If you’re a constant shopper at Kennedy Mall you may have noticed Borders, one of the largest stores in the mall, has been shut down for quite a while now; but fear not avid readers! As of noon on Monday, Nov. 7, Dubuque brought back books with a BAM!, also known as Books-A-Million Book Store.

While Borders will be missed, filled its shoes at the grand opening Monday afternoon, and on the inside, not much has changed. The store’s location remains the same, and from the shelving to the cash registers, even down to the small cafe nestled in the corner of the store, the cozy and familiar book store lives on. The only things that have changed are the storefront, the displays, and the faces.

While the outside of the store may seem small, the interior is vastly larger, filled to the brim with books of every variety. The aisles were packed with customers this past weekend coming to see what the new store was like. Children shouted happily as they ran around the brightly-colored kids’ room. Some people looked through the various calendars and miscellaneous novelties offered by the store, while others wandered through traditional book store genres such as Fiction, Religion, Instructional, and many more.

The store’s cafe still had the favorites, including flavored coffee, hot chocolate, and pastries. One dessert pastry of note is the Oreo brownie, which gives the famous chocolate cookie justice.

With an old store re-imagined, a wide selection of books, and an excellent variety of food, BAM Book Store is settling nicely into the community. From casual reading materials to delectable hot chocolate, BAM fits the criteria.

by Libby Schultz

Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney visited Giese Manufacturing Co. in Dubuque last Monday. Addressing a crowd of about 200 people, Romney wore jeans and a plaid shirt and stood on a metal stage with the background of a metal “Iowa” sign with his last name engraved in it, a gift from the workers of Geise Manufacturing.

Libby Schultz

Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney addresses people at Giese Manufacturing Co. in Dubuque on Monday, Nov. 7.

During the speech, Romney addressed a few of his plans of what he has to offer if he become the president. Calling America’s problem the “Obama Great Recession, he stated that his first plan after winning the election would be to cut government spending. He addressed that he wants to change America by making it a “job creating machine, like it was in the past.” His speech was centered around changing government by making it simpler, smaller and smarter. He further explained that his plan is to cut 500 billion dollars out of government spending  by his first term “by cutting programs we just don’t need.” These programs included “Obamacare,” which by 2013 would save 95 billion dollars and other things we can’t afford. He asked “is it worth borrowing money from China to pay for it (certain programs), knowing that we couldn’t possibly pay it back in our life time?  We can’t keep passing our debts off to our kids.”

Romney stated he would allow some programs to go to the state level. The benefits from that would be that each state would do what was best for the people of that state, as each state is different. “Sending Medicaid alone back to state level would save 100 billion dollars,” Romney stated. He also said that he wants to eliminate 10% of government employees, as they should not be making more money than those in the private sector.

Although Mitt only spoke for roughly 15 minutes he was well received.

Libby Schultz

Romney’s short speech centered on government spending and making America a job creating machine, like it was in the past.

The car is packed and ready to go.  It’s time, once again, to leave one life, one home, and one identity, and exchange it for another. 

I leave the sounds of home behind: the mixture of different languages spoken, my best friend’s laugh as we catch up on life, and the constant rumble of airplanes as their small outlines twinkle in the sky of a rising sun.  I leave the sights of home behind: houses and green lawns covering every inch of space in the neighborhood, frustrating, but manageable, lines of traffic, and the sloping roof of the house I grew up in, along with the pink rose bushes that line the front window. Most importantly, I leave behind my family and friends.  I leave all of this and more for Dubuque, Iowa.

For three hours, the car travels, making its way past large malls, weaving in and out of traffic and down twisting country roads.  The car continues to travel through small towns, until it hits the famous runway, the final stretch.  Highway 20 takes me to my second home in Dubuque, Iowa. A nervous knot arises in my stomach.  It’s time to exchange mind-sets: here are new sights and sounds to get used to, another group of people to love, assignments to worry about…a different life to navigate.

A car jutting out of the edge of a man-made cliff advertising a car dealership passes by in a blur as our car races alongside a freight train.  We appear to be going faster, increasing speed as if the curving ramp up ahead was a launch pad.  Hitting the ramp we fly across the river, suspended by man-made magic.  The river below sparkles like a sequined purse, while the trees wade on the flooded shore, creating a shady refuge for the bobbing birds and swimming fish.  To the north, another bridge crosses over the river like a large stich waiting to be pulled taut. Looking ahead, I see the rolling hills and bluffs of the city, some lying in shadow while others bathe in the sun, sprinkled with Church steeples.

I’ve found my way to a second home, Dubuque, a place I love and value for its sights, sounds, and people, just as much as I admire those of my original home.  Both places are extremely different, one man-made, the other natural, but one factor in my story remains the same: me.  It’s as if I’m the first-person narrator of my own story, my own author, and I have the power to move from world to world.  This portal between these worlds is the strip of Highway 20.  No matter what direction the road takes me, I’ll be home.

In 2011 alone, about 230,000 women were diagnosed with breast cancer. In theses cases, 39,520 deaths have occurred.  Through the years, Breast cancer has become the second leading killer of women in the United States.  Doctors are now recommending women in their early 20′s begin to perform monthly examinations of themselves in order to gain an understanding of their bodies, so when something does not feel right, they can contact health providers right away. Women in their 40′s are also recommended to receive routine mammograms in order to lower the chances of finding this deadly disease to late.

