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State of the Union Address recapPresident Obama speaks to the future in annual presentation.

NICOLE SCHMIDTStaff Writer

If you thought President Barack Obama would go into his final State of the Union Address before the new Repub-lican-dominant Congress with a defeatist attitude, you would be wrong. On January 20, Presi-dent Obama delivered his final State of the Union Address with an air of power and absolute confidence.

The speech began with an eloquent explanation of the ac-complishments that have been achieved during his time in office, such as the economy’s improvement, the creation of new jobs, and a higher number of people attending college. Also mentioned were success-ful endeavors like bringing the troops back home from Af-ghanistan and having a lesser dependence on foreign oil now than ever before.

Obama then continued to tell the story of a Minneapolis couple, Rebekah and Ben Erler. The couple got married rather young and struggled to make ends meet while supporting their young family as the market crashed years prior; their story is one of working hard to make it through, which is exactly what they did.

“It is amazing,” Rebekah wrote to Obama, “what you can bounce back from when you have to...we are a strong, tight-knit family who has made it through some very, very hard times.”

With this as a platform, the speech then evolved into mak-ing a point that middle class economics is the most beneficial way to ensure Americans thrive. This calls for tax increases on the wealthy and redistributing it to the less wealthy (referred to

as the ‘Robin Hood’ tax plan). This is a current controversy in Congress because the proposal would call for an increase in taxes on capital gains and dividends for the top 1 percent, from a previous 20 percent to a proposed 28 percent. Also, it proposes an inheritance tax law change making more inheri-tance subject to tax.

This is going to be a sticking point for Democrats and Repub-licans in the weeks to come, and here’s why:

Republicans are often displeased when liberal politi-cians claim that it’s time for the top one percent to start “doing their fair share.” Conservatives believe that these people have worked for their money; and not just work a little, but worked ex-tremely hard for it. If we really want to talk about everyone do-ing their “fair share”, shouldn’t that entail that everyone pays the same, or nearly the same, percentage amount of taxes on capital gains and dividends?

However disconcerting this is to the Republicans, Demo-crats find that the success of others should be shared, thereby creating a better country as a whole rather than a handful of people living very comfortably while others struggle paycheck to paycheck.

Besides the significant talk of middle class economics, other logical points were addressed. Childcare, paid sick and ma-ternity leave, minimum wage increase, free community col-lege, better infrastructure, and a free and open internet were all talking points in the hour long speech.

While the speech presented many relevant issues, one that gained a huge reaction in the media was the first mention of LGBT individuals in such an address. He clearly supported the notion that all people should

have the right to be married and live with the same opportunities as every other American. The LGBT community is excited to finally be recognized on such a large stage as the State of the Union Address, where 31.7 mil-lion people tuned in to hear the president’s words.

President Obama, nearing the end of his speech, also spoke on his success with the restora-tion of diplomatic relations with Cuba. “In Cuba,” Obama stated, “we are ending a policy that was long past its expiration date. When what you’re doing doesn’t work for fifty years, it’s time to try something new.”

One area that also captured attention was the total number of veto threats in the speech, including one comment on the current health insurance situa-tion:

“We can’t slow down busi-nesses or put our economy at risk with government shut-downs or fiscal showdowns. We can’t put the security of families at risk by taking away their health insurance, or unraveling the new rules on Wall Street, or refighting past battles on immigration when we’ve got to fix a broken system. And if a bill comes to my desk that tries to do any of these things, I will veto it. It will have earned my veto.”

The other veto promise in-cluded any proposal that would aims to undo sanctions with Iran.

It’s no surprise that the presi-dent feels he needs to assert his veto power with a majority of people acting against what he wishes to be accomplished.

Hacking security, climate change, and GTMO rounded up the heavy issues of the night.

With elegant prose and sto-rytelling (Obama should really thank his speech writers) he brought the speech full circle and referred back to the story of Rebekah and Ben Erler. He related their story of persever-ance to the story of America as a whole. Here is the last para-graph of the address:

“My fellow Americans, we

mashable.comFrom left to right, Vice President Joe Biden, President Barack Obama, Speaker of the House John Boehner.

ADDRESS • Page 4mashable.com

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Re-Entry WorkshopMSU event teaches ways to market a

study abroad experience.YUSEONG JEONStaff Writer

Study Abroad Re-Entry Workshop will be held Tuesday, February 3 from 3:30 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. in 253 Centennial Stu-dent Union at Minnesota State University, Mankato.

In the workshop, partici-pants will learn how to use their unique study abroad experi-ences on a resume, cover letter and LinkedIn, as well as in job interviews.

International Programs Offices within the Kearney International Center and the Career Development Center coordinated the workshop as a partnership. IPO is in charge of introduction of the work-shop, reflections from students’ abroad experiences and general survey for the participants, and CDC is going to focus on more specific angle of students’ study abroad experiences and how to make them more marketable.

“The purpose of the work-shop is basically to show stu-dents how they can market their experiences they had by study-ing abroad on their resume, their cover letter, their LinkedIn profile and their interview,” said Shelley Loewenhagen, graduate intern of IPO.

“We keep telling students studying abroad is going to make them more marketable on a job and set them apart from

crowd when they apply for jobs. I am just doing their reflection getting them thinking about their experiences before we get into detail of marketing experi-ence.”

Loewenhagen said the workshop will be providing ef-fective information to students, especially specific tips such as how they should talk about their experiences from the alterna-tive schools, works abroad and about their language skills they learned abroad.

Kristin Underwood, as-sistant director of CDC, who will be providing a presentation, said participants will learn a lot through hands-on activities and actual practices in the workshop such as how to put their experi-ences on the resume and how to answer interview questions.

“Someone might put one line on the resume like ‘study abroad in Ireland.’ That’s it, just one bullet point. But I think there is another way to sell it more.”

Specifically, Underwood will provide practical tips that students should talk about on an interview such as how to put their problem-solving skills, risk-taking skills and com-munication skills that students learned through the study abroad experience to sell them-selves for a job.

She said students will be able to put more in-depth on their papers by making their study abroad experiences trans-formational.

“I definitely think that study

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — An Indiana House committee unanimously passed a bill that would ban the sale and manu-facture of soaps and cosmetics

containing tiny plastic parti-cles that environmentalists say are polluting water resources.

The particles known as mi-crobeads are typically found in facial scrubs and toothpastes. Scientists recently discovered that microbeads make up about 20 percent of the plastic pollu-tion found in the Great Lakes and are showing up in fish caught for human consump-tion.

Environmental Affairs Committee members approved the bill Wednesday that would gradually phase out the sale and production of cosmetics

with microbeads. Similar leg-islation has been passed in Il-linois and New York.

Supporters said the bill would take a proactive stance on the issue. There was little opposition since large manu-facturers have already started substituting microbeads with organic materials.

Great Lakes pollution prompts new bill

Facial scrubs, toothpaste will see greater restrictions due to plastic materials.

Photo Courtesy of the Associated PressMicrobeads found in some hygiene products may be banned out of concern for water resources.

STUDY ABROAD • Page 4

mnsu.edu

Thursday, January 29, 2015 News MSU Reporter • 3

Future of international scholarship uncertainRemoving scholarship would raise tuition rates for future international students

YUSEONG JEONStaff Writer

Minnesota State University, Mankato, famous for a reason-able international tuition fee, has offered a proposal that raises in-ternational tuition up to 50 per-cent by changing criteria of the Cultural Contribution Scholar-ship program.

The Cultural Contribution Scholarship is a waiver of the tuition that amounts to the in-state rate for undergraduate in-ternational students who have a valid visa status, higher than 2.5 GPA per semester or 3.0 cumu-lative GPA, completed 12 credits each semester, and performed 25 hours of cultural contribution.

Currently, international stu-dents with the scholarship pay the in-state tuition about $3,333.79. If MSU adopts the proposal, then international students have to pay about $5,000.69 by the Midwest Compact banded un-dergraduate tuition, which is between full out-of-state tuition and resident in-state tuition. This is the tuition that domes-tic students from non-legislative contract states such as Illinois and Nebraska should pay.

“We as a campus are having some financial difficulties,” said David Jones, vice president of Student Affairs & Enrollment Management. “We admit inter-national students do cost a little bit more for treatment because of more staffing and more pro-cessing. So with the increased tuition, we can add another re-cruiter for international students and we can have more staff to support them”

However, this proposal is controversial because it could directly affect international en-rollment and cause a decline. If the international tuition is raised up to $5,000, even though it would be lower than the tuition of University of Minnesota-Twin Cities, University of Minnesota-Duluth, University of St. Thom-as, it would still be way higher than other Minnesota State Col-leges and Universities System’s tuition level.

