February 23, 2021

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in US, Confirming

THIRD STRAIGHT SWEEP

Virus’s Tragic Reach

‘MyPillow Guy’ sued for $1.3 Billion by Voting Machine Company

ASSOCIATED PRESS For weeks after Cindy Pollock began planting tiny flags across her yard — one for each of the more than 1,800 Idahoans killed by COVID-19 — the toll was mostly a number. Until two women she had never met rang her doorbell in tears, seeking a place to mourn the husband and father they had just lost.

Then Pollock knew her tribute, however heartfelt, would never begin to convey the grief of a pandemic that has now claimed 500,000 lives in the U.S. and counting.

“I just wanted to hug them,” she said. “Because that was all I could do.”

After a year that has darkened doorways across the U.S., the pandemic surpassed a milestone Monday that once seemed unimaginable, a stark confirmation of the virus’s reach into all corners of the country and communities of every size and makeup.

“It’s very hard for me to imagine an American who doesn’t know someone who has died or have a family member who has died,” said Ali Mokdad, a professor of health metrics at the University of Washington in Seattle. “We haven’t really fully understood how bad it is, how devastating it is, for all of us.”

Experts warn that about 90,000 more deaths are likely in the next few months, despite a massive campaign to vaccinate people. Meanwhile, the nation’s trauma continues to accrue in a way unparalleled in recent American life, said Donna Schuurman of the Dougy Center for Grieving Children & Families in Portland, Oregon. At other moments of epic loss, like the 9/11 terrorist attacks, Americans have pulled together to confront crisis and console survivors.

7

TUESDAY • FEBRUARY 23, 2021

TODAY: H 40˚ L 30˚ Half a Million Dead

thrift

store guide

ASSOCIATED PRESS

MANSOOR AHMAD • The Reporter Eight players scored against Ferris State over the weekend to secure the third straight series sweep for the Mavs.

The Mavs swept the Bulldogs for their sixth win in a row

By DANIEL MCELROY • Sports Editor Although it was a shaky one to start out, the Minnesota State men’s hockey team swept the Ferris State Bulldogs for the second time this season, this time on the road.

The Mavericks improved their record to 15-2-1 on the season with a flawless 11-0-0 record in conference play and remained as the No. 3 team in the country, while the Bulldogs fell to 1-19-1 overall with a 0-91 record in conference play.

MSU has looked dominant in almost all of their games they’ve played this season with little to no error, especially on defense.

Friday was not one of those games.

The Mavericks were quick to get on the board first with Ryan Sandelin’s one-timer goal off a pass from Chris Van Os-Shaw, giving Sandelin his fifth goal of the year.

The Bulldogs then accomplished something that many

teams have struggled to do and scored two goals past Dryden McKay within 20 seconds of each other, one of them on the power play, giving FSU the 2-1 lead going into the second period.

The next five goals would all be scored in the second period, with Jake Jaremko and Brendan Furry adding a goal each, followed by Marshall Moise

SWEEP page 6

Conservative Student group hopes to Spark Respectful Conversations

By JULIA BARTON Staff Writer

One of the newest student groups at Minnesota State University, Mankato comes with a simple — but eye catching — slogan.

“Right now, with everything going on with the new administration, one of our bigger topics is the saying ‘Big Gov Sucks,’ meaning the habit of the government expanding themselves to obtain more money, more control, and more power,” says Addison Rodel, MNSU sophomore and future group president of the campus branch of Turning Point USA. “When we say that phrase, we’re saying the bigger the government is, the less freedom you

KJERSTIN HALL • The Reporter MNSU students sit in for the first Turning Point meeting of the semester.

have in education, healthcare, speech, religion, and more,” she added. “The more government that is involved means less say in what you do. One of the ideas

we stand for is having limited government in order to have more freedom and choices with-

TURNING page 2

Dominion Voting Systems filed a $1.3 billion defamation lawsuit Monday against the founder and CEO of Minnesota-based MyPillow, saying that Mike Lindell falsely accused the company of rigging the 2020 presidential election.

