January 31, 2019

THURSDAY JANUARY 31, 2019

Sorry, we were closed Due to extreme winter conditions, the university was closed Tuesday through early Thursday morning

MADISON DIEMERT NEWS EDITOR

Tuesday and Wednesday were the coldest days Minnesota has seen in 25 years, with Tuesday being 27 below zero, and Wednesday 36 below zero.

With the wind chill it is supposed to be much colder. What does this mean for students?

Well, if you didn’t checked your emails, Tuesday and Wednesday the entirety of Minnesota State University,

Mansoor Ahmad | MSU Reporter

Mankato was closed. Only weather-related employees were to show up at MNSU. All events, RSOs, offices, and campus-related

activities were postponed until further notice. The campus is expected to open again at 6 a.m. Thursday. For students living on-campus,

the Univeristy Dining Center remained open.

According to National Geographic, a wind chill of 50 degrees below zero can

cause frostbite in less than five minutes. According to Weather.com, Tuesday’s winds were supposed to get up to 25 to 35 miles per hour and Wednesday’s from 10 to 20.

All students were advised to stay indoors and if you had to leave, hope you were bundle up. Sweatshirts, jackets, thick socks, mittens or gloves, hats, and scarves are a must during these cold days. You should also start your vehicle and let it warm up for a while before driving it. Driving in extremely cold weather before your car can

WINTER PAGE 5

Anthony Ford Pond Hockey Classic braves the cold Ford committee was founded to establish a fund to find a cure for childhood leukemia, and to help other children with a dream of playing hockey to become the next great play.

In the spirit of Anthony’s dream of one day becoming the next “Great One” the Anthony Ford Fund was created in 2007 by friends and family of Anthony Ford and has since donated more than $100,000 to Pediatric Cancer Research and United Way’s Connecting Kids.

In January 2009, the pond hockey tradition began on Lake Washington about 10 miles outside Mankato, Minnesota. The journey

KEVIN KORBEL SPORTS EDITOR

The 11th annual Anthony Ford Pond Hockey Classic, created in the spirit of a little boy who dreamed of playing hockey someday, was played once again on Saturday, Jan. 26 at Spring Lake Park, in North Mankato.

The tournament was played on 12 expanded ice rinks on the grounds of Spring Lake Park, and played host to a two-day long tournament for local adult and youth teams.

The tournament was

Photo courtesy of Brittany Linder

initially created in the spirit of nine-year-old Anthony

Ford, who had lost his battle to cancer following an

IN THIS ISSUE: Women’s Wellness Fair .............................. Page 2 Look out for Maverick Mondays ................ Page 5 Track & Field claims first place .................. Page 7 A Gold Mine of independent music ........ Page 10

18-month fight years ago.

In 2007, the Anthony

FORD PAGE 7

WEATHER OUTLOOK: TUESDAY (1/29)

H: -10 L: -32 Partly sunny; breezy.

WEDNESDAY (1/30)

THURSDAY (1/26)

H: -20 L: -35

H: -6 L: -8

Frigid; partly sunny.

Frigid; mostly cloudy.

FRIDAY (1/27)

H: 13 L: 8 Not as cold.

SATURDAY (1/28)

H: 40 L: 24 Low clouds; milder.

Have a story idea?

Email News Editor Madison Diemert madison.diemert @mnsu.edu

2 • MSU Reporter

News

Thursday, January 31, 2019

Women’s Wellness Fair talks women’s health

MARIA LY STAFF WRITER

Organized by the Women of Action Council, the Women’s Wellness Fair was held in the Centennial Student Union Thursday, Jan. 24 highlighting women’s mental health, physical health, sexual health, and reproductive health.

Angie Buzay, a member of the Women of Action Council, said, “The Women’s Wellness Fair has tons of information for anyone that identifies as a woman.

We have period products, menstrual products, information about diva cups or discs, and a lot of things

Maria Ly | MSU Reporter

people don’t know about like reusable pads. We also have information for anybody as far as gender and sexuality

programs, there’s people from the dental hygiene clinic, the counseling center, the campus dietician, there’s

a midwife, and planned parenthood. There’s access to all sorts of information regarding all aspects of

women’s health.”

Featured in the Women’s Wellness Fair was an assortment of candies and menstrual products, a free hand massage by River Oaks Counseling center, free toothpaste and floss, opportunities with Her Campus, trivia about women’s health, and a lifesized vagina mascot.

Anarose Hart-Thomas, a Women’s Center intern thinks fairs like this are important to bring awareness to women’s health. Hart-Thomas states, “I don’t think there’s enough information out there about women’s health, where I feel like a fair like this helps cover different areas about things. You know like how you should be flossing, what

WOMEN’S PAGE 3

Many students support legal recreational marijuana

MICHAEL MCSHANE STAFF WRITER Now that Tim Walz has become Governor of Minnesota, a topic has brought itself into the spotlight of Minnesota politics – recreational marijuana. An issue that former Governor Mark Dayton placed on the sidelines to the chagrin of drug reform activists, Tim Walz has made it well known that he fully supports a bill to legalize marijuana.

