Author: Jade (Page 1 of 2)

From Sioux City to the University of Iowa and back – one dancer’s story

Hayley Lange (pron. “long”) is a sophomore college student and dancer at Morningside College, but it hasn’t always been that way.

Like most people born and raised in Sioux City, Morningside was not an option for Hayley. Lange grew up dancing and eventually went to Sioux City East High where she was on the varsity dance team for all of her four years there. She was already very familiar with Morningside and wanted to get away to try something new in college.

Lange admits she looked at some colleges that she could dance at but ended up choosing the University of Iowa where she studied biology. She had a few other friends that were also at Iowa and took a dance class, but something was still missing. She explained, “I realized just how much dance helps me blow off steam. My four hours of dance class a week ended up being what I looked forward to.”

Dance was Hayley’s escape. In her down time she would go to the dance halls and find her motivation, comfort, and herself again. She also admitted that she originally chose to transfer to Morningside because of the “incredible” scholarships that were available to her.

After dancing for about 16 years, Hayley knew it couldn’t be over just like that. After her first semester at Iowa, Hayley decided to transfer and make the move back to Sioux City and to Morningside. Lange expressed further, “My semester there was a learning experience to say the least. However, I don’t know if I could tell you a thing I learned.” She continues, “I was very lost, unsure of what I wanted to do with my life, and stuck in a strange new city that never came to feel like home. That was one of the main reasons I decided to transfer from the University of Iowa to Morningside.”

Once she was back in her hometown, though, she realized that it was the right decision. On the Morningside dance team alone there are eight Sioux City East alumni. It didn’t take Hayley long to feel more welcomed and comfortable at Morningside. “It reintroduced me to old friends and teammates, helped me meet new people, and gave me something to be a part of,” she explained. She was surrounded by her friends, family, and was finally able to continue her passion of dancing.

There are some difficulties and setbacks, though of being a student-athlete in college. As you get older, classes get harder and according to Lange, “dance seems to do the same”. Hayley says it really makes you look at your priorities and where they lie, but all the work is worth it. When reflecting back to her high school dance team, she says Morningside’s dance program really pushes you. “I can feel myself getting better and accomplishing things I never imagined I would,” she explained.

Hayley is a now sophomore and continues to dance for Morningside. She also continues to study biology with a minor in chemistry with the intent to go to medical school. She gives the credit for this decision to dance: “As unrelated as it sounds, I do partially attribute this decision to dance. It helped guide me back to what I want most.”

Hayley helped the dance team to two first place trophies and one third place at the Iowa State Dance Team Competition in Des Moines last week. She plans to continue dancing for Morningside in her years to come.

Food court explosion leaves two dead at Mega City Mall

A suspicious explosion occurred at the Mega City Mall in the food court at 9:50 this morning.

There were less than 100 reported injuries and 2 people pronounced dead at the scene by the Central City fire department. The actual stores in the mall had yet to open, but the entry doors opened at 9 a.m. At the time of the explosion, the mall was scattered with employees, mall-walkers, and one high school student skipping class.

A large section of the food court and parts of IKEA were damaged from the explosion, but the specific source is still being investigated. “We don’t know yet that it’s a bomb. We are still investigating all possible sources of the explosion and have no suspects at this point,” reports a spokesman of the mall, Robert Dillon.

“It’s just your average mall,” says Dillon, “we don’t know that it was intentional.”

A mall security officer eyewitness explains their situation, “I was walking by the food court and saw someone place a box on a table.” She continues, “I didn’t think anything of it, just thought they were getting something to eat. I turned to keep walking and that’s when the explosion happened.” The officer reported it happened in front of Subway.

A retired fireman of the Astro City fire department was also at the scene of the explosion. “I was eating a burger in the food court and actually saw the explosion. It was extremely scary,” he said. “I’m suspicious that it was on act of terrorism,” he explained.

There have been no reports of gas leaks, other injuries, or out of the ordinary incidents at this mall within the last few months. Dillon was unaware at the time if any employees had been fired within the last month or two.

They have yet to get a chance watch the security footage, but it is intact and able to be viewed. The incident is still under investigation.

A food court explosion leaves two dead at the Mega City Mall

A suspicious explosion left almost 100 injured and 2 dead at the Mega City Mall in the food court at 9:50 this morning.

The stores had not opened yet, but the entry doors opened at 9 a.m. At this time, the mall was scattered with employees, mall-walkers, and one high school student skipping class.

A large section of the food court and parts of IKEA were damaged from the explosion, but the specific source is still being investigated. A spokesman of the mall, Robert Dillon reported that they don’t know yet that it’s a bomb. They are still investigating all possible sources of the explosion and have no suspects at this point.

A mall security officer eyewitness explained their situation, “I was walking by the food court and saw someone place a box on a table.” She continues, “I didn’t think anything of it, just thought they were getting something to eat. I turned to keep walking and that’s when the explosion happened.” The officer reported it happened in front of Subway.