“If there was a bill to raise international tuition, I would not be for it because it’s one of the main reasons international stu-dents come to MSU and one of the main reasons MSU is such a great place,” said Faical Rayani, a student senator at Minnesota

State Student Association.

“Students come here be-cause of the affordability because MSU has such a great cultural s chol a r sh ip p r o g r a m . Even with the cultural s chol a r sh ip program, in-t e r n a t i o n a l students in MSU are still paying more than normal American stu-dents. I don’t see any reason for international students to come to the school and I think that’s a big detriment on the school,” he said.

According to Jones, if the new proposal is adopted, it will apply to new individual interna-tional students, not to the ones from partnership schools nor to current students.

“I don’t want to lose any stu-dents. That’s not our goal. The reason for the proposal it to in-

vest more to international pro-gram.”

However, considering the fact that individual paying interna-tional students account for more than 60 percent and only about 20 percent of students are spon-sored from their country’s gov-ernment or school, MSU might face decreased international stu-dent numbers.

In fact, with the international scholarship, the tuition of the St. Cloud State University, Wi-

nona State University, Bemidji State University, Minnesota State University, Moorhead and Southwest Minnesota State Uni-versity is about $3,500 on aver-age, which is similar to current international tuition of MSU. The only school within MnSCU that has much higher tuition is Metropolitan State University.

“International students are making this society more di-

mnsu.edu

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abroad experience is benefi-cial,” Loewenhagen said. She said students need to know how to put their experience in their resume because just having the study abroad experience itself is not suf-ficient for being competitive candidates for jobs.

“That’s what they are going to make a huge differ-ence to get a job which is the ultimate goal after graduat-ing college,” she said.

Underwood also said, “I think people who studied abroad really stand out as candidates for job opportuni-ties.”

Loewenhagen said she expects 10 to 15 people to come so that they can have individual time with partici-

pants. Study Abroad Re-Entry

Workshop is held every year in the spring.

Study Abroad Fair, which is going to be held Feb. 10, is distinguished from the Study Abroad Re-Entry Workshop in that it provides how to plan study abroad and where to go before the experience of studying abroad.

In the fair, faculty of international center and exchanged students from different countries will be attending so that participants can ask questions about study abroad program.

STUDY ABROAD “International Programs Offices within the Kearney International Center and the Career Develop-ment Center coordinated the workshop as a partnership.”

continued from 2

NCAA faces new lawsuitTwo come forward to expose faults in

education for student athletes.

ADDRESS “If you thought President Barack Obama would go into his final State of the Union Address before the new Repub-lican-dominant Congress with a defeatist attitude, you would be wrong.”continued from 1

too are a strong, tight-knit family. We, too, have made it through some hard times. Fifteen years into this new century, we have picked our-selves up, dusted ourselves off, and begun again the work of remaking America. We’ve laid a new foundation. A brighter future is ours to write. Let’s begin this new

chapter—together—and let’s start the work right now.

The address is available on YouTube and the tran-script can be found at www.whitehouse.gov.

AMANDA HINDEStaff Writer

It’s shaping up to be a trying year for the NCAA as two for-mer athletes have come forward in the past week and filed a class action lawsuit against them for “academic fraud in its members schools’ athletic programs.” While some think this couldn’t get worse, from the numerous unacknowledged complaints from over the last century, a large number of the student athletes on the receiving end of less than stellar educations were African-American student athletes—especially in revenue-producing sports like basketball and football.

The two athletes that have come to the front line of this debacle are former University of North Carolina (UNC) football player, Devon Ramsay and basketball player Rashanda Mc-Cants. If that last name sounds familiar, it should—she’s the sister of the former men’s bas-ketball star Rashad McCants of the Tar Heels and was drafted 14th overall his first NBA by the Minnesota Timberwolves. Mr. McCants stands by his sister’s lawsuit and is even testifying against not only the NCAA, but also his alma mater. This isn’t the first time Mr. McCants has put up a red flag against his old college; in early June of 2014 he participated in an interview where he stated that he took bogus classes and had tutors write his homework. His claims were shot down by all of his other teammates from the 2005 team but McCants stood by his claims again and still is helping his sister and Ramsay.

Something is definitely fishy, not only with the NCAA but also the NCAA schools as claims of illegitimate classes are just the tip of the iceberg. The schedules that coaches are requiring their athletes to follow are rigorous to say the least: Wake up, morning prac-tice, study as a team, classes, practice again, study time as a team, lift weights and then off to bed at a specific time. Where is there time to sit and watch Netflix? Where is there time to

talk to fellow classmates? Are colleges and universities push-ing their athletes too hard in order to make money instead of allowing them to balance school and participate as a student athlete?

McCants and Ramsay’s attor-ney thinks so; Bob Orr, a former North Carolina Supreme Court member applauds their cour-age for coming forward. He is also asking that any other UNC student athletes who were duped out of an education to come for-ward and be “compensated for that one way or another.” For-mer federal prosecutor Kenneth Wainstein issued a long-winded report last year focusing on the fraudulent no-show classes that athletes were put into.

The NCAA is also being in-cluded in this lawsuit because of accusations that they “knew of dozens of instances of academic fraud… and it nevertheless refused to implement adequate monitoring systems to detect and prevent these occurrences at its member institutions.” UNC has declined to comment so far stating that they have “not seen the lawsuit,” and the NCAA has also rejected to comment also stating that they have not been notified of the lawsuit. This is the second lawsuit filed against UNC associated with an aca-demic scandal since last year.

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verse,” said Pamal Wanigas-inghe, Information Systems major from Sri Lanka at MSU. “If MSU loses inter-national students, it will lose income from them too.”

Jones said this is a pro-posal, which has not yet been determined. “I don’t know that’s what we are going to end up. I just want people to start talking. So I am asking people to give me ideas until about two more weeks.”

According to the Institute of International Education’s 2014 Open Doors report, Minnesota ranked 19th out of all states in the number of international students attend-

ing colleges or other post-secondary institutions in the states from 2012 to 2013.

Within Minnesota, MSU ranked 3rd in the number of international students fol-lowed by University of Min-nesota-Twin Cities and St. Cloud State University.

According to the U.S. Department of Commerce, international students con-tributed over $27 billion to the U.S. economy in 2013 and 2014 and specifically $354 million to Minnesota economy.

INTERNATIONAL “The Cultural Contribution Schol-arship is a waiver of the tuition that amounts to the in-state rate for undergraduate international students who have a valid visa status, higher than 2.5 GPA per semester or 3.0 cumulative GPA, completed 12 credits each semes-ter, and performed 25 hours of cultural contribution. ”

continued from 3

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MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — "American Sniper" is tops at the box office but don't expect to see former Minnesota Gov. Jesse Ventura lining up at a theater for it.

Ventura, a former Navy SEAL, won $1.8 million in a def-amation lawsuit last year against the estate of the late Chris Kyle, the SEAL protagonist of the movie, which has sparked debate over whether snipers should be considered heroes. Ventura said Wednesday he won't see the film partly because Kyle is no hero to him.

"A hero must be honorable, must have honor. And you can't have honor if you're a liar. There is no honor in lying," Ventura told The Associated Press from his winter home in Baja Califor-nia, Mexico. He also noted that the movie isn't playing there.

Ventura also dismissed the movie as propaganda because it conveys the false idea that Iraq had something to do with the 9/11 attacks. "It's as authentic as 'Dirty Harry,'" he said, referring to fictional movie series starring Clint Eastwood, the director of "American Sniper."

Ventura testified Kyle fabri-cated a subchapter in his "Amer-ican Sniper" book in which Kyle claimed he punched out a man,

whom he later identified as Ven-tura, at a California bar in 2006 for allegedly saying the SEALs "deserve to lose a few" in Iraq. Ventura said it never happened.

The jury gave Ventura the legal vindication he craved. Publisher HarperCollins re-moved the passage from the best-seller, and it gets no men-tion in the movie. Kyle's estate has appealed. Ventura's separate lawsuit against HarperCollins remains pending.

The former wrestler is now working on the second season of his online-only political talk show "Off the Grid" at Ora.tv, which he records in Mexico,

where he lives in a solar-pow-ered home with a satellite Inter-net connection.

Ed Huddleston, a lawyer for Kyle's widow, Taya Kyle, said they won't comment on Ventu-ra's remarks because the lawsuit is on appeal.

Kyle was killed in 2013 on a shooting range. The former Ma-rine charged in his death goes on trial in Texas next month.

