photos by will m

urphy, tower yearbook and the nw

missourian

Northwest Missouri State University • Maryville, Mo.

NWMissourian 660.562.1224Tower Yearbook 660.562.1528

KNWT 660.562.1953KZLX 660.562.1165

with an award-winning past, student media forges forwardStudent Media at Northwest Missouri

State University showcases our national award-winning publications and stations. It is possible to get involved with the newspaper, yearbook, DVD, radio station and television station your freshman year of college.

Northwest Missourian, NWMissourinews.com, Tower yearbook and the Tower DVD have all received the coveted Pacemaker Award from Associated Collegiate Press and Crown Awards from Columbia Scholastic Press Association. The Pacemaker and Crown awards place these media outlets in the top 1 percent in the country. The radio station, KZLX, has received the Marconi Award for college broadcast station of the year.

Twice within the last four years, the Missourian has been recognized with the Best Non-Daily Broadsheet Newspaper and received the Apple Award at the College Media Advisers Convention in New York.

Over the years, our students have been named Designer of the Year and placed in Story of the Year competition through ACP. Our student designers have showcased their work by placing in CMA’s Best of Collegiate Design Contest.

Northwest Missouri State University was the sixth college in the country to see its newspaper and yearbook inducted into the ACP Hall of Fame. This honor recognizes

a publication’s excellence after its 10th consecutive All American ranking.

We understand the time commitment it takes for a person to be on staff or to serve on the editorial and management boards of our media outlets. Our editors and managers positions are paid. Our advertising representatives are paid commission.

We have always been a leader in digital and online reporting. Northwest launched one of the first collegiate online newspapers. Tower yearbook featured the first CD-ROM and then DVD supplement to its award-winning publication. We have always embraced the changes within our industry and started convergence and multimedia reporting 10 years ago. We were converging before it was the thing to do. Because of Northwest’s commitment to convergence, our newsroom just underwent a $100,000 renovation in facilities and additional equipment purchases.

Student Media is located in Wells Hall. The broadcast facilities occupy the second floor and print and digital media occupy the lower level of the building. Our commitment is to inform our readers, listeners and viewers about events and activities on campus and in the community. Our innovative methods of delivering that information make your experience at Northwest invaluable for your resume.

Producing Provides PlayWhether its braving the cold or under the watchful eyes of your peers, working on a Student Media staff allowed students the opportunity to grow in their given field. Every student could work on any staff their freshmen year of college. photos by will murhpy

it’s a crazy world Even though each staff of Student Media was small in size, they had a huge drive and spirit to complete their assigned projects. photos by will murphy and allie richard

in a designer’s head Whether its creating a simple poster design promoting portraits week, or something more complex like the theme, designers on the Tower yearbook never stray away from a design challenge. Every Student Media member can attend any number of yearly conventions. photo by allie richard

(04) Did You Know ? The Northwest Missourian was originally called the Green and White Courier in 1914.

The Northwest Missourian is a free weekly newspaper covering the campus and city of Maryville. Each week’s newspaper covers University and community news, Bearcat’s and Spoofhound’s sports as well as features and entertainment. At the same time, the Northwest Missourian provides a valuable opportunity to enhance students’ undergraduate experience through education, training and hands-on application.

About Us

Pick Us UpThe Northwest Missourian circulates 4,000 newspapers every Thursday. In addition to the 28 regular weekly issues, three supplemental guides and previews are printed each school year: New Student Guide - ‘Welcome Bearcats’, Fall Sports Preview and a Homecoming Guide. The paper is available at 20+ locations on campus including academic buildings and residential halls and 25 business locations throughout the city of Maryville.

C O N V E R G I N G C A M P U S & C O M M U N I T Y

MISSOURIAN

MN

STATE OF EMERGENCY

C O N V E R G I N G C A M P U S & C O M M U N I T Y

February 3, 2011 | V86 | N18 THURSDAY

MISSOURIAN

MN

online at NWMissourinews.com

| A6 Rose Theatre features local bands

Weather TImeline

By Trey WilliamsNews Editor

Monday, Governor Jay Nixon held a press conference during which he gave up-dates from the National Weather Service briefing earlier that day and declared Mis-souri in a state o� emergency.

According to Nixon and the National Weather Service, areas o� Missouri were expected to receive 12 to 20 inches o� snow, a hal� an inch o� ice, winds anywhere from 20 to 30 mph and “temperatures in the single digits for a number o� days in a row,” Nixon said.

