Latest news with #Nokomis
Yahoo
07-04-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Native American Community in Lansing reaffirm union on the traditional Spring Feast
Spring Feast at the Nokomis Cultural Center on Sunday, April 6, 2024. Photo by Erick Diaz Veliz As spring begins to warm us during the day and winter leaves behind its cold trace in the mornings and nights, the Native American community of Lansing celebrated the arrival of the new season at the traditional Spring Feast, held at the Nokomis Cultural Heritage Center in Okemos on Sunday. 'We are breaking away from the winter. It's the reunification of families after a long winter. We celebrate it in our Spring Feast,' said John Ostrander, 63, Executive Director at Nokomis and member of the Ojibwe Nation. Before the feast, those present gathered around the fire outside the Nokomis Center. The tobacco had been placed around the sacred fire, so everyone took a handful and offered it into the flames after a short prayer. The youngest woman among the group brought a small portion of each food from the feast to offer to the spirits of the ancestors. The smoke rising into the sky carries those prayers and offerings to the elders who are no longer here, honoring that they are still present here with them. Then, everyone can go inside and eat. From elders first to the youngest, everyone served themselves the food that they each brought, but before that, a prayer of gratitude was offered. Ariel Waagosh gave the prayer in Anishinaabemowin, the Great Lakes region language. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX 'All life is here and connected, and as human beings, we couldn't live without breath, plants, water, and the sun. We are nourished by life. As gratitude, the prayer comes from our most humble place', said Waagosh, 47, a member of the Grand Traverse Band of Ottawa and Chippewa Indians. The attendees of this gathering emphasized the importance of staying united and continuing these traditional events that strengthen ties among their members. 'This is the only place in my life where I can have a community. These are scary times right now; nothing is certain, so we have to take joy from where we can get it', said Julia Tehauno, 23, Comanche member. 'You could see, during lunch, how loud it was; it was because people were talking, relaxing, and having a good time. And within the Native community, that's a good thing to have: a space where every Indigenous person is welcome,' said Ostrander. Spring Feast at the Nokomis Cultural Center on Sunday, April 6, 2024. Photo by Erick Diaz Veliz Spring Feast at the Nokomis Cultural Center on Sunday, April 6, 2024. Photo by Erick Diaz Veliz Spring Feast at the Nokomis Cultural Center on Sunday, April 6, 2024. Photo by Erick Diaz Veliz Spring Feast at the Nokomis Cultural Center on Sunday, April 6, 2024. Photo by Erick Diaz Veliz Spring Feast at the Nokomis Cultural Center on Sunday, April 6, 2024. Photo by Erick Diaz Veliz Ariel Waagosh, 47, a member of the Grand Traverse Band of Ottawa and Chippewa Indians, during Spring Feast at the Nokomis Cultural Center on Sunday, April 6, 2024. Photo by Erick Diaz Veliz Spring Feast at the Nokomis Cultural Center on Sunday, April 6, 2024. Photo by Erick Diaz Veliz
Yahoo
30-03-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Did You Know Duke Men's Basketball Star Cooper Flagg Has a Twin Brother?
"Hearst Magazines and Yahoo may earn commission or revenue on some items through these links." Arguably the biggest star of the NCAA men's March Madness tournament is Duke University's Cooper Flagg. Flagg, 18, is a forward for the Blue Devils. The 6'9' freshman is from Newport, Maine, and is likely to be the first pick in the 2025 NBA draft. 'It's always been about basketball for us,' Cooper said of him and his brothers, Hunter and Ace. 'Mom and dad have always been there for us, whatever we want to do.' As his profile continues to rise, get to know Cooper Flagg's family: Kelly, who grew up in Newport, Maine, went to Nokomis high school, where she was a standout basketball player. 'She can score, rebound, handle the ball and play good defense,' former Nokomis coach Charlie Wing said in 1994, per Bangor Daily News. 'She's a very well-rounded player who does everything well. She also has a tremendous desire to succeed and is very coachable. I wish I had a dozen Kelly Bowmans.' She went on to play college basketball; at 5'10', she was a three-time conference champion at the University of Maine. As a senior in 1999, she was a team captain. After graduating, Kelly worked as a high school basketball coach, coaching the Nokomis varsity girls team, and her three sons all grew up loving the sport. 'I have pictures of the kids with teething rings that were basketball-shaped,' Kelly said. 'It's just what my family has always done. … It's just in our blood, and what we do.' She added, 'All of them found their own path to loving the game… But I will say about Cooper, I think he definitely came out of the womb ready to go. I've got pictures of him on one of those Little Tikes hoops dunking when he was maybe 18 months.' Kelly is superstitious; watching her son's games, she says, 'I have to sit in the same seat. Usually, I like to sit by the same person or in the same seating order.' Ralph, like his wife, went to Nokomis Regional High. He went on to play college basketball at Maine Technical College (now Eastern Maine Community College). After graduating, he was playing in a men's league at the community center, and met Kelly, bonding over the love of basketball. Per the Bangor Daily News, 'You don't have to spend too much time combing through the BDN archives to see clips from [Cooper] Flagg's parents' high school and college playing days, and there are some pretty interesting parallels to be found. Their stat lines and approaches to the game from decades ago are reminiscent of what we're seeing from Cooper Flagg today.' Ralph is also where Cooper's height comes from: Ralph is 6'7'. Like Kelly, Ralph is really proud of his home state of Maine. 'Just because we don't produce the big D1 athletes as much as those other states do, people don't think basketball is as big [here],' Ralph told The Athletic. 