The honeymoon didn’t even start for a newly weds, for the marriage to turn sour. Richard, 50, and Laurette,38, Brunson were married on Saturday at their home, 617 Jackson Street. The couple had about 30 guest who were in attendance. During the reception a dispute between the new couple broke out and resulted in Laurette throwing macaroni salad on Richard. Richard went in a grabbed his .22-calibre handgun and shot his new wife in the abdomen and took off on foot. The Brunson’s neighbor Walter Corse, heard to the gun shots and stated that he heard the son come out and say “she’s been shot and can’t breath.”Walter’s quote. Laurette is recovering at St. Luke’s Hospital, Richard’s whereabouts are still unknown.

The legalization for Marijuana is going to be an option to people in Organ and Washington come this November.  In 2010 the people of California voted on the legalization of medicinal Marijuana, but the law did not pass. Could this be the new political trend? What other states are going to start to question if this law? Perhaps if Organ and Washington does allow the sale of Marijuana and shows a significant profit, other states would start to follow in the footsteps. Time will only tell. Whether the law actually passes in the two states.

Important topics like this are necessary to pay attention to because other states could pass very similar laws. If the legalization of Marijuana passed in Iowa, the effects would be positive. Farmers could grow it in their fields to increase the nutrients in the soil. Not to mention the tax that would help the state out. Something to look forward to in the future? Perhaps, only time will tell what will happen with the legalization.

Erin Ponder

Jack White played in Omaha this summer. White published his tour dates in late May.  For the first time White would be preforming in Nebraska for the first time in his music career. Best known for his work with the White Stripes, Raconteurs, and the Dead Weather. White came out with his own solo album in April titled Blunderbuss.

August 6^th was the date that Jack was scheduled to play at the Omaha Music Hall.  People from all different walks of life filled the entrance to the venue.  Hipsters, middle-aged couples, and teenagers, were all eager to get inside to grab the best seats.  A table was set up in the front offering merchandise that cost an arm and a leg to buy.  Fifty or so people crowed the small table yelling sizes and colors at the people who were frantically digging through boxes.  Past the Merch table were two sets of double doors that led into the auditorium.  You had to walk past a dozen police officers that lined the walls in order to get inside.

Walking into the arena people were scattered all through out the seats.  Most people were all in the standing only area at the front of the stage. A young man was sitting with an older woman, who was presumed to be his mother. This must have been his first concert. A row in front of the them was a group of teenagers who were speaking in hushed voices. The only girl in the group was showing the rest of the  something that she had in her purse.  “Once he comes out I’ll whip this out.” She said the rest of the group. “Yeah! That’s good. Here is this for your troubles,” a guy said wearing a black stocking cap.

The lights dimed and everyone stood to their feet and started to cheer. A group of two women and one man came out on stage holding their instruments.  “How ya’ll doing?” the man said, “Were going to play a couple of songs for you, I hope you all enjoy.” The group went on for what felt like two hours, but it was in reality forty-five minutes.  The group finished singing their folky tunes and left the stage. The stage went dark for about three minutes, when a blue light lit the room. Men in Bowler hats walked on and went to their designated instruments. The audience erupted in cheers and yells in hope that Jack wasn’t far behind.

Once Jack walked out onto the stage and grabbed his famous red electric guitar and played the opening cords to “Hello Operator” from the White Stripe’s album De Stijl. It’s as if anarchy ensued on the people.  Screaming fans started jumping trying to get a better view of Jack playing his guitar. Songs from all of Jack’s bands were played, especially songs off of Blunderbuss.  All of the songs took about two hours to preform.

The entire performance was described as a religious experience. Zach a Sioux City native talked about his experience attending the concert. “You could have gotten a contact high from all the weed people were smoking in there.”  The auditorium was smoky. The blue lights lit the smoke as it traveled up onto the stage.  “Jack was amazing. Seeing him was defiantly a life goal of mine, and I’m glad I got to see him live.” Zach went on to say that Jack White is a huge inspiration to him and looks up to White as he goes into the music business himself.

Jack White said at the end of the concert that Omaha was a great city and the people are very welcoming. He would love to come back sometime to play another show. White left the crowd with high sprits that someday he will be back playing another show just like the one he preformed, or perhaps better.

The Missouri River Historical Development (MRHD) has released a statement stating Hard Rock will be the new casino coming to Sioux City. After months of arguing with Penn, MRHD decided to end the contract after an agreement couldn’t be reached. This is great news for the Sioux City area. It’s said to bring 500 jobs to the area. The location is set to go downtown, off of water. This could be the chance to bring the downtown area back to life. Summer of 2014 is the set goal for the casino to open. It’s going to be very interesting to see how the downtown area changes when Hard Rock opens.