The "American Sniper" film has been a sensation at the box office and has earned more than $200 million domestically since it was released last month on Christmas day.

Ventura won’t see American Sniper

Former Minnesota governor says Kyle is “no hero to him.”

Photo Courtesy of the Associated Press

SPRING 2015

POLICIES & INFORMATION

EDITOR IN CHIEF:Schuyler Houtsma ....... 389-5454

NEWS EDITOR:Rae Frame ................. 389-5450

SPORTS EDITOR:Derek Lambert .............389-5157

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• If you have a complaint, suggestion or would like to point out an error made in the Reporter, call Editor in Chief Schuyler Houtsma at 507-389-5454. The Reporter will correct any errors of fact or misspelled names in this space. Formal grievances against the Reporter are handled by the Newspaper Board.

• The Minnesota State University Mankato Reporter is a student-run newspaper published twice a week, coming out on Tuesdays and Thursdays. The Reporter generates 78 percent of its own income through advertising and receives approximately 22 percent from Student Activities fees. The Reporter is free to all students and faculty, but to start a subscription, please call us at 507-389-1776. Subscriptions for the academic school year are $55.00 and subscribers will receive the paper within three to five days after publishing.

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SYSTEM OR STUDENT BODY.

“Do your friends/family pressure you to date or get married?”

Compiled byYohanes Ashenafi

KARL SATHER, SOCIOLOGY

“Never, they were hands off on my love life. My parents loved me for

who I was and never pressured me.”

SCOTT GOERTZEN, GENDER WOMEN’S STUDIES

“They stopped asking that question. Whether I date or not is not impor-

tant to them.”

KELLY PETERSON,PHOTOGRAPHY

“No, my friends know my life is my life and I’ll date when I’m ready.”

BADER ALMUTAIRI,INFORMATION SYSTEMS

“In my culture (Saudi Arabia) it’s important to marry young, so my parents pressure me to marry, not

date.”

ABSHIR QANYARE,LAW ENFORCEMENT

SOCIAL WORK“Yes, they pressure me and say

what are you waiting for? I tell them that I will date after I graduate.”

6 • MSU Reporter Thursday, January 29, 2015

Minnesota State University, Mankato

Email the Editor in Chief:[email protected]

Follow the Reporteron Twitter

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msureporter

Mom, meet my invisible boyfriendNew dating app brings online dating to a new extreme.

NICOLE SCHMIDTStaff Writer

Sometimes being single can be a drag; between relying on your friends and parents to confide all of your successes and failures and being that third wheel at Arby’s again, having a significant other by your side can sound quite appealing.

Recently, it looks like I’m not the only one thinking it would be nice to have a relationship.

Matthew Homann has created a website (bought the domain for only $7) that will grant you your own Invisible Boyfriend (or Girlfriend). That’s right, folks. Step right up! Beginner digital boyfriends are being sold for as little as $24.99 a month for the basic package, including 100 text messages, voice mail, and handwritten notes. Naturally, you also get to choose your significant other’s name, age, interests, and how they look (Hello, Zac Efron!).

Now if you’re me, you might be waiting for the punch line at this point; surely people wouldn’t spend $300 a year solely to maintain the façade of having a boyfriend!

Well, it seems as though some people are happy with having an Invisible Boyfriend/Girlfriend to consult during tough times and offer loads of compliments to them when they’re feeling insecure. The real, tangible people at the other

end line are being trained to make the customer feel loved. For someone who is lonely and in need of a person who is seemingly concerned for them, the Invisible Boyfriend/Girl-friend may seem like a great idea.

As you can imagine, there are mixed feelings on this mat-ter.

Homann claims that simply having someone to talk to and consult in a caring way is ben-eficial to a person. The website, he claims, might also aid in making people more comfort-able when the time does comes for a real relationship.

Yet others are leery about this computer cutie; even Homann says that there could be issues with people becoming too attached to their invisible beau:

“There’s a very real pos-sibility that people might grow attached, though that’s not what we’re trying to go for here,” he

said.In an article in The Washing-

ton Post, author Caitlin Dewey had purchased a one month sub-scription to Invisible Boyfriend. Her reaction to the site after only one day’s use is as follows:

“I’ve been using the ser-vice for 24 hours, and I gotta wonder: How can you not fall in love with him?

After all, the service—which launched publicly last Monday—takes the concept of virtual intimacy further than basically any of the fake-date apps before it.”

Jamie Kankaala, sophomore

Zoology major, also weighed in on this new website. “I think the Invisible Boyfriend website is pathetic. It also leads people to rely even more on technology than they already do today.”

Obviously there are some major concerns over this new phenomenon of creating your own partner. Whether for good or for bad, I’ll leave you with this: the next time your friend gets a text from a new special someone, you know it’s going to cross your mind whether the sappy prose is from a real per-son or their purchased, custom-made Invisible Boyfriend.

ohgizmo.comNew “dating” app allows users to customize their partner...for a fee.

ClarificationIn Tuesday’s issue of The Reporter, the article called “The Boy Who Did Not Go To Heaven” made mention of the book/film Heaven is for Real. This account was mentioned in order to differentiate Alex Malarkey’s story in The Boy Who Went to Heaven from Heaven is for Real, a different story, not to say they are the same. The Reporter apologizes for any confusion this has caused.


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AFTER THEGAME

ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) — Some higher education of-ficials are questioning whether a plan by Minnesota Senate Democrats to make two-year colleges tuition-free would be worth the cost.

Minnesota Public Radio News reports qualms include whether the proposal would bolster the state's workforce and benefit low-income stu-dents trying to finish college.

Critics say many of those students already have grants that cover tuition and fees, and that the plan wouldn't pay for other expenses. University of Minnesota professor David Weerts, who studies higher-education finance, says free tuition is "sort of a blunt policy instrument" that might take more investment than what's actually needed.

The plan could cost $78 million to $106 million over the next two years depend-ing on enrollment, accord-ing to MPR News. It would help about 30 percent of the projected 85,000 students in that period at two-year schools in the Minnesota State Col-leges and Universities system. Each student would receive an average of $1,550. About 42 percent of eligible Minnesota students already have tuition and fees covered by federal and state financial aid because they meet income guidelines.

Making tuition free also wouldn't address other prob-lems low-income students face that can make it hard to gradu-

ated, said Metropolitan State University professor Mark Misukanis.

"So they (might not) be suc-cessful once they get there," said Misukanis, a former finance and research director at the state Office of Higher Education. "They may need to take remedial coursework. (It) might not get them to the award they're looking for."

But former Minneapo-lis Mayor R.T. Rybak, now executive director of education advocacy group Generation Next, said free tuition can make it easier to deal with other burdens

The idea in Minnesota came from a similar Tennessee program that begins this fall, according to State Sen. LeRoy Stumpf, DFL-Plummer. The White House recently an-nounced a similar nationwide proposal.

Funding for the free tuition plan was not included in the proposed budget from DFL Gov. Mark Dayton that was unveiled Tuesday.

Updates on the“Free College” plan

Would two years of free tuition make a difference?

ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) — Enbridge Energy on Tuesday defended its proposal to build a crude oil pipeline across northern Minnesota, despite sug-gestions by state agencies that a southern route might be better.

Company executives testi-fied during the first day of an evidentiary hearing before a regulatory judge in St. Paul, the Star Tribune reported.

Critics of the $2.6 billion project have questioned whether the line needs a northern route. But Enbridge project director Paul Eberth said the Sandpiper project would allow shippers to carry North Dakota crude oil to a terminal in Clearbrook, Minnesota, and then on to Enbridge’s storage terminal and other pipelines in Superior, Wisconsin.

Eberth says rerouting the pipeline without reaching those destinations would not serve shippers’ needs.

Asked if Enbridge would consider alternate routes pro-posed by environmental groups and a state agency, Eberth answered, “I am not sure the project would proceed.”

State officials have raised concerns about the risk of a ma-jor oil spill like the 2010 rupture of an older Enbridge pipeline in Marshall, Michigan. It sent crude oil into the Kalamazoo River and has cost more than $1 billion to clean up. Enbridge has since replaced that line with new pipe.

“If we have incidents like that

I don’t know that we could con-tinue to stay in business,” Eberth said. “It is hugely important for Enbridge to prevent those kind of incidents.”

The hearing, before Adminis-trative Law Judge Eric Lipman, is focused on whether the proj-ect is needed and, if so, whether the company’s preferred route or an alternate one would meet the need. Lipman is expected to issue findings in April to the Minnesota Public Utilities Com-mission, which regulates crude oil pipeline development in the state.

