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Article 4 Draft

James Wyatt McGann is 20 years old, and was a former student at Morningside College before transferring to Sioux Falls. McGann has been on the move his entire life, constantly finding new opportunities and working to be the best he can be.

Born in Fort Wainright, Alaska, McGann was raised in a military family. His parents bother were in the army, his father being a purple heart recipient, serving for 23 years.  McGann lived in Fort Wainright very briefly as he moved to Georgia when he was 4. He moved back to Alaska, settling in Palmer when he was 8. McGann then moved to Sioux City, Iowa to attend Morningside College.

As a child, McGann was used to constant change. From different homes, to different schools, to different cultures, Wyatt McGann adapted to new things at an early age. “I learned to hunt in Alaska, play football in Georgia, and wrestle in the Midwest.”

However, learning to accept change meant learning to be resilient. With thousands of miles between himself, his home, his girlfriend, and his family, McGann struggled his freshman year being by himself in a brand new environment. While in wrestling season, McGann tore his ACL and meniscus the 2nd time in his left knee, leaving him handicapped as well.

“It sucked, wrestling was out of the picture, I couldn’t get to class, and I was depressed about being bed ridden away from home. I’m active and I always like doing something. Not being able was really hard,” McGann explained.

Wyatt refused to let his situation ruin him. He began his physical therapy, pushing himself to walk again. His roommate, Alex Pearson shared, “Wyatt was almost crazy. He pushed himself and was up every day trying to do something new.”

After months of physical therapy, McGann is feeling better than ever. Moving to Sioux Falls, South Dakota to pursue his career as a medcal technician, McGann has worked hard to become successful. “I’ve rented an apartment, began to pay my bills, and am getting straight A’s at my tech school,” exclaimed McGann.

With different stories and experiences, Wyatt McGann is one of a kind. Positive, and always respectful, McGann is living his life to fullest, meeting new people and experiencing new things. Cameron Sherlock, close friend of McGann, says, “I’ve never met someone like Wyatt. He’s always trying something new, and he’s always getting really good at whatever it is, whether it is a video game to lifting weights. Wyatt does it all.”

Alleigha Sorenson-Carlson, Selfless

Alleigha Sorenson-Carlson enjoys her weekends differently than many her age. Going back home to visit her grandparents on the weekends, Alleigha has a very unlikely friend. Miss Ellis, a neighbor of her grandparents, is 102 years old and enjoys her time with Alleigha. Together, the two enjoy talking about life while eating snacks and playing cards. Miss Ellis tells her stories of the times she was younger and how life was different back in the day. Alleigha shares about her schooling and what she wants to do as she gets older.

Miss Ellis has been a long time neighbor of Alleigha’s grandparents. Being 102, Miss Ellis’ age has begun to take her independence away. She has had troubles being able to do daily routines and house work on her own. Alleigha, selfless in many ways, has taken the opportunity to help her elderly neighbor by cleaning her house and keeping her company when no one else has. She rakes leaves and shovels her snow during the holiday season, and brings leftovers after Thanksgiving and Christmas.

She plans to be a major support when Miss Ellis moves to an assisted living home in the near future. Alleigha says she wants to keep her relationship with Miss Ellis, and is looking forward to her heart to heart talks and card games with her older friend.

 

News Comment 13

This week, I read an article from CNN titled, Robert Mugabe resigns after 37 years as Zimbabwe’s leader.” After 37 years, the leader of Zimbabwe, Robert Mugabe, is stepping down from power after succumbing to the pressure of a military takeover and the humiliation of impeachment. Mugabe’s resignation caused massive celebration, as crowds filled the streets dancing and waving Zimbabwean flags. At first, Mugabe was a freedom fighter set to bring independence and liberty, but he changed. He ended up creating a campaign that oppressed his people, gave himself immense power, and took down any political opposition. This caused poverty and broke Zimbabwe’s economy.

This was the headline article of cnn.com. I think it is important because the story is over a terrible leader who has held power for almost 4 decades. He is finally stepping down, a sign of hope and positivity for the people of Zimbabwe. The article was well written. It did not include any quotes, but broke down the scenario going on in Zimbabwe. It addresses who Mugabe is, what he did, and why he is being impeached.

http://www.cnn.com/2017/11/21/africa/robert-mugabe-resigns-zimbabwe-president/index.html

Emma Watson’s Speech

On September 29, 2016, Emma Watson stood front and center at One Young World in Ottawa, Canada.

