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Grand Canyon National Park invites the public to celebrate the National Park Service’s 103rd birthday by visiting the park for free on Aug. 25, 2019.

Grand Canyon National Park invites the public to celebrate the National Park Service’s 103rd birthday by visiting the park for free on Aug. 25, 2019. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/grand-canyon-national-park-invites-the-public-to-celebrate-the-national-park-service-s-103rd-birthday-by-visiting-the-park-for-free-on-aug-25-2019.htm




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Celebrate National Public Lands and Fossil Day at Grand Canyon

Grand Canyon National Park invites the public to celebrate the 10th anniversary of National Fossil Day and the 26th anniversary of National Public Lands Day entry fee-free on Sept. 28, 2019. National Fossil Day events include a paleontology symposium Sept. 27 at 7:30 p.m. at the Shrine of the Ages Auditorium, featuring four guest speakers https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/celebrate-national-public-lands-and-fossil-day-at-grand-canyon.htm




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Celebrate Native American Heritage Month, Diversity and Honor Veterans at Grand Canyon

Grand Canyon National Park is hosting free Native American heritage and diversity events in early November 2019, as well as offering fee-free entry in honor of Veterans Day on Monday, November 11, 2019. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/celebrate-native-american-heritage-month-diversity-and-honor-veterans-at-grand-canyon-20191029.htm




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Celebrate Martin Luther King Jr. Day at Grand Canyon for Free

Grand Canyon National Park will join national park sites around the country in celebrating Martin Luther King Jr. Day with free entrance to the park. Entrance fees will be waived for all visitors arriving to Grand Canyon National Park's South Rim on Monday, Jan. 20, 2020. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/celebrate-mlk-day-at-grand-canyon-fee-free.htm




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SupeRadio’s ‘Most Requested Live With Romeo’ Celebrating 10 Years

SUPERADIO's syndicated Top 40 show “MOST REQUESTED LIVE WITH ROMEO” is celebrating it’s 10th anniversary. The global multiple platform interactive program airs … more




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Belfast grandmother who beat Covid-19 to celebrate 100th birthday next week

Margaret Ethel Sinclair, 99, will turn 100-year-old on May 13




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iHeart Connecticut Celebrates Nurse's Day & Conducts Virtual Food Drive

On WEDNESDAY (5/6) iHEARTMEDIA CONNECTICUT celebrated NATIONAL NURSE'S DAY as well as continued their food drive efforts across the state. Working alongside HARTFORD HEALTHCARE, … more




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Newry City join special cavalcade to celebrate fan's 90th birthday

Manager Darren Mullen also delivered a club gift to the lifelong supporter




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Adam Todd celebrates 21st birthday with parade

CEDAR RAPIDS — Adam Todd, adjusting like many Iowans to a social-distanced lifestyle since the novel coronavirus hit, celebrated a milestone 21st birthday with a drive-by parade Friday...




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Celebrating on a screen: Iowa universities hold first-ever online commencements

Iowa State University graduates who celebrated commencement Friday saw lots of caps and gowns, red-and-gold confetti and arenas packed with friends and family. But none of those images were from...




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Mother’s Day, Birthdays, Anniversaries: Celebrating during a pandemic

A 10th wedding anniversary traditionally is celebrated with a gift of aluminum or tin. For Sondy Daggett, her 10th year of marriage to Liz Hoskins was marked with a gift of Champagne and...




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Adam Todd celebrates 21st birthday with parade

CEDAR RAPIDS — Adam Todd, adjusting like many Iowans to a social-distanced lifestyle since the novel coronavirus hit, celebrated a milestone 21st birthday with a drive-by parade Friday evening.

Todd, best known for being ABC World News Tonight Person of the Week in 2016, stood outside the Cedar Rapids house where he lives with his parents, Dale Todd, a Cedar Rapids City Council member, and Sara Todd, watching the cars drive by wishing him a happy birthday.

“My son has a bigger following than I would ever hope to have,” Dale Todd said. “Everybody knows he loves a parade. He loves the trucks and cars and people that are a part of that.