The lawsuit filed in federal court in the District of Columbia alleges that Lindell ignored repeated warnings from Dominion, a voting technology company that has filed similar lawsuits against Donald Trump lawyers Rudolph Giuliani and Sidney Powell.

Dominion accuses Lindell of repeatedly telling what the lawsuit labels the “Big Lie” that the company used its technology to steal the election from Trump.

“No amount of money can repair the damage that’s been done by these lies, which are easily disproved. Hundreds of documented audits and recounts have proven that Dominion machines accurately counted votes. We look forward to proving these facts in a court of law,” the lawsuit says.

Lindell, known as the “MyPillow Guy” from his TV commercials, told The Associated Press that he welcomed the lawsuit and said the discovery process will prove him right.

“It’s a very good day.

I’ve been looking forward to them finally suing,” said Lindell, who went to the White House to promote his theories in the final days of the Trump administration.

There was no widespread fraud in the election, which a range of election officials across the country including Trump’s former attorney general, William Barr, have confirmed.

2 • MSU Reporter

News

TURNING Continued from page 1

Tuesday, February 23, 2021

Supreme Court won’t halt Turnover of Trump’s Tax records ASSOCIATED PRESS

KJERSTIN HALL • The Reporter

in our everyday life.”

Turning Point USA is a nonprofit, politically conservative organization whose main goal is to, according to its website, “identify, educate, train, and organize students to promote the principles of freedom, free markets, and limited government. … Since its founding, Turning Point USA has embarked on a mission to build the most organized, active, and powerful conservative grassroots activist network on high school and college campuses across the country.”

The group says it has a presence on more than 2,500 campuses, and calls itself “the largest and fastest-growing youth organization in America.”

At MNSU, meetings are held 6 p.m. Thursdays in the Centennial Student Union Heritage Room. The group’s first discussion topic was titled “I Love America.”

TPUSA hopes to open the floor to anyone wishing to share thoughts and viewpoints about current situations within the U.S. government.

That sentiment resonates with some students.

“I absolutely think we as college students need to be aware of the different political parties and not just listen to what we want to hear,” says MNSU sophomore Jonathan Mor. “Most people our age don’t watch the news or read the paper so I think it’s easy for people to get an inaccurate view of the far right or

far left side.”

MNSU freshman Taylor Peterfesco agreed.

“I think most people just follow what their parents political views are,” he says.

“So I think it’s good for college students to educate themselves and learn about all types of views.”

“Educating yourself is what college is all about so I think that students should educate themselves on all areas especially politics,” Sanjaya Balami, MNSU Alumni stated.

TPUSA was founded in 2012 by Charlie Kirk, an American conservative activist and radio talk show host, and has since spread nationwide.

“We’re really excited to be re-amping TPUSA and I hope all students, whether they are the farthest left liberal or the farthest right conservative, can be involved and be open to conversation and discussion because that is what we are really trying to focus on as a chapter here in Mankato,” Rodel says. “Being able to have respectful conversation with one another regardless of our differences is very important.”

TPUSA at MNSU has a few upcoming events planned.

The first will continue the discussion of “loving America” via Zoom 7 p.m. March 10. Another Zoom event is set for April 13 that features Ben Larrabee, who is on a professor watchlist through TPUSA.

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In a significant defeat for former President Donald Trump, the Supreme Court on Monday declined to step in to halt the turnover of his tax records to a New York state prosecutor.

The court’s action is the apparent culmination of a lengthy legal battle that had already reached the high court once before.

Trump’s tax records are not supposed to become public as part of prosecutors’ criminal investigation, but the high court’s action is a blow to Trump because he has long fought on so many fronts to keep his tax records shielded from view. The ongoing investigation that the records are part of could also become an issue for Trump in his life after the presidency.

Trump has called it “a fishing expedition” and “a continuation of the witch hunt — the greatest witch hunt in history.”

The Supreme Court waited months to act in the case.

The last of the written briefs in the case was filed Oct. 19. But a court that includes three Trump appointees waited through the election, Trump’s challenge to his defeat and a month after Trump left office before issuing its order.