With many other states across the country legalizing cannabis use for recreational purposes, there are many who believe Minnesota will become the next state to go green for marijuana.

Speaking to 100 students throughout campus asking them if they support the legalization of marijuana in Minnesota. In the onequestion survey, 74 students said they would support the legalization, while 26 said they would not.

Some were enthusiastic with their response, proclaiming it long overdue

for comprehensive marijuana reform in Minnesota, believing it was time for Minnesota to join the other 10 states to have legal recreational use of marijuana.

Others, however, were not as welcoming to the idea of marijuana becoming legalized for recreational use.

Some were supportive of its use for medical purposes, but when asked if they supported recreational use, they were less enthusiastic about the idea.

To some, this remains a nonissue as when asked about their opinion on the matter, some students said they did not care whether it was legalized or not. Marijuana, being such a controversial and debated drugs over the potential damage long-term use could cause, has left many wondering if it is worth it to legalize.

Advocates press the economic benefits the state could benefit with the legislation. The examples being states such as Washington and California, both having passed laws legalizing the use of marijuana for recreational use, are seeing a large boom in money[economy].

Opponents for recreational marijuana also use such states as examples for keeping

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recreational use illegal. They point to a rise in automobile accidents as well as the risk of teenagers somehow getting to the drug through people at age to buy it.

It remains to be known what will become of any sort of legislation pertaining to recreational marijuana in Minnesota. Unlike the other 10 states to legalize

recreational marijuana, statewide votes on issues are only for constitutional amendments which many see as a long shot for marijuana.

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Thursday, January 31, 2019

News

MSU Reporter • 3

Four different yoga nights free for MNSU students MANKATO, Minn.- The Student Events Team will be hosting four different themed yoga nights.

• On January 31 at 8p.m., there will be hot yoga in Pennington Hall 102. Hot yoga is the practice of yoga in a room that has hot or humid conditions ranging from 90-100 degrees.

• On February 7 at 8p.m., there will be blacklight/neon yoga in

Pennington Hall 102. Wear your brightest clothing and enjoy the calming dark room with only the brightness of your clothes.

• On February 14 at 8p.m., in Pennington Hall 102 there will be Valentine’s Day Yoga. Have a relaxing yoga session with your significant other or best friend, and be surrounded by love with chocolates, roses, and aromatherapy.

• On February 21 at 8p.m. in the Ballroom there will be Live Band Yoga. The band Good Night Gold Dust will be performing while doing a yoga class.

For more information on this event contact Student Events Team Special Events Chair Miranda Magnuson, by email at miranda. magnuson@mnsu.edu or by phone at 507-389-6076.

Photo courtesy of Flickr

WOMEN’S

Continued from page 2 kind of toothpaste would be important to you, all the way to birth control and who you can talk to about it, and I think a fair like this offers a bunch of resources that students may not interact with otherwise.”

Resources included handouts about meditation and mental health, information on birth control, guides to healthy eating by the campus dietician, information on the Dental Clinic, information on the Gender and Sexuality

programs, and information on services like Planned Parenthood or Student Health Services.

The Women’s Wellness Fair and learning about women’s health is not only important to women but also men. Buzay agrees, as she said, “I think a lot of the same things that’s normalized among women is also normalized among men, and if they’re not introduced with facts or have the opportunity to get them, they’re most likely not

going to reach out and look for themselves. I mean even, in the Women of Action Council, people were talking about how many times they have been intimate with somebody, and they expect them to be shaved like a baby. And just like certain odors or discharges are not normalized, and then they see some women as dirty when actually it’s probably unhealthy if they don’t have a lot of those things.”

The Women of Action Council started planning

for the Women’s Wellness Fair since last semester with many members interested in learning more about women’s health.

Hart-Thomas said, “I think women’s health impacts everyone, whether they see it directly or not.

Everyone knows someone who identifies as a woman and why not get information to support those people as well as feel like you are supported as a woman.”

The Women of Action Council is an open group

who discuss an array of topics regarding women’s issues every week in CSU 218 from 3:30-4:30 p.m. on Wednesdays. The group also has many things planned such as a book display at the library to celebrate the Women Center’s birthday and women’s history month this spring.

Hart-Thomas added, “It’s an open thing, anyone is welcome to come to the meetings and talk about women’s issues. We have a lot coming up, stay tuned.”

You deserve a scholarship.

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4 • MSU Reporter

Thursday, January 31, 2019 EMAIL THE EDITOR IN CHIEF:

Why President Trump folded on the shutdown

DAVID BASSEY

david.bassey@mnsu.edu OR AT reporter-editor@mnsu.edu

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JOSHUA SCHUETZ STAFF WRITER The federal government is going to reopen, and the longest government shutdown in American history seems to have finally, after over a month, come to an end.

There’s been a question in the aftermath of this whole mess: Why did President Donald Trump sign a bill to reopen the government?

Why give in?

There are two answers.