“There’s no better example that ‘it takes a village.’ He has had a team for 21 years.”

Todd, who will be graduating from Washington High School in Cedar Rapids, has Lennox-Gastaut Syndrome, a severe form of epilepsy.

The parade was arranged by his mother, Sara, who invited friends and teachers to drive by between 5 and 6 p.m. to wave, shout happy birthday, hold up a sign, sing a song or do a dance, all from a safe distance — “whatever they’re able to,” she said.

Sara said Adam would have finished his last semester of education had the coronavirus not cut the school year short.

“That makes it extra special,” Sara said. “He hasn’t really gotten to say goodbye to his friends and teachers.

“We have appreciated his teachers so much. They have been a part of his team and really a part of our family.”

Adam, a member of the Washington High School junior varsity track team, captured national attention in 2016 when, during a cross-country race at Noelridge Park, he became distracted and veered from the course. Evan Hansen, a runner from Iowa City High, loped after him and guided him back to the track.

They ran the last mile together, the last two to cross the finish line.

That show of compassion and sportsmanship is what led to ABC News picking both of them as Persons of the Week.

In addition to Friday’s parade, Adam celebrated his birthday by taking his service dog, Turbo, on a run and trying to spot trains. He and his mom saw two.

“It was a good day,” Sara said.

Adam’s birthday cake, made by a family friend, was decorated with a train and a golden retriever that looks like Turbo.

“We were trying to think of a creative way we can help Adam have fun and celebrate him,” Sara said. “He deserves it.”

Comments: (319) 368-8664; grace.king@thegazette.com




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Celebrating on a screen: Iowa universities hold first-ever online commencements

Iowa State University graduates who celebrated commencement Friday saw lots of caps and gowns, red-and-gold confetti and arenas packed with friends and family.

But none of those images were from this year — which now is defined by the novel coronavirus that has forced education online and put an end to large gatherings like graduation ceremonies.

Appearing in front of a red ISU screen Friday, College of Agriculture and Life Sciences Dean Daniel J. Robison addressed graduates like he usually would at commencement — but this time in a recorded message acknowledging the unprecedented circumstances keeping them apart.

“This year, because of the COVID crisis, we are unfortunately not all together for this happy occasion,” he said, pushing forward in a motivational tone by quoting famed ISU alumnus George Washington Carver.

“When you can do the common things in life in an uncommon way, you will command the attention of the world,” Robison said, citing Carver.

About 12,000 graduates across Iowa’s public universities this month are doing exactly that — capping their collegiate careers with never-before-attempted online-only commencement ceremonies, with each campus and their respective colleges attempting a variety of virtual celebration methods.

ISU and the University of Iowa are attempting some form of socially-distanced livestreamed convocation with countdown clocks and virtual confetti. All three campuses including the University of Northern Iowa have posted online recorded messages, videos and slides acknowledging individual graduates.

Some slides include photos, thank-yous, quotes and student plans for after graduation.

UNI, which didn’t try any form of a live virtual ceremony, instead created a graduation website that went live Thursday. That site hosts an array of recorded video messages — including one from UNI President Mark Nook who, standing alone behind a podium on campus clad in traditional academic regalia, recognized his campus’ 1,500-some spring graduates and their unusual challenges.

“We know the loss you feel in not being able to be on campus to celebrate this time with your friends, faculty and staff,” Nook said. “To walk around campus in your robe and to take those pictures with friends and family members … The loss is felt by many of us as well.”

He reminded those listening that this spring’s UNI graduates — like those at the UI and ISU — can participate in an upcoming in-person commencement ceremony.

And although students were allowed to return caps and gowns they ordered for their canceled walks across the stage, some kept them as keepsakes. The campuses offered other tokens of remembrance as well, including “CYlebration” gift packages ISU sent to graduates in April stuffed with a souvenir tassel, diploma cover, and streamer tube — to make up for the confetti that won’t be falling on graduation caps from the Hilton Coliseum rafters.

