Macaroni & Cheese Addict

I just really like Mac & Cheese

*FAKE* For Immediate Release, Explosion at Mega City Mall

An explosion at Mega City Mall at 9:50 a.m. today affecting Gunland and Foodland. Two fatalities have been reported, and less than 100 injuries reported from the explosion. Many of these injuries consist of fire and smoke inhalation, as well to other serious and non-life threatening injuries.

“The explosion was really close to me, I lost my leg” said the Gunland Assistant Manager, who was about to leave the store and go on break when the explosion happened.

“All I heard was a boom, and everyone started running,” said the Penney Dreadful Employee.

“I wasn’t at the explosion, I was in the backroom.” Victors’s Secret employee heard a loud boom and screaming, the building was shaking and product was falling off the shelves. has noticed electrical issues with light dimming and going out.

The explosion is still under investigation, Homeland Security has been informed and is on the way. They have security video tape, and will be going through it as soon as they can. There is no evidence of terrorism. The mall is off limits to all until the structural integrity is assessed, including the electrical work.

Emily Widman and her answer from God

Emily Widman, a senior, loves to play the piano.  When she wasn’t able to play due to sickness, her faith was tested and she struggled with her dream of playing the piano. She struggled with identifying what was causing her so much pain, then finding a doctor, she didn’t know if she was even meant to be a piano player. Then, she got an answer from God, or rather, a piano from God.

“I loved piano so much. It started out with loving it because of my mom. When I was little I would pick out little songs on the piano. When I started, lessons, I loved it so much that I would practice it an hour a day, which is crazy for the little pieces I started out with” Emily said.

Her mother, Elizabeth Widman saw this love for the piano in her daughter.

“Right away, Emily was excited about it, she would practice for it for an hour, and she went through 4 books in 2 years. At the end of the 2 years, the teacher told us “Emily has gone as far in piano as I ever did, I can’t teach her anymore.” “I never once had to tell her to practice, which was nice.”

She then took lessons from Dr. Kathryn March at Morningside and absolutely loved it. Playing the piano became a major part of her life, by the end of high school, she was at the level she should be and started doing piano competitions and tied for first. She decided to college at Morningside for piano as a music major.  “Literally, I would practice four hours a day in the practice room. I would lose track of time because I would just be there having so much fun. My good friend was an oboe major as well. Everything with music was so amazing in life. In a matter of about 2 weeks, life completely changed.”

“I went from 4 hours of practice to nothing in two weeks. My arms felt so heavy to hold up and the chest pain started, and it was like a continuous thing. I couldn’t do it anymore.” Emily says. She got to the point where she would get mini-seizures, which wouldn’t allow her to drive, so her mother started driving her to school every day her first 2 years of college. She ended up taking two different semesters of two different years of college off to get better because she would just be in pain during class.

As they were trying to figure out what was going on, different doctors had a variety of diagnoses. Her mother said, “We went to 5 different doctors, they absolutely didn’t know what was wrong with her. At that point, she started falling. One doctor told her she was pregnant. We said that she was falling, and he said that she needed to eat Greek yogurt every day, and walk 2 miles 3 times a week, and that would take care of her problem. Another one wanted to put her on psychiatric medicine and said it was all in her head. We just went from doctor to doctor and we weren’t getting any answers.”

Then they heard about Lyme Disease and found a 400-page book in the library on it. Emily had most of the symptoms described, so they sent a sample of her blood to get tested in California that the book recommended, and it came back positive for Lyme Disease.

According to the CDC.com, Lyme disease is caused by the bacterium Borrelia burgdorferi and is transmitted to humans through the bite of infected blacklegged ticks. Typical symptoms include fever, headache, fatigue, and a characteristic skin rash called erythema migrans. If left untreated, infection can spread to joints, the heart, and the nervous system.

Now, finally getting some answers, and a name to what was causing her so much pain, they were able to find a doctor 5 hours away. She started taking treatments and was starting to feel better. Just as she was starting to get better, though they received a letter that her doctor wouldn’t be able to see any more chronic Lyme Disease patients because the Medical Association in Iowa didn’t recognize Lyme Disease can last more than two weeks, so she had no one to treat her.

Crushed, they were on the hunt for a doctor who could treat her. They ended up finding the Minnesota Lyme Disease Association, called and left a message explaining their situation. Their office called them back the next day and scheduled an appointment. When they came in for their appointment, the assistant was amazed how they were able to get an appointment at all, and pointed out there is a 250 patient waiting list for this doctor, this doctor sees patients from 32 states and 5 foreign countries. It was a miracle.