Enbridge, a Calgary, Alberta-based company that has operated crude oil pipelines in northern Minnesota for 66 years, came to the hearing with key support from the State Commerce De-partment. The agency’s energy unit said in written comments that the Sandpiper line is needed and that it should terminate in Superior to tie into pipelines serving refineries in the Midwest

and East.Yet the Commerce Depart-

ment said the line doesn’t need to go to Clearbrook, as Enbridge proposed. Instead, a new termi-nal could be built near the North Dakota border, with a con-necting line to Clearbrook, the agency said. That’s significant because such a change would tee up a possible alternate southern route backed by two state envi-ronmental agencies.

The Minnesota Pollution Control Agency and the Min-nesota Department of Natural Resources have urged regulators to consider a southern route op-tion, which would pass south of many northern lakes and isolated wetlands.

Enbridge opposes that route, saying it is 70 miles longer, poses its own environmental risks and would cost an addi-tional $210 million to build.

The hearings are scheduled through Friday.

Enbridge Energy defends MN pipeline plan

Hearings scheduled to debate redirecting for environmental reasons.

startribune.com

mnscu.edu


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Dayton’s detailed budget proposal debutedTexting while driving, toxic toys face higher fees in MN.

ST. PAUL, Minn. — Getting caught texting while driv-ing could carry a steeper fine. Entrance fees at Minnesota state parks would rise slightly to pay for upkeep. Meat, poultry, can-ning and other food-production plants would be more likely to come under inspection thanks to beefed-up budgets.

Small but notable changes like these are sprinkled throughout Gov. Mark Dayton’s proposed two-year budget. Those recommendations won’t get as much attention from law-makers as his centerpiece plans for increased school aid and for expanded child-care tax credits, but history suggests they’re more likely to get legislative sign off.

The 2,954 pages that make up Dayton’s budget are a trove of details about how agencies operate, where they’re strug-gling and what managers say would improve services or public safety.

Take the texting clause. The Department of Public Safety wants to double the current $50 fine in cases of repeat offenders. Minnesota outlawed texting and other Internet activities behind the wheel five years ago, and state officials estimate the num-ber of citations is climbing 20 percent a year. In 2013, the most recent figures available, there were 1,739 tickets written.

Donna Berger, director of the Office of Traffic Safety, wor-ries the message about texting

dangers isn’t getting through to drivers and says a higher fine could act as a deterrent.

“For the average text, your eyes are off the road for 4.6 seconds,” she said. “If you’re going 50 mph, that’s the length of a football field.”

Raising the fine would also help Minnesota qualify for more federal grant money related to distracted-driving prevention, she said.

The Department of Trans-portation is after clearance to establish a “snow and ice con-tingency account” that would help it better manage road clear-ing during brutal winters like last year, when $136 million in costs blew $50 million past the 10-year average.

At Minnesota’s state park system, officials are also look-ing for a funding boost and hope visitors won’t mind shoulder-ing some of it. The Department of Natural Resources wants to raise annual vehicle permit fees from $25 to $30 and the daily rate from $5 to $6, the first such increases in a decade. It’s part of a request that also seeks $7.2 million more from the general treasury.

Erika Rivers, director of the department’s Parks and Trails Division, said the agency is already scraping to keep up with cleaning, mowing and camp-ing site maintenance at the 75 state parks and recreation areas. There used to be 66 parks with year-round camping; now it’s

32. Without an increase, she said further cutbacks would be needed.

“We take raising fees very seriously. We don’t do it lightly,” Rivers said. “People who visit our state parks love our state parks and in general want to do more for them.”

House Environment and Natural Resources Committee Chairman Denny McNamara, R-Hastings, said he’s not neces-sarily averse to higher fees but he wants to examine the park structure first to determine if lesser-used parks need the level of care they’re getting.

“State parks need more money, but I want to have a hard discussion and a thorough dis-cussion of how much more and

huffingtonpost.comAccording to the Minnesota Office of Public Safety, distracted driving is the cause of one in four accidents,resulting in 70 deaths and 350 serious injuries each year.

where from,” McNamara said.In all, Dayton’s budget rec-

ommends about $30 million in new or adjusted fees. Most are tied to regulation or inspections of specific industries.

For instance, manufactur-ers and distributors of toys and other children’s products that

use certain chemicals would pay a $1,000 fee per product to fund awareness campaigns and promote alternative materials. Fees for various food produc-ers would rise to add staff for inspections aimed at preventing

BUDGET • Page 9


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Dayton’s detailed budget proposal debuted

huffingtonpost.comAccording to the Minnesota Office of Public Safety, distracted driving is the cause of one in four accidents,resulting in 70 deaths and 350 serious injuries each year.

food borne illness.As many as 12,000 fami-

lies may save a few dollars if lawmakers back the gov-ernor’s plan to scrap a $25 fee for families applying for child support services. The state anticipates removing that fee will make it easier for low-income Minnesota residents to sign up for such services, like help collecting child support payments.

And some existing fees could be repurposed. Money in the Support Our Troops

license plate account, fed by extra fees paid by drivers who want patriotic plates, could go for more things than it is now. The Depart-ment of Veterans Affairs wants to expand eligibility for grants to include organi-zations working to improve the lives of veterans or ad-dress pressing issues, such as high veteran suicide rates.

BUDGET “The 2,954 pages that make up Dayton’s budget are a trove of details about how agencies operate, where they’re struggling and what managers say would im-prove services or public safety.”

continued from 8

Mankato students to attend national conference

MSU among 57 institutions recognized for undergraduate research

RAE FRAMENews Editor

Minnesota State University, Mankato has been recognized by the Council on Undergradu-ate Research for its quality and scholarly work.

One of 57 institutions recog-nized in the United States, MSU has been recognized as a nation-al leader in undergraduate level research.

Many students were provided with the opportunity to present work and research at the annual National Conference on Under-graduate Research.

“Being recognized as a na-tional leader in undergraduate research is wonderful recogni-

tion for Minnesota State Manka-to and our students and faculty,” said University President Rich-ard Davenport. “Through our Undergraduate Research Center, we continue to be committed to providing our students with lo-cal, national and international undergraduate research oppor-tunities.”

The MSU Undergraduate Research Center in 2009, and sent five students to the National Conference on Undergradu-ate Research and increased that number to over 50 participants by 2014, which is more than any other MNSCU (Minnesota State Colleges and Universities).

Minnesota State Mankato will be conducting 32 presenta-

tions by 47 student presenters at this year’s conference, which is scheduled to be held April 16-18 at Eastern Washington Univer-sity in Cheney, Wash.

Students from Minnesota State Mankato will travel with full financial support, provided by departments, colleges and the University Foundation, said Marilyn Hart, interim associ-ate dean of the College of Sci-ence, Engineering and Technol-ogy and previous director of the Center.

For more information about Minnesota State Mankato’s Un-dergraduate Research Center, please contact Chip Panahon, acting director of the Center, by phone at 507-389-2668 or by email at [email protected].

The National Conference on Undergraduate Research has been the leading national venue for the presentation of under-graduate research for the past 28 years.

Minnesota State Mankato, a comprehensive university with 15,376 students, is part of the Minnesota State Colleges & Universities system, which com-prises 31 state institutions.

mnsu.edu

Popular local music venue closes its doors

What’s Up shuts down, Oleander’s to follow suit after sale.

RAE FRAMENews Editor

Citing legal sanctions, Mankato music venue and their sister bar, the Oleander Saloon, announced Tuesday that The What’s Up Lounge will close immediately, with the Oleander remaining open until the sale of the business.

The Facebook announce-ment followed owners Casey Burns and Ian Nelson’s re-quests to ease penalties against

the business: “Due to LEGAL ISSUES,

the What’s Up Lounge is closed down effective immediately. This is a huge blow to our mu-sic scene. Hopefully our scene can reclaim our rightful place in our community as we have been being pushed out by vari-ous entities for far too long...Thank you for all your support and for the amazing memo-ries created in our wonderful home.”

The What’s Up Lounge has hosted musical acts for local

bands and poetry readings for Mankato writers for decades--groups that will now need to find a new venue.