First, because House Speaker Nancy Pelosi is an experienced and remarkably effective leader, and second, because the political fallout from the shutdown was outweighing any possible benefit.

Speaker Pelosi held firm against the president, despite mockery and a great deal of political pressure to cave on the issue. As a consequence, the new Democratic majority in the House of Representatives has locked its first major political victory.

Government shutdowns are, generally speaking, a glorified game of chicken.

Each side has conflicting demands, and each side

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wants to hold out for as long as possible, in order to make the other side cave, and hopefully making them lose face in the process.

It is a tricky game, and a politically dangerous one.

Government shutdowns are toxic, to put it mildly, and stories of government workers being unable to afford mortgage payments and other basic necessities made this one particularly bad.

The reason why the Democrats’ strategy worked is that presidents generally receive the majority of the blame for a government shutdown, since they’re the face of government.

Democrats made the case

that the president was holding the government hostage for the sake of a border wall.

The polling indicates that the American people, by and large, believed that case, albeit with significant partisan differences.

Of course, there is the question of how the conservative base will react.

On this issue, there seems to be something of a split. One school of thought is that a shutdown was ultimately so toxic and damaging that it needed to be ended and that any benefit (that is, border wall funding) was likely either not to come or not to be worth the political damage.

The other school of thought, prominent among talk show

hosts, is that the reopening of the government signifies either a kind of betrayal or at least a degree of cowardice from the president.

However, it does need to be noted that this reopening of the government constitutes something of a quick fix. The bill to reopen the government only makes provisions for doing so for the next three weeks. It is entirely possible that we may face another shutdown in less than a month. Negotiations may well collapse, leading us into another shutdown situation.

Nevertheless, we should celebrate the fact that federal workers will finally receive their paychecks.

“How is the semester going so far for you?”

ABDI MOHAMED, ASTROPHYSICS “Better than last semester.”

ABDURRAHMAN GUANTI, LIFE SCIENCE EDUCATION “Cold.”

MEGAN HAWKINS, EDUCATION

SAI THOTA, IT

MADISON DENTON, NURSING

“The library has been my friend.”

“Pretty well, so far.”

“It’s been really good.”

POLICIES & INFO

• If you have a complaint, suggestion or would or would likelike to point to point outout an an error error made made in the in the Reporter, Reporter, callcall Editor Editor in Chief in Chief David Rae Bassey Frame at at507-389-5454.

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THE OPINIONS EXPRESSED IN THE MSU REPORTER ARE NOT NECESSARILY THOSE OF THE COLLEGE, UNIVERSITY SYSTEM OR STUDENT BODY.

Compiled by Maria Ly

TITUS BOLLES, AVIATION “I’m having a lot of fun.”

Thursday, January 31, 2019

WINTER

Continued from page 1 warm up can damage it, and sometimes it can be beyond repair.

Highland Hills Apartment, which is across from campus, has recently issued an advisory for its residents, saying to keep their faucets trickling with hot water so the pipes don’t freeze up.

This is good advice for students who might not know that pipes can freeze.

If you live in houses, you should also do this.

Students who won’t be home should also keep their heat on. This is another way to avoid pipes from freezing, and if your apartment or house gets cold enough it could damage your belongings. Also be mindful of your pets and make sure they stay indoors.

One student says of the weather, “I’m stoked about the snow day, but this weather is insane. I can already feel my nose hairs freezing off!” Another student says they will be calling into work. “Safety first,” she says.

Students should take this as solid advice, as well. If you feel that you cannot get to work safely, you should stay indoors. Always take your personal safety into account first.

“Stay warm or risk the consequences!”

News

Look out for MNSU’s Maverick Mondays

OLUWATOMIKE BALI STAFF WRITER

Maverick Monday is a student dress up day that was introduced this semester to celebrate the Maverick Spirit by wearing Maverick gear. This will be held on the last Monday of every month through this semester.

Brandon Weideman, one of the coordinators of the event, said, “Maverick Monday’s are essentially spirit/dress up days for the school. The idea came to us when we noticed that school spirit was lacking during the spring semester,

Photo courtesy of Student Events Team

I remember that we would always have dress up days during the school year. And these dress-up days were

“Students can participate by simply dressing up according to the theme and showing off school spirit.” and we wanted to find a way to boost it.”

Brandon said, “Back when I was in high school,

a lot of fun for both the students and staff, which is why I thought it would be a great idea to do the same

Calif. regulators prep for PG&E bankruptcy SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — California regulators were poised for a bankruptcy declaration by the nation's largest utility as it faces billions of dollars in potential damages from wildfires in the state.

Pacific Gas and Electric Corp. had said the decision could come on Tuesday, and the California Public Utilities Commission scrambled ahead of the deadline to ensure PG&E would have financing that the company says it would need to continue providing electric and gas service under Chapter 11.

The four members of the commission voted unanimously Monday at a raucous, hastily announced meeting to exempt PG&E from a longer approval process for bankruptcy credit and loans.

