Pastor Andy Nelson, the director of campus ministry and community service at Morningside, centers himself around the students.

He is now full-time tending to spiritual life of the students and facilitating community service. He schedules his days according to the students the visit with him and fills in his time from there. He stated, ” My favorite thing is when students come into my office.”

Pastor Nelson wants students to feel welcomed and that he doesn’t have an agenda when talking to us. “My job is to listen,” he said. He simply wants students at Morningside to feel listened to with someone who genuinely cares about them, when confiding in him.

The conversations he has had lately with students involve many aspects of their lives. The main topic has been about discernment, what people plan to do with their lives after they graduate from Morningside. Pastor Nelson hears about almost everything from students’ current events, their relationships or friendships, and their families.

Pastor Nelson wants to convey to students that their lives have meaning and purpose, and he wants to assist us in finding that meaning and purpose. He said, “I want to be authentic with you and I want to be honest with you.” He isn’t here to judge, rather he’s more concerned with how we treat others with our actions and words.

He described that the hardest aspect of his job is discovering what the students find compelling or what they are passionate about. Pastor Nelson stressed that the denomination of your religion doesn’t matter. He simply wants to be a sounding board for all students, and he wants to reach out to as many as he can.

The Trolli Weird Beard candy is supposed to look like James Harden, but the only aspect of his face you can see is his nose. It looks more like lump with a smaller lump on it. The candy really does not have a smell, really faintly though it smells sweet. The taste is sweet too, and if you have ever had Trolli gummy worms the taste is really similar. The feeling of the Weird Beards are squishy and stretchy.

The next food option is a peanut butter Hostess Ho-Ho and the smell of it is strong peanut butter, which was expected. The look of it is mystical and makes it look like it is a high-end food. The taste is a powerful combination of the chocolate and peanut butter, but neither overcome the other. The feeling of the Ho-Ho is squishy almost like the squishy Chinese finger traps.

The story of the NFL right now is the roughing the passer rule. Players are no longer supposed to land with their body weight on the quarterback and drive them into the ground. The league has taken it to a whole different level with 34 roughing the passer penalties in three weeks. The NFL Competition Committee is aware of the increase and plans to meet next week to see if they can tweak how the referees make the call. The NFL wants to protect these high-valued players without changing the game of football.

The article does a good job of showing the problem with stats right away to display to the reader that this has become a major issue in many games in only three weeks of the NFL season. ESPN and the NFL interviewed committee members. Both found that the members want to adjust the ruling. Including that information gives the article more depth and credibility by actually finding out what the members think. I was unaware that there was a potential for a change in the ruling, but the article gives the reader hope, so fans can go back to enjoying the NFL.

The recent calls cut deep for me because I am a HUGE Green Bay Packers fan, and the main reason the committee is meeting is due to a call made against the Packers in week two against the Minnesota Vikings. I also want the players to be safe, so the bests competitors are on the field, but it has become hard for players, especially Clay Matthews from the Packers, because he has tried to change how he tackles and he still gets penalized. Hopefully, the committee will soon take away the frustration many fans, including myself, are feeling.

https://www.cbssports.com/nfl/news/competition-committee-members-reportedly-uncomfortable-with-roughing-calls-no-immediate-changes-expected/

I tracked down Terri McGaffin, the head of the Art Department, to find a Morningside logo. I explained what that we were doing a scavenger hunt and one of my tasks is to find something with a Morningside logo on it. Her first thought was to give me an envelope and letterhead. Then she saw the “Drawing Conclusions” poster for the art gallery and immediately wanted me to have that instead. I told her that I would advertise for her and she said, ” I would just love that Courtney.”

My second task was to have someone give me a Netflix recommendation, so I ventured to the Krone Advising Center. They asked me what I needed and I explained the scavenger hunt. Katie Roskie, a first-year advisor, immediately said to watch the Ozarks. She explained the show, “it’s like Breaking Bad, but its with money laundering.” She went on to say that a couple was laundering with the Mexican cartel. I informed her that I think it’s on my watchlist, but I’m in the middle of another show and plan to get to it.

The #Metoo movement has given the workers at McDonald’s, in large cities across the United States, the power to speak up against sexual harassment. It could change how the lower wage, working class has been treated for such a long time. Many of the workers have been to afraid to speak out about their abuse from fear of losing their jobs, but the #Metoo movement has given them a voice. McDonald’s is trying to save themselves by hiring a Rape, Abuse and Incest National Network and the legal-compliance firm Seyfarth Shaw at Work. That same legal firm is the exact one that represented Harvey Weinstein.  The movement has brought people forward to make a change for those that have otherwise seemed invisible.

The lead to this story is well written to give the reader the most important information and draw the reader in. The author does well with using the inverted pyramid within each subheading as well going through the most important information first.

The story initially caught my attention because of the prominence of the #Metoo movement. It made me wonder how it could be connected with McDonald’s. After reading the article, I can understand how lower paid workers are taken advantage of because they believe they are disposable to their employers. It’s sad that it has taken this long for them to feel courageous enough to speak out, but I’m glad it did with the #Metoo movement because there is no better time than now to address this horrible problem.

https://www.vox.com/the-big-idea/2018/9/18/17876024/mcdonalds-strikes-walkout-me-too

A plane crashed Friday afternoon near the Townsville Airport plowing into homes south of the city. There are 42 confirmed dead and 16 injured.