“This is a very serious storm,” Nixon

sternly reiterated. “We are anticipating a storm that will have a significant impact on our state for a number o� days.”

Along with declaring a state o� emer-gency, Nixon signed Executive Order 11-04, activating the Missouri National Guard. Under his orders, Citizen-Soldiers from the Guard were deployed to support local emergency agencies.

“Most o� Missouri is expected to be af-fected by this severe winter storm, which is predicted to cause treacherous road con-ditions and possibly widespread power outages,” Nixon said. “My chie� concern is the safety o� Missourians, and these or-ders make state agency resources and the

Citizen-Soldiers o� the Missouri National Guard available to help communities.”

While the rest o� Missouri began to scurry in preparation for the storm, Maryville sat in its upper northwest corner, its college students praying for just one rare snow day o�f. They got three, the first time in history Northwest has recorded three straight snow days for one storm.

According to Chris Redden, hardscape grounds supervisor, the fact that snow was swirling about the campus complicated the clearing and led to the five-day weekend.

“The blowing snow is what’s the most

As students sleep in, winter storm rages on

I-70 closes from KC to

St. Louis; I-44 closed

from Springfield

to Oklahoma.

The storm rages from Okla. to Maine, covering 1/3 o� the country.

The storm begins with a blast o� icy rain.

Northwest follows schools

across the country

and cancels classes.

Northwest closes campus for a second day in a row

READY RESPOND RELAX

LORI FRANKENFIELD AND SETH COOK | CHIEF VISUAL JOURNALISTS(LEFT) HY-VEE EMPLOYEE KENT Marolo helps ring up customers who stock up on groceries for the upcoming winter storm on Monday. (MIDDLE) KELLY SCHMITZ SCRAPES the snow from his drive way during the snow storm Tuesday. (RIGHT) JORDAN DAVID AND Chris Kerwin play snow football outside o� Perrin on Wednesday.

For the first time Northwest canceled classes for 3 consecutive days

The sun emerges from

behind a veil o� cloud coverage as

residents begin to dig

out from the storm.

Gov. Jay Nixon

declares a state o�

emergency for Mo.

INSIDE ONLINE: Like us on Facebook and submit your winter storm pictures to be featured on our website.

1. Listen to radio, television, or Weather Radio for weather reports and emergency information.

2. Wear several layers o� loose fitting, light-weight, warm clothing rather than one layer o� heavy clothing.

3. I� a blizzard traps you in the car: Pull o�� the highway, turn on hazard lights and hang a distress flag from the radio antenna or window.

4. I� you do not have heat in your residence, temporar-ily close o�� some rooms and remain in one area o� the residence.

to read more tips go to our website

What to do during a severe storm

SEE WEATHER | A5

By Tony BottsSports Editor

By now, the news has spread far and wide across the Midwest and throughout Division II.

The day in which Mel Tjeerdsma stepped away from one o� the most success-ful programs in all o� college football came during a quiet week over winter break.

Family was on the mind o� the four-time Coach o� the Year as he made his decision to depart from the Northwest coaching sta�f.

He leaves a�ter 17 seasons and three national champion-ships and creating a jugger-naut in the MIAA and Divi-sion II playo�fs.

“Coach Tjeerdsma has no apologies to make to this in-stitutition,” President John Ja-sinski said. “He has served his time and served it well. Those that came before him set the stage and he has set the stage

for those that come a�ter.”Tjeerdsma said the

thought o� retirement re-mained throughout the sea-son and following the pro-gram’s third national title victory over Grand Valley State last December.

“The decision has been on my mind since last sum-mer,” Tjeerdsma said. “I didn’t make a final decision, I didn’t share it with anybody other than Carol (Tjeerdsma)...I really don’t have any second thoughts. I’m sure I will at some point, but when we got back from Duluth I talked to Dr. Jasinski and asked i� we could meet. I alerted him then that I pretty much had made up my mind, but I needed some things to work out.”

With former assistant head coach Will Wagner receiving the head coach-ing position at Angelo State days prior to Tjeerdsma’s an-nouncement, the long time head coach knew things needed to speed up.

“Will got the head coach-ing job at Angelo, ( and) it kind o� pushed things ahead a little bit because the next thing I had to do was hire an-

other coach and I didn’t feel that was fair to another coach. It wasn’t fair to our program and it wasn’t fair to our suc-ceeding head coach,” Tjeerds-ma said.