The court offered no explanation for the delay, and the legal issue before the justices did not involve whether Trump was due any special

J. SCOTT APPLEWHITE • Associated Press This Nov. 5, 2020 photo, shows the Supreme Court in Washington.

deference because he was president.

The court’s order is a win for Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance Jr., who has been seeking Trump’s tax records since 2019 as part of an investigation. Vance, a Democrat, had subpoenaed the records from the Mazars accounting firm that has long done work for Trump and his businesses. Mazars has said it would comply with the subpoena, but Trump, a Republican, sued to block the records’ release.

Vance’s office had said it would be free to enforce the subpoena and obtain the records in the event the Supreme Court declined to step in and halt the records’ turnover, but it was unclear when that might happen. In a three-word statement, Vance on Monday said only: “The work continues.”

Representatives for Trump did not immediately respond

to a request for comment.

The case the high court ruled in involves a grand jury subpoena for more than eight years of Trump’s personal and corporate tax records.

Vance has disclosed little about what prompted him to request the records. In one court filing last year, however, prosecutors said they were justified in demanding the records because of public reports of “possibly extensive and protracted criminal conduct at the Trump Organization.”

Part of the probe involves payments to two women — porn actress Stormy Daniels and model Karen McDougal — to keep them quiet during the 2016 presidential campaign about alleged extramarital affairs with Trump.

Trump has denied the affairs.

In July, the justices in a 7-2 ruling rejected Trump’s argument that the president is immune from investigation.

Tuesday, February 23, 2021

MSU Reporter • 3

SPRING 2021 EDITOR IN CHIEF:

MAXWELL MAYLEBEN maxwell.mayleben@mnsu.edu

MADISON DIEMERT

madison.diemert@mnsu.edu

NEWS DIRECTOR: Jenna Peterson jenna.peterson-3@mnsu.edu MEDIA/DESIGN DIRECTOR: Mansoor Ahmad mansoor.ahmad@mnsu.edu SPORTS EDITOR: Daniel McElroy daniel.mcelroy@mnsu.edu ADVERTISING SALES: Anna Lillie 507-389-1063 anna.lillie@mnsu.edu Logan Larock 507-389-5453 logan.larock@mnsu.edu Baylee Sorensen 507-389-5097 baylee.sorensen@mnsu.edu Olivia Haefner 507-389-1079 olivia.haefner@mnsu.edu BUSINESS MANAGER: Jane Tastad 507-389-1926 jane.tastad@mnsu.edu ADVERTISING DESIGN/ PRODUCTION MANAGER: Dana Clark 507-389-2793 dana.clark@mnsu.edu

• If you have a complaint, suggestion or would like to point out an error made in the Reporter, contact Editor in Chief Maxwell Mayleben at maxwell.mayleben@mnsu.edu.

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 studentrun 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.

• Letters exceeding 400 words may not be accepted. The Reporter reserves the right to edit letters to fit space or correct punctuation.

The Reporter reserves the right to publish, or not publish, at its discretion. Letters must contain year, major or affiliation with the university, or lack thereof. All letters must contain phone numbers for verification purposes.

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

Experiential Learning should be the Future for MNSU

Editorial When we graduate from college, what are we going to put on our resumes? Most will include skills and experiences gained in college.

Certainly, most will leave out the names of the various courses they took.

Even if they did leave them in, most employers are sure to skim right over them.

Employers are looking for the skill and experience candidates bring to the table, not necessarily a candidate’s book learning.

A few programs at Minnesota State University, Mankato took this to heart and created learning opportunities based on experience .

The business department is one department on campus that has been working hard to instill the idea of experiential learning in a variety of ways.

One such example is the Integrated Business Experience, where students are put into groups of about 20 and forced to create their own business. This starts with creating roles within the company, moves to presenting to a bank for a real life loan, and ends with running the actual operations to make the money back and turn a profit all of which goes to the charity of the business’s choice.

