(upbeat music) - [Narrator] Coming up next on NewsDepth, how does the Earth's orbit affect seasons?

Jeff has the answer.

Parts of the country, including Ohio, are experiencing winter storms this week, while others are trying to make the best of a low snow season.

And we meet Kyle for this week's Career Callout about the steel industry.

NewsDepth is now.

Welcome to 2025.

Hello everybody, I'm Gabriel Kramer and thank you for joining us.

Uh, did you feel that Cold breeze just now?

I think it's freezing in the NewsDepth studio today, but to be fair, it is winter.

And have you ever wondered what creates the seasons?

How can winters in Ohio can be so cold, but summer is so warm?

Well, as Jeff explains in this week's Spot on Science, it's all because Earth has a 23 and a half degree tilt that creates the seasons.

- We now celebrate the long nights of winter with colored lights and holidays, like Christmas, Hanukkah, and Kwanza.

But ancient cultures found other ways to honor the onset of winter.

(upbeat music) Newgrange is a 5,000 year old ceremonial mound in Ireland.

Inside Newgrange, there's a narrow tunnel that leads to a chamber where at sunrise on the winter solstice, the shortest day of the year, a beam of light reaches deep inside the mound and brings hope for the new year.

Some researchers say the ancient builders believed their mid-winter ceremonies kept the daylight from disappearing altogether as the days grew shorter.

The days due indeed lengthen after December 21st.

But why are days shorter in the winter and longer in the summer?

Why do we even have seasons on earth?

The answer is because the earth is tilted.

Earth's axis, it turns out, is a bit wonky, 23 and a half degrees off center to be exact.

Here's what I mean.

Picture the earth orbiting the sun.

It takes 365 spins, or days, to go all the way around the sun at the center of our solar system.

That's one earth year.

Each year is divided into four separate seasons, depending on where the earth is in that orbit.

The earth is tilted compared to the path it takes around the sun.

So for part of the year, the north is pointed toward the sun and part of the year, the southern hemisphere is pointed toward the sun.

Those extreme points of the orbit are called the summer solstice and the winter solstice.

The summer solstice, also known as the longest day of the year is when we get the longest amount of sunlight.

The halfway points between those extremes mark the beginning of spring and fall.

Those are called the Vernal equinox and the Autumnal equinox Earth's tilt means that when it's wintertime in Ohio, it's summer in the southern hemisphere.

When we're throwing snowballs at each other, kids in Australia are enjoying the hot days of summer.

The tilt of the earth has long been known to sailors and map makers.

That's why we have a line in the middle called the equator.

The equator is the imaginary line that separates the two hemispheres.

We also have two more imaginary lines, one above and one below the equator, known as the tropic of Cancer and the tropic of Capricorn.

Those lines mark how far the earth tilts each summer and winter.

The seasons can be really dramatic at the extreme northern and southern parts of the world.

We're talking about the north and south pole here.

In the far north, inside the Arctic Circle, the sun never sets during the summer and it stays dark all the winter long.

People living at these latitudes have to find ways to adapt to the endless nights of winter and the endless days of summer.

Ohio is located in what's called the temperate zone, a part of the northern hemisphere where winter, spring, summer, and fall are not too extreme compared to the poles or the tropics.

It's important for us to find ways to stay active during the winter months and make sure we get out and enjoy the sun whenever we can.

Sledding, skiing, ice skating, are just some of the ways to enjoy wintertime.

The days will eventually grow longer and spring will soon return, but for now, we can celebrate the quiet, calm of winters long nights.

- Thank you, Jeff.

And that brings us to our poll for this week.

It is an easy one for this week.

We wanna know what is your favorite season.

Slide over to our poll page to vote.

You can choose between winter, spring, summer, and fall.

And on our last episode we talked about the big lake effect snowstorms that covered parts of Ohio and Pennsylvania last month, and we wanted to know if your school had a snow day.

Let's check out the results of the poll.

66% of you said you had normal classes every day last month, but about 24% of you had at least one snow day and another 10% of you said your school was on a delay on those snowy days.

Thank you all for voting, but don't put that shovel away just yet.

There is still a lot of winter ahead for us.

A massive winter storm is impacting millions of Americans this week.

Heavy snow and dangerous ice are causing treacherous conditions and crippling travel.

Jen Sullivan is tracking these storms.

- [Jen] A monster winter storm bearing down on millions of Americans.

The powerful weather system stretching across at least a dozen states, from Kansas to the east coast.

Nearly 70 million people are under winter alerts with blizzard like conditions, dangerous ice, and wind gusts up to 50 miles per hour.

- It's rapidly coming down, getting worse.

- [Jen] This Kansas Highway patrol trooper telling drivers to stay home.

- There are some really bad conditions out here.

There's a lot of snow, significant amount of snow.