When it came time to un-veil his decision, he addressed a small crowd that included his wife, the entire North-west football coaching sta�� and their wives, current and former players, University faculty and sta�� and fans clad faithfully in green and white.

“When I was sitting there I didn’t think much about it,” new head coach Scott Bost-wick said. “But then coach starts welling up, (thought o�) a lot o� memories, a lot o� awesome memories. Dr. Jasinski hit it right on the but-ton about being so grounded: that’s Mel Tjeerdsma…Not many people get to leave on their own terms. He’s doing it the way he wants to and that’s pretty special.”

The day before Tjeerdsma announced his intentions, he spent most o� Tuesday a�ter-noon and evening contacting his players to inform them o� the changes to the Bearcat coaching sta�f.

Former coordinator takes over new role

Scott Bostwick, former defensive coordinator, was named head coach and succes-sor to the man he has teamed up with since both their arriv-als in 1994.

Bostwick had served 17 seasons as defensive coordi-nator and linebacker coach under Tjeerdsma and has pa-tiently waited for his oppor-tunity to take the reins o� this program. He even admitted he turned down multiple head coaching positions because he knew he longed for an opening at Northwest.

“I’ve had a lot o� opportu-nities to go to bigger schools,” Bostwick said. “Head coach-ings here and there. My whole statement is i� I was ever going to be a head coach it’s going to be here.”

His time was rewarded and a new title was added to his name.

Bostwick and his wife Sue live in Maryville and have two children. Leah is a freshman on the Northwest volleyball team and Eric is a junior at Maryville High School.

C O N V E R G I N G C A M P U S & C O M M U N I T Y

January 13, 2011 | V86 | N15 THURSDAY online exclusives at NWMissourinews.com

MISSOURIAN

MN

TJEERDSMA RETIRES

Coach steps down after 17 seasonsFootball program must reload, re-focus with loss of iconic figure head

KEVIN BIRDSELL | CHIEF VISUAL JOURNALIST

COACH MEL TJEERDSMA answers questions a�ter his retirement announcement on Dec. 29 in the third floor J.W. Jones Student Union boardroom. Tjeerdsma spent 17 years coaching at Northwest and won three national championships. He plans to spend more time with family as well as relocate back to Texas.

seasons as Northwest head coach

record at Northwest

MIAA Championships

national championships

national championship appearances

4-time national coach o� the year

playo�� victories

42 playo�� game appearances

2010 inductee into Division II Hall o� Fame

2010 inductee into Missouri Sports Hall o� Fame

The accolades of a coaching legend17183-321237

32

A�ter the legendary run by coach Mel Tjeerdsma, here is a look back at the highlights throughout his il-lustrious career. From his appearance at Northwest to his groundbreaking retirement, Mel is more than a Bearcat but the passion behind the ‘Paw.’

Coach Tʼs Career Highlights

– Takes over as head coach at Northwest. Goes 0-11 in first season with team

– first team in Di-vision II history to go 15-0, first o� three national championships under Tjeerdsma

– team becomes back-to-back national champions

– 21-17 loss to Grand Valley State, the first o� five straight appearances in the NCAA Divi-sion II National Championship game

– 17-14 loss to Grand Valley State in second straight ap-pearance

– 25-21 loss to Val-dosta State in third straight appearance

– 21-14 loss to Duluth in fourth straight appearance

– 30 -23 win over Grand Valley third National Champion-ship under Tjeerdsma, in fi�th straight appearance

– MIAA record 42nd straight win in MIAA 42-28 win over Emporia State

– 17-13 semifinal loss at Duluth last game under Tjeerdsma

– inducted into Division II Hall o� Fame

– retires a�ter 17 seasons with the Bearcats

1994

Dec. 12, 1998

Dec. 11, 1999

Dec. 10, 2005

Dec. 16, 2006

Dec 15, 2007

Dec. 13, 2008

Dec 12, 2009

Oct. 16, 2010

Dec. 11, 2010

Dec. 17, 2010

Dec. 29, 2010

INSIDE | A6 Remembering the past

INSIDE | A7 Looking back on 2010

MISSOURIAN

MNWelcomeBearcats

“

Health GuideIt is health that is the real wealth and not pieces of gold and silver.” -Mahatma Ghandi

MISSOURIAN

MN

Community Center

Student Rec.vsInside | B3 B7 Eating

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Did You Know? Tower was the first public university yearbook that provided an interactive DVD supplement. (05)

Established in 1921, the Tower yearbook captures the history of Northwest Missouri State University, compiling news, sports and campus activities into a 336-page publication along with an interactive DVD supplement. The book gives students the opportunity to plan the theme, write, edit, take photographs, and design. The Tower is distributed each spring to approximately 2,500 students. Follow Tower Yearbook on Facebook.