Another example of the business department working hard to provide experiential-based learning is in its Center for Innovation and

File photo

Entrepreneurship.

Located downtown just upstairs from the Small Business Development Center, the CIE is constantly coming up with ways for entrepreneurship students to get out into the real world and learn by doing, rather than reading.

The value to students is immense, because it gives them a platform to mess up and guidelines on how to work, yet lets them figure

it out mostly on their own.

We as a university need continue to shift our focus from purely in-class learning to experiential learning for our students.

When the focus is on the learning and verifiable proof of learning — rather than grades that come from the traditional lecture-study-test style of learning — there is much more to be learned and taken from the experience.

When the focus isn’t on memorizing (and instead on doing) students are more likely to retain knowledge.

On top of the retention and learning experience garnered, students also gain real-world experience future employers are more likely to find attractive on a resume.

If our motto is “Big Ideas, Real World Thinking,” then we should seek to bring the real world into our education.

“What have you learned the most from at MNSU? Classes or otherwise?”

Compiled by Kjerstin Hall

SAMANTHA BLOOMQUIST, SOPHOMORE “Teaching myself to manage online schooling”

YUME BOLLUM, SOPHOMORE “You cannot procrastinate, you need to manage time well.”

FREEMAN MOMA, SENIOR

JAWAD ALAVANDI, SENIOR

“I’ve learned to meet new “Learning to live on my own is one of the greatest things I’ve people from different cultures” learned, taking care of myself”

COURTNEY HANSEN, JUNIOR “Time management is key, I would recommend taking a year off before college.”

4 • MSU Reporter

Tuesday, February 23, 2021

Power Failure: How a Winter Storm Pushed Texas into Crisis ASSOCIATED PRESS Two days before the storm began, Houston’s chief elected official warned her constituents to prepare as they would for a major hurricane. Many took heed: Texans who could stocked up on food and water, while nonprofits and government agencies set out to help those who couldn’t.

But few foresaw the fiasco that was to come.

As temperatures plunged and snow and ice whipped the state, much of Texas’ power grid collapsed, followed by its water systems. Tens of millions huddled in frigid homes that slowly grew colder or fled for safety. And a prideful state, long suspicious of regulation and outside help, was left to seek aid from other states and humanitarian groups as many of its 29 million people grasped for survival.

At one hospital, workers stood outside to collect rainwater. Others stood in line at a running tap in a park. A mother of three took her children to shelter in a furniture store after she could see her breath forming in the family’s trailer. University professors fundraised so their students

LM OTERO • Associated Press In this Feb. 16, 2021, file photo, a woman wrapped in a blanket crosses the street near downtown Dallas. As temperatures plunged and snow and ice whipped the state, much of Texas’ power grid collapsed, followed by its water systems

could afford meals.

Images of desperate Texans circulated worldwide.

To some, they evoked comparisons to a less wealthy or self-regarding place. To others, they laid bare problems that have long festered.

The state’s Republican leadership was blamed for ignoring warnings that winter

could wreak the havoc that it did, and for not providing local officials with enough information to protect residents now. A lack of regulations to protect critical infrastructure and failure by officials to take recommended steps to winterize equipment left the nation’s largest energy-producing state unprepared for last week’s

weather emergency.

A week after she warned her county’s nearly 5 million residents about the impending storm, Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo was sleeping on an air mattress at the county’s emergency operations center.

Her home was without power for three nights.

“It’s worth asking the ques-

tion: Who set up this system and who perpetuated it knowing that the right regulation was not in place?” Hidalgo said. “Those questions are going to have to be asked and I hope that changes will come.

The community deserves answers.”

Around 2 a.m. Monday, the full measure of the crisis Texas faced began to be apparent.

Cold and ice had set in the day before, leading to spreading power outages across the state. But standing in the emergency operations center early Monday, Hidalgo and others learned that their local energy provider, CenterPoint Energy, would not be able to “roll” outages between homes as they had been told earlier.

Instead of short intervals of heat, enough to keep their homes safe, residents would have to go without for days on end.