The decision cleared a major obstacle to the company's planned

MSU Reporter • 5

bankruptcy filing— a move that would likely set off a yearslong court battle that could result in legislative changes, higher utility rates and less money for wildfire victims.

PG&E announced on Jan. 14 that it planned to file for bankruptcy in the face of at least $30 billion in potential wildfire damages.

The company said it faced hundreds of lawsuits from victims of catastrophic wildfires in 2017 and 2018.

The fires included the nation's deadliest in a century — a November blaze that killed at least 86 people and destroyed 15,000 homes in Paradise and surrounding communities.

The cause of that fire remains under investigation, but speculation has centered on PG&E after the utility reported power line problems nearby around the time it started.

State investigators last week cleared the company’s equipment of any fault in a 2017 fire in Northern California’s wine country that killed 22 people. The finding prompted questions about whether PG&E still needed to file for bankruptcy. Gov. Gavin Newsom’s office estimated that more than half of the roughly $30 billion in potential damages the company cited was from the wine country fire.

Legal experts said they still expected PG&E to move forward with bankruptcy in part because that would give the company space to formulate a plan to prevent its equipment from causing more catastrophic fires and reduce its future wildfire liability.

California may have to change an existing law that holds utilities entirely liable for damage caused by their equipment regardless of whether the company was

thing here at [Minnesota State University, Mankato].

So, I came up with some fun themes for each month, called it Maverick Monday’s, and started putting everything together.

Maverick Monday’s happen the last Monday of each month during the spring semester, and each month has a different theme. This first Maverick Monday is Mav Gear Day and it is happening Monday, Jan. 28.”

When asked how students can participate, he said, “Students can participate by simply dressing up according to the theme and showing off school spirit.”

There is also a small prize for students who dress up.

You can stop by the Lincoln Lounge between 11 a.m.-1 p.m. You can also look up the event on Facebook for different locations on where to meet. 2 There are several different events lined up for Maverick Mondays. Here are the dates, themes, and times of the upcoming Maverick Monday’s: Feb. 25: Pajama Day, Hearth Lounge 11 a.m.-1 p.m.

March 25: Sports Day, Myers Field House (By Einstein’s) 11 a.m.-1 p.m.

April 29: Beach Day, CSU Mall 11 a.m.-1 p.m.

Support The

Monday, February 4th 10:00AM-4:00PM CSU Ballroom

Sponsored by Upward Bound & MSU Volleyball Appointments can be made at 507-389-1212 or www.RedCrossBlood.org and enter Sponsor Code: MSUUPWARD Receive a Red Cross "We Challenge U" T-shirt when you come in to give blood!

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6 • MSU Reporter

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Thursday, January 31, 2019

Thursday, January 31, 2019

MSU Reporter • 7 Have a story idea or a comment?

Minnesota State University, Mankato

EMAIL

Sports Editor Kevin Korbel

kevin.korbel@mnsu.edu

Track & Field claims first place in Mark Schuck Open

BOBBI PATRICK STAFF WRITER After a successful weekend at the Division II invite last weekend, the Minnesota State University, Mankato Mavericks competed Jan. 2526 at the Mark Schuck Open and Multi held in Mankato.

Friday, the pentathlon and heptathlon started their competition, as well as many athletes went for school records in some unique events.

Freshman Zoe Stone

Mansoor Ahmad | MSU Reporter Minnesota State’s Grace Hartman receives the baton from her teammate Gabi Gaines during the women’s 4x400 meter relay during the Mark Schuck Open & Multi Saturday, Jan. 26 at the Myers Field House in Mankato, Minn.

Minnesota State placed first in the event, and won the meet as a team.

Mansoor Ahmad | MSU Reporter Robert Sullivan of Wayne State competes during the men’s shot put at the Mark Schuck Open & Multi Friday, Jan. 25 at the Myers Field House in Mankato, Minn.

scored for the team placing 6th in the pentathlon.

Senior Jack Curtis placed 2nd overall in the men’s heptathlon and senior Calvin Buesgens placed 4th, both earning points for the team as well.

Sophomore Mackenzie Woodard won the 300-meter dash with a time of 40.77 and the record held by Jeri Domes from 1984 is 40.38.

Woodward was less than .30 seconds to beating the time.

On the men’s side, John Schuster ran a new school record in the 500-meter dash.

The old record, held by Jerrell Hancock from 2012 was a 1:04:26, and Schuster ran a 1:03:28.

The Mavericks also held another new event to indoor, 400-meter hurdles.

Junior Leroy Kwateh and freshman Drew Lewison tied

Mansoor Ahmad | MSU Reporter Ryan Kruse of Minnesota State takes part in the men’s long jump at the Mark Schuck Open & Multi Friday, Jan. 25 at the Myers Field House in Mankato, Minn.

jump with a jump of 6.53 meters.

Elijah Calderon-Pitchford and Victor Ogeka placed 2nd and 1st in the triple jump, respectively, with Calderon-Pitchford jumping a 14.58-meter jump and Ogeka jumping a 14.67 jump.

Liz Brunner placed second in the women’s triple jump with an 11.72-meter jump.