She started to see major changes for the better after getting treatments from this new doctor. “Going to that doctor, one thing that was the biggest change was that he realized how much I love piano, and wanted to help me get back to being able to play.  Around that time I was up to being able to play like 5 minutes at a time, and I remember writing for piano juries at the end of semesters, that what I learned was to be thankful to even be able to play for 1 minute at the piano. It was a gift. Strength to do anything comes from God, because I never knew it until it was gone. It coming back slowly, it was the coolest thing” said Emily.

Through all of this, many times Emily explains that she feared she was really not meant to be a piano player, and that God did not want her to play. One day, she opened her parent’s email, which she explained was strange for her, because she never checked her parent’s email. She saw an email from an old gentleman in Vermillion who wanted his grand piano to go to someone who loved music as much as he did. “I had always dreamed of a grand piano, but there are extremely expensive and so I never thought it would happen” Emily explained.

She called to say she was interested and went to go check out this piano two-days later.

“I played the piano, and it was the most wonderful thing ever. He bought it brand new, took amazing care of it, had it tuned twice a year. And then I went and met this Max in the hospital nursing home afterward. He was the nicest old gentlemen ever.” She says they talked about their love of music, and she found out he was a Christian, so they talked about their faith as well. At the end of their visit, he said he would sell it to her for $2,545, so naturally, Emily went home to count her money. She explained how she didn’t really spend much growing, up, or really any from graduation.

The crazy amazing thing is that she had just enough to buy the piano. “I had $2 over what he asked. I had talked to Dr. March about this amazing situation, and Dr. March said ‘you should get off the phone right now and buy this because you couldn’t even buy an upright that had paint on it for that price.’”  She bought the piano, and Dr. March helped them move it to their house because they would have had to pay more than what they paid for the piano to move it.

“When Dr. March got it to our house he says my dad ‘you realized, this piano is worth $22,000?’ Max knew what it was worth, but he knew that I couldn’t afford more than that, because I bought it with my own money. So, this piano is sitting at home, and literally, I am thinking I don’t know how in the world there could be any bigger of a sign than a grand piano just showing up because that story does not happen. It was really cool. There was a point where, I tell this part in my radio feature, on KWITT, that I was sitting in front of this piano, and crying and realizing that God still wanted me to be a pianist the whole time, even though I couldn’t for a little bit. “

She is now doing much better, and most of her symptoms are gone. “Especially in the last year, I’ve been feeling 10000 times better than I have felt in years and I just feel normal and life is great, but the biggest…. I now would describe having gone through Lyme disease as biggest, kind of blessing in my life that could happen. I hated the pain and when I was going through it I didn’t want my parents to see how much it hurt.  I would hide stuff, which is probably not good. Now, what I want people to see from my going through this it’s how amazing God is through hard times. And I would say even if I still couldn’t play piano, he would still be good, and there would still be something out there that could make it work eventually.”

As Emily gets ready for her recital, she continues to be very active in school. One of her friends Rachel Dejong who also enjoys playing piano, commented how she noticed Emily using her gifts balancing playing the piano and schoolwork. “For Christ connections last year, she played quite a bit which is pretty amazing because balancing piano practice on top of schoolwork is a big commitment, one which I can’t keep up with. “Last year, we went to her house for the pizza party, and I saw this gorgeous grand piano in her house and I was super jealous and we talked about it for 20 minutes.”

As Emily gets ready for her senior recital, she is as happy as can be. She is truly thankful that she is able to play again because she knows pain, and what it is like not being able to do what she really loved. Like she said, through all of this, God blessed her and wanted her to be a pianist the whole time, and now she loves it even more.

In Class :Midland Zoo in mourning of aged polar bear death

Homer, the oldest polar bear died 7am at Midland Zoo. Zookeeper Sara N. Getty describes the beloved polar bear “Homer was a very curious and playful polar bear and we will miss him terribly.” Dr. Shanda Lear, the senior staff veterinarian said “the zoo will perform a necropsy to determine the cause of death”.

This zoo has created an atmosphere where polar bears thrive since 1985. Their exhibits are unique in that they allow bears to play in manufactured snow, digging in gravel, and hunting trout in the chill pool, engaging their natural behaviors.