In addition to the recorded messages from 17 UI leaders — including President Bruce Harreld — the campus solicited parent messages, which will be included in the live virtual ceremonies.

To date, about 3,100 of the more than 5,400 UI graduates have RSVP’d to participate in the ceremony, which spokeswoman Anne Bassett said is a required affirmation from the students to have their names read.

“Students do not have to sign up to watch,” she said. “So there’s no way at this time to predict how many will do so.”

Despite the historic nature of the first online-only commencement ceremonies — forever bonding distanced graduates through the shared experience — UI graduate Omar Khodor, 22, said it’s a club he would have liked to avoid.

“I’d definitely prefer not to be part of that group,” the environmental science major said, sharing disappointment over the education, experiences and celebrations he lost to the pandemic.

“A lot of students like myself, we’re upset, but we’re not really allowed to be upset given the circumstances,” Khodor said. “You have this sense that something is unfair, that something has been taken from you. But you can’t be mad about it at all.”

‘Should I Dance Across the Stage?’

Life is too short to dwell on what could have been or what should have been — which sort of captures graduate Dawn Hales’ motivation to get an ISU degree.

The 63-year-old Ames grandmother calls herself the “oldest BSN Iowa State grad ever.”

“It’s the truth, because we’re only the second cohort to graduate,” Hales said. “I’ll probably be the oldest for a while.”

ISU began offering a Bachelor of Science in nursing degree in fall 2018 for registered nurses hoping to advance their careers — like Hales, who spent years in nursing before becoming director of nursing at Accura Healthcare, a skilled nursing and rehabilitation center in Ames.

In addition to wanting more education, Hales said, she felt like the “odd man out” in her red-and-gold family — with her husband, three sons and their wives all earning ISU degrees. She earned an associate degree and became a registered nurse with community college training.

“I was director of nursing at different facilities, but I did not have a four-year degree,” she said. “I always wanted to get my BSN.”

So in January 2019, she started full-time toward her three-semester pursuit of a BSN — even as she continued working. And her education took a relevant and important turn when COVID-19 arrived.

“My capstone project was infection control,” she said, noting her focus later sharpened to “infection control and crisis management” — perfect timing to fight the coronavirus, which has hit long-term care facilities particularly hard.

“We were hyper vigilant,” Hales said of her facility, which has yet to report a case of COVID-19. “I think we were probably one of the first facilities that pretty much shut down and started assessing our staff when they would come in.”

Hales said she was eager to walk in her first university graduation and was planning antics for it with her 10-year-old granddaughter.

“We were trying to think, should I dance across the stage?” Hales said. “Or would I grab a walker and act like an old lady going across the stage?

“She was trying to teach me to do this ‘dab’ move,” Hales said. “I said, ‘Honey, I cannot figure that out.’”

In the end, Hales watched the celebration online instead. She did, however, get a personalized license plate that reads, “RN2BSN.”

In From Idaho To Exalt ‘In ‘Our Own Way’

Coming from a family-run dairy farm in Jerome, Idaho, EllieMae Millenkamp, 22, is the first in her family to graduate college.

Although music is her passion, Millenkamp long expected to study at an agriculture school — but Colorado State was her original choice.

Then, while visiting family in Iowa during a cousin’s visit to ISU, she fell in love with the Ames campus and recalibrated her academic path.

While at ISU, the musical Millenkamp began writing more songs and performing more online, which led to in-person shows and a local band.

And then, during her junior year, a talent scout reached out to invite her to participate in an audition for NBC’s “The Voice.” That went well and Millenkamp, in the summer before her senior year, moved to Los Angeles and made it onto the show.

She achieved second-round status before being bumped, but the experience offered her lifelong friendships and connections and invigorated her musical pursuits — which have been slowed by COVID-19. Shows have been canceled in now idled bars.

Millenkamp went back to Idaho to be with her family, like thousands of her peers also did with their families, when the ISU campus shut down.

After graduation she plans on returning and working the family farm again until her musical career has the chance to regain momentum.