In the throws, Katie Taylor won the shot put and weight throw for MSU with a 15.36-meter mark in the shot and a 19.09-meter throw in the weight. The sophomore was recently named NSIC’s Athlete of the Week.

On the men’s side, Connor McCormick placed 5th with a 17.86-meter mark in the weight throw, while Jayme

Mansoor Ahmad | MSU Reporter Zoe Stone of Minnesota State competes in the women’s shot put during the Mark Schuck Open & Multi Friday, Jan. 25 at the Myers Field House in Mankato, Minn.

the event both running a 55.80. On the women’s side, sophomore Chelsey Bad Moccasin ran a 1:06.45.

Other event standouts included the 400-meter dash where Schuster and sophomore Josh Phelps went 1st and 2nd, a race that ranks both of their times top 10 in the nation.

Sophomore Autumn Anderson placed 4th in the 400-meter dash with a 59.98, scoring points for the team.

Junior Carolyn Hackel snagged 1st place in the 60-meter hurdles with a time of 8.91.

In the high jump, Teya Langston won on the women’s side with a jump of 1.62, while on the men’s side, Deveyon Brown placed second with a 1.94-meter jump and also placed 3rd in the long

LaPlante earned 2nd in the shot put with a throw of 15.77 meters.

The Mark Schuck multi and invite was recently renamed this year from the MSU Open to honor the longtime coach Mark Schuck.

Jeff Decock was also honored at this meet along with his family.

Decock, a successful MSU high jumper and student who passed away unexpectedly in May 2017, left a memorable mark on the MSU Track and Field program when he left.

The high jump event was renamed in his honor.

Up next for the track stars is their next meet on Saturday, Feb. 2 at home for the Ted Nelson Classic. The Mavericks look to ride the momentum heading into the next meet of the season.

8 • MSU Reporter

Sports

Thursday, January 31, 2019

Men’s basketball sweeps weekend series

The Mavericks are back to their winning ways after two road wins this weekend

AARON YOUNG STAFF WRITER This past weekend, the Minnesota State Mavericks men’s basketball team defeated the Wayne State Wildcats on the road, 90-79, and followed that up with a victory on Sunday, 79-73, over the Augustana Vikings. This breaks their two-game losing streak and brings the Mavs to 14-6 on the year, and 10-4 in the conference.

Right out of the gate, the Mavericks were on a rampage, managing to get a

21-point lead early on in their first game of the weekend against Wayne State.

Junior guard Juwan McCloud connected from downtown halfway through the first half to get the Mavericks up 36-15.

The Wildcats clawed their way back and got the lead down the with a little over a minute to go.

With the score at 40-30, freshman Tre Baumgardner drew the foul after shooting a 3-point shot, completing a four-point play to end the half.

In the first half, every Maverick who hit the court scored, contributing to the mayhem.

Junior forward Cameron Kirksey once again led the team with 10 points and Mc-

Cloud added nine points and two assists. Even the bench got in on the action, scoring 17 points for the Mavericks.

The second half was a similar story. The Mavericks held their double-digit lead and were up by 21 again.

Wayne State stormed back and got within eight points of the Mavs but it was too late.

The Mavericks ended up winning the game 90-79.

Minnesota State had the advantage over Wayne State on the boards with 41 over 37. The Mavs bench in the end contributed over a third of their points, recording 33 on the night.

Then on Sunday, the Mavericks had a tough battle against the Augustana Vikings. The game started out slow as both teams mustered

Jereniah Ayodele | MSU Reporter

up only 10 points halfway through the first half.

Eventually, the Mavericks got their lead up to 11, before the Vikings responded back to get within seven heading

into the second half.

Augustana came

out

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Mavericks upend Northern State on the mat

The Mavericks stay undefeated in the NSIC conference after defeating the Wolves at home

JOHN LAFOREST STAFF WRITER Over the weekend, the MSU wrestling team stayed undefeated in the NSIC with a pair of dominant victories over strong opponents.

The Mavericks started the weekend of wins with a dominant effort, capturing a 25-9 dual victory against No. 25 Northern State.

The two teams were closely contested through the first six matches Friday night as the two teams split to a 9-9 score early. Freshman Trevor Turriff (184 lbs.) gave the Mavericks a lead of 9-3 with a big 9-3 decision over Kaden Campbell.

Caleb Lefferdink (285 lbs.) of Northern State had his hands all over, early in the

sixth match and walked away with a 10-4 decision over freshman Max Villnow to knot up the score at 9-9. MSU’s Andrew McFall (125 lbs.) later gained a forfeit victory moving the teams score to 15-9.

The Mavs wouldn’t look back after the miscue on NSU, as they went 3-0 in the final three matches, including a big major decision victory by senior George Farmah (133 lbs.) over Kenny Jones.

Saturday’s string of matches went unlike those from Friday but ended like the result of Friday’s games.

