NIACC will present the St. Olaf Orchestra. Back by popular demand, this 92-member St. Olaf Orchestra has been revered nationally and on Saturday, October 23, at 7:30 p.m. as part of the 2004-2005 North Iowa Area Community College Performing Arts Series. Tickets are on sale now and cost $18 for adults and $10 for students in advance and $25 at the door.

While the roots of the St. Olaf Orchestra date back to 1906, the ensemble has toured annually since 1948. The St. Olaf Orchestra has traveled throughout the United States, Scandinavia, and Central and Eastern Europe. Most recently, in the summer of 1998, the Orchestra toured in Austria, Hungary, the Czech Republic and Slovakia.

The St. Olaf Orchestra has been under the animated direction of Steven Amundson since 1981. A 1977 graduate of Luther College, Amundson obtained a Master of Music degree in Orchestral Conducting and Music Theory at Northwestern University and completed further studies at the University of Virginia, the Aspen Music School, and the Mozarteum in Salzburg, Austria. For tickets to the St. Olaf Orchestra, call the NIACC Box Office at 1-888-466-4222, ext. 4188. The NIACC Performing Arts Series is sponsored by First Citizens National Bank; the Elizabeth Muse Norris Charitable Fund; the Globe Gazette; Henkel Construction; Kraft; Crescent Park Corporation; Principal Financial Group; Drs. Beck & Lovick, Neurological Surgery; Clear Lake Bank & Trust; First State Bank of Belmond; Hanford Inn; Mercy Medical Center Ð North Iowa; Pepsi; Sukup; Applebee's; Godfather's Pizza and NIACC.

Matt O'Brien
Staff Reporter

NIACC intramural sports will not only have new intramural coordinators; they will also have new intramural sports.

NIACC has added Travis Hergert and Denny Honnold as the new intramural coordinators for intramural sports.

Hergert is an assistant coach on the Trojan baseball team and the head resident of the dorms. Honnold is an assistant coach on the NIACC football team and is also head resident of the dorms.

Hergert said he believes with two intramural coordinators it will be easier to offer NIACC students new intramural sports.

"I'd like to develop one new sport," Hergert said. "Sand volleyball or possibly a whiffle ball tournament."

NIACC currently offers flag football, indoor volleyball and basketball, while sand volleyball is new to the intramural scene.

"This year's intramurals is going to be a lot of fun," sophomore Brandi Hanson said. "There's going to be more teams and playing outside will be exciting."

Intramural sports were a big hit with NIACC students last year and many are excited for the upcoming intramural season.

"It was fun last year," NIACC sophomore Faith Gamble said. "Meeting new people and playing with friends was a good time."

Intramurals offer NIACC students a chance to participate in sports without having to deal with the grueling schedules of intercollegiate sports.

"Intramurals are good if you don't have the time, or maybe the skills needed to play intercollegiate sports," Hergert said.

With new sports being added like sand volleyball or even slow-pitch softball, Hergert is expecting intramurals to be even better than last year.

"Students should expect a fun, energetic and safe environment," Hergert said. "With two coordinators, we'll have more sports, more numbers, and more time and effort put forth to make intramurals more popular."

Intramurals also provide students with the opportunity to encounter an assortment of people and stay physically fit.

"I think it's great for students to get out and be active in the school," Beau Ellingson, a NIACC freshman, said. "Intramurals help people make new friends."

Intramurals has new faces, new sports and is set for another fun and competitive season. Those interested in participating can contact Hergert or Honnold in the dorms.

Jeff Backlin
Entertainment Editor

Commercials are everywhere. There are car commercials, restaurant commercials, movie trailers, allergy commercials, diet commercials, etc. However, what upsets me is the inaccuracy of these commercials.

Take diet commercials for instance.

As I watch TV, I am slightly bemused at the amount of diet plans, pills and machines there are on the market.

The people are ripped, pretty and happy. The consumer is told it is due to the machine they are using, or the pills they are taking.

Despite how good they look, no one diet or one exercise machine will turn you into a fit individual, it takes both exercise and diet to become fit in a healthy manner.

I don't know about you, but some of the machines advertised on the TV don't look anywhere near enjoyable.

Besides the diet pills and machinery, it seems that more and more companies are jumping on the diet and low carb bandwagon, and the Coke and Pepsi corporations are swinging with the best of them.

Not being new to the diet scene, Coke and Pepsi have both released diet colas while Pepsi specifically made a soda pop boasting only one calorie, Pepsi 1.

I saw my first C2 commercial at the Cinema Five Movie Theater here in Mason City. Running approximately a minute, I saw happy people prancing around with their C2 bottles and cans, and while entertaining, I learned nothing about their product.

However, it is not just the diet commercials that bother me.

I remember back in the day when I actually knew what some of the drugs that were advertised did.

Take Clariton for example. I saw numerous Clariton commercials never knowing what Clariton did but had the side effects memorized. Not until I visited the Clariton website, did I find out what Clariton was.

Any more I become excited to see a Tylenol commercial because I actually know what Tylenol does.

While not all commercials leave you confused on what was just advertised, the other side of advertisement needs to work on informing the viewer in an accurate manner.