5 MINUTES WITH
This week’s “5 Minutes” feature is with Carson Weaver, a 3-year-old from Prescott, who is preparing for Christmas Day. More with Carson on page 12A of today’s paper. >>
POI CHAMPIONS
Three area wrestlers won Pride of Iowa championship titles at Corning over the weekend including East Union’s Mike Ward. More from the tournament in SPORTS, page 8A. >>
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Chinese student chooses Democrats SWCC for its volleyball team grapple with Trump as primary nears By KELSEY HAUGEN CNA staff reporter
khaugen@crestonnews.com
Last year was Xuntong “Wendy” Zhang’s first time in the United States. Before coming to Southwestern Community College (SWCC), she studied in Texas for one year. “I like horses, and I thought Texas had a lot of horses,” she said. “But while I was there, I didn’t see any horses.” While studying and playing volleyball at Odessa College in Texas, Zhang, 21, of Shanghai, China, had been in contact via phone with former SWCC volleyball coach Ting Liu, who is originally from Beijing, China. The two quickly connected through their shared home country and love for volleyball. Near the end of her first year in Texas, Zhang decided she wanted to come to SWCC and play for Liu. Zhang and Liu reconnected, and Liu aided in Zhang’s transfer to Creston. On July 28, Liu picked her up at the airport, and Zhang started at SWCC in August. “Before I came to SWCC, I didn’t know a lot about this school,” Zhang said. “I just heard about the coaches and was shown pictures of what the school l o o k s Zhang like by my (high school) coaches in Shanghai. They wanted me to play at SWCC last year, but I had already decided to play in Texas. They said I could come to SWCC this year to play, and I decided I wanted to.” Now, Zhang is taking general education courses at SWCC and is an outside hitter on the volleyball team. She will graduate with an associate of arts degree in May. “The students here are
WASHINGTON (AP) — Months of intense focus on the Republican race — and front-runner Donald Trump — have reverberated through the Democratic field, prompting front-runner Hillary Clinton to turn her attention to her wouldbe GOP challengers and leaving her chief rival, Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders, gasping for airtime. Now, after spending weeks large-
Contributed photo
Xuntong “Wendy” Zhang poses with snakes during a trip to Los Angeles in November.
friendly, and I love my teammates and (former) coach,” Zhang said. “I think Texas people are kind of crazy. They like to do the party, dancing stuff at 3 o’clock in the morning in the dorm. I never saw them do homework. Here, it’s just better than last year.” At SWCC, she spends most of her time studying. “I think it takes me more time to study than a lot of people because English is not my first language,” Zhang said. “I only learned English three months before I went to Texas, so it’s kind of hard. In some states, there aren’t a lot of Chinese, and I chose Texas and Iowa because of that – so I could improve my English. If I went to, like, California, they have a lot of Chinese, so I don’t think I would improve my English a lot.” If Zhang isn’t studying, she’s playing volleyball or
conditioning. “She’s hardworking and a good student athlete who is very coachable and passionate about volleyball,” Liu said. “She has an athletic body, and she’s (6 feet 1 inch) tall.” C u r - Liu rently, Zhang is interested in pursuing a career in psychology. “I want to learn more about psychology and about people and what they are thinking,” she said. Zhang also loves animals, especially snakes and horses. So, she is considering combining that with psychology and becoming an animal psychologist. Next year, Zhang will study at another American college or university and
will likely complete her bachelor’s degree there. “It’s cold (in Creston) – colder than I was thinking it would be,” Zhang said. “Next year, I may go to Montana, which will be even colder than here. I don’t like that.” Right now, SWCC students are on holiday break, and Zhang is making the most of her time off. She will be in Florida for one week with a friend from Shanghai who is currently studying in Michigan. Then, she will go to Chicago for a week with a friend from Mongolia, whom she recently met at a volleyball competition. While Zhang said she has enjoyed improving her English, experiencing a new culture and making new friends in the United States, she intends to go back to China to be closer to her family in a year or two.
ly out of the spotlight, Clinton plans to intensify her campaign schedule from an almost incumbent-style effort to a more aggressive, first-timer approach. With just six weeks left before the first round of primary voting, Clinton plans a series of multi-day swings through Iowa starting in January, interspersing trips there with stops in New PRIMARY | 2A
CHS plant donates interactive whiteboard to SWCC CHS Processing and Food Ingredients in Creston recently donated an Epson interactive whiteboard to the Southwestern Community College (SWCC) agricultural department. This technology-enabled whiteboard has been installed in a classroom at the college’s ag site. Lindsay Stoaks, SWCC assistant vice president of instruction, said the donation will be a huge asset in the classroom. “With this new interactive whiteboard in the classroom, instructors will have one more tool to aid in teaching students new concepts and communicating ideas in this technology-driven world,” said Stoaks. The whiteboard is PC
compatible, has an infinite dry erase board and an interactive projector. Scott Haner, plant engineer for CHS and a member of the CHS Creston stewardship committee said, the company is a committed steward in every community in which it does business, through safe and sustainable operations, alongside contributions of time and resources. This donation to SWCC is one of several local contributions the Creston CHS plant made in 2015. Other recipients included Habitat for Humanity, 10,000 Crestonians, Creston High School, Creston Volunteer Fire Department, MATURA food shelf, Creston Police Department and the Union County Fair.
Terminally ill man picks ‘Star Wars’ for last movie ANKENY (AP) — A terminally ill Iowa man was joined by friends and family to watch the new “Star Wars” film, his choice for the last movie he expects to see. Twenty-eight-old Shawn Norman has been diagnosed with Noonan syndrome, a genetic disorder that
disrupts normal body development and can cause heart defects. He’d been dreaming of what he’d do after leaving a hospital to head home for hospice care. One wish: See “Star Wars: The Force Awakens.” His mother, Rita Norman, of Ankeny, told Des Moines
television station KCCI that her son made it clear he knew the film would be his last. Before sunrise on Saturday, Shawn Norman was taken by ambulance to a reserved theater in Ankeny for the showing. His two-word review as the credits rolled: “Not bad.”
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Contributed photo
Scott Haner, plant engineer at CHS Processing and Food Ingredients, left, presents a new interactive whiteboard to Southwestern Community College earlier this month.
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