The closing of the What’s Up Lounge leaves Mankato with fewer venues to attend for live music, which may encour-age larger venues to host local talent.

mnsu.edu

10 • MSU Reporter Thursday, Janu

The Reporter’s T

1. Bearson, James Bay - “Let it Go (Bearson Remix)”

2. Kygo, Ed Sheeran - “I See Fire (Kygo Re-mix)”

3. Kygo, Marvin Gaye- “Sexual Healing (Kygo Remix)”

4. Kruewl - “Stay (With Me)”

5. Bearson- “Pink Medicine”

TOP 5 EDM TRACKS

1. “Dangerous” by Big Da

2. “Riptide” by Vance Joy

3. “Fever” by the Black Ke

4. “A� er the Disco” by Bro

5. “Animals” by Maroon 5

TOP 5 S

1. Ferguson Protests

2. Ebola Outbreak

3. Malaysia Flight Crashes

4. ISIS + Boko Haram Attacks

5. Sony Hack

TOP 5 WORLD STORIES

1. #22 Strong, Issac Kolstad Recovery

2. Coach Ho� ner returns to position

3. Charting the Future negotiations

4. MSU Football and Hockey go to champion-ships

5. Campus courtyard renovations completed

TOP 5 MSU STORIES

1. Blizzard closes universi

2. June fl oods

3. Microburst tips truck n

4. No major tornadoes

5. Mild end of year

TOP 5 LWEATHER

1. Ho� ner returns, football goes to nationals

2. NFL controversies, Gooddell’s decisions

3. Hockey receives � rst no. 1 ranking since moving to D I

4. MSU Alum Adam � ielen scores touchdown as MN Viking

5. Wild makes it past � rst round of playo� s for � rst time since 2003

TOP 5 SPORTS EVENTS

uary 29, 2015 MSU Reporter • 11

Top Fives of 2014

ata

eys

oken Bells

5

SONGS

1. Into the Woods

2. � e Book with No Pictures

3. Chris Pratt’s transformation into an action star

4. Ed Sheeran’s dancing

5. Jane the Virgin

TOP 5 ENTERTAINMENT SURPRISES

1. Sid Meier’s Civilization: Beyond Earth 2. Pokemon: Omega Ruby/Alpha Sapphire

3. Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo Wii U and 3DS

4. Grand � e� Auto V (Remastered)

5. Mario Kart 8

TOP 5 VIDEO GAMES

1. #YOLO

2. Bae

3. Twerk

4. Hella

5. Basic

TOP 5 OVERUSED WORDS

1. Whiplash

2. Nightcrawler

3. � e Babadook

4. Frank

5. � e Guest

TOP 5 UNDERSEEN FILMS

ity - Jan. 27

near Waseca - Sept. 21

LOCAL R EVENTS

Email the A&E Editor:[email protected]

507-389-5157


@MSU Reporter orLike Us on Facebook



Shadow of Mordor review

playstationlifestyle.net

gamespot.com

MORDOR• Page 13

A precious game for any Lord of the Rings fan.MATTHEW EBERLINEStaff Writer

I’ll admit it. When I first heard about Monolith’s Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor, I was skeptical. I thought Mordor would prove to be just another unfulfilled mess, like so many other titles set in The Lord of the Rings mythology. But now that I’ve had the chance to spend some significant time with the game, I’m happy to report, I was wrong!

In Middle-earth: Shadow of

Mordor, players are thrust into the role of Talion, a Ranger of the Black Gate of Mordor, (simi-lar to the Night’s Watch in Game of Thrones, they watch over Mordor to keep the dark power of Sauron at bay), who seeks vengeance against the Black Hand of Sauron and his lieuten-ants for the murder of Talion and his family at the beginning of the game. After he is killed, Talion finds he has not actually died and enters the wraith world (the same one Frodo enters when he puts on the One Ring) to dis-cover he is bound to the spirit of

an Elf Lord named Celebrim-bor, who keeps Talion alive and shares with him his special wraith abilities with Talion.

As far as story goes, Mordor’s is pretty weak. The opening se-quence is convoluted and hard to understand and neither Talion nor Celebrimbor are ever fully fleshed out as characters. Not once during my entire time with the game did I ever feel emotion-ally invested in the characters or the plot, which is disappointing, but this is something of a minor flaw as the gameplay is so good that the weak story doesn’t de-

tract too much from the overall experience.

Flawed story aside, the game’s setting is quite simply amazing. Never before has Mor-dor felt so vast and alive, even in the legendary Peter Jackson films. Mordor’s dark colors and gloomy atmosphere are some-times offset with moments of sunshine or rain, and the land is populated by roving bands of Orcs (commonly called Uruks in the game) and captured humans the Uruks use as slaves. Even the buildings and ruins feel real and faithfully capture that ominous

and threatening look from the films.

The gameplay is where Shad-ow of Mordor truly shines. As an open-world and third-person action game, Mordor blends some of the best elements these genres. The movement and climbing mechanics are taken straight out of Ubisoft’s Assas-sin’s Creed series and actually feel much smoother and more improved than the mechanics in those games. The combat also feels heavily like that of the Bat-man: Arkham series, although

CHELSEY DIVELYA&E Editor

Fall Out Boy’s sixth album, American Beauty/American

Psycho, is the bands third num-ber one album on the Billboard Top 200. The album was re-leased on Jan. 20th and proved that Fall Out Boy is one of the

biggest selling bands by peaking at number one on iTunes in 22 countries; as well as landing the Top 5 slot in the UK and Aus-tralia.

Taking a closer look at the individual tracks, the first sin-gle released, “Centuries” went platinum and has been streamed more than 80 million times on YouTube and Spotify. The single has also been featured at the 2015 NHL All-Star Fame on Jan. 25, and the 41st annual People’s Choice Awards on Jan. 7. The song has dominated the world of television by being played on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, Today, and LIVE! with Kelly and Michael. For 1980’s fans the melody should sound familiar because of the sampling of “Tom’s Diner” by Susanne Vega. The song is

quickly climbing its way to the top ten on the Billboard Hot 100. Other songs from the album like “Irresistible” and “Uma Thur-man” are already on the Hot 100 chart and therefore will be heard continuously on the radio.

Fall Out Boy has received considerable praise from Enter-

tainment Weekly and the Rolling Stone. Entertainment Weekly stated ““against all odds… have claimed an elusive status as elder statesmen who still have both ideas in their skulls and fire in their bellies.” Meanwhile Rolling

Fall Out Boy’s further successAmerican Beauty/American Psycho continues to rise.

realmagictv.com

idobi.comThe new album cover for Fall Out Boy.

Late night show host succumbs to cancer.

MUSIC• Page 13

Thursday, January 29, 2015 A&E MSU Reporter • 13

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much more gruesome and violent. Taken together, these elements already combine to create a good game, but it’s Shadow of Mordor’s innova-tive new Nemesis system that elevates the game to border-line greatness.

Describing the Nemesis system is somewhat difficult to do, as I haven’t encountered anything quite like it before in gaming. The idea is that the

game tracks a certain number of Uruks who serve as Captains or Warchiefs in Sauron’s army. These Uruks function as lead-ers to the common Orc soldiers and defeating them will help to weaken Sauron’s forces, as well as causing them to drop spe-cial runes, which can be used

to upgrade Talion’s weaponry. If the player is defeated by one of these Uruks, that same Uruk will gain power and prestige for killing you and will end up get-ting promoted. Uruks who de-feat the player will also remem-ber what moves the player has used on them in the past and they will counter those moves the next time the player battles them, adding a new layer of difficulty to each encounter. Players can identify Captains or Warchiefs by defeating and interrogating lieutenants or other Captains for information. Overall, the Nemesis system is an amazing feature that adds an unprecedented layer of depth to Shadow of Mordor and al-lows the game to still feel fresh,

even after countless hours of playtime.

While Middle-earth: Shad-ow of Mordor is far from per-fect, it’s still a good game, even bordering on greatness. But the lack of a cohesive narrative and flat, uninteresting charac-ters cause the game to just fall short of that “great” mark. That being said, the gameplay and setting are nothing short of fan-tastic and really come together to create an unprecedented experience that any gamer, or Lord of the Rings fan, should be sure not to miss. I for one loved it, and I can’t wait to see what Monolith has in store for the future.

NEW YORK — Pioneering radio and TV host Joe Franklin, who gave breaks to the likes of Al Pacino and Bill Cosby on his variety show long before they became famous and who boasted he never missed a broadcast in decades, has died at age 88.

He died Saturday of can-cer, which he had had for a few years, longtime producer and friend Steven Garrin said.

Franklin often is credited with developing the standard TV talk show format, sitting behind a desk while interviewing wan-na-be celebrities, minor celebri-ties and the occasional bona fide celebrity.

The host of “The Joe Frank-lin Show” started in TV in 1950. By the early 1990s, he often said, he had chatted with more than 300,000 guests, including Mari-lyn Monroe, Liza Minnelli and Madonna. But the notables often had to share air time on his low-budget show with a tap-dancing dentist or a man who whistled through his nose.