Minnesota State overcame a slow start to dominate Southwest Minnesota State at the Taylor Center Jan. 26 afternoon in a 22-9 victory as the Mavericks improve to an impressive 6-1 overall record (4-0 NSIC), while the Mustangs remain winless on the season as they fall to 0-6 overall (0-5 NSIC).

The Mavericks were able to gather themselves as a team after a troublesome start against the Mustangs as

Kjerstin Hall | MSU Reporter

they took two out of the first three matches.

After the shaky start MSU really locked in taking seven of the eight remaining matches. Ignited by junior McFall (125 lbs.) who won by 4-1 decision. No. 1-ranked senior Farmah (133 lbs.) also came out and had a dominating performance winning a 7-2 decision against Brock

FORD Continued from page 1

slowly started by building rinks of snow and has since evolved into 12 new rinks with NiceRink boards.

In 2016, the event was moved to Spring Lake Park in beautiful lower North Mankato which has proven to be a wonderful setting for pond hockey.

Now, after city officials recently celebrated a brandnew warming house Thursday, Jan. 24 just in time for the

upcoming Anthony Ford Pond Hockey Classic this past weekend, the weekend tournament now looks to be a mainstay in Spring Lake Park for year to come.

The new warming house was more than a year in the making after North Mankato officials had hoped to build a $450,000 warming house in 2017 as part of a larger project to renovate the Spring Lake Park Swim Facility.

Later on, the North Mankato City Council accepted a $567,000 bid from DeMars construction for the project in late 2017, but construction waited until last fall to coincide with the nearby outdoor pool renovations.

The Anthony Ford Fund and the Mankato Area Foundation contributed $100,000 toward the project, to build the huge facility.

The new warming

Buysse of Southwest Minnesota.

This was followed by a come from behind 5-4 victory by way of junior Louie Sanders as he broke the tie and put the Mavericks ahead. The last two matches of the afternoon featured No. 4-ranked junior Zach Johnston (174 lbs.) and freshman Turriff (184 lbs.) who were both able to

capture a pair of very thrilling victories with scores of 7-4 and 6-5 respectively. This put the final score at 22-9 in favor of the Minnesota State Mavericks.

Minnesota State returns to the mat at 7 p.m. Thursday, Jan. 31 at Taylor Center as they end their five-game home stretch in Mankato.

house, which stands at an astounding 4,000-square feet, is roughly four times as large as the previous warming house. It contains bathrooms, a storage area, a kitchen for concessions and a community viewing area where residents can look out on nearby hockey activities, the outdoor pool and other parts of Spring Lake Park.

One of the nearby ice sheets was named in honor

of Ford, and now all skaters, young and old, will get to live out his dream of being able to play hockey on the ice.

As the foundation embarks on 12 years next year, the tournament committee looks to see the classic game grow with the tournament seemingly getting bigger every year.

Thursday, January 31, 2019

Sports

MSU Reporter • 9

WNBA: Dip in attendance lowest in league history

The league has seen an increase in viewership, yet fails to garner fans to their games

BRADY OLSON STAFF WRITER In 2018, the WNBA had an average game attendance of 6,768 in regular season games. This marked the first time in the league’s 22year history that attendance dipped below 7,400 fans per game. And while WNBA stars are clamoring for higher salaries in the league, it’s time to evaluate a league that has struggled to get people into the seats.

Up until 2018, the WNBA had built a stable attendance base, staying in between 7,000-8,000 fans per game since 2010. But in 2018, then-owner of the New York Liberty James Dolan moved the team from Madison Square Garden, an arena with a capacity of roughly 20,000, to the Westchester County Center in White Plains, NY. The new arena, located 35

minutes north of New York City, has a seating configuration of 2,300 that is expandable to 5,000.

Dolan, who has since sold the team, said that the move came due to low attendance.

The Liberty while in the Garden averaged less than 10,000 fans a game, and Dolan says that roughly half of those tickets were given away.

Playing in Westchester, the Liberty’s attendance catered to about 2,800 fans per game. But they were filling the new arena, and accomplished the goal of creating a more fan-intimate experience.

The Liberty are not the only team to be downsizing in the WNBA. The Chicago Sky and the Washington Mystics moved into new, smaller arenas last season.

While the Liberty’s move to Westchester accounts for roughly half of the decrease in attendance, the other main factor in decline could also be attributed to the constant moving of teams in the league.

Take the Chicago Sky for

example. Up until 2010, the Sky played at the UIC Pavillion. Then, heading into 2010, they moved to the Allstate Arena. Now, they have moved to the Wintrust Arena. The constant moving of arenas can act as a prohibitor from building up one’s fan base.

A perfect example that in a different sport would be the New York Islanders of the NHL. The Islanders, who used to play at the Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum, moved the team to Brooklyn in order to play at the Barclays Center. While the Barclays Center is a better arena, the Islanders moved away from their fan base, and attendance cratered to last in the NHL. It also doesn’t help that WNBA teams also have had trouble staying in one city.

Out of the 12 teams that took part in the 1999 season, only five remain in their original market. The other seven have either folded or moved.