Erin Ponder

Jack White released his tour schedule this summer.  For the first time ever he was going to be in Omaha, Nebraska. Tickets were only $50, and Omaha isn’t far from where I live. Jack White is one of the greatest musicians, right up there with Bob Dylan. I needed to go to this concert.

I bought the tickets out of impulse, it was final I was going. Convincing my parents would be the hardest part of the journey.

“Erin, you never drive anywhere. How are you going to drive to Omaha?” My mom said in a fierce tone.

“Mom! I can do it! Or I can just have Zach drive.”

“Who is Zach? Why have I never met him? Are the two of you dating?” My mom kept bombarding me with questions. I shouldn’t have even told her that I was going. Staying the night at a friend’s house would have been a much better excuse to tell her why I wouldn’t be home for dinner that night.

“Zach is a friend from work. He thinks we’re going, because we already bought the tickets. So I can’t really get out of it now.”

She had no response.  I was ready to pull out the “I’m 20 mom, I can handle this.” Card. Finally, I convinced my parents that going to Omaha by myself isn’t as dangerous as it sounds.

So Zach and I made our way to Omaha. The air conditioner in my car stopped working a week prior. The entire drive there was sticky hot, Jay Z was on the radio rapping about his love of New York.  I couldn’t stand the heat much longer. As we passed a sign stating “Omaha 10 miles,” I became extremely antsy. I just wanted to get to the hotel, in air conditioning.

“Who this guy that were meeting for dinner?”

“Oh, his name is Sean, I’m really good friends with him. He graduated from Morningside this summer. We’re going to an Indian food restaurant. I hope you like curry.” I informed Zach. That was the longest conversation we had the entire car ride.

We had finally gotten to the hotel, after we took a wrong turn and ended up going through a low-income neighborhood. I called Sean to inform him of our arrival. We met Sean for dinner at an Indian Cuisine place. The Naan bread was to die for. I kept checking my phone for the time. Jack White would be on stage in two hours. I hurried dinner along, and Zach and I left for the venue that was miles away from where we were staying.

The streets were packed with people. Hipsters, teenagers, and middle aged couples.  Parking wasn’t as big of a problem as I thought it was going to be.  Zach and I made our way to the door. Getting inside was more hectic than going through airport security.  Stopping at four different people that needed to see our tickets.  Cops lined the walls,  people were packed into the lobby.  The main floor seating tickets was the greatest purchase I have ever bought.  The lights dimmed, a group of two woman and one man came out on stage. They sang their folk songs that went on what felt like hours.  “Thank you ladies and gentlemen! Jack will be out in a minute!” the man  said as he gathered his guitar and banjo.  I sat down in my seat and observed the people that were around me. To my left, a mother and son. This must have been his first concert.  A group of four teenagers sat a row in front of us. Two girls that were wearing striper heels and very short dresses sat directly in front of me. The smell of Marijuana lingered in the air.  The groups of teenagers were passing a pipe back and forth. They obviously didn’t care about getting caught.

The crowed started an uproar of clapping and screaming, a group of men sat down at their designated instruments.  Jack didn’t come out until a minute later. When he did, my life was complete. He picked up his guitar and did the opening cords to “Hello Operator.” Zach looked at me and just started screaming. I looked on with owe. I still couldn’t believe that I was actually seeing Jack White live. The White Stripes, Raconteur’s, and The Dead Weather’s songs were all played over the course of two hours. Never have I ever seen someone play the guitar quite like Jack did.

The concert came to an end. I didn’t want it to. I wanted to stay and watch Jack preform forever. It felt like I was in a state of Nirvana. Nothing else mattered in the world except for the music that was pouring out of the speakers.  People started leaving their seats. Zach reached for my hand, and pulled along out to the open air.  I didn’t look at him the entire time while we were inside.  I gave him a look of pure happiness. He smiled back, and led me to the car.  Zach managed to find the way back to the hotel with out my navigation.

The entire concert kept replaying in my head. I couldn’t have imagined a better day. Good company, good food , and a wonderful way to end the summer. Seeing Jack White in concert was one of the greatest things I have ever done.

Today on Good Morning America they had the “bullied grandmother” on to do a follow-up interview to see how she was coping with the hurtful words. Karen Klein was harassed by students on the bus she was monitoring.  A student took a video of the harassment that was going on and posted it on Youtube. Karen received several apology letters from the students who poked fun at her. I’m not sure how or whom gave Karen money, as a sort of compensation for the emotional distress that she had to go through. The money that she did receive is going towards an anti-bulling movement. I get that bulling is a serious issue that needs to be addressed in high school and middle school. This viral video also indicates that bulling doesn’t stop after you graduate from high school it’s in the real world as well.

One thing that annoyed me while I was watching this segment was they kept referring to Karen as the “bullied grandmother.” The word “grandmother” just pulls at some heart strings of people to get more sympathy. Bulling is a really hot issue in the world of teens. Last year it was gay marriage this year the anti bulling movement.