Comment 14: Thanksgiving leftover recipes

https://mic.com/articles/192617/flamin-hot-cheetos-and-glitter-turkeys-the-worst-thanksgiving-dinners-on-social-media#.dOi6gabUw

This article was interesting, because many people have leftover turkey after the holidays, and have to find something to do with it, I didn’t know people got this creative with it. It is also interesting because of the timing, we just had thanksgiving, and many had different solutions with what to make the leftovers into.

The audience would be anyone that celebrates thanksgiving, or anyone that likes to cook, and wants to see weird concoctions that others make. I thought the second paragraph would work better for a lead, or combine them. I like how they included a video on how to make a glitter turkey.

Comment 13: Jewish inspired food at Disney World

https://mic.com/articles/192643/jewish-food-at-disney-world-epcot-holiday-pop-up-lchaim-holiday-kitchen#.ZZ2Fh2Ggz

I though this article was interesting, because have been to Disney World, and Epcot was one of my favorite parks. This article discusses a new food option called “L’Chaim! Holiday Kitchen” and it serves Jewish inspired food. However, the food is apparently not kosher, or not an option for many Jews.

I thought the article was interesting, the lead is ok, but I though they should have said something at the end of the last sentence in the lead hinting that this food is not actually an option for many Jews. Disney World is a well known amusement park, and it was interesting to read about the ironic food, and the conflict it has actually caused. The audience is people who go to amusement parks. I do like how they included the statement from a spokesperson from Disney in an email, apologizing for it not meeting kosher guidelines, and why it doesn’t.

Profile on Emily Widman, First Draft

Emily Widman, a senior here at Morningside loves to play the piano. (insert the quote of when she started playing, and how she learned all she could, and was recommended a piano teacher at Morningside) Playing the piano became such a huge part of her life, that she is going to school for it. She loves practicing, playing up to 4 hours a day! (maybe insert quote from sibling) That all came to a screeching halt her freshman year, (insert the quote about when she started feeling pain, what it felt, and how it affected her ability to practice).

Information about Lyme Disease (quote from Emily), what it is, how it affects a person. She was able to go to a doctor 5 hours away that had experience for treating Lyme Disease through a miracle, because this doctor had a 200+ long waiting list just to see him. She has been getting treatments, and is now to play for 1 hour at a time. (insert quote from parents) This experience has given her more of an appreciation for playing the piano (insert the quote from Emily about the difference between playing then and now).

(Insert quote about her radio experience) Through this experience, she has been able to share her faith, as well as be on the radio for her internship. For a while, through this all, she thought maybe she wasn’t meant to play piano even though she claims God gave her the gift. (quote about getting the grand piano, and how this has confirmed that she needs to keep playing).

Conversation

“DING DING DING” I can hear my roommates bed creaks as she gets out of bed and shuts off her alarm. She mentions something about class, and I mumble something barely recognizable as words back. I open one eye barely and then close it, already drifting back into sleep.

Broadcast Story

 

Kaitlynn McShane here from Morningside college. We have interesting stories about innovations in technology!

Cell phones are used for about everything: directions, recommendations, communicating.

Now, Cellphones can help us register to vote. The elections took place this last week, and many were encouraged to register and as vote on different forms of social media.

 

Snapchat and Instagram added features to encourage you to vote this election. Research has shown the young generations feel less inclined to vote. Social media apps want to change that this election.

We talked to Morningside student, Sterling Stecker, who is the social Media chair for Morningside Activites Council, on the use of social media for this election.

 

“it definitely pushed me to go to the polls. On the day of voting, Snapchat sends out a mass-snap to everyone, encouraging everyone to get to the polls”

“I think voting is a very good thing. I think it was good that the pushed it and marketed it on different social media platforms.”

“I noticed this election that snapchat was pushing hard to make sure that everyone was voting”

He described how social media is a great tool for MAC.

“Literally everyone I know has a smartphone, it is a good way to communicate to literally everyone on campus if they want to know whats going on with MAC, and all the fun activities we have going on.

 

Instagram added “I Voted” stickers, and Snapchat added new filters to help you to display voted. Instagram also added a “We Voted” story to see the community story of who voted in your area. This idea called “peer-sharing” they view has highly effective to target potential voters.

 

Snapchat also sent a video to remind of age users to vote. Snapchat also sent them their polling locations on their Snap Map. Snapchat reported more than four-hundred-thousand users had already voted after they launched the voter registration feature.

With these different ways to connect to potential voters, We hope that more and more register and vote each year, thanks to social media.

It is amazing how much technology is changing, and the part it plays in our daily lives. Cars are a main source of transportation for people in the United States. Many use cars get to work and carry out our errands. In the future, we may not be driving our own cars.