About Us

LithoSilkscreenEmbossed

Special Instructions: deluster laminiation with clear silkscreen on photosPaper Stock: 80# GlossNumber of Pages: 336

1 3/4” Spine SizeSize 9

Job Number: 03243 CS3/MACSchool Name: Northwest MO State University Herff Jones

Custom Cover Template

LithoSilkscreenEmbossed

Special Instructions: deluster laminiation with clear silkscreen on photosPaper Stock: 80# GlossNumber of Pages: 336

1 3/4” Spine SizeSize 9

Job Number: 03243 CS3/MACSchool Name: Northwest MO State University Herff Jones

Custom Cover Template

Tower 2011

VOL90 pause + effect

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keep ittogetherbearcat families gather for

tailgating, food and football

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Older brothers tossed a football in the air for their younger siblings to

catch and the smell of juicy brats and burgers wafted in the air and was car-

ried by the crisp fall breeze. It was Family Weekend at the University and

families flocked to Bearcat Stadium to tailgate, spend time with their loved

ones and watch football.

“It was nice to catch up,” Allan Smith said. “I don’t get to see them very

much and [family weekend] really helps.”

Some students used the influx of families

to their advantage. Junior, Rena Coen, cre-

ated a quilt over the summer to auction to

benefit the Sigma Alpha Agriculture Sorority

and St. Jude’s.

“Family weekend gives my family an excuse

for them to make the trip up here,” Coen said.

“This year, my family came up here because

they wanted [to be] a part of raffling off my

quilt. It’s something that my mom and I do together.”

The weekend gave students the opportunity to show their families what

college was like for them.

“[Family weekend] allows them to show their parents where they live the

majority of the year and what kind of activities they are involved in,” Lauren

Henrichs, whose family came to see her, said. “It allows the parents to meet

the students friends and get a chance to see what Northwest is all about.”

A local Maryville family won the Family of the Year award. Dr. Jerry

Wilmes and his wife Robin graduated from the University and was nominated

by their daughter Leah, a junior public administrator major.

writer allie richard designer sasha mulvihill

“”

It allows the parents to meet the students’ friends and get a chance to see what Northwest is all about.

Lauren Henrichs

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When people spoke about Mel Tjeerdsma, they often

spoke about his character and how accomplished of a

football coach he was.

“Coach T’s eyes have been on the stars, but his feet

have been on the ground,” President John Jasinski said.

“Coach has always held high expectations of himself and

others around him. But the beauty of the man is that his

feet have been on the ground.”

Tjeerdsma was one of the most successful and well-

respected coaches in the history of collegiate football. He

turned the Bearcat Football program into a model program

for the country, and was able to do so with class, common

sense and without excessive problems off the field.

Tjeerdsma announced his retirement from Bearcat

Football Dec. 29, during winter break.

“I’m retiring from coaching strictly for our family,”

Tjeerdsma said. “Right now we [he and his wife Carol]

have seven grandchildren and we just haven’t seen much

of them. We hope to get to spend more time with them

and that’s why I’m doing this.”

Tjeerdsma had been part of the Bearcat family for 17

years. He led the University to the playoffs 13 times in

the last 15 seasons, sported a 32-10 overall past season

record and is the program’s all-time winningest coach.

At the press conference announcing his retirement,

Tjeerdsma talked about what really summarized his feel-

ings and that was a feeling of awe. He also talked about

the logo on the football helmets, a paw print with an “N”

inside it, and what it meant to him.

“It’s really become a symbol of pride for a great Uni-

versity,” Tjeerdsma said. “Northwest is a great Univer-

sity and I think that paw is something we all identify with

now. You’ve always been proud of Northwest, but I think

it’s given you a little more identity, but to me, the paw is

a family.”

Tjeerdsma went on to say how a football team was a

family.