But she recently returned to Ames for finals. And she and some friends, also in town, plan to celebrate graduation, even if not with an official cap and gown.

“We’ll probably have a bonfire and all hang out,” she said. “We’ll celebrate in our own way.”

Seeking Closure After Abrupt Campus Exits

Most college seniors nearing graduation get to spend their academic hours focusing on their major and interests, wrapping their four or sometimes five years with passion projects and capstone experiences.

That was Omar Khodor’s plan — with lab-based DNA sequencing on tap, along with a geology trip and policy proposal he planned to present to the Iowa Legislature. But all that got canceled — and even some requirements were waived since COVID-19 made them impossible.

“There were still a lot of a lot of things to wrap up,” he said. “A lot of things I was looking forward to.”

He’s ending the year with just three classes to finish and “absolutely” would have preferred to have a fuller plate.

But Khodor’s academic career isn’t over. He’s planning to attend law school in the fall at the University of Pennsylvania, where he’ll pursue environmental law. But this spring has diminished his enthusiasm, with the question lingering of whether in-person courses will return to campus soon.

If they don’t, he’s still leaning toward enrolling — in part — because of all the work that goes into applying and getting accepted, which he’s already done.

“But online classes are definitely less fulfilling, less motivating. You feel like you learn less,” he said. “So it will kind of be a tossup. There’ll be some trade-offs involved in what I would gain versus what I would be paying for such an expensive endeavor like law school.”

As for missing a traditional college commencement, Khodor said he will, even though he plans to participate in the virtual alternative.

“Before it got canceled, I didn’t think that I was looking forward to it as much as I actually was,” he said.

Not so much for the pomp and circumstance, but for the closure, which none of the seniors got this year. When the universities announced no one would return to campus this semester, students were away on spring break.

They had already experienced their last in-person class, their last after-class drink, their last cram session, their last study group, their last lecture, their last Iowa Memorial Union lunch — and they didn’t even know it.

“So many of us, we won’t have closure, and that can kind of be a difficult thing,” he said.

Comments: (319) 339-3158; vanessa.miller@thegazette.com

Online Celebrations

For a list of commencement times and virtual celebrations, visit:

The University of Iowa’s commencement site at https://commencement.uiowa.edu/

Iowa State University’s commencement site at https://virtual.graduation.iastate.edu/

University of Northern Iowa’s commencement site at https://vgrad.z19.web.core.windows.net/uni/index.html




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Mother’s Day, Birthdays, Anniversaries: Celebrating during a pandemic

A 10th wedding anniversary traditionally is celebrated with a gift of aluminum or tin.

For Sondy Daggett, her 10th year of marriage to Liz Hoskins was marked with a gift of Champagne and chocolate-covered strawberries shared through a window.

Employees at Bickford of Marion, the assisted living and memory care center where Hoskins is a resident, surprised the couple with the anniversary gift on May 1. Despite the current coronavirus-related mitigation practices, the staff had created a special moment for the couple, who have been partners for 24 years.

Daggett burst into tears as employees played their wedding song — Billy Joel’s “The Longest Time.”

“It just touched my soul,” Daggett said.

Across the state, moments like this are relegated through windows or over a phone call. As the novel coronavirus pandemic sweeps through the country, long-term care facilities have locked down in an effort to keep residents healthy, which means their families are no longer able to hug their loved ones, or sit with them in their rooms.

For many families, the feelings at such times this time are conflicted. Typical Mother’s Day celebrations have been placed on hold, and recent milestones have been missed by those living in long-term care facilities. Simple visits through windows feel distant.

“Those are the moments you remember and you miss,” said Daggett, recalling memories of visits to Bickford of Marion from Hoskins’s grandchildren and family gatherings during the holidays.

Hoskins, who has dementia, has been a resident at Bickford since August 2019.

“The pandemic has taken this away,” Daggett said.

But beyond this new dynamic with which family members are left to grapple, they also have the constant worry that their loved one could fall ill.

So far, Bickford of Marion has not seen any cases.

