homer, the Polar Bear, lived a long life passing at the age of 16, an average age for polar bears living in zoos. Zookeeper Sara N. Getty says, “Homer was a very curious and playful polar bear and we will miss him terribly.”

The bear had his morning feeding, but an hour later was found dead in his exhibit. Two other polar bears: Yukon nine and McKenzie ten, were removed from the exhibit for precaution, and are being examined by senior staff veterinarian Dr. Shanda Lear. The veterinarian says the results will not be available for several weeks. Zoo director Chris P. Bacon comments “We will do everything in our power to determine how this bear died.”

The zoo is mourning the loss of two other animals this month. Regina, a ten-year-old bobcat, passed of unexpected renal failure last week. Previously, Kenya the giraffe died at six from inevitable accident resulting in a neck injury.

Zoo director Bacon says, “Animal welfare and the reservation of species are our primary goals here at the zoo.” Polar bears have thrived at the zoo since 1985. The bears are among many animals at the zoo who are ambassadors for their wild relatives, educating zoo visitors about these threatened animals.

Midland zoo will remain open and update the public on the cause of death of Homer, the beloved Polar bear.

 

News comment week 15

https://www.nytimes.com/2018/11/24/us/alabama-mall-shooting.html

I decided to follow up on the story we decided in class on Tuesday about the mall shooting in Alabama. I read an article on the NY Times entitled “Black Man Killed by Officer in Alabama Mall Shooting Was Not the Gunman, Police Now Say.”

This is a sad situation. There is also a lot of uncertainty still with the situation. Emantic Fitzgerald Bradford Jr. was killed in a shooting at a Birmingham mall on Thursday (black Friday), but now the police are saying he wasn’t the shooter. I could see why it may have been confusing for the police if he had his gun, maybe he was trying to help after hearing the shots and took his gun out and then the police saw him holding the gun. As we discussed in class, some sources are saying he didn’t reveal his gun, but this source doesn’t comment on that.

I thought the statement the police made after realizing he was not the shooter was a little odd. They said, “We regret that our initial media release was not totally accurate, but new evidence indicates that it was not.” I don’t get why they added the last half, when they could’ve just ended it by saying their release was not totally accurate. Maybe this is my inner PR, but I thought it could’ve been worded better.

Something I thought was sad and unprofessional, was the fact that the family found out about the shooting through social media. It says his father called the police department after hearing about the shooting on social media, and they said they would call back in 10 minutes but never did. Someone on the police department side really messed up there. I understand it was probably chaotic, but they should have made sure the family was contacted, as you would think that would be a priority.

Another note I thought was odd was when “An Army spokesman said Mr. Bradford had not completed his training but would not elaborate.” Does this mean he just didn’t finish his training, or he got kicked out, or quit? I honestly thought that when the main picture they used had him in an army uniform, there would be more information about him being in the army. I think they used this picture to get people even more upset when they realized not only was he black and innocent, but a member of the army.

I thought the article was well written. It uses human interest (emotion), prominence, and conflict. Talking about PR previously in class, I could see how this would be a PR nightmare for the police and the mall- who didn’t even release a statement.

Anecdote

Maureen Voller is a Sophomore business major, known for her many involvements on campus. There’s something you wouldn’t know about Mo just from meeting her…

Maureen Voller is 19, a sophomore at Morningside College. She’s just finished swim practice and makes her way out of a large building located on the campus. A bun on top of her head pairs with her jean jacket and bright pink crocs, a signature look for the young adult. The bright crocs reflect her cheerful personality.

Maureen, also known as Mo, almost always has a smile on her face. She is well liked by her teammates, classmates, coaches, professors, friends, and more. It doesn’t matter how many things she has to do or how busy she is, she always seems to have time to compliment a friend or fist bump a teammate.

While Mo brightens other people’s faces, there’s something that brightens hers. That something is children.

Some college students want to help others by becoming a doctor, or a nurse. Others might major in human resources or non-profit to spread their compassion for others. Mo is considered one of those people who wants to spread her love. But unlike many college students, Mo wants to do so through her kids- five to seven of them that is.

