Talk of the Town: February 2010

What has 417-landers talking this month?

Tomorrow’s Katie Courics

Central High School’s Central Intelligence beat out more than 6,400 students for the No. 1 student-made TV program in the country.

You know that feeling in high school, when you get a nervous churning in your stomach as you go up against another school in competition? Well, imagine if you were the students at Central High School, showing up at a convention where you’re not just up against one school but students from all over the world—more than 6,400 of them, in fact.

That’s how many high schoolers were competing at the National Scholastic Press Association and Journalism Education Association’s fall convention in Washington, D.C. That’s where Central High School’s Central Intelligence was named No. 1 student-made TV program in the country—for the second year in a row.

Central Intelligence was also the recipient of the Peacemaker Award, which is given to the top five programs in the country. This is a big honor for the students, like the Pulitzer Prize of student-produced programs, according to Central Intelligence Advisor Nichole Lemmon.

The students at the convention came from all over the United States, as well as England, Singapore and South Korea.

The Coldest Marathon Ever

A Springfield doctor is heading all the way to Antarctica to run a marathon—and the guy hates cold weather.

People run marathons for a lot of reasons. Some of them are health nuts. Others love the time to think that a long, solo run affords. And others, like Springfield doctor Jose Dominguez, do it to help raise money for a good cause. Starting February 27, Dr. Dominguez is traveling all the way to Antarctica to run more than 26 miles on the ice, in the freezing cold to help raise money for the Children’s Tumor Foundation.
He and four friends—three of them part of Springfield’s medical community—are running as Team Run For Eric. Dr. Dominguez’s son, Eric, was diagnosed with neurofibromatosis at the age of 2. It’s children like Eric who will benefit from the research that the Children’s Tumor Foundation helps fund.

This is the sixth Run for Eric mission, but it’s also the most unusual due to it’s super-super-southern location. The group’s motto is “to the end of the Earth for a cure.”

You can read about Dr. Dominguez and his running team at his website, runforeric.com. You can also check in with us at 417mag.com in early March to read blog posts written by Dr. Dominguez during this trip.

One of Nine

Is Askinosie Chocolate one of the nine yummiest winter flavors in the country? Somebody from Bon Appétit magazine thinks so!

When USA Today listed the nine best places in the United States to “savor winter’s flavors,” the list included one eatery in each of New Orleans, New York City, Philadelphia, San Francisco, Washington DC, Chicago, Portland, Boston and…. Springfield?

How did the Queen City of southwest Missouri wind up sharing story space with those eight giant metropolitan outposts? Well, it’s because Askinosie Chocolate (along with the other spots on the list, all restaurants) “banishes the cold-weather blues,” according to the article.
Bon Appétit magazine’s restaurant editor, Andrew Knowlton, was the flavor-chooser for this article, and here’s what he had to say about Askinosie Chocolate in the USA

Today article: “Since there’s not a lot of sunlight in the winter, you need chocolate. It’s your sunshine.”

The article goes on to talk about Askinosie’s bean-to-bar chocolate and the way the company does business with the farmers who grow the cocoa beans, but you already know that story, right?

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