Known from the beloved Harry Potter series, Watson is a young British actress, but has now embraced the role as a women’s rights activist. It began in 2012, when she became an ambassador for Camfed International, a movement to support girls’ education in rural Africa. She was appointed UN Women Goodwill Ambassador in 2014.

Since then, Watson has started her own campaign called HeforShe, a movement to break gender barriers and bring about equality. Delivering her speech at O.N.W.’s Summit in Ottawa, Watson spoke on the issues of gender equality and the ups and downs of fighting for what she believes in.

“We all have feminine and masculine energies within us. And both forces need to be lifted up, respected. We need to work together in order to make the world go round.”

One Young World (O.N.W.) is a British non-profit organization founded in 2010. The organizations goal is to empower young leaders from around the world to develop solutions to large worldly issues.

Speaking to 1300 delegates at the premier forum, Watson said, “”For the first time in my life I have found a sisterhood, a brotherhood, however you want to describe it, I have found my tribe.” With a clear passion for activism and leadership, Watson wants to change how gender is perceived.

From gender stereotypes to discrimination, Emma Watson looks to lead a generation of change. She was honored to give nine scholarships in her name.

News Comment 11

This weekend, there was a terrible shooting at a church in Sutherland Springs, Texas. I’ve followed the coverage over the past couple of days, and CNN has covered the story very well. The incident occurred at First Baptist Church, a small church in Sutherland Springs. Devin Patrick Kelley, a former U.S. airmen, opened fire from outside of the church with an assault rifle. He then went inside the small church and walked from aisle to aisle gunning down local worshippers. The gunman is now dead along with 26 others, including Kelley’s grandmother in law.

The article written by CNN goes through the story chronologically. The way it is written is to cause emotion, as the editor included specific details on the killings with witness’ stories and testimonies. The lede was “’Be quiet! It’s him!’ Survivors say shooter walked pew by pew looking for people to shoot.” The story uses a crazy amounts of quotes and paraphrasing. The editor focuses a portion of the article on a 14 year old girl who was gunned down. She also focuses on the savagery of the shooter, as he gunned down children and fired multiple rounds into helpless church goers. Overall, the article was meant to bring emotion out of people. It was intended to spark anger and sadness over the shooting. I believe that it will bring more people to speak about the incident.

 

http://www.cnn.com/2017/11/07/us/texas-church-shooting-scene/index.html

New Comment

This week I read an article from Fox 2 St. Louis, titled, “Good Samaritan handcuffed after running into burning home.” The article caught my attention as I was scrolling through different sites. The article interested me because there is so much attention on police situations as of lately, whether talking about brutality and/or abuse of power. However, this story was neither, but it still got me to read it.

The article is about Former firefighter and Missouri state representative, Neal St. Onge, and his effort to save a family and put out their house fire. He saw smoke coming from the neighborhood and went to investigate. He found that the back of the house was beginning to burn. He had his passenger call 911 while he got into the house to make sure everyone got out. When the police arrived, he did not comply with their commands and continued to do what he thought was right. He ended up in the back of a police car and was ticketed for not complying with an officer. He doesn’t regret what he did.

This article was well written. The story is not what I expected, but it was interesting. It is a feel good news story about a stranger going to help those in need, even if it gets him in trouble. The article uses several quotes and paraphrases throughout the story. The lede was very good, as it pulled me in as well as gave me a general overview of the story.

 

Good Samaritan handcuffed after running into burning home

he Questioning Return of an MMA Legend

This November, a legend returns to the octagon.

Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) 217, hosted at Madison Square Garden, will premiere the return of Georges “Rush” St. Pierre, one of the greatest mixed martial arts (MMA) fighters of all time. However, many fans are unsure if St. Pierre will live up to the hype.

Before he announced his retirement at UFC 167 in 2013, St. Pierre dominated the UFC. St. Pierre was the poster boy of the company, and was called the greatest welterweight in the history of the UFC.

“Georges St. Pierre has beaten the baddest of the bad,” says Wyatt McGann, former member of the Morningside Wrestling team, “Nick Diaz, Carlos Condit, all the top guys, [St. Pierre] has beaten them all.”