Garrin recalled how Franklin, who was parodied by Billy Crys-tal on “Saturday Night Live,” hired a young Bette Midler as his studio singer and gave a chance on his show to every up-and-comer trying to make it big: Bruce Springsteen, Woody Al-len and Dustin Hoffman among them.

“He was a wonderful guy,” Garrin said Sunday. “He gave everybody an opportunity.”

Garrin said he remembered how Pacino, after he became a Hollywood movie star, told Franklin in a private meeting: “Joe, why don’t you interview me now that I’m somebody? You interviewed me when I was no-body.”

After Franklin’s TV show ended in 1993, he worked on his late-night radio show. He con-tinued to work even after he de-veloped cancer, doing celebrity

interviews on the Bloomberg Radio Network.

Tuesday was the first sched-uled broadcast Franklin had missed in more than 60 years, said Garrin, who worked with him for 20 of those years, book-ing all his interviews and record-ing the shows in his studios in Times Square between 1991 and 2010.

Joe Franklin passes

Late night show host succumbs to cancer.

nypost.com

Stone praised that “when every-thing connects… Fall Out Boy are a glorious nexus of Seventies glitter rock, Eighties radio pop, Nineties R&B and Aughts elec-tro stomp.”

If you’re interested in seeing Fall Out Boy live this summer the tour begins in June 10 in Camden, NJ. Although the tour does not include Minneapolis, if you find yourself in Chicago, Toronto, Nashville, Atlanta, St. Louis or Las Vegas you could see them but tickets are selling fast. The tour will conclude on Aug. 10 at the Hollywood Bowl in Los Angeles. The tour will mainly focus on the new records but chances of beloved hits like “Sugar We’re Going Down” and “Dance, Dance” might be played. Tickets can be purchased at livenation.com and will in-clude Boys of Zummer, Wiz Khalifa, and Hoodie Allen as a special guest.

The band is originally from Chicago, has been Grammy-nominated, and appeared on the

cover of the Rolling Stone, per-formed on multiple shows such as Saturday Night Live, The To-day Show, America’s Got Talent, The Voice, Jay Leno, Conan, and many more. It looks as if further success is in the bands future as they continue to reach the top of the charts. For more information check out www.falloutboy.com.

MUSIC “The album was released on Jan. 20th and proved that Fall Out Boy is one of the biggest selling bands by peaking at number one on iTunes in 22 countries; as well as landing the Top 5 slot in the UK and Australia.”

continued from 12

hiddenjamsmusic.com

14 • MSU Reporter A&E Thursday, January 29, 2015

TWIN CITIES SERVICESMSP Airport

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Train Connections to The Mall of America and Event Centers

Escape to a new world through a new band.

New Orleans Suspects to perform at MSU

MATTHEW EBERLINEStaff Writer

The band New Orleans Sus-pects will be playing at Bunkers Music Bar & Grill in Minneapo-lis at 9:00 p.m. on both Friday, Feb. 6th and Saturday, Feb. 7th, with an opening by Frogleg on both nights. Tickets are priced at $20.00 and are available for cus-tomers 21 years of age or older. The first annual Krewe of Dads’ Mardi Gras celebration is also on Saturday, so colorful clothing is encouraged.

The band will then play at Mankato’s very own Hooligans

Neighborhood Pub at 7:30 p.m. the following Sunday, Feb. 8th. The performance will be co-sponsored by KMSU-The Mav-erick and the Minnesota State Mankato Performance Series, with additional assistance from

the Arts and Cultural Heritage Fund. Tickets are available in advance for $15.00, or the day of the show for $18.00.

Released in Oct. 2014, Ouro-boros is New Orleans Suspects third album, featuring ten origi-nal tracks blending elements of traditional New Orleans music, including funk, jazz, and R&B. The band chose the title of its album for the cyclical symbol it represents; the image of a snake devouring its own tail.

New Orleans Suspects have received glowing reviews, with Stereophile Magazine saying, “The all-originals album pres-

ents a band not just with chops but a musical personality... The history of New Orleans rolls through these grooves.” Hit-tin’ The Notes Magazine writes “these Suspects are freed in cele-bratory song all the way through

Ouroboros... Rich in hoodoo, but joyous and wildly infectious like most anything grown in the Big Easy, every song here proves that serious players can create a whole lot of serious fun just the same.” The Aquarian Weekly raves “Each time you listen to this album you are guaranteed a temporary escape to a funky des-

tination, one that you will never regret taking,” and the San Di-ego Union Tribune has referred to the band as “a rollicking blend of funk, jazz, blues, rock, and vintage N’awlins R&B, designed to fill dance floors with gyrating celebrants.”

For more information on the Bunkers events, visit http://

www.bunkersmusic.com/For more information on the

Hooligans event, visit http://www.mnsu.edu/news/read/?id=1420693345&paper=topstories

wncw.org

colomusicbuzz.comThe band members of the New Orleans Suspects pictured above.

Jetting off to the Superbowl

Thursday, January 29, 2015 A&E MSU Reporter • 15

Call Only

507.351.5192Call or Text

952.994.5966

Call or Text Jeremy to schedule an appointment!

www.bunkersmusic.com/For more information on the

Hooligans event, visit http://www.mnsu.edu/news/read/?id=1420693345&paper=topstories

PHOENIX — For some travelers visiting Arizona for the Super Bowl, the trip may be just as memorable as the game.

Hundreds of luxury jets will arrive at the eight airports around metropolitan Phoenix by kickoff Sunday, adding to the thousands of flights ex-pected over the weekend. The Federal Aviation Administra-tion and area airports have been planning for the influx for the past year.

Private jet-setters will re-ceive VIP treatment. Many travel with companies that allow individuals and busi-nesses to own a portion of an aircraft or to buy flight hours and that lavish perks on cus-tomers including goody-filled swag bags, a concert by coun-try group Lady Antebellum, complimentary cocktails and high-end catering once they emerge from their Lear Jets

and Gulfstreams.“We’ve got a team that greets

every airplane. We do roll out — it’s maybe not red carpet — but there is carpet that’s rolled out,” said Eric Lampert, NetJets’ vice president of flight operations.

The boost in private jet traf-fic for the Super Bowl is a sign of how the big game has increas-ingly become a VIP event, from

the many celebrity parties to tickets running several thousand dollars.

Starting Thursday, NetJets will have a temporary furnished lounge where customers can re-lax with complimentary food, drinks, television and Wi-Fi. They will also get a Super Bowl goody bag and admission to a party Saturday night in Scott-sdale with Lady Antebellum as the headline entertainment.

Dallas-based Flexjet has hired Press, a Phoenix-based food truck, to serve complimen-tary Italian street eats to pas-sengers starting Thursday. The specialty menu will include mini sausage-bread-pudding muffins, caprese salad skewers and rasp-berry-filled bombolones, which are Italian doughnuts.

“These little details really matter,” said Megan Wolf, Flex-jet’s vice president of customer experience. “They’ll remember years later that we had this really great food truck and how fun it was, and they’ll tell their friends. So, it makes a difference.”

Commercial travelers should not worry that their departures Sunday or Monday will get pushed aside in favor of their luxury counterparts. Phoenix Sky Harbor International Air-port, the main hub, has parking space for 250 private jets. The

movements of private jets will be based around commercial traf-fic, which has priority, airport spokeswoman Heather Lissner said.

The area will be inundated with between 1,200 and 1,400 private and commercial flights, but plans are in place to handle the load, Federal Aviation Ad-ministration spokesman Ian Gregor said.

The FAA, airport operators and aviation businesses have collaborated on a reservation system to manage the flights, es-pecially on Sunday with many of the expected departures. Every flight will be scheduled in an or-derly fashion to prevent air traf-fic control systems from getting overwhelmed, Gregor said.

The FAA will add staffing and operating hours at air traf-fic control facilities as needed, he said.

The Super Bowl is the grand finale in a week that includes the Waste Management Phoe-nix Open, a golf tournament in the Phoenix suburb of Scotts-dale. Both events will have the Scottsdale Airport dealing with an expected 54 percent increase in corporate jet traffic, meaning more than 520 additional air-craft.

That was the increase seen when both events took place in

Arizona in February 2008, air-port spokeswoman Sarah Fer-rara said.

Ferrara, who was not em-ployed by the airport in 2008, said she is looking forward to seeing two to three flights taking off every few minutes.

“I just hear the departures are going to be fantastic — these beautiful jets departing one after another,” Ferrara said.

blog.travefy.com

Jetting off to the Superbowl Entertainment for the masses,

viewing for the elite.