- [Jen] And multiple cars and semis spinning out on the icy roads in Missouri.

The Missouri Department of Transportation warning drivers not to travel.

The treacherous weather coming as millions of Americans return home from the holidays.

As of Sunday afternoon, flight aware reporting more than a thousand flights canceled and more than 3,100 delayed across the US.

- It's gonna be that coating of ice first, then the snow is going to come down on top of it for some of these places, which makes it even more dangerous because you simply cannot see it.

- [Jen] It's not just the central plains in Mid-Atlantic experiencing horrific weather.

In the south, 22 million people are under the risk of severe storms including tornadoes.

- Thank you for the report, Jen.

Okay, I think it's about time we check in on Newshound.

He's had plenty of time to find us an Animal Story.

It's time for Petting Zoo.

(upbeat music) (dog braking) Hey, Newshound.

Wait, you're not taking a nap, are you?

But it's only the beginning of the year.

We've got some work to do.

Here we go.

Find anything good for us?

All right.

It's a story about cold stunned turtles getting rescued from the cold.

To see how these reptiles are warming up, click the petting zoo thumbnail on our website.

Thanks Newshound, great work as always.

While we are over here bundled up, trying to keep warm, people in other states like Nevada have experienced a milder winter than normal, but that is not stopping skiers like Emily and Dean from visiting their favorite ski resort.

The Lee Canton Ski Resort in Nevada has an $8 million snowmaking system that helped them open the slopes this season.

Guy Tannenbaum talks to the resort manager about the ups and downs of the skiing business.

- I definitely put my jacket back in my car.

- [Guy] Emilee Viray and Dean Picarra grew up in Las Vegas and have been coming up to Lee Canyon Ski Resort for at least five seasons.

- We have a little bit of powder.

I'm just praying for the big ones.

- [Guy] The big ones meaning two of Lee Canyon's five lifts that remain closed due to the warm temperatures and lack of snow.

- I think everybody would be very happy if it opened up.

- [Guy] No one would be happier than resort manager Josh Bean.

- We're chomping at the bid.

Our snow makers are sitting here watching temperatures and they're grabbing every minute of it that they can.

- [Guy] Bean tells me they need about eight more hours of temps consistently below 27 degrees in order to make enough snow to open the Bluebird lift, a local favorite.

The problem is, though, that just hasn't been happening.

- The hot temperatures are holding in, in the mountains.

It's been colder at my house most mornings than it has been up here.

So you're driving up the mountain just watching the temperature rise, which is abnormal.

- [Guy] It's what's known in weather speak as an inversion and will only change when we see a front roll through and blow the warm air out.

- When it gets windy in town, that's when it'll get cold up here again.

So for once, I'm praying for wind, sorry to all the fishermen.

- [Guy] But warm temperatures aren't the only challenge.

So far this season, they've only seen about three inches of natural snowfall.

The rest of it manmade, thanks to about $8 million in improvements to their snowmaking system.

- This is a lot like last year where we were sitting with less terrain open than we have right now in this day and then we saw a huge dump come in.

So it can happen in a moment's notice.

- [Guy] The challenges haven't kept people away though.

In fact, Bean says business has been good.

- I say more than merrier to be honest because like.

- Yeah.

- Although we don't have all the trails open here, you know, everybody's just here to have a good time.

- [Guy] And it's still relatively early in the season.

Bean says their goal is to have runs open as far into the spring as they can.

- All the lifts are prepped and ready to go, so all we need is that snow.

- That's pretty cool, thank you Guy.

Now let's hit the slopes in Vermont to meet Dick Soderquist, an 85-year-old man who is an avid skier.

Avid means that someone is passionate and enthusiastic about a specific hobby.

Sophia Thomas has his story.

- [Sophia] Dick Soderquist was just 18 the first time he skied in Vermont, a teenager on a trip with friends.

- I used to ski here when the access road to this place there at up 17th and Mad River was a dirt road.

- [Sophia] Now 85, Soderquist love for the Green Mountains has only grown.

For decades, he's traveled from Alexandria of Virginia nearly every winter weekend to ski at favorites like Sugarbush.

- Here at this place, everybody's friendly.

- [Sophia] It started back in the early seventies.

Soderquist traveled with his first wife Elisa for a few years.

Then his second wife, Kathy, to hit the slopes.

- You love somebody, you do it together.

It's Fantastic.

- [Sophia] Besides a few family emergencies, Soderquist and Cathy hopped in a rental car every Friday traveling over 500 miles to the mountains.

- My wife would would book 32 reservations for the 32 weekends, which is about what it is for the ski season.

- [Sophia] At Sugarbush, Mad River and Killington, the couple made it their mission to ride the first lift of the day.

He flies in now and skis with other early birds he's met through the years.

- [Sophia] How long do you plan to keep coming back and doing this?