With an impressive record of 25-2, St. Pierre has had two title reigns with nine consecutive title defenses. Cameron Sherlock, a sophomore at Morningside College says, “I remember always watching St. Pierre win, he was too good.”

Cameron Sherlock and Wyatt McGann are sophomores in college and long time UFC fans. Sherlock was introduced to the sport through his father. McGann began watching when he joined his middle school wrestling team. The two grew up watching the dominate era of St. Pierre.

However, both are unsure if the return to the UFC is going to be successful for St. Pierre. “You are talking about a man coming back from a 4-year absence and jumping up a weight class, how is that going to play out?” questioned Sherlock.

Originally fighting at 170 lbs., known as the welterweight division, St. Pierre will climb up to the next weight class. The middleweight division sits 15 pounds heavier at 185 lbs. In MMA, this weight difference is very significant.

“When I wrestled, weight classes 8 to 10 pounds heavier were very difficult, you have larger and stronger guys even with the slightest jump up,” explained McGann.

St. Pierre will be facing middleweight champion, Michael “The Count” Bisping. Bisping is a well rounded, longtime UFC fighter, originally fighting in the light-heavyweight division (205 lbs.). He has stayed as an active member on the roster, fighting his way up the rankings. With a five-fight win streak, Bisping became the middleweight champion last year in 2016.

“Bisping is pretty scary. If Georges St. Pierre is saying he is the easy fight, I think he’s going to be surprised when he steps into the octagon with him,” says Sherlock. There are numerous obstacles that stand in front of “Rush” St. Pierre.

McGann broke down the three main problems with St. Pierre returning.

“Georges St. Pierre is shorter and smaller than Bisping, he hasn’t been in competition for almost four years, and he has taken a lot of punishment in his career. I don’t see him being fit to make a comeback.”

Jonathan Denne, a Freshman at Morningside College, believes that this is another super fight to draw in fans for money. “The UFC needs the money, and they have lost three of their top pay-per-view draws.” Denne refers to Ronda Rousey, Jon Jones, and Brock Lesnar, three superstars no longer fighting in the UFC.

With the company being purchased for 4.4 billion dollars by WME in 2016, the UFC has taken steps to make larger than life fights that do not follow the established fighter rankings. This has been seen with the failed return of Ronda Rousey, receiving a title shot right after her first loss, as well as Jon Jones, who returned to face for the title he was stripped of after being suspended.

The return of St. Pierre is questionable, but still highly anticipated. Along with an exciting main event, UFC 217 will include two other title fights, along with a number of ranked fighter matchups. The stage is set to be big for the company’s second appearance at Madison Square Garden.

“This will be no easy task for St. Pierre, but I want to see him do it,” says Denne,”no fight is ever certain on how it will play out, and I am excited to see how this ends.”

News Comment 8

This week I read an article from KFSM news about a death row inmate. The story was called “Arkansas Death Row Inmate Walks Free After Nearly 17 Years In Prison.” I found the article in the Central Area section of CNN. The Arkansas inmate, Ricky Dale Newman, were dropped because of his mental illness. There is no evidence to support retrial, and would be a waste of time and money. Newman has the mental illness equivalent to an NFL player suffering from C.T.E., to the point where he couldn’t work with legal council, which infringed upon his rights. Newman has to see a mental health counselor once free, but is free from any crime.

 

This is a very unique case and article. The lede got my attention, as it is very unusual for someone to walk away from a death sentence, especially after such a long period of time. The story was more unique because the suspect has a mental illness, causing lots of controversy. After 17 years, Newman will walk free. I think the way the courts handled him were wrong, but he still killed someone. If it weren’t for the mistakes made in court by the prosecutors and his defense team, I believe Newman would still be behind bars or in a mental institute.

 

Arkansas Death Row Inmate Walks Free After Nearly 17 Years In Prison

The Questioning Return of an MMA Legend

This November, a legend returns to the octagon. UFC 217, hosted at Madison Square Garden, will premiere the return of Georges “Rush” St. Pierre, one of the greatest mixed martial arts (MMA) fighters of all time. However, many fans are unsure if St. Pierre will live up to the hype.

Before he announced his retirement at UFC 167 on November 16, 2013, St. Pierre dominated the UFC. St. Pierre was the poster boy of the company, and was called the greatest welterweight in the history of the UFC.