'But it really is.' The Flaggs met Prince Harry and Meghan Markle at the 2024 ESPYs: Hunter, born in 2004, was born premature, weighing just 1 pound, 10 ounces. He had a twin brother, Ryder, who passed away two days after their birth. As Hunter remained in the neonatal intensive care unit, his parents stayed in the nearby Ronald McDonald House in Portland. 'I never left Portland,' Kelly later recalled. 'After Hunter was born, I said, 'I'm not leaving without him,' and so to have the house and to be able to stay close by... There were times that were sort of perilous during his journey, and I get a call at any time of day and night that I needed to get over there to the hospital. Being three minutes away instead of an hour and a half was huge.' Years later, Cooper and Ace learned about what happened. 'It's just been something that has always meant a lot in our family. We've talked about it very generally for my whole life. It's kind of just been something terrible that my parents went through, and Hunter,' he said. Like his younger brothers and parents, Hunter played basketball at Nokomis Regional High School in Newport. When he was a senior and his brothers were freshmen, they won the Maine Class B championship game. Hunter is currently a junior at the University of Maine, where he's studying sports management. Cooper's twin brother, Ace, is still a high school senior (Cooper reclassified from the class of 2025 to the class of 2024). This past fall, Ace committed to play basketball at the University of Maine. 'A large factor of my decision was a love for the state of Maine as a whole. Being able to play and represent the state I love is extremely special to me,' Ace told the Bangor Daily News. 'I am excited to be able to play for Coach Markwood, with the culture he's created at Maine. It is an amazing opportunity.' He's a little shorter than his brother, standing at 6'8''; they are not identical twins. 'We have to continue to consider and understand that as advanced as the Flagg boys are in their basketball development, they are still only 18 years old and they have a long way to go, and they're going to continue to develop over the next several years,' Matt MacKenzie, Cooper and Ace's player development coach told the BDN, adding, 'Both Flagg boys have done an incredibly good job drowning out the noise and just focusing on improving their own game.' You Might Also Like 12 Weekend Getaway Spas For Every Type of Occasion 13 Beauty Tools to Up Your At-Home Facial Game
USA Today
28-01-2025
- Politics
- USA Today
Let's accept reality: We must hunt coyotes in Sarasota County
Sarasota Herald-Tribune Only hunting controls fertile coyotes In addition to the informative front-page article on coyotes, their high reproductive rate should be noted ('Coyotes move in: Make some noise for these adaptable animals,' Jan. 26). Giving birth to an average litter of six pups per year with an average of three surviving, a single female coyote will produce 36 surviving pups in her 12-year average life span. As few as three females may produce over 100 surviving offspring. With no natural predators, an omnivorous diet and virtually unlimited food supply, the coyote population explodes. A coyote can travel over 100 miles in a single day, and increased urbanization simply drives them into residential neighborhoods. Their wide-ranging adaptability and food-dependent mortality rate makes them a potential problem. Need a break? Play the USA TODAY Daily Crossword Puzzle. As unsavory as it may seem, hunting is the only cost-effective method of population control. David C. Strout, Nokomis Explain state spending to fight initiatives In his guest column Jan. 20, 'Public universities in Florida are still funding DEI events with tax money,' Owen Girard explained why Florida's institutions of higher learning shouldn't be allowed to use 'state money to support diversity, equity and inclusion programs and initiatives.' He backed up his contention that 'it's wrong to use the people's money for causes that some may be morally and ethically opposed to.' Girard made his case so well that I'd like to see him write a follow-up explaining why Gov. Ron DeSantis was justified in spending up to $100 million in state funds to campaign against the citizen initiatives for abortion rights and recreational marijuana. These initiatives were approved by a majority of voters but didn't reach the required 60% threshold. Is Girard's rule dependent on who is morally and ethically opposed to a particular subject? Steve Warren, Manatee County Stand up to presidential bully I know a thing or two about bullying. In junior high, I was bullied by a classmate for several months before I decided to stand up to him. I got a black eye for my trouble. But lo and behold, we became friends, and he actually became my protector against others who tried to bully me. So standing up him was the best course of action. Fast forward to today: President Donald Trump is bullying everyone for everything, and there are threats and intimidation galore. Some are trying to get on his good side by contributing millions to his inauguration, getting rid of DEI programs at their corporations, backing his tariffs and voting for all the incompetents he nominated for Cabinet and government positions. Trump threatens to 'primary' elected officials who dare to cross him. But to ignore or give into Trump is not the way to deal with a bully like him. That only emboldens him to bully more. As I learned, the most effective way is to stand up to the bully and confront them (and, maybe, to duck). They are not used to that. With Trump, "bully pulpit' is not a meaningless term but a way of life. Felton Marans, Lakewood Ranch Awaiting positive action from Trump A letter published in the Jan. 27 paper asked that the Herald-Tribune 'publish positive articles" about President Donald Trump. I second that suggestion. Once our newly elected president does something positive that benefits the general public, I would greatly enjoy reading about it. Paul Schatz, Sarasota Write to us:How to send a letter to the editor