- As long as my body'll let me.

- Thanks Sophia.

If skiing is not your winter sport, maybe you'd rather try the polar plunge or maybe not, because the polar plunge is when someone swims in extremely cold water.

It sounds crazy, I know, but dozens of Washingtonians decided to ring in 2025, by taking a nice freezing swim.

A polar plunge event took place at Lake Sammamish State Park in King County on New Year's Day and photojournalist Eric Desrosiers got to interview with a few of those that took the icy plunge.

- [Speaker] It's cold, but it's not cold, cold, cold.

- Right now, right here for 2025 New Year's Day.

It's gorgeous.

We're gonna go jump in the water and try and ring it in with little frozen toes.

- [Everyone] Woo woo.

- There will be people just kinda run and plunge into the nice icy water in lake Sammamish.

- [Speaker] Arms to sky.

- [Speaker] And hop in.

Prepare for the polar bear punch.

I need to get myself warm up first so that I can stay longer in the water.

- It's a refresh, start the year off right.

Get rid of the old start with the new.

- 2024 was a rough year for me and I'm feeling better mentally and physically, so I thought I would just go ahead and just do a polar plunge.

- Challenge myself for something new in the new year.

And I have a kid, so I wanna show them I can do this.

(people cheering) - [Speaker] You jump in there and you're going cold.

It's refreshing.

- [Speaker] Once you jump in that water, everything's numb, everything's cold, everything's dead.

- Really cold.

- [Speaker] And you come out and you're alive.

Brand new year.

- [Speaker] This is like a reset.

Just have nice cold, invigorating water over me and just come out.

That's how we're gonna start the new year.

It was awesome.

It wasn't that cold, maybe.

Kicked this on my hand.

- Thanks Eric.

Now we want to hear from you.

For our Write to Us this week, we wanna know how do you stay active during winter months.

Students can use our inbox forum online or send us an email to newsdepth@ideastream.org, to share their answers.

On our last episode, we asked you to send in your questions about working in the steel industry.

The steel industry plays a crucial role in the global economy, providing the material that forms the backbone of construction, transportation, and manufacturing.

Steel is made through a process that transforms raw materials such as iron ore and scrap metal into strong durable products.

Steel workers are skilled professionals who operate the equipment and machinery needed to produce steel or steel products.

They're trained to handle complex systems requiring strong technical knowledge.

They must also be well versed in safety protocols as the environment can be hazardous with heavy machinery and extreme heat present.

Hazardous means dangerous and risky.

Jobs in the steel industry range from steel mill operator, welder, maintenance technician, quality control inspector, and even logistics coordinator.

The salary range for a steel worker in the United States is between $32,000 to $85,000 per year.

Though it can vary based on location and expertise.

We now meet Kyle Fredmonsky from P2P manufacturing in Streetsboro.

He is here to answer some of your questions about his job dor this week's Career Callout.

- Hi, my name is Kyle Fredmonsky.

I am the shop lead at P2P manufacturing in Streetsboro, Ohio and today I'll be answering questions about my job.

Elijah from Berea Mid Park Middle School and Middleburg Heights asked, do you like your job?

Yes, I do like my job.

I've grown up in the world and I like working with metal, seeing how it moves every single day.

Then he also asks, do you like where you work?

Yes, I like where I work.

I work with my father every day, so I get to not only work in the industry and do what I love to do, I get to also work with family.

Reghed from Roxboro Elementary and Cleveland Heights, wanted to know what is it like to work in the steel industry?

It is very dirty.

You gotta like have it get in your hands dirty every single day.

It is very taxing on your body depending on what you're doing in the steel industry.

And you gotta be careful what you do with your hands, where you walk, because you will be able to cut yourself very easily.

Landon from Eastwoods Intermediate and Hudson wanted to know what's your favorite part of your job?

The favorite part of my job is getting to see how many different parts we make throughout the day and just seeing how the part comes together.

So I get to see it from when it comes in as steel, to when we cut it, to when we form it, the whatever other process we get to a finished product.

And then he also asks, what does your day-to-day work look like?

So my day-to-day personally changes every single day, but on the average day, we get in about 6:00 AM in the morning and we leave around 3:30 or 4:30 in the afternoon and we come in and get the laser up and running, getting our press breaks up and running, and then all of us guys on the floor have our task, whether it's left over from the day prior or what new items we have to do.

And then we do those items throughout the day.

Christopher from little Miami Elementary and Morrow asked, is there a number of years that workers have to train in order to become a steel industry worker?

For our company specifically, you do not have to have any sort of experience.

You just have to have the ability to learn and we like to see that there's some mechanical background that you have or like you like building things or doing things with your hands, so those are positive things that that we look for in an interview.