Email the Sports Editor:[email protected]

507-389-5227


@MSU Reporter orLike Us on Facebook


Seattle setting out to do what only few have done before

The Seattle Seahawks are going for back-to-back Super Bowl champion-ships, something only accomplished by two teams in the past 20 years.

The Seattle Seahawks are trying to replicate what the New England Patriots did in 2003 and 2004: win back-to-back Super Bowls. The Seahawks will have to have their entire roster healthy to stay stride for stride with Tom Brady and the Patri-ots. Seattle has been through their ups and downs this year, as it took a lot of transitions to get where they are today.

During the offseason, the or-ganization did not have to adjust much on their team, as they just won their first Super Bowl and had established a great balance on offense and a bruising, tight coverage defense. The Seahawks had a tough week one matchup with the Green Bay Packers and former MVP Aaron Rodgers.

The Seahawks defense, or the “Legion of Doom” as they are often called, held Rodgers under 200 yards passing and Seattle steamrolled the Pack 36-16. During the next four games however, the Seahawks went 2-3.

This caused alert for most of the league but did not faze Pete Car-roll’s squad.

With just a mediocre 3-3 record, the team made a change that was one of the biggest shockers this season. Seattle traded their wide receiver Percy Harvin to the New York Jets for draft picks. At this point, some might have said that Carroll’s seat as Head Coach was a little hot, due to their current state of the team and trading their best receiver away. Little did every-one know Carroll obviously knew what he was doing to make the 12th man proud.

The Seahawks then went 9-1 to close out the regular season, and as the season progressed the defense came to life, only allowing 10.7 points per game during that stretch. They won the NFC West, and looked like a transformed team from the midseason point. Quarter-back Russell Wilson was still maintaining a terrific quarter-back rating of 95.0, and oddly enough maintained the exact same completion percentage

to his previous season, of 63.1 percent. Marshawn Lynch has been the rock of this squad, as it would be challenging to move the ball without him. Even with his lucrative antics during media

interviews, he still remains a large part of Seattle’s offensive success.

The Seahawks then went into Carolina to play the Panthers in the first round of the playoffs. The biggest key of this game was capitalizing on the three Panther turnovers.

At halftime, the score was 14-10 Seahawks, and the third quarter went scoreless. Seattle then rose to the challenge in the fourth quarter, as they scored 17 points. Carolina won every statistical category in this game, but the Seahawks took care of the ball and capitalized on the mistakes of the Panthers.

The following game was set for a matchup against the Pack-ers in Seattle, and most of the game was a horror story for the Seattle faithful to watch. Russell Wilson’s passer rating was at a zero for the first three quarters, and he had three interceptions before the first half. Marshawn Lynch went off in the fourth however, as he ran for 157 yards on 25 attempts for a touchdown. The Seahawks came back to tie the game 22 all and grab an onside kick on the way towards victory. The game had to be one of the greatest NFC Champion-ship games ever witnessed, as it was the heart and will that go

the Seahawks an opportunity to now repeat.

The question is, however, do they have what it takes to win back-to-back championships?

It’s no mystery that the Seahawks find ways to win and have the experience needed to pull off the victory. But the one thing standing in their way is a guy who has done it himself in the past.

Patriots quarterback Tom Brady led those New England teams in 2003 and 2004, and seems to be able to bring his team deep into the playoffs regardless of the players around him. He’s a proven winner, and although he has nothing left to prove, he is towards the end of his career and surely looking for one more ring to add to his collection.

Kickoff is set for 6:30 p.m. on Sunday in one of the most anticipated days of the year for sports fans. It will be the young up-and-comer in Wilson against the legend and future Hall of Fame quarterback Brady.

TOMMY WIITAStaff Writer

Web PhotoSeattle quarterback Russell Wilson is attempting to accomplish something his counterpart Tom Brady did over a decade ago, win back-to-back Super Bowl titles.

Web PhotoSeattle players celebrate with Seahawks coach Pete Carroll after last year’s Super Bowl victory.

For the first time in program history, the men’s track and field team is ranked no. 1 in the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Coun-try Coaches Association poll for Division II.

Senior captain Anthony Gus-tafson prides the coach’s efforts in the ranking.

“For me, I’ve been a part of some very good teams through-out my four years here, but never a part of a team named number one in the nation,” said captain Gustafson. “I think this is a true testament to how well of a job our coaches do recruiting great talent to build this team and then training us to reach our full potential.”

And the results certainly show. The Mavericks have gotten off to a fast start to this already very successful season.

Only four meets into the indoor campaign, the Mav-ericks have managed to earn the top spot in over half of the conference’s events, taking the top spot in 11 of the 19 indoor events. The Mavericks have also provisionally qualified nine individuals and have two auto-matic qualifiers for the NCAA DII national meet in sophomore Myles Hunter and senior captain Emmanuel Matadi.

Second year head coach Jim Dilling, humbled by the an-nouncement, credits the guys in

uniform on the ranking.“Since 2003 I have watched

all of the Minnesota State Uni-versity athletic programs grow to the nation level that they are now,” said Dilling. “I am just proud to be able to offer the same opportunities to others that were once provided to me.”

The team now joins the ranks of other no. 1 Maverick pro-

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Joining the club of no. 1’sFor the first time in program history, Minnesota State University’s

men’s track and field are ranked the top team in the country, joining MSU’s football, soccer, and men’s hockey, who have

all also been ranked no. 1 this year.

For the first time in program history, the men’s track and field team is ranked no. 1 in the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Coun-try Coaches Association poll for Division II.

Senior captain Anthony Gus-tafson prides the coach’s efforts in the ranking.

“For me, I’ve been a part of some very good teams through-out my four years here, but never a part of a team named number one in the nation,” said captain Gustafson. “I think this is a true testament to how well of a job our coaches do recruiting great talent to build this team and then training us to reach our full potential.”

And the results certainly show. The Mavericks have gotten off to a fast start to this already very successful season.

Only four meets into the indoor campaign, the Mav-ericks have managed to earn the top spot in over half of the conference’s events, taking the top spot in 11 of the 19 indoor events. The Mavericks have also provisionally qualified nine individuals and have two auto-matic qualifiers for the NCAA DII national meet in sophomore Myles Hunter and senior captain Emmanuel Matadi.

Second year head coach Jim Dilling, humbled by the an-nouncement, credits the guys in

uniform on the ranking.“Since 2003 I have watched

all of the Minnesota State Uni-versity athletic programs grow to the nation level that they are now,” said Dilling. “I am just proud to be able to offer the same opportunities to others that were once provided to me.”

The team now joins the ranks of other no. 1 Maverick pro-

grams such as the men’s hockey team, the women’s soccer team, and the men’s football team, who have all been ranked no. 1 in their respective sports this year. The track and field team’s top ranking just further solidi-fies the strength of the athletic program here at MSU.

And as Dilling and the rest of the coaching staff continue to lay the foundation for success on the Mavericks men’s team, they are beginning to see history be made.

Hunter continues to excel in the 60-meter hurdles with the fastest time in the nation across Division II and is currently tied for the second fast time across all divisions of collegiate track and field. With a personal best of 7.76 in the event, Hunter is the holder of the Maverick’s indoor 60-meter hurdle record that was broken earlier this season at the Chuck Peterson Open. He also holds the title for fastest 60-me-ter hurdle time by a freshman in division II history.

As for Matadi’s dominance in the sprints, he owns the top spot in both the 60-meter dash and the 200-meter dash across Division II and has the eleventh fastest time in the 60 across all divisions. He is the new owner of MSU’s 60-meter dash record that, he as well, recently took down.

Junior Kyran Stewart adds to the sprint squad as he has provisionally qualified in both

the 60 and 200-meter dashes and owns the second fastest time across division II behind Matadi in the 200.

In addition, sophomore captain Michael Sandle has the best mark in the triple jump at 50’5.25’’. Senior Khalil Jor’Dan adds to that as he has the sev-enth best jump at 48’5.5” while both have provisionally quali-

fied.“It’s humbling to be named

the number one team in the nation,” Says Matadi. “I’m glad that I get to contribute to some-thing that is so successful. It’s truly rewarding. But, we need to fight and work just as hard now to stay there.”

The men’s track team will be competing in Minneapolis this weekend at the Jack Johnson Invite hosted by the University of Minnesota, then will be home for the Ted Nelson Classic the following week.

With five weeks and five meets until the conference meet, The Mavericks will continue to build on the success they have already come to find. They have some time, however, to further prove themselves on the national stage in March at the NCAA In-door Championships, where they can prove their worthiness of the no. 1 ranking they’ve worked so hard to get.