You read correctly, the bright, cheerful, smiling 19 year old’s biggest dream is being a mother. She doesn’t want to stop at a couple, but when it comes to kids “the more the better.” Often times when the college student tells others this they are surprised and ask why? With a smile, Mo simply responds “I don’t know I just do.”

News Comment Week 14

https://www.unilad.co.uk/relationships/wife-reads-out-husbands-affair-texts-instead-of-vows-at-wedding/

This weeks news article is one I found scrolling through Facebook. It might be one that Ross doesn’t consider to be news, or “click bate” at best. But these are the kind of articles that catch my attention and I actually read. I’d read an article like this over politics any day. This one was titled, “Wife Reads Out Husband’s Affair Texts Instead Of Vows At Wedding” from UNILAD.

The title obviously tells readers exactly what the article is about, leaving little surprise. I thought the lead, or first paragraph, was clever. By mentioning the “butterflies” and good nerves one usually gets on their wedding day, lets readers know this wedding was different.

The night before her wedding, “Casey” received a text full of screenshots and pictures from her fiance’s mistress. Shocked and heartbroken, the bride didn’t call off the wedding but instead decided to expose her husband in front of everyone they knew.

I can’t imagine the look on the guests faces, especially his family, when she read the texts. Not only would it have been a shock that they weren’t getting married, but the texts were inappropriate as well. I wonder if she said a disclaimer for any children in the audience or just went for it. She probably just went for it, because the girl has some guts.

I like how she didn’t let this totally ruin the day. She says, “There will not be a wedding reception today, but instead, there will be a celebration of honesty, finding true love and following your heart even when it hurts.” That was an expensive party, but I’m glad she did what she wanted, and I hope some of it was his money spent. I also highly doubt any of his family attended the party.

As a female reading this article, I have a “damn, you go girl” response, and am sickened at what “Alex” was doing. “Casey and Alex” were made up names the article used to protect their identities. Probably good so people wouldn’t find the guy and kill him.

This article would be bizarre and evokes some human interest because readers felt bad for the bride-to-be. It might not have been the best news story, but it made an interesting read.

In class conversation assignment

The last conversation I had was last night, Wednesday, November 14th,  when I talked with my boyfriend Jonah. I was at his house just down the street from campus. We were in his room watching a movie on his laptop in bed. Just before this I had got off work, where we decided to go to his place and watch a movie before bed. On our way to his house we stopped at the gas station to fill up my tire that was low with air, and then went inside Hyvee to get food because he hadn’t eaten yet.

When we finally got back to his house around 10 p.m. we went to his room, that was upstairs in the two story house, to choose a movie. I apparently haven’t seen any movies, because he’ll talk about a movie and most of the time I haven’t seen it. But then as he was scrolling through Netflix he couldn’t find the perfect movie. After scrolling for about 20 minutes I said “just pick one.” But apparently, “It’s not that easy.” I pressured him to just pick one because I was most likely going to fall asleep anyways during it. Finally he decided on Billy Madison, which I hadn’t seen.

Then as we started watching he wasn’t even turned towards the screen. “Are you kidding me?” I said with some attitude. Being a boy he half new what I was talking about, and laughed “what?” I was a little annoyed, “Really? You took all that time to choose a movie and you’re not even going to watch it with me?” He replied he was tired, and could barely keep his eyes open. I half understood but was also annoyed. I sighed and rolled over to watch the movie. He kissed my cheek to apologize that he was so tired and I stopped being as annoyed and watched the movie.

COMM 208 Story #3/ Broadcast Script

Stories:

Science: Stickers that can save your life.

Interview: Aaron Smith- University of Chicago Medical student.

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2018/10/181016132009.htm

Sports: Morningside freshmen swimmers/ comparing the differences of high school to college swimming.

Interview: Bryce Griffin

Other: What it’s like working black Friday, and how Scheels is different from other retail stores.

Interview: Jess Becker

 

Script:

 

This is Grace Nordquist from KMSC ninety-two-point-nine, Sioux City.

In today’s news we look at a newly developed sticker that could potentially save lives.

Purdue University researchers have advanced a sticker solution moving it several steps closer to reality.