However, signs are pointing up for the WNBA. For starters, while attendance has gone down, TV viewer-

Photo Courtesy of the Associated Press

ship has gone up. Games on ESPN2 averaged nearly 250,000 viewers, which is a 38% increase from 2017.

Also, there is increasing parity in a league that has been dominated by the Los Angeles Sparks and the Minnesota Lynx. The Lynx, who have four WNBA titles, lost in the first round in 2018 as Seattle won the WNBA title.

For the WNBA to succeed, it will need to have a future with less moving cities, less moving arenas, and focus more on building fan bases.

And if they can execute on that plan, it can act as a catalyst for league growth and higher player salaries. However, as we have seen, there is a big difference in saying it and doing it.

10 • MSU Reporter

Thursday, January 31, 2019 Have a story idea or a comment?

Minnesota State University, Mankato

EMAIL

A&E Editor Lucas Torborg

lucas.torborg@mnsu.edu

Daniel Franzese’s comedy tour hits MNSU

MARIA LY STAFF WRITER Daniel Franzese stopped

by Minnesota State University, Mankato Thursday, Jan. 24 for his “Yass You’re Amazing Tour” making the campus laugh with his various jokes about life and his experiences.

Lydia Jagodzinski, the Speakers and Entertainment Chair for the Student Events Team and the main organizer of the event, saw Daniel Franzese showcase his act last year in the National Association for Campus Activities conference and couldn’t wait to bring the star from Mean Girls to MNSU. Jagodzinski said, “I’m just excited to bring comedy on to campus. I was talking to

my advisor today and he said we haven’t done comedy since 2014 or 2015, and I just think it’d be a nice change of pace.”

The comedy act was a success from beginning to end. Opening Franzese’s set was David Burdge, an Omaha-based comedian, who warmed up the crowd with his jokes about the harsh Minnesotan weather, his life as a gay man, and the annoyances of being the gay best

friend in which he says to his straight girlfriends, “Stop showing me your bras!” He also jokes about his experiences coming out and how “being gay is a pain in the ass”.

Daniel Franzese continued the laughter of the crowd as he starts with his iconic line of the night, “You’re so amaaaazing!” and how he got the inspiration from his Italian mother who he jokes a lot about in his set. From Maria Ly | MSU Reporter

Maria Ly | MSU Reporter

his mom embarrassing him in front of Ryan Gosling to her always mentioning he’s the “fat gay guy from mean girls” to her shenanigans and special “mom-ese” language, Franzese’s mother is hilarious. Like Burdge, he jokes about his experiences as a gay man. Along with being gay, his Italian roots is a big part of his life which he jokes about often in his set.

After his hilarious set, he

indicted the audience into the House of Glen Coco and made an entrance video asking the crowd to go as wild as they can. He also did a Q&A where students asked a range of questions from awkward sex scenes, to coming out in college, to his experiences in the behind

FRANZESE PAGE 11

A Gold Mine of independent music MARK REYNOLDS STAFF WRITER Colin Scharf from the Mankato-based band Good Night Gold Dust spoke in a music industry class on Jan 22 at Minnesota State University, Mankato where he discussed the struggles and success of being an independent musician in Mankato.

Formed in 2010, Good Night Gold Dust fully embraced being an independent band. They self-produced their first two albums and worked with Minneapolis producer Brett Bullion for their self-titled studio album.

“Working with Brett was a super leg up,” Scharf said.

“His name on our stuff really amplified our signal.”

But production alone

Photo courtesy of Good Night Gold Dust

doesn’t make a good album.

Gold Dust impressed Bullion with their demo. Their years of playing shows in the Cities, perfecting their unique, ethereal, indie-rock sound paid off. Bullion helped them brilliantly showcase their sound.

“I guess it just became what the band sounded like, you know? Gold Dust went from being a self-produced, bang-around, folky rock band to slick, polished studio,” he said.

Producing a record, however, is only the first step. Being

an independent musician also means doing all of the marketing, publishing and distribution by yourself. But Scharf’s intense love for music makes it worth it.

“You work. You do all that work, you do all that stuff yourself. And it’s exhausting,

but when I’m not playing music, when I’m not working at music, I get really depressed. I get really sad. And then I go, ‘What’s missing?

Oh yeah, Music. I have to do something with music.’ So, it keeps me kind of alive,” he said.

Scharf also talked about their Kickstarter campaign for their newest album, “It Could Have Been You,” and the skills that helped with its success.

“Learn how to film, learn how to record, learn how to write a script if you don’t already do that stuff,” he said.

“Just speaking personally, I grew up having my hand in all these little arenas. I’m not great at any of these things, but I can do them.”

The campaign’s odd video featured Scharf dressed up

GOLD MINE PAGE 11

Thursday, January 31, 2019

A&E

MSU Reporter • 11

Board game club will end boredom

KOLBY SPOMER STAFF WRITER On the campus of Minnesota State University, Mankato, there are numerous Recognized Student Organizations available to join.

These organizations vary from recreation to political, to academic, but they all are great ways to make friends.

