Crop talks

At sixteen years old, Bryce Reynolds traveled to Chicago to play AAU basketball. This was the summer before his sophomore year of high school. Things were smooth playing the game he loved until he got tangled up with another player. The ball of his femur came out of the hip socket, dislocating it. His femur partially went back in, but not before the damage was done.

Reynolds thought, “Oh shit,” and had no idea of the six months recovery. The journey he was now on was “grueling and needed to be taken one, small step at a time.” He learned he needed support from others.

Reynolds drove back home to Sioux City, Iowa with his mom after the tournament. After still having pain, he needed surgery since his hip was not fully back in place.

Surgery reattached torn tendons, realigned his hip, and shaved off some bone to reduce further irritation. The six months started with surgery and two weeks at home in a wheelchair for his sixteen-year-old self.

Four months of crutches and rehab was the next step, teaching his leg to walk again. Once he could walk again, it was all about strength and mobility in his core and hips.

Initially, Reynolds said, “I hated to talk about it so I never really brought it up and kept everything to myself.”

During rehab, he learned about patience and having someone to talk to. He realized if he turned to family and close friends he could get through it. He could talk to them instead of keeping things pent up.

Reynolds’ best friend, Elijah Hazekamp, spent time with him at home. Hazekamp said, “He would avoid talking about it, but I was always there for him.” Hazekamp brought him food, helped him get in or out of the wheelchair and was someone to talk to.

Patti Reynolds, his mom, said, “It was hard seeing such an active child be in a wheelchair and unable to walk.” She helped him daily whether it was to put on socks or to get into the shower.

Reynolds would talk to these two about how difficult it was to be in the wheelchair and on crutches. The slow recovery to walking again was one he did not take alone. He talked with them about rehab days and his improvements. They supported and pushed him to get back to being healthy and on his feet, literally.

After recovering, Reynolds continued to play basketball and soccer at Bishop Heelan High School for the next three years. With continued support from family and friends, he is now at Simpson College in Indianola, Iowa and stays active.

At 9:53 this morning, there was an explosion at Mega City Mall. There have been two fatalities reported and the initial injury numbers are less than 100. Injured are at hospitals throughout the city.

Investigation units and fire rescue teams from Mega City, Central City, Starling City and Astro City have been dispatched to the scene. They are working to get through the debris to be able to secure the building and its “structural integrity,” according to Captain Fuglsang of MCPD.

From the police report five minutes after the incident, the investigation is ongoing and MCPD will be working with the mall and federal law enforcement agencies. There were no prior events, warnings or phone calls related to this event.

Captain Fuglsang said, “We are proceeding with the idea that it was accidental until proven otherwise.” They also have access to security cameras in the mall and are in the process of viewing those. The explosion happened near the food court.

Eyewitnesses are beginning to be interviewed. One in particular is Makaelyn Glienke who was in the food court with her grandkids. She said, “I grabbed the kids and ducked under a table near the candy machines.”

The mall stated, “Our sympathy goes out to all the families impacted by today’s event. We will work closely with authorities to find the answers and insure that MCM remains a safe place for our customers and associates.”

There will be a press conference later in the afternoon after further investigation today.

Estimations for how high to elevate roads in a section of the Florida Keys are larger than expected and the cost is right with it. Some houses cannot be protected from this arising climate change with taxpayer. Results from the county’s sustainability director calculated costs for keeping a three mile stretch of road dry in the area in coming years. In 2025, it would cost $75 million. For 2045 it raises to $128 million. In 2060, the cost would be $181 million because of expected flooding. This would be to protect about 24 houses. Some residents want their property protected and express disappointment in the government. Others say they will leave if the government decides the area cannot be sustained.

Christopher Flavelle and Patricia Mazzei published this article today and started with the admittance that “not everyone can be saved.” They explained what Rhonda Haag had to say about estimation results and how saving everyone isn’t “doable.” Looking forward at how the sea will keep rising the county would not be able to justify spending millions of dollars. Flavelle and Mazzei got quotes from residents with different opinions and workers in the area. Quotes were throughout the article with various questions about the situation and what to tell residents. The writers introduced the situation and followed with possible outcomes and photos throughout.

Homer the polar bear was the oldest polar bear at Midland Zoo, at sixteen years old. Homer was found deceased in his exhibit this morning. The other two polar bears(9 and 10 year olds) in the exhibit were removed and staff is keeping an eye on them.

Senior staff veterinarian, Dr. Shanda Lear, said, “The zoo will perform a necropsy to try and determine the cause of death.”

Since the 1980s polar bears have thrived at Midland. The exhibit for the bears lets them engage in natural behaviors. With manufactured snow, the bears can play in it or dig in some gravel. There is a chilled pool with trout for them to hunt.

The bears at the zoo have educated visitors about threatened species for years and an investigation will follow this incident.

Chris P. Bacon, the Zoo director, said “Animal welfare and the preservation of species are our primary goals here at the zoo.”