“Every time you read about another outbreak — whether it’s close to home or anywhere in the country — it brings home how fortunate we are so far,” said Matt Hoskins, Liz Hoskin’s son. “I can’t imagine the anxiety the residents and staff are having once it breaks through the wall.”

As of Friday, 29 long-term care facilities across the state, which includes skilled nursing facilities and senior living centers, among others — have reported outbreaks of COVID-19 among hundreds of their staff and residents.

As a result, for some Iowans, that fear has become a reality.

‘I have to trust’

Ruth Brackett’s son Jamie Degner, a 38-year-old resident at Harmony House Health Care Center in Waterloo, tested positive for COVID-19 this past week.

Degner, who has severe autism and intellectual disabilities, has been a resident there since he was 15 years old.

More than 60 residents and staff have tested positive for COVID-19 at Harmony House, an intermediate care facility. It’s one of two long-term care facilities in Black Hawk County reporting an outbreak, defined as three or more positive tests among residents.

Degner received his test results on Tuesday. He’s had lower-than-normal oxygen levels, but otherwise has recorded his usual vital signs and has not experienced symptoms.

Brackett said it is “unbelievably difficult to not be able to go be with him through this.”

As with many facilities across the state, Harmony House closed its doors to visitors in early March, when the first cases of COVID-19 began being reported across Iowa and the nation. Brackett said her son’s cognitive abilities make it impossible for him to understand that she is unable to visit because she might make him sick, so the staff instead tell Degner his mom is “at work.”

While she’s optimistic he’ll improve, Brackett worries whether Degner’s virus would take a turn for the worse.

“It’s tough because I have to trust” the staff, Brackett said. “There’s nothing I can do, so I can’t spend a lot of time dwelling on what I might do differently.”

The families that spoke to The Gazette believe the leadership at long-term care facilities are doing what they can to keep its residents safe and healthy.

At Bickford of Marion, officials have taken the unique step of promising public transparency of possible COVID-19 cases in its facility. On the website of every Bickford location is a feature recording the number of residents who have tested positive for COVID-19.

“Whether it’s COVID-19 or not, we want to be transparent with families about their loved ones’ care,” Bickford of Marion Executive Director Jacobi Feckers said. “I don’t know why other nursing homes haven’t taken that step because I haven’t spoken to other facilities, but I’m thankful that’s the route we’ve taken.”

It’s not just families who are placing their trust in management. Ron Moore is an independent living resident at Cottage Grove Place, one of the largest senior living centers in Cedar Rapids that has reported an outbreak of COVID-19 this past week.

According to the latest data from public health officials, five residents and staff there have tested positive.

The outbreak originated in the skilled nursing unit, and officials said they are working to ensure the virus doesn’t spread to the assisted-living and independent-living portions of the facility. They restricted movement between the facilities and conduct frequent temperature checks of staff.

So far, the general feeling among residents at Cottage Grove Place’s independent-living housing is that management has “done a good job” of controlling exposure.

“The feelings of the residents here are positive,” Moore said. “They appreciate what management has done to protect us.”

‘Any opportunity to celebrate’

Still, life looks much differently at Cottage Grove Place. Moore said his schedule typically is packed with weekly book clubs and coffees with friends. Now he and his wife take walks, or try to connect with friends over email.

“I’ve found (residents) are not depressed at this time,” he said. “But in the future, if this goes on for many months? My prediction is yes, depression will be a serious thing.”

Local senior living centers have come up with unique ways to allow visitors to see their loved ones. Gina Hausknecht, a 55-year-old Iowa City resident, was able to see her mother in person for the first time in weeks after her assisted-living home, Oaknoll Retirement Community in Iowa City, created a “drive up” visit option this past weekend.

While Hausknecht sat in the car, she was able to speak with her mother, 93-year-old Ellen Hausknecht, for an hour outside the facility. Before this, it had been emotionally difficult for Hausknecht not to see her mom weekly as she usually does

“It sunk in that I don’t know when I’m going to see my mom again, and that felt really terrible,” Hausknecht previously told The Gazette.