Most people did not yet know that Texas’ power grid had been on the brink of total failure. That revelation would come three days later.

Power outages spiraled through the day Monday, ultimately cutting off more than 4 million people. Grocery stores shut down, and hotel rates skyrocketed.

Tuesday, February 23, 2021

MSU Reporter • 5

MAVERICK SCOREBOARD Women’s Basketball Friday February 19 CSP WON 89-63

Saturday January 23 CSP LOST 99-93

THIS WEEK

Men’s Basketball Friday January 22 CSP WON 86-58

Men’s Hockey

Saturday January 23 CSP WON 93-89

Friday February 25 (H) Bemidji St. 7:07 p.m.

Batt earns Career-high in Split Series

By DANIEL MCELROY Sports Editor The Minnesota State women’s basketball team split their final series against the Concordia-St. Paul Golden Bears last weekend.

The Mavericks closed out their season with a 9-6 overall record, and an 8-5 conference record, good enough to grab the third seed in the NSIC south division.

The first quarter of Friday’s game was as close as could be, as CSP grabbed an early 5-0 lead, but MSU stayed within one possession throughout the entire quarter. The Mavericks managed to grab their first lead of the game with two seconds remaining in the quarter following a pair of free throws from Joey Batt and a layup from Rylee Menster to go into the break with an 18-16 lead.

The Mavericks kicked it into gear and absolutely dominated the Golden Bears in the second quarter with a run of 30-6, stemming from Batt’s free throws. MSU went into the half with a 46-23 lead.

Senior Maddy Olson led the team in points with 15 at that point in the game, while Batt was right behind her with 14.

CSP came back in the third quarter and attempted to close the gap, but could not find much success. Concor-

Photos by MANSOOR AHMAD • The Reporter Joey Batt (1) scored a career-high 29 points Saturday, while Maddy Olson (10) tied her career-high points with 20 Friday.

dia outscored MSU 20-17 in the third, only cutting three points off the original 23 point deficit.

Minnesota State closed out the game stronger, outscoring CSP 26-20 and won the first meeting of the weekend series 89-63.

Olson finished the game as the leading scorer with 20 points, tying her career-high points in a game from last weekend’s 20 point game against Upper Iowa. Joey Batt put up 17 of her own on the day while shooting 9-10 from the free throw line.

The Mavericks shot .387 in field goals and .375 in three-pointers, outclassing CSP in both categories who shot .351 and .304, respectively. MSU’s bench came up big with 53 points in the win.

Saturday’s game was a closer matchup, this time with the Mavericks taking the early lead with a score of 9-4.

The teams exchanged baskets back and forth throughout the quarter, going into the second quarter with a 19-14 Maverick lead.

Including the final 30 seconds of the first quarter, the Golden Bears went on an 11-0 run in the second, taking the lead 22-19. CSP retained the lead for the entirety of the second quarter and went into the locker rooms with a 45-30 lead.

In the first few minutes of the first quarter, there were several baskets exchanged, until the Mavericks found a way to turn an 11 point deficit into a tie game at 55 with points scored from four different Mavericks’.

Although they managed to tie the game halfway through the third quarter, Minnesota State was not able to grab a lead and dropped their final game of the season 93-99.

Joey Batt led the Mavericks in scoring with an astonishing career-high 29 points. She led the Mavericks in points per game with 13.9.

Anderson, Mavericks Finish Season with a pair of Wins at CSP

By DANIEL MCELROY Sports Editor The Minnesota State men’s basketball team closed out their season last weekend with a pair of wins at Concordia - St. Paul.

MSU closed out their regular season with a record of 10-6 and a conference record of 9-5, grabbing the third seed in the NSIC south division in preparation for the NSIC Championship tournament.

The Mavericks jumped out to an early 7-0 lead with points from Ryland Holt and Quincy Anderson. MSU stayed in control for the whole game, and did not let go of the lead for a moment.

Little by little, the Mavericks extended their lead further and further until they went into the half with a 44-

MANSOOR AHMAD • The Reporter Quincy Anderson averaged 17.5 points per game in the sweep against the Golden Bears, earning the NSIC Player of the Week.

