During the highly anticipated second debate of the presidential election between Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump, one winner would be crowned but no one expected it to be an audience member. Kenneth Bone, a member of the town hall style debate, came into the spotlight later in the debate when he asked the question to the candidates, “What steps will your energy policy take to meet our energy needs, while at the same time remaining environmentally friendly and minimizing job loss for fossil power plant workers?”

Ken Bone was praised for his lovable exterior, and honest question about the energy policy that the candidates would bring if they were elected. People found that Ken Bone was something that could distract them from the harsh presidential cycle of 2016. With the candidates both having the lowest approval rating for candidates of the two main parties in a long time, people wanted someone better. So when he showed up wearing a red sweater, glasses, and a mustache, the people of America chose him as their hero.

This has happened before where a certain person, object, or animal has become the focus of an entire nation during election week. For example, during the 2008 election the whole nation focused on Joe The Plumber, who was the Ken Bone equivalent of the time. He asked a question about small businesses, and the nation obsessed over him just as they are with Ken Bone right now.

In recent months, Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton have been appearing all over the Internet, but ever since  Bone made an appearance in the most recent presidential debate, and he has been an Internet star. People fell in love with him almost instantly after his debut. Ken said that as soon as he checked his phone after the debate, he had already gained hundreds of Twitter followers. Since then, he has shown up on Jimmy Kimmel Live!, CNN, and many other talk shows as well. Now the base of, a popular Halloween costume, a trending meme, and even a fan club, what hasn’t Ken Bone done?

Well, there is a lot of speculation circulating through the Internet about whether or not Ken Bone is a good person. This is primarily based off of his unprotected Reddit history, but most of this has been proven to be a hoax, constructed by various people on the Internet trying to make controversy out of the man. His popularity has dropped because of some of things that have been said about him, which don’t appeal to most Americans.

The legacy of Ken Bone may have seemed to come to an abrupt end due to the discovery of his Reddit history, but like most other Internet stars, his fame would have ended soon anyway.

As 2016 dwindles down, so does Barack Obama’s time in the White House as he is nearing the end of his second four-year term. This means that a new President must be elected in order to fill that void. This year, the Primary for the Democrats selected, Secretary of State, and former First Lady, Hillary Clinton. The Republicans selected as their Presidential nominee, former host of The Celebrity Apprentice and notorious business man, Donald Trump.

Both of these candidates have many controversial stories surrounding their campaigns. For example, in the last 40 years, each nominee has released their tax returns to the public to show whether or not they pay their fair share, but Donald Trump refused to release his. Meanwhile, Hillary Clinton used a private E-mail while she was Secretary of State and deleted over 33,000 emails.

Both of these candidates have major cons against them, so voters are deciding to vote for a Third Party candidate. The last polls showed Gary Johnson with 8% of the popular vote. If he can get 15%, he can be submitted into the debates and actually be given a chance to win the presidency.

On May 20th, First Lady, and health advocate, Michelle Obama unveiled the new nutrition labels that will be used on every day food packaging. The new label does look a lot like the old one, as it keeps the same black and white two column structure and highlights many of the same categories. Designers have praised this look over the years for its simplicity and easy to understand nutritional information. While the label does not appear to be much different, some categories are now emphasized more than others, and the way some numbers are calculated has changed.

With increase in disease and illness caused by unhealthy diet choices in the U.S., the updated nutrition labels represent a loss for the food industry which has fought against updating the labels as they are partly responsible for over large amount of added sugar and calories that are in our foods.

Among the changes that are taking place, the most significant one to note is the bold and enlarging of the calories and serving sizes. This is the most controversial change made on the labels, as they now represent how much people currently should eat, rather than how much the food companies deems reasonable to eat. “The intention is not to tell consumers what to eat, but rather to make sure they have the tools and accurate information they need to choose foods that are right for themselves and their families,” Susan Mayne, director of the Food and Drug Administration’s Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition, said in a conference call with reporters.

Other important changes to note are the new added sugars tab, updated daily values, changes in nutrients and percentage amounts, and a new footnote added at the bottom of the label. These changes are expected to cost the food companies millions of dollars, as they will have to adjust the new criteria and reformulate portions of their recipes.

Starting June 9th, the legal age for purchasing tobacco products in California will be changed from 18 to 21. Another new California law will also raise the age to 21 for the increasingly popular E-cigarette products. With these new restrictions on smoking, it is estimated that tobacco companies will lose somewhere around $250 million in revenue.

Many questions and issues are being raised with these new laws, between both smokers and nonsmokers as well. Some are unhappy with the idea of raising the age to 21 as they feel as if it defeats the purpose of classifying an adult at the age of 18. It will also affect those who are between the ages of 18-21, who have been purchasing cigarettes legally, as some feel like they are having their privelages taken away.

The new smoking and vaping laws in California are really being directed towards young people, and to help prevent adolescent addiction. Electronic cigarettes have been becoming more and more popular for young people in schools, and the new laws aim to make it much more difficult for teenagers to become addicted to vaping, as many of the products do contain nicotine.

Many people are also upset with the new approach to E-cigarettes, as research suggests that it is a much healthier alternative to smoking, and is even used as a method to help quit smoking. The Smoke- Free Alternatives Trade Assn had this to say after the introduction of these new laws: “California took a step backwards today by reclassifying vapor products as tobacco,” the group said in a statement. “Stigmatizing vapor products, which contain no tobacco, and treating them the same as combustible tobacco while actively seeking to economically penalize smokers attempting to switch is counterproductive to public health”.

Supporters of the bills noted that tobacco use remains the leading cause of preventable death in the U.S., with as many as 34,000 Californians dying each year. It is also important to consider that  90% of tobacco users start before the age of 21, and about 80% first try tobacco before age 18, according to the National Survey on Drug Use and Health.

Did you notice the haze in the sky last week? Or was it harder for you to breathe? This was because of the wildfires in Northern Minnesota. The fires started around May 6th in the Hoyt Lakes area and burned a total of about 1,000 acres over a six day period. People were evacuated from their homes because of the fire. The cause of the fire is still unknown.

Fire safety is always an important issue but the risks are even higher in the summer months. Many people do not know how important it is to be aware of the rules that the DNR have in place for the different regions in Minnesota. Some people may think they are following the rules, but they usually aren’t.

Spring burning restrictions have been put into place in Minnesota and it is important that people look at these restrictions before they plan to have a campfire or anything of that nature. It is important to look at these rules because if you get caught breaking them, the consequences can be mighty.

If you are wondering where you can find the rules/restrictions, you can visit http://www.dnr.state.mn.us/forestry/fire/firerating_restrictions.html