Hausknecht said she hopes to take this year’s Mother’s Day as an opportunity to do something special, particularly given the difficult past few weeks.

“Our family isn’t super-big on these kinds of holidays but we do like to acknowledge them, and this year it feels important to take hold of any opportunity to celebrate,” she said.

Other facilities, including Bickford of Marion, also have eased restrictions on sending food and gifts to residents in time for Mother’s Day. Matt Hoskins, Liz’s Hoskins’ son, said the family’s usual Mother’s Day plans are impossible this year, so they hope to send Liz’s Hoskins artwork from her grandchildren along with other gifts.

Brackett, who will be apart from her son Degner this year, said she hadn’t planned anything for the holiday. She looks forward to her first in-person visit with him after the pandemic, when she will bring his favorite meal from McDonald’s and a new deck of Phase 10 cards.

Despite the feelings of being separated, their wedding anniversary on May 1 likely is something Daggett will cherish, she said. With Daggett acting as Hoskins caregiver since her dementia diagnosis in 2016, their wedding anniversary has been something the couple hasn’t celebrated in a significant way in some time, she said.

But that worry still creeps in the back of her mind. Daggett said she’s trying to remain “as confident as anyone can at this point.”

“I learned a long time ago you can’t worry about what you can’t control,” Daggett said. “But does that mean I still wake up at 2 in the morning worried about it? Of course I do.”

Comments: (319) 398-8469; michaela.ramm@thegazette.com




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Aerosmith and Guided By Voices celebrate landmark albums this month and are worlds apart in style and popularity — but maybe not as far as you think

Put pictures of 1975-era Aerosmith and 1995-era Guided By Voices next to each other and you probably wouldn’t think the bands have anything in common.…




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Photos: Warriors Celebrate Second Title in Three Years with Parade and Rally in Oakland

The Golden State Warriors paraded for the second time in three years in downtown Oakland yesterday. Players rode by in topless busses, paired with teammates and families, along with coaches, members of the team's ownership group, and of course the odd ambassadorial pairing of Mayor Libby Schaaf and MC Hammer.…




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alaMar Will Celebrate Its Anniversary With a Contactless "Parade"


Uptown Oakland's alaMar Kitchen & Bar will celebrate its sixth anniversary this Friday, May 1, with a contactless, social-distancing, Covid-19-crisis parade.

"In celebration of this milestone, we are asking all of our fans and supporters to parade in the safety of their cars," management announced in a press release today.…




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Reader's Letter: Let us celebrate European Day

The achievement of 75 years without any wars between European countries is unprecedented in history.




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Community CC celebrate Southampton Evening League title

COMMUNITY CC celebrated winning the Southampton Evening Cricket League at the end of season awards dinner at Trojans Club.




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Second World War veterans in city care home ready to celebrate VE Day

TWO Second World War veterans living in the same Southampton care home will be among those marking the 75th anniversary of VE Day today.




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Hampshire couple celebrate 70 years of marriage

AN Alresford couple are celebrating a milestone, 70 years of marriage this month.




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Alex McCarthy reflects on the Southampton win that led to wild celebrations

FOLLOWING that win against Bournemouth, I think you all know what came a few weeks later!




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Thriving Hampshire brewery ready to celebrate 18th birthday

It all started as a bit of banter over a few pints of not very good ale.




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Southampton hospital celebrates its 1,000th weight loss op

MORE than 1,000 obese people have gone under the knife at a Southampton hospital – and lost a combined total of 51 tonnes.