The “smart stickers” are made of cellulose, which is both biocompatible and breathable. They can be used to monitor physical activity and alert a wearer about possible health risks in real time.

Maybe the best part of the stickers is each costs about a nickel to produce, and can be made using printing and manufacturing technologies similar to those used to print books at high speed.

We head to medical student Aaron Smith at the University of Chicago, to hear his thoughts on the innovative sticker.

“Aaron’s Interview”

We asked the medical student if he had any concerns about the stickers.

“Aaron’s response”

In the sports world we move to the Morningside swim team where I sat down with freshmen, Bryce Griffin, to discuss the differences between high school and college swimming and how the transition has been for him.

“Bryce’s response”

Finally, as Thanksgiving nears that also means black Friday is approaching. I met with Jess Becker, Senior education major at Morningside College, who works in retail at Scheels- about her experience working black Friday.

“Jess’s response”

As some stores seem to be opening earlier and earlier every year for black Friday, Scheels is one of the exceptions.

“Jess’s response”

Becker admits working black Friday does have some perks.

“Jess’s respsonse”

If you plan on shopping this black Friday, remember to keep the Thanksgiving spirit by being thankful and courteous to those works workers helping customers like yourself.

This has been Grace Nordquist on KMSC Ninety-two-point-nine, Sioux City.

Profile Assignment

https://www.biography.com/people/zac-efron-456624

For my profile assignment I looked up an article on Zac Efron. This had a brief background on his family and where he grew up and went to school. It mainly discussed his acting career and how he got started. The “recognizable frame” it most looks at is High School Musical. This is where I became obsessed with Zac Efron as a young girl, as did many others. It talks about how he grows into a more mature roll today. It includes details like his relationship with Vanessa Hudgens, how the movie was recognized as one of the most successful made-for-television movies ever, and how Efron didn’t actually sing the songs in High School Musical 1 and that’s why he came back for the 2nd one to prove he could sing. I don’t think there’s a nut graf, except maybe when it transitions from his early years to his new mature years.

News Comment Week 13

This week my article comes from the Sioux City Journal, “Guthrie Center plane crash: Co-pilot tried to take control after pilot had heart attack.” I’m from Guthrie County and the air port is less than five miles from my house. In my small town not much happens, so when a plane crashes, that’s a big deal. It was all over the news in the county.

It’s crazy that the plane came from Le Mars, and this area, and went down near my house. I first heard about the news from back home, and now it’s in the Sioux City Journal where I’m located now. This proximity factor made this article relevant to me, and anyone in the two areas.

I had read an article from my paper back home and planned to use it for this weeks comment, but the one I found from the Sioux City Journal was a little more detailed so I decided to use it instead. (This makes sense, with it being bigger than my local paper back home.)

This story would also be considered bizarre and human interest, because it’s crazy that a plane crashed and also so sad that four lives were taken from it.  A quote from the article proves it being bizarre is when it noted, “Friday’s crash was the deadliest in Iowa since Feb. 16, 2007, when a Cessna 240A plane crashed near Council Bluffs, killing all four occupants.” I found this interesting as well, because the last crash happened in this area as well.

Something that was a little unclear in the article is when the plane was found. It says “Des Moines Air Traffic control requested an emergency landing at the Guthrie Center airport at around 5 p.m.” but then follows by saying the wreckage wasn’t found until “Saturday morning.” Saturday morning could’ve been 3 am or 9 am. This also makes me wonder if they died on impact, or if they had been found earlier if they could’ve survived. Also, if they weren’t found until at least 8 hours after the crash, in a small rural county, imagine how hard it would’ve been if it were a larger area with mountains or forests.

It’s crazy to see things posted on social media, and to hear about, but then to read an article on it makes it more real. I saw a post from someone who lived near the area and she had taken pictures of the accident. It’s just crazy to think that had I been home I could’ve seen that, and people I know did. It’s a tragic story close to both my “homes.”

https://siouxcityjournal.com/news/local/guthrie-center-plane-crash-co-pilot-tried-to-take-control/article_d0e6ef5d-0567-5a06-9f54-441b23391379.html