A retired fireman of the Astro City fire department was also at the scene of the explosion. “I was eating a burger in the food court and actually saw the explosion. It was extremely scary,” he said. “I’m suspicious that it was on act of terrorism,” he explained.

They have yet to get a chance watch the security footage, but it is intact and able to be viewed. The incident is still under investigation.

The Midland Zoo in Sioux City just lost one of their three polar bears they have on display. Polar bears have been a main attraction and have thrived at this zoo since 1985.

The oldest and most playful polar bear, 16-year-old, Homer, was found by zookeeper Sara N. Getty at 7 this morning, just an hour after his feeding. Sara says, “Homer was a very curious and playful polar bear and we will miss him terribly.”

After the incident, the other two polar bears were removed from the exhibit. They are both being monitored by veterinary staff, headed by Dr. Shanda Lear. She explains, “The zoo will perform a necropsy to try to determine the cause of death,” she continues, “the results will not be available for several weeks.”

Zoo director, Chris P. Bacon, says they are doing everything they can to determine how their polar bear died. He emphasized the primary goals of the zoo are the preservation of species and animal welfare.

The zoo’s unique exhibit allows the bears to engage in natural behaviors like playing in snow, digging in gravel, and hunting trout in the chilled pool. These bears are educating zoo visitors about threatened animals such as themselves.

Newly awarded Oscar winner for Best Actor and UN Messenger of Peace, Leonardo DiCaprio gave a speech over climate change to the UN last week. And he did so by connecting today’s issues with President Abraham Lincoln.

DiCaprio started with a quote from President Lincoln saying how we need to “disenthrall ourselves” which will help us save our country.

While DiCaprio is widely known for his powerful performances in films such as Titanic, The Great Gatsby, and latest, The Revenant, in his speech, he highlighted his world travels and experiences with people that are affected by the changing of the natural balance of our planet. He touched on problems including pollution in Beijing, deforestation in Canada, and flooding in India.

“I do not need to throw statistics at you, you know them better than I do,” says DiCaprio. He continues, “Climate change is happening faster than even the most pessimistic of scientists warned us decades ago.”

A large applause followed DiCaprio’s comment on fossil fuels needing to stay in the ground “where they belong”. He makes sense of all of this by explaining that it’s not only good for the world and environment, but is also smart economically.

He then starts his conclusion with a call to action. He explained that we need to lead, inspire, and empower, as President Lincoln did in his time. His last quote is from President Lincoln that says “We will be remembered in spite of ourselves. The fiery trial through which we pass will light us down in honor or dishonor, to the last generation.”

DiCaprio finishes hoping to resonate and leave his words in everyone’s thoughts saying we are the “last best hope” and it is our duty to protect our planet.

Duo Don Juan reflects on their work together and hoping to release new music next summer.

Former English teacher Don Cooper and guitarist, singer, and songwriter John Dodge began their small band of two about three years ago They have been writing music together ever since.

Cooper admits it was hard to “shuck the robe of responsibility”. He didn’t believe he could make a living doing what he loved to do so he settled for something that would make him less than happy.

Now Cooper and Dodge are working on new songs and doing shows. They performed with Jackson Browne and James Taylor last summer in New York at the club Trax. Browne and Taylor have since been big supporters of the group.

“We love each other and we fight all the time,” Dodge explains. “That’s the way we work, It’s all ultimately positive…We’re writing quite a few, but it’s tough. But it’s worth it.”

They understand nobody settles for anything less than the best. The two squabble on the fine points and the creative tension builds as the group creates a new song.

Dodge claims they are recording this Spring. He says Don Juan hopes to have a product on the streets by the end of the summer.

Creepy clowns create chaos

All across the U.S., people are becoming more and more terrified to see people dressed as clowns.

To most, clowns are seen as people trying to bring happiness and joy  through balloon animals and funny faces. To others, it’s always scary to be near one. A freshman at Morningside College, Kasey Nelson, gave me her take on clowns: “I think they’re scary in general. The face paint and their hair makes them look creepy and unapproachable.”

Within the past couple weeks, though, everyone has been on the lookout for them, not wanting to cross paths with the white-faced, crazy-haired spooks.

From cornfields to the woods to walking the streets, people are dressing up as clowns, but it doesn’t stop there. Many of these clowns are found holding weapons such as knives.

A viral video of two teenaged boys getting chased through the woods by a clown holding a knife spread like wildfire through social media. But this isn’t the only incident that has been recorded.

More and more people are catching their encounters with these clowns on video. Whether or not these videos are genuine or just a group of kids trying to scare the internet, everyone is on edge.

Upon searching “clowns” on Twitter, there are hundreds of thousands of tweets and multiple “clown sighting” accounts tweeting where people have supposedly seen one of these suspicious clowns.

Morningside College’s head of security, Brett Lyons, sent out an email to all students, staff, and faculty late Monday night saying there were “calls of a 4 door car with 3 individuals in it driving around campus. One of the individuals was wearing a clown mask and trying to scare individuals on campus.”

