Hello and Good Morning, this is Mari Pizzini and I am here to give you this week’s news in both Sioux City and the United States.

Our first story focuses on the importance of college sports attendance.

According to a study done by the University of Oregon, sports audience attendance in college is on a major decline.

An audience is an integral part of sports performance, but only mainstream sports such as football and volleyball are bringing in crowds. We talked to different athletes from Morningside College about their experiences with audience attendance.

Tessa Renze, a freshman swimmer at Morningside, is who we approached first.

Me: How does having an audience support you make you feel?

Tessa: “I get really excited” 

Me: Does it change your performance in any way?

Tessa: “it releases that side, that competitive side.”

Along with swimming, bowling is one of the least attended sports at the college. We talked to Haley Mathes, a third-year bowler and co-captain of the Mustangs team this year.

Me: What does having personal support make you feel?

Haley: “I feel like I need to try more”

Me: Do you change how you compete when people come to watch you?

Haley: “I feel like I need to showcase my talents for the people that know me”

Audiences are what propel students to become their best at the most important times.

In National news, Tuesday marked the day for country-wide elections with some different, even unexpected, outcomes.

Danica Roem, a 33-year-old former journalist, became the first openly transgender elected official Tuesday night when she ousted Robert G. Marshall from his Virgina committee spot.

Marshall, during his 13-terms, was known as Virginia’s “chief homophobe” and he introduced a “bathroom bill” that died on the floor. Roem overpowered his efforts in raising donations and made her margin of victory very clear.

Her election was one of the many included in the change from Republican holds, to Democratic committee members.

Tommy Croskrey commented that “it went from Democratic to Republican when Obama was elected, it’s just an interesting thought.”

Democrats lost around 900 seats between 2008 and 2016, but the sitting percentage is changing again, and now it is bringing the LGBTQ community with it.

Anti-Trump Democrats and Independents vied for committee spots to prove how to move past the opposition to the unpopular Republican President.

Roem was concerned with showing voters her care about local problems, and Marshall’s infatuation with mainstream conservative causes.

Sioux City also had their City Council elections Tuesday, and Morningside’s very own Alex Watters was re-elected to his seat, along with two other incumbents.

Watters will be taking his first full-time seat after being appointed a 10-month position to fill in for Keith Radig.

We asked Emma Sonier how she felt about the local elections,

“I’m okay with Alex being re-elected, but I also would have liked to see some new faces elected to City Council this year.”

Watters, Dan Moore, and Pete Groetken were all re-elected, the first time in decades three incumbents have retained their seats.

Ballots from Tuesday allowed voters to choose up to three different candidates. These three will make their office oaths in January.

This concludes your Local and National weekly news. Have a good day, this is Mari Pizzini signing out.