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V-E Day: Europe Celebrates A Subdued 75th Anniversary During COVID-19 Pandemic

Updated at 5:02 p.m. ET It was supposed to be a day of parades, a vast party that would transcend borders and bring generations together, not unlike the spontaneous euphoria that swept through victorious European allies when Nazi Germany finally surrendered. But instead of a mega-event, leaders in London, Paris, Moscow and other capitals, observed the 75th anniversary of V-E Day at a diminished level Friday due to the COVID-19 pandemic. French President Emmanuel Macron led a small ceremony at the Arc de Triomphe, looking out over an empty Champs-Élysées. A 93-year-old veteran of World War II observes a moment of silence at the Cenotaph war memorial in London, where British residents — like much of Europe — marked a subdued 75th anniversary of V-E Day. Daniel Leal-Olivas / AFP via Getty Images Because of health risks the disease poses to older people, many veterans of the war were forced to avoid travel and keep their distance at public gatherings. "The veterans are of course getting




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Celebrating Art Tatum's 108th Birthday And His Toledo Roots

Today would have been the great pianist Art Tatum's 108th birthday. WEMU celebrated his birth in 1909 with Dr. Imelda Hunt, author Does A Genius? - A Tribute To Art Tatum. Dr. Hunt is a new faculty member of the Department of Africology and African Studies at Eastern Michigan University. She brings a deep understanding of African-Americans in the midwest including her hometown of Toledo, Ohio - also Art Tatum's hometown. Dr. Hunt's research revealed Art Tatum's neighborhood, the legendary department stores, dance halls, and nightclubs where he performed and details about his loving and supportive family. Dr. Hunt also shared how the experience of listening to Art Tatum's brilliant music inspired her to write many poems, two of which she shared in conversation. Enjoy the genius of Art Tatum and a heartfelt appreciation from Dr. Imelda Hunt.




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The Roots Music Project: Corndaddy Celebrates 20 Years With Live In-Studio Performance

The first Roots Music Project of 2018 is a special one! Host Jeremy Baldwin welcomes Ann Arbor's own Americana band Corndaddy to the WEMU studios for a live interview and performance!




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Beyonce to Celebrate Mother's Day With Get-Together After Family Tested Negative for COVID-19

Tina Knowles-Lawson, the mother of the 'Formation' singer, looks forward to seeing her grandchildren in person again after being kept away because of the coronavirus pandemic.




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Bernard Blowers didn't get to celebrate VE Day – he was sent to Germany instead

Victory in Europe sparked scenes of delirium across Britain as people flooded on to the streets to toast the downfall of Hitler’s regime.







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200: 200th Episode Celebration With Kevin Coval

This is episode 200, and features a return from Kevin Coval. However, since it is our 200th, our producer Josh got Kevin, who’s also a big fan of the show, to turn the tables without us knowing and interview the show’s host Shawn. So if you’ll excuse a little self indulgence here’s the episode 200 with Kevin Coval, Shawn Setaro AND Josh Kross.

Kevin is a poet and educator who is the artistic director of Young Chicago Authors, and the author and editor of a whole bunch of great books. The latest of these is A People’s History of Chicago. The book, true to its title, covers the entire history of the city, while focusing on the experiences and victories of its working people and those struggling for justice. The book’s foreward is by a young artist who has learned a lot from Coval, Chance the Rapper.

See http://theciphershow.com/episode/200/ for full show notes and comments.




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231: Skyzoo: In Celebration of Us

Skyzoo is a fantastic Brooklyn rapper whose sophisticated lyrics and ear for soulful beats has long made him one of our favorites. Longtime listeners will no doubt remember that he’s been a guest on the show twice before. But this is different.

Sky approached us last month with the idea of having an in-depth conversation to tease out the themes and ideas in his awesome new record. In Celebration of Us, easily his most topical project to date, deals with police violence, gentrification, discrimination, validation, and ultimately what it means to be, as Sky is, a black man raising a black boy in America today.

He wanted to have the talk at a place near to his heart, so we met at Mike’s Coffee Shop. Mike’s is a Brooklyn diner that has been a staple of the rapper’s life since childhood, and remains one now that he has a child — his newborn son Miles — of his own.

See http://theciphershow.com/episode/231/ for full show notes and comments.





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Sampad South Asian Arts and Heritage celebrates anniversary

Festival marks thirtieth birthday of community group.




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Birmingham choir celebrates centenary with historic cathedral gala

Lichfield date marks one hundred years of Bach in the city.