At sixteen years old, Bryce Reynolds traveled to Chicago to play basketball. The 8-hour drive got him there to play with an AAU team. Things were smooth playing the game he loved until he got tangled up with another player. The ball of his femur came out of the hip socket, dislocating it. His femur partially went back in, but not enough for less damage. Reynolds thought, “Oh no,” and had no idea of the six months recovery. The journey he was now on was “grueling and needed to be taken one, small step at a time.”

Reynolds drove back home to Sioux City, Iowa with his mom after the tournament. After still having pain, he needed surgery since his hip was not fully back in place.

This was the summer before his sophomore year of high school at the beginning of July. Surgery was needed to reattach torn tendons, realign his hip, and shave off some bone to reduce further irritation. The six months started with surgery and two weeks at home in a wheelchair for his sixteen year old self.

Four months of crutches and rehab was the next step, teaching his leg to walk again. Once he could walk again, it was all about strength and mobility in his core and hips.

Reynolds said, “I hated to talk about it so I never really brought it up and kept everything to myself.”

During rehab, he learned life lessons about patience and having someone to talk to. He realized when turning to talk to family and close friends he could get through it. He could talk to them instead of keeping things pent up.

After recovering, Reynolds continued to play basketball and soccer at Bishop Heelan High School for the next three years.

He decided to play soccer at Simpson College in Indianola, Iowa. After preseason and the first part of regular season freshman year, Reynolds ran into some more medical issues. He decided to quit organized sports, after being in them for sixteen years.

With more free time, Reynolds is now the vice president of a fraternity, a tutor for math and chemistry, and a student ambassador. He recently added math as a third major, along with physics and chemistry.

He is still active and in shape after quitting soccer. Reynolds participates in multiple intramural sports and exercises five to six times a week. Intramurals include volleyball, soccer, basketball, volleyball, and flag football. In the spring and summer, he golfs one to two times a week.

After the dislocated hip experience, he said, “It taught me that with hard work and determination most anything is achievable.”

At sixteen years old, Bryce Reynolds traveled to Chicago to play basketball. The 8-hour drive got him there to play with an AAU team. Things were smooth playing the game he loved until he dislocated his hip and had no idea of the six month recovery. The journey he was now on was “grueling and needed to be taken one, small step at a time.”

This was the summer before his sophomore year of high school at the beginning of July. Surgery was needed to reattach torn tendons, realign his hip, and shave off some bone to reduce further irritation. The six months started with surgery and two weeks at home in a wheelchair for his sixteen year old self.

Reynolds said, “I hated to talk about it so I never really brought it up and kept everything to myself.”

Four months of crutches and rehab was the next step, teaching his leg to walk again. Once he could walk again, it was all about strength and mobility in his core and hips.

A new study found that women who get less than five hours of sleep during menopause have an increased risk of osteoporosis. The report came from the Journal of Bone and Mineral Research. It compared over 5,000 women. With bone scans, they found lower bone mineral density and higher odds of osteoporosis at the hip, spine and total body for those with less than five hours of sleep. They were compared to women with over seven hours of sleep. The study was controlled for age, menopausal symptoms, physical activity and were generally healthy. The author of the report notes that the study does not prove the link. The study says short sleep and osteoporosis are linked.

Nicholas Bakalar wrote this short article on November 20, 2019. He told the conclusion of the study right away and how many women in each sleep category. Bakalar explained the bone scan results and that the study was controlled with similar women. He included a quote from the lead author, an associate professor of epidemiology at the University at Buffalo. Bakalar included the note from the authors that the study shows a link, but it is possible for other conditions to influence sleep and bone health.

My last conversation was with Lindsay Williams at the Spoonholder Cafe. Lindsay is a girl with a tall, athletic build and curly brown hair and had her Sodexo polo on. She said “Hey Crop, what can I get for ya today?” in a raised voice to make sure I heard her over the counter. I told her my order and she asked if that was all I wanted. I said “Yeah, thanks.”

I then told her that my Snapchat memories this morning gave me a notification of a video from one year ago today. I said “It was when we saw a squirrel outside the caf one time.” She had a confused look on her face like she didn’t remember, so I showed her the video. It was a video of her trying to get as close as she could to a squirrel. After I showed her she said, “Oh my gosh, I forgot about that,” and laughed. I said, “Yeah, me too,” and walked to the other side of the counter to wait for my coffee from the other worker.

Black, a Florida rapper, was sentenced to 46 months in prison after a guilty plea on weapons charges. He admitted to lying on background check forms on a gun that was fired at another rapper. This gun had Black’s fingerprints and a live round in the chamber. His guilty plea went with this gun and multiple firearms at two different times this year. He also was charged with unlawful possession of marijuana and criminal possession of a firearm in April.

Joe Coscarelli wrote this article about the Florida rapper Kodak Black on November 13^th. He started out with the recent news on the rapper and worked to his past criminal charges. He included the details of charges that lead to his sentence that got reduced from ten years. The rapper has had success and the charges have built up. Coscarelli explained his past charges from criminal sexual charges to marijuana possession.