“A football team is a family, our coaches, our players,”

Tjeerdsma said. “I don’t think there’s anything that rep-

resents family more than after a game at Bearcat Stadium,

where you see everyone down on the field. That’s what

it’s all about and that to me is what Bearcat Football has

been for the last 17 years.”

Tjeerdsma and his wife re-located to Texas since six of

their seven grandchildren were located right around that

area. Tjeerdsma went on to tell of his hopes, future plans

and to thank all the various people involved with making

his time at the University a pleasant one.

“I don’t think I’ll coach again,” Tjeerdsma said. “I

never say never, but that’s not my plan right now. But

most of all, my prayer is that God will continue to bless

each of you, our fans, our coaches and continue to bless

Bearcat Football because we’ve been blessed.”

writer evette massey designer erin funk

he was ours

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CAREER HIGHLIGHTS

Went 0-11 in his first season as Head Coach

17Seasons as the University’s Head Coach

183-32 Record

12 MIAA Championships

3 National Championships

7 National Championship appearances

In 1994 Tjeerdsma coached the first team to go 15-0 in Division II history

4 time National Coach of the Year

He has produced 119 All-MIAA student athletes

2010 Inductee into the Division II Hall of Fame

2010 Inductee into the Missouri Sports Hall of Fame

A 12 time MIAA Coach of the Year Honoree

His 32 post season record victories were a Division II record

15 players have been drafted or signed into the NFL during his tenure

legendary figure, mel tjeerdsma, gracefully retires

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TOWER YEARBOOK

NWMissourinews.com covers breaking news stories and daily events throughout the University and the city of Maryville and is an interactive supplement to the weekly print edition. Visitors to NWMissourinews.com can interact with breaking news and daily event coverage by following Northwest Missourian on Facebook or Twitter @TheMissourian.

About Us

Online at NWMissourinews.com

(06) Did You Know? Channel 8 had an outdoor advertisement that lasted throughout the 2009-2010 school year.

KNWT-TV MARYVILLE, MO

KNWT, Channel 8, is the University’s cable television station that provides students the opportunity to create and produce weekly newscasts, sports shows, music videos, talk shows, and game shows covering campus and the city of Maryville. Programs air from 6 p.m. to 2 a.m. on Suddenlink’s cable channel 8.

About Us

this is how we do itStudents with the passion of learning and receiving hands-on experience from knowledgeable professionals are in luck with KNWT. photos by allie richard, sasha mulvihill and will murphy

KNWT offers students the creative freedom to direct, cast and produce their own shows on Channel 8. Sound fun? Look us up on Facebook as KNWT or follow us on Twitter @KNWT8.

Shows

Did You Know? On June 19, 2002, KZLX became a low power station broadcasting at 0.042 kW. (07)

KZLX, known as 106.7 “The X”, is a low-power FM radio station housed in the Department of Mass Communication, run by students and overseen by faculty. The station broadcasts current and hit music, sports and other programming 24/7 to the campus and community and online. Through hands-on training, staff members obtain practical knowledge to pursue a career in radio. KZLX strives to maintain a professional yet creative atmosphere. Look us up on Facebook as X-106 KZLX-FM or follow us on Twitter @KZLXfm

About Us

sing sing with a swingKZLX, also known as “The X”, is a non-commercial radio station that provides hit music, sports and programing to the campus and community. KZLX regularly hosts events and promotions throughout the community each year. photos by will murphy and kari kolts

KZLX gives students the ability to manage, produce, program, and promote the station, their scheduled airtime and customized specialty shows. Additionally, students can be seen regularly throughout campus and the community during live radio remote promotions and events.

Shows and programming

Demolition Derbymajor academic building receives a much needed upgrade

removal of the guts of this establishmentWhere walls once stood in the basement of Wells Hall, dividing the staffs of the Tower yearbook and the Northwest Missourian into separate quadrants, were torn down to create an inviting and open work space. The renovations required staff members to temporary relocate to Thompson-Ringgold Building behind Valk for the entire fall trimester of the 2010-2011 academic school year. photo by allie richard

bringing in the newIn early January, the renovations of Wells Hall were completed. During the January University’s Speech Video, President John Jasinski welcomed students, alumni and friends to experience the new space. The basement now features three flat screens, a single-man TV studio with an external monitor able to produce live on-air programs, an interview/audio room hooked to the KZLX switchboard, a fish-bowl conference room and seven pods of varying specialties each housing three iMacs. photo by michael duntz