DENZELL OATSStaff Writer

Web PhotoMatadi leads the way for the Mavericks.

Myles HunterEmmanuel Matadi

18 • MSU Reporter Sports Thursday, January 29, 2015

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Mavericks back on the roadAfter playing a pair of home games last weekend, the Minnesota State

University men’s basketball hits the road again for a pair of conference match ups.

The Minnesota State Univer-sity, Mankato men’s basketball team has two games on the road over the weekend. They travel to Aberdeen, S.D. to take on Northern State. Saturday, the Mavericks take on the 7th ranked Dragons of MSU-Moor-head.

Northern State currently has a 17-3 (11-3) record and rank 7th in the league in scoring, averag-ing 77 points a game. They also rank 7th in team defense, allow-ing opponents only 70 points a game.

Northern State’s difference maker comes to rebounding. They only allow opponents to grab 30 rebounds a game, which ranks 2nd in the conference, while they are grabbing 34 themselves.

The Wolves are lead by Senior Seth Bachand, who aver-ages 15 points per game, and is also a great rebounder as he ranks 2nd in the league grabbing 8.3 rebounds per game. Bachand is a force on the offensive glass, grabbing a conference leading three offensive rebounds a game. Bachand also ranked 2nd in the conference in field goal percent-age, connecting on 67 percent of his shots.

NSU also has a threat from

beyond the arc in Junior Skye Warwick, who is shooting at a success rate of 49 percent, con-necting on 2.7 3-point field goals a game.

In their last meeting, the Mavericks won on the road with a 91-80 victory. Seniors Zach Monaghan and Assem Marei both had double-doubles as Monaghan went for 20 points and 12 assist, while Marei had 23 points and grabbed 11 rebounds.

Bachand had 12 points and nine rebounds for the Wolves, and Warwick connected on three 3-point field goals for all

nine of his points.Saturday, the Mavericks have

a highly anticipated matchup with 7th ranked MSU-Moor-head.

MSU-Moorhead currently sits with a 22-1 (13-1) record placing them 1st in the confer-ence. The Dragons are great on the defensive end, opponents only score 63 points per game while shooting 40 percent from the field. It will be a tough battle as the Mavericks excels on the offensive end scoring 82 points per game while shooting 42.6 percent from beyond the arc.

The Dragons also have suc-cess offensively, shooting a con-ference high 50.1 percent from the field. MSU-Moorhead also leads the conference in assist to turnover ratio at 2. They do a great job of not turning the ball over, averaging only 8 turnovers a game. The Dragons play a similar style and the Mavericks will have to stop a very versatile offensive team.

The Dragons have four play-ers averaging double figures, lead by Senior Jordan Riewer who averages 16.2 points per game, while shooting 51 percent from beyond the three-point line. Riewer also leads the team in assist, dishing out 5.6 assists per game. The 5.6 assist average is also good enough for 2nd in the conference.

Junior Isaac Sevlie leads the inside game for MSU-Moor-head, averaging 12.7 points per game while shooting 60 percent from the field. Sevlie also leads

the team with and average of 5 rebounds per game.

Marei and Monaghan have led the Mavericks all year. Marei is third in the confer-

ence in scoring, averaging 19.6 points per game while grabbing a conference leading 8.6 boards a game. Monaghan is also a league leader, dishing out 8.6 assists per game.

A year ago, the Mavericks dropped a 99-85 game in Moor-head. Monaghan and Marei were again forces in the game. Marei had a game-high 23 points, while Monaghan messed around for a double-double with 18 points and 11 assist.

Riewer had 15 points with six assists in the game, while Sevlie had 14 points for the Dragons.

It will be a match up of two of the top teams in the confer-ence, and should be an exciting game with two highly skilled offensive teams going at it Sat-urday night. The Mavericks will have to shape up defensively to contain a very complete team in MSU-Moorhead.

The Mavericks play Friday in South Dakota at 8 p.m. then travel to Moorhead to take on the Dragons. Tip-off is set for 6 p.m.

LUKE LONIENStaff Writer

Down but certainly not out

Zach Monaghan

Assem Marei

Thursday, January 29, 2015 Sports MSU Reporter • 19

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MSU Reporter sports writers’

Super Bowl XLIX picks

DEREK LAMBERTSports Editor

Pick: Seattle SeahawksScore: 23-20

LUKE LONIENStaff Writer

Pick: New England Patriots

Score: 24-14

DENZELL OATSStaff Writer

Pick: New England Patriots

Score: NA

TOMMY WIITAStaff Writer

Pick: Seattle SeahawksScore: 23-21

After playing a pair of home games last weekend, the Minnesota State University men’s basketball hits the road again for

a pair of conference match ups.

Down but certainly not out

After losing to Bemidji State on Saturday, the Maverick hockey team lost their no. 1

national ranking, but remain at no. 3.

The Minnesota State Uni-versity, Mankato men’s hockey team enjoyed the ride to the top, they even enjoyed it for a couple of weeks, a rarity this season in college hockey.

The Mavericks were named the no. 1 team in college hockey earlier this month, and held the top spot for two weeks. A win over Minnesota last Friday dur-ing the North Star College Cup seemed to solidify the fact that they were for real, which they could still be seen as with the highest win total in the nation so far this season with 19.

A loss to Bemidji State University in the NSCC final on Saturday took the Mavericks back a bit, as they fell to no. 3 in the national rankings this week. But not to worry, MSU still ranks first in the NCAA pair-wise rankings, the rankings that determine which teams make the NCAA Tournament once the regular season and conference playoffs are concluded.

Although the Mavs dropped two spots in the national rank-ings, their top spot in the playoff rankings bodes well for them, especially this late in the season.

This weekend the Mavericks return home to the Verizon Wireless Center in downtown Mankato to faceoff against a familiar foe.

The Ferris State University Bulldogs come to town for a two-game series versus MSU. Two weeks ago, the Bulldogs almost took down the newly ranked no. 1 team in the coun-try, but the Mavericks were able to come from behind and

win both games in the series by scores of 2-1 and 3-1, respec-tively.

Ferris was idle last weekend while the Mavericks were in St. Paul, so the Bulldogs should have fresh legs coming into Mankato this weekend.

At 11-13-1, Bob Daniel’s Bulldogs aren’t quite shaping up to be the team they were a year ago, but are still a team to look out for.

Up front, junior forward Matt Robertson, who has collected 15 assists and 21 points on the year in 25 games, leads FSU. The real threat from this tough Bull-dog team is between the pipes.

Senior goaltender C.J. Motte is one of the best backstops in all of college hockey. Though his 11-13-1 record indicates oth-erwise, don’t be fooled. Motte has posted a .927 save percent-age over the course of the season to go along with a 2.02 goals against average while collecting four shutouts on the year. With an impressive resume like that, it appears that Motte just isn’t getting the needed help on the back end.

For the Mavericks, depth seems to be the name of the game.

MSU has four players who have already eclipsed the 20-point barrier on the season, and have five more who are more than within reach. The greatest strength the Mavs have is the ability to play all four lines and get offensive produc-tion. Some of that help has come from the back end, too.

Two of the Mavericks’ top defensemen, sophomore Casey Nelson and senior Zach Palmquist, are each on pace

come within reach of 30-point seasons. Nelson ranks fifth among defenseman scoring in the nation with 21 points on the season.

Perhaps the biggest role on this Maverick squad, much like the Bulldogs, is their goaltender.

Between the pipes, junior goaltender Stephon Williams has been one of the best in col-lege hockey this season, leading the Mavericks to the highest winning total in the nation.

Williams has returned to the play that won him WCHA Rookie of the Year and Goal-tender of the Year honors two seasons ago. He currently ranks sixth in the nation among overall goaltender statistics, and second in wins. His 15-3-1 record is impressive enough by itself, but add to that a stingy 1.8 goals against average with a .918 save percentage, and you have your-self a goaltender who is going to steal a team some games.

As the top team in the con-ference, MSU will be constantly looking over their shoulder with a target on their backs in these final ten games of conference play. If they want to win their first ever MacNaughton Cup as the WCHA regular season champions, they will need to fin-ish out conference play the way they’ve played up to this point in the season.

Puck drop is set for 7:07 p.m. Friday and Saturday nights at VWC in Mankato. After MSU’s sweep over Ferris at home last season, a series that included a ten-man brawl, this weekend should be an exciting one for fans in attendance.

DEREK LAMBERTSports Editor

20 • MSU Reporter Advertisement Thursday, January 29, 2015

January 29, 2015

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