When I asked Tony to tell me something he has overcome or succeeded at, he looked me straight in the eyes, smiling wide, and said,” Mija, I’ve got plenty of stories for you.”

Growing up in the beautiful state of Jalisco, Mexico. Tony learned a lot of valuable lessons. A few are having a good work ethic, being humble, showing compassion, and being thoughtful of others.

He grew up helping his father at his ranch. He would wake up after his father at around 4 am to milk the cows and then would go on his own routes to sell sugar cane. Above his work, he had to attend school. Once he finished selling the sugar canes for the day he would only have time to go home and either shower or eat. Most of the time he chose to eat because food was something they didn’t always have.

Tony lived that way every day of his life until he dropped out of middle school and dedicated his time to working and uplifting the family. He stated, “All 7 men in our home worked. The 5 women in our household also worked by providing the meals and a clean house. It was something we appreciated greatly. We worked as a team.”

The challenge Tony had to face a few years after dropping middle school was leaving his family to live the “American Dream.” His older brother Jose had crossed a few months before him and once he was settled he promised to help them cross over. The day finally came for Tony and a few of his brothers. They would be traveling via Coyote.

Tony described the trip as “extremely dangerous, horrendous, and unforgettable.” He said, ” My siblings and I got lucky, we all made it to Texas, and witnessed how some lost their lives along the way.”

Once in the U.S. Tony realized that there was no going back. He had to take the opportunity that was given to him and make the best of it. “I looked at it as a once-in-a-lifetime experience, I made it, and now I needed to put in the work to stay,” Tony said.

Tony spent a few days in Texas, then moved to California, Arizona, and finally to Dakota City, Nebraska. Tony worked extremely hard to learn English while he worked in construction. He mentioned, “English was hard for me and till this day I can’t speak it the way I want to, I still struggle, but I don’t and won’t give up.”

Tony became a citizen during his early years in the U.S. along with most of his brothers and future wife. He remembers meeting her at a concert. Nancy said, “I remember seeing him and instantly feeling a connection, but he was the life of the party and I was more reserved.” Even with their differences, Tony was able to spark with Nancy. She would later become a greater part of his life.

Tony will always remember the day he became a citizen and how hard he studied for the test. “I would study like crazy, any chance I would get I studied,” Tony said. The best part is that both Nancy and Tony became citizens at the same time. “I remember days before the test we studied together, it took us back to when we were in school. Both of us struggled to study, it was something we hadn’t done in a long time,” Nancy said.

When they became citizens they worked in a couple of jobs together until they married and had to work different jobs. Nancy settled as a Custodian at East Middle school and Tony settled for Northwest Iowa Pork. He currently works in Quality Control. Tony stated, “I love my job. I adore my family. I have all I could ever ask for and more.”

“I have my parents and siblings to thank for always being supportive of my decisions. I did the big move thinking of my family’s future. I feel greatly fulfilled that I can provide for them and my own family. My sacrifice was worth it and I don’t need anyone to tell me that, I know and feel it myself. Hard work pays off. Being humble is key to that, always.”

tony Solorzano

You’ve Got to Be Kidding! Real ID Deadline for Domestic Fliers Is Extended. Again.

After years of delays, security-enhanced driver’s licenses and other updated identification requirements were set to be mandatory next spring. Now the government is giving you another two years.

Not long ago, I posted a news comment to a story related to the Real ID. I came upon this article and I was shocked. I did not expect the real ID to be set back another 2 years.

The reason for its setback is that the federal authorities don’t think that they allowed enough time for civilians to obtain their new enhanced IDs.

The article had a lot of the information that the first article had. It included the reason for the new enhanced IDs and when the original date they were supposed to be expected.

I liked this article, and like I said before I was shocked that they would push the date back another two years. It was an easy read overall with great follow-up information.

That just means it gives time for travelers to issue their new enhanced IDs before May 7, 2025, the date that the new enhanced IDs will be required at least for now.

Zoo staff left Heavy-Hearted as Homer The Bear dies at 16 years old

Homer the Bear dies after his last meal around 7 am this morning. Zookeeper Sara N. Getty found him floating in the pool after his feeding. Homer was the oldest of three with Mackenzie at 10 years and Yukon at 9 years of age. Both Mackenzie and Yukon were removed from the exhibit to be monitored by the veterinary staff.

“Homer was a very curious and playful polar bear and we will miss him terribly,” said Sara.

There have been other animals that had lost their lives previous to Homer. Regina a 10-year-old bobcat died of renal failure last week and two weeks ago, Kenya a 6-year-old giraffe died when her neck broke while her horns got stuck in her stall. Senior staff veterinarian, Shanda Lear said, “The zoo will perform a necropsy to try and determine the cause of death. The results will not be available for several weeks.”