28 lead.

Anderson led the team in points with 23 and 10 rebounds.

Saturday’s game was much closer, but started very similar. MSU took an early

8-0 lead, and extended this run to 20-4 in the first six minutes of play. The Mavs held this lead throughout the half and went into the locker rooms with a 53-38 lead.

The teams exchanged

baskets for the first 10 minutes of the second half, with the Mavericks keeping their 15 point lead, but things got closer towards the end of the meeting.

CSP went on a 22-9 run in the latter half of the second, making it a two point game with 30 seconds remaining.

Thedford made two free throws to take a four point lead, only for the Golden Bears to miss three three-pointers in the final 10 seconds. The Mavs took the win 93-89 to close out the season with a sweep.

Thedford led the team with 24 points, while wasn’t too far behind with 20 of his own.

Anderson earned the NSIC Player of the Week honors following the sweep, his first of the season as well as the first of any Maverick player.

Men’s Basketball

Saturday February 27 (A)Bemidji St. 6:07 p.m.

Friday February 26 (N) MSU Moorhead 7:00 p.m.

Women’s Hockey Close out Season In Duluth

By DANIEL MCELROY Sports Editor The Minnesota State women’s hockey team (712-1) played their final series of the season this weekend against the Minnesota-Duluth Bulldogs (10-4), dropping both games in two one-goal contests.

Jamie Nelson found the back of the net first on Saturday, when she grabbed a forced turnover in the corner of the Bulldogs zone, and took a shot from the slot, rifling the unassisted goal past UMD’s Emma Soderberg. The goal came just under six minutes into the first period.

Calla Frank was stellar through the first two periods for the Mavericks and halfway through the third, stopping 29 shots before allowing her first goal.

Less than five minutes later, Maggie Flaherty connected with McKenzie Hewett for a one-timer goal, giving the Bulldogs the 2-1 lead and the game winner.

Frank made 32 saves in the loss.

The Mavericks played another very tight game on Sunday, with Fleming getting the Mavericks on the board first with a breakaway goal following a pair of great passes from Taylor Wemple and Madison Mashuga.

UMD answered with two goals in the second period making it a 2-1 game, until Jessica Kondas scored a powerplay goal to tie the game at two a piece going into the third period.

Just three minutes into the third, Nelson stole the puck from a Bulldog forward and fired a shot through traffic to give the Mavs a 3-2 lead, but it wouldn’t last for long.

The Bulldogs scored a power play goal halfway through the third and scored the game winning goal with just three seconds left in the game.

The freshman Nelson ended the season as the Mavericks leading point scorer with eight goals and seven assists.

Sports

SWEEP Continued from page 1

Tuesday, February 23, 2021

Wolves fire Saunders, hire Finch

DAVID J. PHILLIP • Associated Press

6 • MSU Reporter

MANSOOR AHMAD • The Reporter Walker Duehr scored a goal and assist in Saturday’s win.

and Ethan Stewart for the Bulldogs, and Nathan Smith closed out regulation scoring to tie the game at four a piece with just 14 seconds left in the period.

Ryan Edquist came in to replace McKay at the end of the second after allowing four goals on 10 shots.

The game would head into overtime with Reggie Lutz ending the game off a feed from Riese Zmolek with just under a minute remaining.

McKay and the Mavericks looked a little more like themselves on Saturday night, with McKay stopping 13 of the 14 shots he faced.

Jaremko wasted no time and got the Mavericks first goal of the night just 50 seconds into the game off a shot with almost no angle to take the early 1-0 lead.

The Mavs only slip up on the night came from a deflected shot through traffic to trickle past McKay and tie the game at one each.

MSU took control in the second period with three goals including one power play goal from Cade Borchardt with 15 seconds remaining in the period. Jaremko connected with Wyatt Aamodt and Reggie Lutz to Brendan Furry prior to the power play goal.