In asking Lyons what he thought about this situation and what they intend to do, he explains, “We understand the students want extra protection and security around campus and we are doing everything we can. We always provide escorts around campus, especially at night if someone happens to be alone.”

Even with this extra security being put in place, walking alone at night seems more eerie than on a usual nightly stroll through campus.

Some students are staying cautious, always traveling in groups and some are utilizing the security escorts. Others aren’t too worried, “If I saw it was a student I’d probably just laugh,” jokes Morningside sophomore Lynsey Fuller. She continues, “But if it was someone actually trying to scare people, I’d scream and run away.”

Morningside College, along with everyone else, continues to be on the lookout for these creepy clowns creating chaos.

Morningside thumps Doane

Morningside overwhelms Doane

Both of these stories cover our football game played on Saturday, October 8th at Olsen Stadium against Doane. The main point of each of these stories was the fact that we were ranked #6 (due to a loss to #2 in Division III, Wisconsin-Whitewater) and beat #3 Doane a staggering 67-9.

The video story includes more background information on the two teams while the text story didn’t include any. They both start with the offense, highlighting key players and plays, such as quarterback Trent Solsma, connecting with receivers Tanner VerSteeg and Michael Whitehead.

One thing the text story includes is quotes from interviews with players and even Coach Ryan after the game. The video story didn’t have any.

Another thing the text story includes is defensive highlights. The video story doesn’t include any which curious to me because football both a huge offensive and defensive game.

The videos that the video story included aid in showing just how dominant the game was. You can tell everyone the yardage and stats, but seeing these numbers being executed is helpful in reiterating their main point.

The text story ends with the top highlight of the game for Doane whereas the video story doesn’t mention Doane. This is understandable, though, because it is a local television station and I think the people watching a t.v. wouldn’t care about the other team as much as someone who reads a printed article.

Morningside College professor meets wife on bus tour while living in Chile

Some call it fate, while others a coincidence…either way, a tour of wooden churches in Chile brought a Morningside College professor and his wife together.

Patrick Blaine teaches Spanish at Morningside College and has been traveling the globe since his college years at the University of Iowa.

Blaine has visited almost 20 different countries, his longest stay being in Chile where he lived from about 2000-2003.  He got the opportunity to be a translator and teacher which is one reason he stayed there for as long as he did.

Another reason being a girl. Not just any girl, but his then, future wife and now, current. Chile being a big tourist country, they have many different bus tours people are able to take. One particular day, Blaine wanted to go on one, but the certain one he wanted was full, so he opted for a tour of old, wooden churches. This is the tour that brought him to Monica.

Monica was born and raised in Chile, but Blaine being fluent in Spanish, could still easily communicate with her. The tour was somewhere around February 7th (Blaine admitted he couldn’t remember exactly) and they went on their first date on Valentine’s Day where they saw the movie “Unbreakable”. From there, the relationship took off.

Monica’s family was not always keen on the idea of her having a foreign boyfriend. Blaine explained that Latin American families are super close and bringing a foreigner into her life was no easy task.

Blaine included what some of her older, male relatives told him: “We’ll kill you and make it look like an accident.”  Her parents were cautious at first, but after so long, they realized his intentions were good and he wanted a lasting relationship with their daughter.

As for their life together now, they are living in Sioux City, Iowa with a nine-month old son, Sebastian. Monica is a licensed social worker that works with catholic charities around the community. Blaine admits that they have thought about moving to Chile so that Monica could be closer to her family, but all decisions are based on their kid. While moving there isn’t quite an option yet, they try to visit every three years to reconnect with her family.

Morningside College professor meets wife on bus tour while living in Chile

Patrick Blaine, a professor of Spanish at Morningside College, met his wife Monica while he was living in Chile. Blaine was supposed to go on a different tour that day, but instead opted for a bus tour of old, wooden churches. Blaine said it was definitely not his first choice, but a marriage and child came out because of his decision that day.

I walked to the library from Lewis Hall in search of a piece of gum. Specifically, this piece of gum could not be pink. Nowadays, that’s not too difficult because most people carry mint gum instead of bubble gum. I first used a direct approach and asked the young man, with long brown hair at the front desk if he had a piece of gum that I could have. He said no, either because he didn’t want to give me any or he actually didn’t have any on him. Next, I saw two girls sitting at a table so I decided to go up and try them. I first said hello and asked if i could sit with them for a minute. I then introduced myself and they said their names were Hayley and Jenna. Hayley is blonde and wearing a tan cardigan. Jenna has dark brown hair and was wearing a pink t-shirt and black, square glasses. I asked if either of them had a piece of gum and Hayley said that she did. I then asked her if it was pink and she confusingly said no. Jenna asked, “What is the significance of it being pink?” That is when i explained to them that I had to go out and ‘scavenge’ for a piece of gum that wasn’t pink for a class in practicing talking to strangers. All in all, it wasn’t too difficult because many people do carry gum on them, and the girls were very nice and understanding.