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Neural 62, Spiked Pieces, Celebrating 25 years of Neural

Issue #62 Winter 2018 ISSN: 2037-108X

The new Neural issue (co-edited with Rachel O’Dwyer) is hot from the press.

Subscribe now! Because only subscribers will get a free extra 25th anniversary cover sticker.

You can also subscribe to the magazine Digital Edition accessing




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Robot ceremonies. Virtual dance parties. Online speeches. How Arizona colleges and universities are celebrating graduates

Arizona colleges and universities have dramatically altered graduation ceremonies to adapt to COVID-19.

       




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Adidas launches “FasterThan” campaign to celebrate women in sports

With this campaign, the brand aims to highlight the inspirational stories of real women, influencers and athletes from different age groups and fields through the medium of a film, said the company.




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Virtual celebrations set for UF spring 2020 graduates




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Being crowned Junior champions no cause for celebration for Talbot manager Sloan

IN normal circumstances, Auchinleck Talbot manager Tommy Sloan would be popping Champagne bottles and celebrating his second league title victory in a row.




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Matt Haywood celebrates a decade at Glasgow Clan

IF someone had told Matt Haywood when he arrived in Glasgow as a fresh-faced 18-year-old who had just been recruited to the city’s new ice hockey team that he’d still be here a decade later, he’d have laughed them out of town.




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City Visions: ‘Fight of the Century’ celebrates 100 years of the ACLU

This year marks the 100th birthday of the American Civil Liberties Union, an organization dedicated to preserving the rights and freedoms guaranteed by our Constitution. Host Grace Won celebrates this historic event with the ACLU of Northern California, as well as Michael Chabon and Ayelet Waldman, local authors and the editors of the new book, Fight of the Century: Writers Reflect on 100 Years of Landmark ACLU Cases.




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Class Of 2020 Mourns End-Of-Year Celebrations, But Remains Focused On Future

The Iowa high school class of 2020 is experiencing a very different senior year than any class that has come before it. In many cases, prom has already been canceled. Year books will go unsigned. There will be no final performances or competitions. Commencement ceremonies are canceled, postponed or will go virtual. During a time when so many people are sick or have died of COVID-19, it may seem trivial to focus on this loss, but for seniors who have spent 13 years of schooling building up to this moment, the loss is real and sad.




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Hundreds of short-legged pups celebrate Corgi Con

Corgi Con is a semi-annual celebration of short, sausage-shaped dogs called Corgis. Hundreds of dogs and their families descend on Ocean Beach for a day of events and festivities.




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Issues Of The Environment: Earth Day Celebrates 50 Years! Part One - Origins In Ann Arbor

Today marks the 50th anniversary of Earth Day. A group of environmentally aware and concerned students at the University of Michigan formed the group ENACT during a rather heady time on campus in 1969. Through activity and organization, it led to the first-ever Earth Day in 1970. In Part 1 of a special, Earth Day edition of "Issues of the Environment," WEMU's David Fair caught up with David Allan to look back at the five decades since that event. Allan was a founding member and co-chair of ENACT and an organizer for the first Earth Day.




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Issues Of The Environment: Earth Day Celebrates 50 Years! Part 2 - Looking Ahead During COVID-19

Today marks the 50th Earth Day in the United States, which traces its origins to Ann Arbor. Normally, there would have been a huge celebration, but the coronavirus pandemic has put a halt to that. For Part 2 of a special, Earth Day edition of "Issues of the Environment," WEMU's David Fair spoke with Jonathan Overpeck, dean of the U-M School for Environment and Sustainability. They discuss an online celebration of Earth Day and look ahead to what the future may hold.




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Issues Of The Environment: Celebrating 25 Years Of Bringing Environmental Information To You

Every week, for a quarter of a century now, WEMU's David Fair has delivered "Issues of the Environment," which has brought information involving our community's environmental health. He has welcomed numerous guests to discuss matters, such as managing food waste, monitoring climate change, and fighting hazardous chemicals like PFAS. This week, David welcomes Washtenaw County water resources commissioner Evan Pratt for a look back at 25 years of "Issues of the Environment."