At 9:53 am this morning an explosion occurred at the Mega City mall. MCPD Captain Ross Fuglsang stated “investigation is ongoing we have begun to question eyewitnesses.”

The police report stated that there were less than 100 injured. All injured people were taken to the different hospitals throughout the city. There were 2 fatalities in the explosion. MCPD has not yet identified who the victims were.

One eyewitness, a Nurse who was at the mall shopping for his mom, saw a flash of light as he walked out of the Frisky Kreme Donut shop and ran to the aid of the injured.

MCPD and federal law enforcement agencies are looking into the investigation. Captain Fuglsang will hold another press release at 2 pm this afternoon with more information.

https://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2019/12/4/20993754/trump-justice-department-supreme-court-death-penalty

The Trump justice administration is looking to move forward with executions for 5 death row inmates.

This is huge because the governments last execution was in 2003.

Now within the next 2 months 5 inmates are set to be put to death. However appeals may delay these dates.

There is a lot of opposition against this. The 8th amendment defends its citizens from cruel or unusual punishment. The injection method was named cruel or unusual in 2003 after the federal execution of Louis Jones Black.

The first execution is set to be December 9th. We will see if appeals hold up the process more.

At the Midland zoo 16 year old polar bear, Homer, was found dead in his pool at around 7 a.m. this morning.

Though the cause of death is not known at this time, a necropsy will be performed by the zoo to determine cause of death.

Zoo director Chris P. Bacon said that he will do everything in his power to determine the cause of death.

This is not the first animal to die. A week ago a 10 year old Bobcat died of renal failure, and a 6 year old giraffe died 2 weeks ago from a broken neck. The deaths are unrelated.

Though this is the 3rd animal to die in recent weeks, sometimes these things just happen. There is nothing that any zoo keeper can do about it.

In a previous news release polar bears were said to have thrived at the zoo since 1985. The cause of death for Homer is more than likely natural but it is still a sad time as we say goodbye to one of our oldest friends.

Rest well Homer.

Hy-Vee is a grocery store chain in the Midwest that is known for its great service. Nobody in the business knows this better than Bob Taylor.

            Bob has been at Hy-Vee since he got out of high school. He worked his way up from a cashier, to the human resources manager over the course of his illustrious 30+ year tenure at Hy-Vee.

            When asked why he has stayed in the business so long Taylor simply answered, “I love what I do. My favorite thing is to see all of the smiling faces of my employees.”

            Taylor also admitted that his time at Hy-Vee may be coming to an end soon. “The kids are finally moved out and through college, and I think it’s about time to sit at home, hang out with my wife, and enjoy a beer.”

            Though his career may be coming to an end soon store director Mike Haiar will be sad to see Taylor leave. “He has done such a great job as the human resources manager that it is going to be tough to find a replacement.”

 Haiar, who has just recently been named store manager, has been working with Bob for the last several years, commented on Taylor’s enthusiasm for the job. “He never has shown up in a bad mood. Every single day he shows up smiling and ready to help whoever needs it.”

Not only will Taylor be missed in the offices upstairs, but he will be missed by the employees of the store as well. Hy-Vee employee and Briar Cliff student Jeremiah Glise, is one of the many employees that Taylor has hired over his career.

When asked what his thoughts on Taylor were, he responded “Bob is one of the best, and most genuine people I know. He is always willing to go the extra mile for you, and will never complain about doing it.”

Bob Taylor is more than just a Hy-Vee employee. He is a friend to everyone he meets and genuinely wants to help everybody. Although his career at Hy-Vee may be coming to an end, his legacy will continue to live on.