“Once the cancer spreads, it is a very fetal disease, if we catch it early which is the earliest form of DCIS  —– it can almost always be cured.” Dr. Michael Maiers, of Mercy Hospital Radiology department.

The sooner the cancer is found in breast cancer, the better chances of survival are. The earlier form of breast cancer is called Ductal Carcinoma in situ. This is when cells with thin the breast,  loose their regulation but they are still confined into the breast which means they haven’t broken through the actual breast duct yet to get to a blood supply.

Presently, it seems as though more cases of breast cancer are surfacing, but many of these cases are in the early stages of breast cancer, thanks to new technology that has helped find it in the DCIS state.

by Daniel McDermott

Did you know that we have a Student Union? If you did, do you have any idea what the Student Union does? This year, one of the main goals of the Student Union is to make students more aware of what we are doing for you. We have nine committees that are working on several different student issues.

The first committee is the Marketing and Communications committee. They have been using Facebook, Twitter, OrgSync, and eventually YouTube to give the students updates. In addition, the committee will be helping to publicize student organization events. If you are interested in this service, please contact the head of this committee, Kinsey Campbell.

The second committee is the Aesthetics Committee. They started out by looking into the possibility of getting a bonfire pit somewhere on campus. Due to current fire codes, this is unfortunately an impossibility. They are now assessing what the student body’s priority list is for improvements on campus. Make sure you look for the survey in the future to make sure that your opinion is heard.

The third committee is the Bus Route Committee. The purpose of this committee was to work with the city of Dubuque, Clarke and University of Dubuque to establish a bus route targeting college students. This bus route will take students to movie theatres, grocery stores, and the mall during the day and at night will shuttle students downtown. The city of Dubuque has passed a grant to fund the project and it is expected to be implemented during this semester.

The next committee is the Student Entertainment Center Committee (SEC).  Created by Chris Higgins last year, the SEC would be a place centrally located on campus, where students can gather to socialize. It is intended to have big screens, arcade games, billiards, comfortable furniture, and many other possibilities. The preliminary plans have been handed over to the Aesthetics Committee to see if this is actually a student priority.

The fifth committee is the Wider Selection in the Pub Committee.  So far they have worked with Loras College Campus Dining to get chicken wraps back into the pub and offered other suggestions that will help improve Campus Dining as a whole. Also they are going to start a conversation about bringing alcohol into the Pub—no promises.

Our sixth committee is the Campus Pride Committee. This committee will strive to improve school spirit by encouraging attendance at sporting events, theatrical productions, band concerts, choir concerts, and many other activities. They are responsible for the new “This Week at Loras” email that students have received and will be selling Duhawk Nation shirts outside the Café this week.

The seventh committee is the Sustainability Committee, which is dedicated to reducing Loras’ carbon footprint. One way they are doing this is the new UCarShare program, making it possible to rent a car by the hour to run errands. Hopefully students will begin to leave their car at home and utilize this program. It has a very easy website to use and is affordable. Please make sure to test drive our new Prius and Cube that we have on campus.

The final committee is the Mission and Identity Committee. The members of this committee serve as our student representatives, and will also be in charge of organizing our Student Union service project and keeping track of service hours.
As you can see the Student Union is hard at work for its students. As committees accomplish their goals, they are rolled over into new committees. Most importantly, we are constantly looking for student input. Feel free to contact your class representatives or email us at student.union@loras.edu. We would love to hear your suggestions. Make sure you like us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter @LCStudentUnion.

With the recession still part of our economy and people still without jobs, news of any business growth is good news. But, a report recently released by the Iowa Department of Economic Growth shows less than satisfying figures.

This report detailed two major economic industries in the state of Iowa- advanced manufacturing and informational technology. The figures show declines in both of these statewide industries in the past five years.

In Dubuque though, this report doesn’t necessarily reflect local area industries.

“I truly believe Dubuque is in a sweet spot,” said Rick Dickinson, director of the Greater Dubuque Development Corporation. “We’ve developed a model for economic development that can be replicated across the country.”

Dickinson said that in the past two years, over 3,000 jobs were created in Dubuque, especially with the arrival of IBM. He credits this success to Dubuque’s formula of business retention and expansion.

“[It’s about] really focusing on the people who understand what it’s like to do business in Dubuque. [This is also] combined with recruiting new jobs like IBM and Hormel Progressive Processing,” said Dickinson.

The state of Iowa had stated that advanced manufacturing and informational technology were the key industries the state wanted to expand on, but the figures have showed a decline over the past five years, which discourages Dickinson.

“When I read a report that the state has lagged a bit, it saddens me because I think if they did some of the things we do, they’d be better off and in turn, so would we.”

But for now, Dubuque will stick with their method that has proved successful.

“It’s not one thing; it’s not a silver bullet. It’s about a lot of people pushing the rope instead of pulling it.”

Images and Information hosted a style show this past week, in order to raise awareness about Breast Cancer. The event featured a silent auction, where all proceeds went to families in need of financial assistance due to the troubles Breast Cancer, as well as a style show.

Greeters and models who participated in the style show all have survived this horrifying disease.  Commentators also informed the audience about different ways one is able to prevent getting this disease, and getting it caught right away if the disease is present in your body.

Survivors, families, friends, and the community all were able to participate in this event, as well as hear some truly inspiring stories.