With less than a 1:30 remaining in the third period, Walker Duehr closed the game out with the Mavericks fifth goal of the night after batting a bouncing puck through the legs of FSU’s netminder, Logan Stein.

The sweep extends the Mavericks win streak to six in a row, the longest streak in the WCHA. McKay improved his record to 14-1-0 with a 1.03 goals against average and .946 save percentage following the win.

Borchardt is now tied with Napravnik as the leader in points for MSU after grabbing a goal and assist on the weekend, totaling 20 points.

This Dec. 15, 2011, photo shows Houston Rockets assistant coach Chris Finch.

ASSOCIATED PRESS For the 10th time in the past 15 years, the Minnesota Timberwolves have a new head coach.

Toronto assistant Chris Finch was introduced Monday as the replacement for Ryan Saunders, who was fired the night before with the team carrying the NBA’s worst record.

“We have excellent pieces in place, and I can’t wait to get to work,” Finch said in a statement distributed by the Timberwolves, before he was scheduled to meet the team in Milwaukee prior to playing there Tuesday.

President of basketball operations Gersson Rosas made the change on the bench to

the 51-year-old Finch, who was in his first season with the Raptors. They worked together in Houston, where Finch was an assistant (201116) and Rosas was a basketball operations executive.

“He is one of the most creative basketball minds in the NBA, has success maximizing players, and I am excited to see him bring our team to the next level and beyond,” Rosas said.

Finch has 24 years of coaching experience, roughly half of that in Europe. The two-time NCAA Division III All-American at Franklin & Marshall College in Pennsylvania played for the Sheffield Sharks in the British Basketball League and later coached the same team from 1997-

2003. Finch also coached Britain’s national team in the 2012 Olympics.

His domestic experience began in what is now called the G League, winning the coach of the year award in 2010 for champion Rio Grande Valley. After his six seasons with the Rockets, Finch spent one year as an assistant for Denver and three with New Orleans. Considered one of the league’s best offensive strategists, Finch has helped coach stars such as Nikola Jokić, Zion Williamson and James Harden over his career.

Raptors coach Nick Nurse said Monday that the deal for Finch came together in about 36 hours.

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Tuesday, February 23, 2021

MSU Reporter • 7

The Hunt is over: Where to Thrift in Kato

By SYDNEY BERGGREN Staff Writer

Mankato is a hub of activity, full up with shops, restaurants, and a plethora of something that college students love: thrift stores. The city is home to over fifteen different thrift stores, ranging from a used bookstore to a good ole’ fashioned Goodwill.

While all seem to be frequented and loved, there are definitely a few favorites.

Despite the word ‘chain’ not feeling synonymous with thrift stores, Mankato has a couple that are often frequented by Minnesota State University, Mankato students: Goodwill and Plato’s Closet.

Many people enjoy Goodwill for its low prices and willingness to take almost anything someone may wish to donate. The store is usually abundant with unique finds, and students often enjoy scouring the clothing racks for affordable vintage items.

“I always have the most luck at Mankato’s Goodwill,” said MNSU freshman Gloria Tupence.

The Mankato Goodwill is located at 2024 Adams Street alongside HyVee, Office Depot, and Applebees.

Plato’s Closet, on the other hand, often has trendier and

JESSICA HAGGLUND • The Reporter Again Thrift Store, located on Victory Drive, is among one of Mankato’s many thrift stores.

more recent gently used items for shoppers to choose from.

While it may be more selective in the intake process, those who donate clothes to Plato’s Closet get paid for anything that the shop takes.

Therefore, one is often guaranteed to find quality and trendy clothes, shoes, and accessories that are in great condition at this store at more than half off the retail price.

“We get lots of MNSU student traffic,” stated an employee. “We are a higher end

thrift store, and we have bigger brands most of the time, which is what draws people in.”

Plato’s Closet, located at 1880 Tailwind Dr. STE 600, offers a 10% off discount on Thursdays for students who show their school ID. Alongside Mankato’s Goodwill and Plato’s closet is Again Thrift Store, located at 706 North Victory Dr. Again Thrift is owned by the Minnesota Valley Action Council, a community action agency that provides resources and op-

portunities for people in lowwage work to secure housing, transportation, employment, training for employment and childhood education.