“Georges St. Pierre has beaten the baddest of the bad,” says Wyatt McGann, former member of the Morningside Wrestling team, “Nick Diaz, Carlos Condit, all the top guys, [St. Pierre] has beaten them all.”

With an impressive record of 25-2, St. Pierre has had two title reigns with 9 consecutive title defenses. Cameron Sherlock, a sophomore at Morningside College “remembers always watching St. Pierre win.”

However, many fans are unsure if the return to the UFC is going to be successful for St. Pierre. “You are talking about a man coming back from a 3-year absence and jumping up a weight class, how is that going to play out?” questioned Sherlock.

Originally fighting at 170 lbs. known as the welterweight division, St. Pierre will climb up to the next weight class. The middleweight division sits 15 pounds heavier at 185 lbs. In MMA, this weight difference is very significant. “When I wrestled, weight classes 8 to 10 pounds heavier were very difficult, you have larger and stronger guys even with the slightest jump up.” Explained McGann.

St. Pierre will be facing middleweight champion, Michael “The Count” Bisping. Bisping is a well rounded, longtime UFC fighter, originally fighting in the light-heavyweight division (205 lbs.). He has stayed as an active member on the roster, fighting his way up the rankings. With a five fight win streak, Bisping became the middleweight champion last year in 2016.

“Bisping is pretty scary. If George St. Pierre is saying he is the easy fight, I think he’s going to be surprised when he steps into the octagon with him,” says Sherlock. There are numerous obstacles that stand in front of “Rush” St. Pierre.

McGann broke down the three main problems with St. Pierre returning.

“1: George St. Pierre is shorter and smaller than Bisping. St. Pierre will stay relatively close to 185 lbs while Bisping will gain weight after making weigh-ins.

2: St. Pierre has not been in competition for three years. Yes, he has constantly trained, but it is very different than being under the lights of Madison Square Garden.

3: He [St. Pierre] has taken a lot of punishment in his long MMA career, it’s the reason for him leaving in 2013. I don’t know if he is fit to return.”

Jonathan Denne, a Freshman at Morningside College, believes that this is another super fight to draw in fans for money. “The UFC needs the money, and they have lost three of their top pay-per-view draws.” Denne refers to Ronda Rousey, Jon Jones, and Brock Lesnar, three superstars no longer fighting in the UFC.

With the company being purchased for 4.4 billion dollars by WME in 2016, the UFC has taken steps to make larger than life fights that do not follow the established rankings. This has been seen with the failed return of Ronda Rousey, receiving a title shot right after first loss, as well as Jon Jones, who returned to face for the title he was stripped of after being suspended.

The return of St. Pierre is questionable, but still highly anticipated. Along with an exciting main event, UFC 217 will include two other title fights, along with a number of ranked fighter matchups. The stage is set to be big for the company’s second appearance at Madison Square Garden.

“This will be no easy task for St. Pierre, but I want to see him do it,” says Denne,”no fight is ever certain on how it will play out, and I am excited to see how this ends.”

News Comment 10/5

This week, I was looking on Fox news’ webpage for news stories. The top article this weekend was titled, “Vice President Mike Pence leaves Colts-49ers game after players reportedly kneel.” I looked at CNN’s webpage too, which also had the same top story.

 

The article was about Mike Pence, vice president of the United States, and how he left a football game when he saw players kneel during the anthem. The NFL has been in the spotlight the past year for players kneeling during the anthem, started by Colin Kaepernick, former quarterback for the 49ers. The article explains how Pence made a statement on twitter, saying, “I left today’s Colts game because ‪@POTUS and I will not dignify any event that disrespects our soldiers, our Flag, or our National Anthem.” The article goes on to talk about Kaepernick saying if he had the chance to play again, he would stand during the anthem and donate his merchandise profits.

 

I thought this article and topic was very interesting. The controversy of protesting the anthem at football games has become the main topic in America. With everything going on in the world, I find it crazy that this is the main story on both CNN and Fox. Lately, Trump has received heat for his words on NFL players who have participated in kneeling. I believe that the concept of keeling has changed, as it has become a problem of disrespecting the flag and those who defend it. I think people have the right to protest, but with that, everyone else has the right to judge their choices and actions.

 

http://www.foxnews.com/us/2017/10/08/vice-president-mike-pence-leaves-colts-49ers-game-after-players-reportedly-kneel.html

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