Zoo director Chris P. Bacon stated, “We will do everything in our power to determine how this bear died. Animal welfare and the preservation of our species are our primary goals here at the zoo.”

When I asked Tony to tell me something he has overcome or succeeded at, he looked me straight in the eyes, smiling wide, and said,” Mija, I’ve got plenty of stories for you.”

Growing up in the beautiful state of Jalisco, Mexico. Tony learned a lot of valuable lessons. A few of them are having a good work ethic, being humble, showing compassion, and being thoughtful of others. He grew up helping his father at his ranch. He would wake up after his father at around 4 am to milk the cows and then would go on his own routes to sell sugar cane. Above his work, he had to attend school. Once he finished selling the sugar canes for the day he would only have time to go home and either shower or eat. Most of the time he chose to eat because the food was something they didn’t always have.

Tony lived that way every day of his life until he dropped out of middle school and dedicated his time to working and uplifting the family. He stated, “All 7 men in our home worked. The 5 women in our household worked also by providing the meals. and a clean house. It was something we appreciated greatly. We worked as a team.”

The challenge Tony had to face a few years after dropping middle school was leaving his family to live the “American Dream.” His older brother Jose had crossed a few months before him and once he was settled he promised to help them cross over. The day finally came for Tony and a few of his brothers. They would be traveling via Coyote. Tony described the trip as “extremely dangerous, horrendous, and unforgettable.” He said, ” My siblings and I got lucky, we all made it to Texas, and witnessed how some lost their lives along the way.”

Once in the U.S. Tony realized that there was no going back. He had to take the opportunity that was given to him and make the best of it. “I looked at it as a once-in-a-lifetime experience, I made it, and now I needed to put in the work to stay,” Tony said.

Tony spent a few days in Texas, then moved to California, Arizona, and finally to Dakota City, Nebraska. Tony worked extremely hard to learn English while he worked in construction. He mentioned, “English was hard for me and till this day I can’t speak it the way I want to, I still struggle but I don’t and won’t give up.”

Tony became a citizen during his early years in the U.S. along with most of his brothers. He will always remember the day he became a citizen and how hard he studied for the test. “I would study like crazy, any chance I would get I studied,” Tony said. When he became a citizen he worked at a couple of other jobs and finally settled for Northwest Iowa Pork. He currently works in Quality Control. Tony said, “I love my job. I adore my family. I have all I could ever ask for and more.”

“I have my parents and siblings to thank for always being supportive of my decisions. I did the big move thinking of my family’s future. I feel greatly fulfilled that I can provide for them and my own family. My sacrifice was worth it and I don’t need anyone to tell me that, I know and feel it myself. Hard work pays off. Being humble is key to that, always.”

tony Solorzano

The “news” of the story I chose is about a new Happy Meal toy based on the new movie released November 11, called Black panther: Wakanda Forever.

The audience for this story could be parents of little kids who can take them to Mcdonald’s for a Wakanda Forever toy included inside a Happy Meal. The benefit for the reader is the excitement their kids will receive for the toy to the black panther movie. Mcdonald’s will benefit from this post because it brings more consumers to them.

Marvel has a positive impact on little kids and if they like superheroes they will be satisfied with the toy. Lastly, I think that this story is not a bad story to release. I think this because it is something that would bring joy to little kids even though McDonald’s is not exactly the healthiest choice.

https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/mcdonalds-brings-the-world-of-wakanda-to-families-with-the-new-black-panther-wakanda-forever-happy-meal-301664712.html

“Great leaders create other leaders.”

Connie Wimer

Connie was born October 28, 1932, in Merrill Iowa. Merrill had a population of 600 and graduated High School with a class of 13. Her father was a mechanic and her mother was a stay-at-home mom. At just eight years of age, Connie had her first job and had a paper route for the Sioux City Journal. When she was nine, she applied for a local drugstore position. Connie has had a W2 form every day since the age of twelve.

After high school, Connie’s teacher Rose, helped her apply for a full tuition scholarship to attend Morningside College excluding; room and board charges. She obtained the scholarship and worked for the director of residence life at 35 cents an hour. After the first year, Connie decided to get a better job that would help pay what she owed. When she had a sufficient amount of money, she would eventually return to college, but she never did.

Connie moved to Des Moines in 1950, where she obtained a job as a legal secretary. She managed the office of two presidential candidates(Nelson Rockefeller & Harrell Hughes). Connie then became the owner and president of Iowa Title Company in the years 1976-1985. She then sold the company to Central Life Insurance but continued as president until 2001. Connie continues to work today because “she loves what she is doing.”

Connie Wimer has received many awards throughout her lifetime and has recently obtained an award called the Champion of Women by the Iowa state Business School which left her “tremendously touched.”