This week we will be shining a light on the Board Gaming Club, as they have been a consistent part of the CSU scheduling for years.

The club is pretty standard as far as they go. Students meet every week, play some games, and just hang out.

Often, the numbers of the actual members fluctuate every week, but about 15 or so show up for every event. The

games played vary from classics, like Clue and Monopoly to brand new hits like Secret Hitler and Codenames. Club President Lidia Vassar said, “We honestly just play whatever people want to. Most days we stick to the same games, because that’s what the regulars like, but we’re open to anything!”

The club has tried to be more inclusive in recent weeks by adding video games to their collection of games, but they don’t have the funding necessary to get newer consoles like the Nintendo Switch.

“Yeah, we kind of really think something like that would be pretty awesome. It would be a great way to get newer members, and also Smash is tight,” explained Vassar. “We are currently looking into getting some sort of funding so we can, if not a Switch, get at least something a little more exciting and new.”

If being awkward and not

Photo courtesy of Flickr

accepted into a group is a worry of yours, don’t fret.

Vassar said, “No, you’ll be fine. Trust me, we take anyone and have a bomb time no matter what. This appears to be very true, as the group’s events were light and very relaxed with a whole lot of laughter. The events start every Friday from 6 p.m., and go on to around 10 p.m. The

president ended saying, “I know it isn’t a crazy party, but if you’re looking for something fun to do on a Friday night, even for just an hour or two, you should come and check us out! You won’t regret it, and you might have a new thing to look forward to every week. I hope to see you there!”

GOLD MINE Continued from page 10 in a lobster costume busking around town in an attempt to fund the album.

“A friend of mine gave

Alongside his band, Scharf and his wife Laura have turned their house into a music venue called “The Gold

Mansoor Ahmad | MSU Reporter

me a lobster costume for my birthday a couple years ago, and it just sort of sat in a box,” he said. “And I thought, ‘I’ve got it! I know what we can do for our Kickstarter video! It’s the rock lobster!’”

“So, the rock lobster marches around town, he’s got his guitar. He’s trying to make money for the band. It was kind of a gag. The video was a gag. And eventually it turns out that the rock lobster, people keep making fun of him, he doesn’t get any money. So then, it cuts to Gold Dust going, ‘We need your help!’ I thought it was hilarious,” he laughed.

Mine,” hosting living-room shows for local and regional acts.

In its early days, Good Night Gold Dust played primarily at two venues: The RedSky Lounge and the Sugar Room. Scharf said playing at these venues taught Gold Dust how to be a band.

But after both venues closed, Scharf wanted to create his own venue that felt more like home “So, Laura and I said, ‘Screw it. We’re going to take this into our own hands.

We’re going to open our living room to host shows.’

As a way to, one: maintain relevancy through the greater

regional area for Good Night Gold Dust, but also two: because we love music,” he said.

Since the Gold Mine’s opening in 2015, they’ve hosted around 30 shows featuring great Minnesota artists including Chris Koza, Field Report, Communist Daughter, Mike Munson, Charlie Parr and Chastity Brown.

“When Chastity Brown played, MPR did a photo spread,” he said. “But then Jay Gabler from The Current reached out and he said, ‘Hey, we’re doing an article about small, independent listening rooms around the state, can we do the Gold Mine?’ and I said, ‘Well, yeah!’”

Since starting Good Night Gold Dust, Scharf has found success for himself not just in performing, but in many facets of the industry. His variety of skills and willingness to try new things has helped him find stability.

“You kind of look back at all the little things. I don’t consider myself just a singer-songwriter. I have all these other things that help me,” he said. “I’m giving back, and then I’m getting favors and helping people out.

It’s just a very cyclic, karmic thing. It’s cool.”

Scharf’s career has been propelled by just trying things and reaching out to people, even if it seemed unlikely to work.

“Sometimes maybe you’re afraid. Don’t be afraid to ask. Just reach out,” he said.

“They might not write back.

You might get an email from their booker or manager that’s, like, all lowercase, no punctuation and very terse.

But then you might get a really happy one. It might work out.”

FRANZESE Continued from page 10

the scenes of Mean Girls.

Franzese’s show was a hit with the campus, sponsored by the LGBT Center, not only shed light on the hilariousness and fabulousness of being gay, but also brought diversity and the importance of having an event like this on campus.

Jagodzinski said, “I think diversity events on campus, in general, whether it’s LGBT or cultural diversity are really important because it educates our student body on things that they don’t know and it just helps them learn, but while it educates new students it also helps students who are in those identifying groups whether it’s cultural diversity or LGBT rights, or women’s issues, it helps them feel accepted for what they have going on and it just provides a very important point of advocacy.”

After the show, Franzese did a meet and greet with all the students where he gave autographs and took selfies with fans. He also had special fan moments like teaching a fan how to use a fan and signing the jiggly belly of an eager MSU Reporter writer.

Franzese left MNSU with one advice for college students, “In college it doesn’t matter how you got to the party, all that matter is that you went to the party.”

12 • MSU Reporter

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