The store also offers a variety of different volunteer opportunities, whether individually or in groups. One could do almost anything the store would need, from sorting to appraisal to decorating to cashiering.

The shop is always looking for dependable and consistent volunteers to add to their

team, according to their website. Again Thrift Shop accepts a variety of donations and provides a 10% off coupon when you donate.

Moving away from more clothing-central stores, Once Read Used Bookstore is another Mankato favorite. This shop is touted as a go-to place for many of your usedbook needs; it is said to have a high-quality and large selection of gently used books.

Students enjoy Once Read not only for the atmosphere, but also for the occasional find of a book they need for a literature class.

Freshman Sam TaBelle noted, “It’s always cozy here. I love to stop in and browse the fiction section, you never know what you’re going to find.”

The store opened in 1975 with a mere 200 books in its inventory and has now grown to an inventory of thousands in the last 45 years. Once Read Used Bookstore is located at 629 South Front St., conveniently across the street from Fillin’ Station, another popular Mankato local shop.

With a large variety of thrift shops in Mankato, students are sure to find one that fits all of their shopping needs while also saving some money.

Thrift Shopping: A Great Way to Save Money and the Environment

Opinion

By JENNA PETERSON News Director

Trends seem to come and go as the months pass along, but thrifting seems to be the one trend that won’t give up.

Because of social media, more and more younger people are realizing how great thrift shopping is not only for their bank account, but also for the environment.

Since starting college I’ve become more accustomed to thrift shopping for numerous reasons. With around five goto stores I like to visit here in Mankato, thrift shopping is more accessible than in my small hometown.

Everything here is about a 10 minute drive away and with thrift stores all around the city, it’s accessible to anyone with a car or bus pass to visit and shop.

Affordability is another aspect people look into when thrifting. These second-hand clothes and houseware items fit almost, if not all, budgets for college kids to spend their extra cash on, making it easy for them to find some hidden gems.

With all of our focus towards tuition, books, and other supplies that go into school, it’s nice to be able to have a little shopping trip without spending our whole paycheck on it.

As far as saving the environment, thrift shopping is one of the most ethical ways to do so.

This method of shopping allows people to recycle clothes and other materials that would have otherwise been thrown into landfills. It’s also a great way to support small businesses in your local town.

With the pros come the cons, and thrift shopping seems to have a long list of

JESSICA HAGGLUND • The Reporter

them despite all of the good aspects that are associated with them.

Shopping in thrift stores is always a hit or a miss, no matter what you’re looking for.

Some days you can get a great haul of staple clothing items while other times it takes you months just to find the one thing you were looking for.

I know this experience all

too well and it gets frustrating.

It leads to me either buying the desired item brand new, or forgetting about it until months later when I find it on the racks. Many others will also turn to fast fashion in order to buy the product they’ve been eyeing, which causes another issue itself.

Fast fashion is when a company will use cheap material

and labor to create products that are desired with a wide audience, and with the constantly changing trends it’s easy for these companies to mass-produce products and throw the leftovers in landfills.

The convenience of fast-fashion is also what gets people to turn to them. The prices are always low and it’s easy to find whatever you need on the vast range of these fashion sites.

In the end, thrifting is always a great way to shop second-hand, but sometimes finding these items are harder to find than one thinks. There is no ethical consumption under capitalism, which makes it harder for people to find the things they need. Whether you buy from thrift stores or not, they’re a cheap consideration to add into your shopping experience.

8 • MSU Reporter

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Tuesday, February 23, 2021

remiNders from your campus bookstore:

If you ordered books, PLEASE PICK THEM UP AS SOON AS POSSIBLE! BARNES & NOBLE AT MINNESOTA STATE Located on campus in the Centennial Student Union building 620 South Road CSU 144 | Mankato, MN 56001 | Phone 507-389-1649

www.mnsu.edu/bookstore