I will consider the day I met Connie Wimer to be one of the best of my life. I received the opportunity of a lifetime and will forever be grateful for it. Being part of the CWWL (Connie Wimer Women’s Leadership) group has allowed me and many other women to attend events and workshops that help strengthen and grow our leadership skills. The workshops and events help us embrace our talents and personalities at a higher level.

I leave you with Connie Wimer’s “5 traits to succeed in life.”

1. Integrity- “Liking yourself is so important.” “Character is who you are when no one is looking.”

2. Risk Taking- “Taking risks is like a muscle, the more you use it the stronger it becomes.”

3. Perseverance- “If you are not scared of your job, you need to get a new one.”

4. Becoming an agent of change- “The world is changing so quickly, don’t just accept change, make it happen!”

5. Creativity- “Surround yourself with people that are smarter than you are. Get comfortable with them, listen, and learn from them.”

“Disrupt Expectations”

Connie WImer

Why Retailers Are Trying Extra Hard to Woo Holiday Shoppers

With an economic slowdown a distinct possibility, stores hope customers’ willingness to open their wallets will last through the season.

As the most wonderful time of the year approaches customers are getting their shopping lists finalized and that is the main reason why I chose this article.

I read through this article pretty quickly. It spoke about companies such as Best Buy, Target, Khols, JcPenny, and Amazon.

The article focused on explaining the reasoning behind longer deals and bigger discounts from these companies, the increasing rates, and how people are really feeling about spending large amounts of money during this time.

The companies and their competitors are trying to find a way to give customers “value” to their purchases and increase their motivation to buy more.

This article does a great job of describing what the issues are and why people are doing what they are doing.

The article closed off with two stories from people who spoke about their holiday shopping experience and I think it was a good last touch for the article.

I think that this article was timely because of the holiday season and it had great facts that I was not aware of before.

https://www.nytimes.com/2022/11/27/business/economy/holiday-shopping-retail-sales.html

Shaking Off the World’s Worries, Jewelry Focuses on Growth

Houses like Bulgari, Cartier, and Prada are expanding their factories and adding new product lines.

This article was quite long. It did have good information and interesting facts that I did not know about the Jewelry business.

The main Jewelry brands that it spoke about were Cartier, Bulgari, Tiffany and Company, Prada, and more.

By reading the first 4 paragraphs I got the main gist of what the article was going to be about. It kept going more in-depth about each brand’s goals and expansion plans.

I learned from this article that “Of course, these brands don’t plan just for next year; they plan for the next 10 years,” stated Federica Levato. I also learned that “Jewelry in general is more resilient versus other luxury categories through crisis periods.” Honestly, it makes sense, I just never saw it like that.

Considering all the information from this article it was a good read, but I saw myself getting uninterested. I would read something interesting and then something not as interesting would come up. I gave it a couple of chances and was able to finish the article.

I believe this article did follow the inverted pyramid method.

Out of Morningside’s website I chose Jose Lopez, First-Gen story. I do not consider this type of story news because although it is interesting to read, it isn’t exactly a report. I think that the potential audiences for this story are First-Gen students.

To me the purpose of this story is to persuade First- Gen students or students graduating high school about the home feel environment Morningside provides. The readers gain a good understanding of how Morningside’s environment makes other students feel especially First-Gen students.

The benefit for the students is that they have an insight into what other students are saying about the college. It also benefits students who are from Sioux City and are also family oriented and want to stay closer to home. Morningside also gains publicity from students who are first-gen and are interested in coming to the college because of the stories of those students.

https://www.morningside.edu/news/people/first-gen-stories-jose-lopez/

U.S. Fines Airlines More Than $7 Million for Not Providing Refunds

The Transportation Department penalties come after many travelers have expressed frustration about flight delays, cancellations, and other problems.

For this week’s article, I chose another travel article. This article spoke about how the transportation department decided to fine half a dozen airlines a total of more than 7 Million for failing to provide refunds.

Frontier was fined 2.2 million more than any other company. Air India was fined 1.4 million, Air Portugal 1.1 million, and the remaining airlines Aeromexico, El Al, and Avianca were fined less than 1 million.

An airline can give a refund for flight cancelations, delays, or alterations. With the Covid 19, pandemic people were unable to travel and now that the pandemic has slightly lifted they feel eager to travel and are willing to pay more for the tickets meaning airlines are having a great business.

The transportation department is moving quickly to ensure the airlines are accountable for their own rules. The airlines have yet to pay their fines but customers have been notified if they will be receiving a refund.

I think this article was a fast and easy read. It also did a really good job of following the inverted pyramid method because all the necessary information was at the top and the not-so-needy information was at the bottom.

https://www.nytimes.com/2022/11/14/business/transportation-department-airline-fines.html