Would you put your life in the hands of a robot? Or rather, a self driving car?

 

According to PHYS.org, self-driving cars are safer than human-driven cars. There are One-million car crashes from human-error every year. Research suggests self-driving cars can cut the fatality rate of car-crashes by ninety-nine point nine percent.

We asked Madi Person, a Morningside college student who often commutes home on the weekends on her thoughts on driver-less cars.

“I know for me, especially long distance drives, commuting back and forth from home, which is about 3 hours. Especially if I have had a long week at school, I worry about drowsy driving, and having ‘mini-sleeps’ while I am driving, I know there is a high possibility of that causing crashes”

She did admit some worries she had, “The thought of not having anybody there to control it is scary”.

We are right with you there Madi, that’s why Mobieye and Intel are actually letting people try out the cars themselves to help normalize the idea. Passengers felt that the cars behave better than they do. One thing that they pointed out, is that self driving cars are typically safer than the risky driving you see everyday. Self driving cars are in the near future, are you ready to let go of the wheel?

 

You have a new reason to look up at the sky at the night time. You might know familiar constellations such as the Big and Little dipper. Now Hulk, The Little Prince, TARDIS from “Doctor Who”, Godzilla, Star Trek, U.S. Enterprise, and Hulk are all now constellations. NASA declares New unofficial constellations to celebrate the ten-year anniversary of Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope.

We asked Jennifer Hernandez, Morningside student to recall some memories from her childhood when she learned about constellations, and what she thinks about the new constellations.

“In first or second grade we briefly talked about it I remember going on a field trip with my class to the community that was close to my elementary. They had a constellation room and they would project constellations. “

“The ones that are well known are the big dipper and the little dipper.”

“It would be cool to look up Hulk in the sky rather than the big dipper”

“It gives us another opportunity to look up at the stars and look up at the different figures that these new constellations are making”

Julie McEnery, the Fermi project scientist for the telescope explained how they wanted to bring to light excitement of the accomplishments of this telescope. Thanks to this telescope, we now have mapped three thousand gamma-ray sources. That is ten times the number we knew before.

Elizabeth Ferrara, who led the project, explained that the number of gamma-ray sources is comparable to the number of bright stars in the sky, and that is why they decided a new set of constellations would be the perfect way to convey and illustrate the success of this telescope. The other twenty-one constellations include: famous landmarks across the globe, and scientific ideas or tools.

This telescope, officially called Fermi’s Large Area Telescope or LAT, has been scanning the sky each day. This telescope measures sources of the highest-energy light, gamma ray’s. The energy this telescope picks up comes from pulsars, nova outbursts, the debris of supernova explosions, gamma-ray bubbles, supermassive black holes, and gamma-ray bursts. These are important to map out and monitor because some of these are the most powerful explosions in the cosmos.

Thanks to technology and innovation like this telescope, we can track energy and explosions in space that could cause potential harm to our planet.

I am Kaitlynn McShane from Morningside college, thanks for listening.

Kristen Bell, voice actress for Frozen, teaching her kids to not be like Disney Princesses

https://www.parents.com/parenting/kristen-bell-questions-disney-princesses-as-she-reads-to-her-daughters/

The structure of the story is how Kristen Bell is teaching stranger danger and consent through stories like Snow White, and how it has influenced her to write her own childrens book. She talks to her kids about how it is weird that Snow White didn’t ask the old witch why she needed to eat the apple, or where she got it. She also addresses the fact that a stranger is offering her food and she shouldn’t take it. Another issue that she addresses is when the prince kisses the princess while she was sleeping, and didn’t ask for her permission.

Roop Profile : Exciting News to Change her Life.

Elizabeth Roop never thought that she would be able to study abroad in Japan, much less go to a private school. Yet, here she is, sitting in Journalism at Morningside college as she prepares to study in Japan in the spring at Kansai Gaidai.

 

On her 18th birthday, she took the SAT at Morningside College as her mom waited for her, looking at a poster of the school in Japan. As she walked out, her mom pointed at the poster and said, you are going to go there.

 

She looked at her mom “Mom, there is no way I am even going to Morningside.” Elizabeth knew it was a private college, and how expensive it was. Little did she know, she would do well enough on the ACT to receive a full ride scholarship to come to Morningside.

 

When she found out, she got a postcard in the mail, called her parents immediately “I GET TO GO TO COLLEGE!” This experience has changed her life, especially since she has been homeschooled up until college. Japan will be another new exciting step in her life that she is ready to take.

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