Curtis Vokamer, deputy fire marshall,  said his crew found most of the 55 passengers dead in the debris of the Boeing 737. The Holy Cross Hospital reported 16 others injured, including 3 flight attendants, were admitted with injuries. One of the victims identified was Representative George W. Collins, D-III., who was returning from Washington to “organize a children’s Christmas party.”

One of the survivors, Marvin Anderson, 43, of Omaha, said, “The last words of the pilot said to us were, ‘We are at 4,000 feet and everything is going well.’ I know something was wrong a few seconds later because he began to rev the engines.”

Several board members of the National Transportation Safety Board in Washington were already in Townsville conducting hearings from the October 20th commuter train crash. One official said, “We’ll look into the thoroughly.”

On the coast of North Carolina, there are many large pig farms with open-air lagoons directly in the path of Hurricane Florence. The residents are extremely considered the lagoons could overflow and enter the rivers. Many have began pumping the lagoons out onto fields to lower the lagoon levels, which would hopefully contain the rain water. If the lagoon does begin to overflow, the wall of it will deteriorate and spill into the rivers.  The residents realize they are at the mercy of the storm and are praying all goes well given their situation.

The article from NPR does good giving the facts as it is. It displays prominence or impact, not by being famous but a Hurricane is a storm of great magnitude. Unfortunately, they are known to cause great damage to anything in its path.

Dan Charles, from NPR, does not seem to follow the inverted pyramid design. He gives the reader background before explaining what could happen. In this case though, I believe giving this context earlier is better to understand the how numerous the hog barns are there. It is definitely on the unique side because hog waste normally does not make national news.

https://www.npr.org/sections/thesalt/2018/09/11/646790793/hog-farmers-scramble-to-drain-waste-pools-ahead-of-hurricane-florence

Texaco gasoline truck overturned  on the roads of 48th Street and Correctionville Road making four families evacuate their homes.

Gas flooded sewer lines for two blocks around on streets and in ditches. Cars were rerouted through the side streets  for 2 hours from the serious spill until the gas flushed away.

Fire Chief, Charles Hochandel, said “The firemen followed catastrophe and hazmat procedures set up beforehand for just such an occurrence.”

One man dead and three others injured in a two car accident on Highway 20 near Townsville at 11 a.m. yesterday.

Moyer Quick, a South Townsville resident, died at the scene of the crash. His two passengers, Dorothy Quick and Maxine Steuerwald, in Quick’s vehicle were sent to Marian Health Center. Quick in “good” condition and Maxine in “fair” condition. The other driver, Randy Randin, is in critical condition with a fractured skull and internal injuries.

Iowa Highway Patrolman, Patric Stewart, said Quick, aged 65, was driving westbound attempted to pass Radin, age 17. The rear of Quick’s vehicle collided with the front of Radin’s truck. The impact sent both vehicles into the north ditch. Quick’s vehicle rolled once.

A PR nightmare for the NFL began last year when Colin Kaepernick filed a grievance against the league and the team owners conspiring against him for his protests during the National Anthem.

The lawsuit is proceeding with the hearing portion. Both parties will present testimonies, footage and evidence. The final decision on if there was collusion will be made by the arbitrator, Stephan Burbank.

In recent weeks, the Burbank ruled in favor of Kaepernick to have a hearing to present evidence to see if two teams or the NFL and one team were colluding against him. “Politically, if you’re the arbitrator, in a case as big as this is, there’s no way to throw it out,” said Charles Grantham, who was interviewed by the New York Times.

Burbank did not eliminate any teams from the case. Although the case has proceeded, many believe it is hard to find a smoking gun to prove his allegations. If Kaepernick wins the case though, he could receive double what he would have received playing in the NFL.

Vox reported Kaepernick did talk to the Seattle Seahawks and the Baltimore Ravens after his protests began but no contracts were offered. He believes less talented players were given contracts over him because of the protests.

“There’s a host of reasons why a club would individually or independently not offer him a contract,” Matt Mitten told the New York Times. Some team officials have said that they believe Kaepernick’s best years are behind him. Other have said they do not want to sign him to become a back up.

The protest has caused an uproar from fans of the NFL and the President. Kaepernick believes the President is a key element in his argument. Trump is known for being friends with Dallas Cowboys owner, Jerry Jones, and New England Patriots owner, Robert Kraft.

The protests have not stopped with Kaepernick not on the field. Malcom Jenkins and De’Vante Bausby raised their fists in their season opener. Kenny Stills and Albert Wilson kept the cause going by kneeling in their opener. Many other players wore t-shirts describing the oppression African Americans have faced in recent years. The networks ESPN and CBS will not air the National Anthem to prevent from losing viewers.

Vox reported Kaepernick did talk to the Seattle Seahawks and the Baltimore Ravens after his protests began but no contracts

https://www.vox.com/identities/2018/9/6/17820158/colin-kaepernick-collusion-grievance-nfl-protest-donald-trump

https://www.thestar.com/opinion/contributors/2018/09/05/nfls-fumbling-of-national-anthem-a-pr-nightmare-for-the-league.html

https://www.sbnation.com/nfl/2018/9/6/17825108/nfl-national-anthem-policy-player-protests-colin-kaepernick-collusion-explained

https://www.nytimes.com/2018/08/30/sports/colin-kaepernick-collusion-case-nfl.html

https://www.si.com/nfl/2018/08/30/colin-kaepernick-collusion-case-nfl-arbitrator