But as far as training goes, we have taken two of our guys currently on the floor that have never been in a degree and they've been having the ability to learn and we have taught them how to run the equipment safely and they run it.

Run it good now.

So you don't necessarily need to have any training to start.

- Special thanks to Kyle for answering our questions about his job.

If you wanna watch the full interview, you can check it out on our website or our YouTube channel.

Now think about this, what can you make with more than a thousand pounds of butter?

For artists in Pennsylvania, the answer is a life-sized cow sculpture that was just unveiled ahead of the farm show.

Priscilla Liguori gives us a look.

- [Priscilla] Farmer Kacie Hershey considers cows to be nature's superheroes, and says, this year's farm show butter sculpture brings that story to life.

- Our cows help upcycle food scraps, enrich the soil, reduce carbon footprints, and contribute to renewable energy.

It's truly incredible to think about how much these animals help to power Pennsylvania.

- [Priscilla] The sculpture features a life-size cow next to a methane digester, which is a renewable energy system, plus some farms, some city.

These Montgomery county artists spent two weeks in the butter booth molding together more than 1000 pounds of butter donated by Land O'Lakes.

- This art that we have created shines an important spotlight on dairy farmers and the dairy products produced.

- After the farm show, the butter won't go to waste.

It will be recycled into renewable energy on a dairy farm.

- [Priscilla] It makes sense given the show's theme is Powering Pennsylvania.

- The theme is a testament to the power of agriculture in every region of Pennsylvania.

It's the engine that powers our economy, builds our communities, and drives the quality of life.

- [Priscilla] The Farm show was put together by hundreds of committee members and thousands of volunteers.

It's set to feature more than 275 vendors, 12,000 competition entries, and 4,000 animals.

New for 2025.

- We do have some mini cattle that are gonna be here this year, so you can kiss a cow.

- That'll be hosted by Swartz Farm, located in Breckknock Township, Berks County, - Talise Campbell has always been passionate for sharing her West African culture and she's committed to sharing the rich traditions of the continent in her hometown of Cleveland.

In 2009, she founded the Djapo Cultural Arts Institute, now located at the Pivot Center.

Djapo means "Together."

Reflecting its mission to unite people through arts, music, dance, and history.

In this week's Sketchbook, we check out their new choreography, all about family and culture.

(soft music) - We are here at the Pivot Center for art, music, dance and expression.

Tonight we are starting a premier piece called Sandia: of the Blood.

(speaking foreign language) Our musical director, Weedie Braimah, has gone to Mali numerous times and he's like an encyclopedia when it comes to music, when it comes to folklore.

So he's gonna be diving into the music.

(dancers clapping) The dancers have to learn the rhythms, the musicians have to learn the rhythms.

Everybody learns the songs.

(speaking foreign language) (Weedie singing in foreign language) - One two, three.

- We're preparing for a new piece.

It's a traditional folklore piece that comes from Mali by way of the ethnic group of the Mande called Sandia.

The word Sandia means new year, but it's done in honor of the Griots, which are the aura historians.

They're the ones to maintain the history, to maintain the knowledge, maintain the culture, maintain the preservation of narratives that's created within certain villages in certain areas.

- They're gonna get the history, they're gonna get the folklore, they're gonna get the musical foundations of Sandia.

They're gonna learn the rhythms, because that enhances their ability to dance it with happiness, with Jubilee.

You see the difference.

The word Djapo itself means together, and that's part of our mission, bringing individuals together to learn about the art, music, dance, history, and folklore of Africa and throughout the diaspora.

(upbeat African music) If you want to learn about a people, if you want to learn about a culture, dive into the art.

It's almost there, I promise you.

Y'all can touch the floor just that one time.

(upbeat African music) - The music has its voice.

The dancers understand and has implemented what they've learned into their body, and the song is now understood and the intent of what the song and the dance represents, the music represents, is now connected.

(people singing in foreign language) - I want them to take away a piece of history, a piece of Africa.

We've lost so much.

So if you can get a piece of happiness, a piece of history, a piece of folklore, then we've done our job.

(people singing in foreign language) - Special thanks to Arts producer Dave Deoreo for sharing that story with us.

Okay, it's now finally time for the A Plus Award, and I can't wait to tell you about these awesome students.

As you may have picked up, I love the work I do with NewsDepth.

I get to report on the world.

I get to talk about really interesting topics and I get to be part of helping you learn about the world around you.

Well, the students at Meadowlawn Intermediate School in Sandusky really took it to the next level.

They invited us to be part of their November launch, which was focused on systems.

They even included us in their special school-wide activity.

They are this week's A Plus Award winners.

Every quarter, the students at Meadowlawn learn about a topic or concept.

This month, the topic was systems.

They taught us that a system is a set of things working together as parts, and we taught them about how NewsDepth is a system.

For their November launch, the students hosted members of the Perkins and Sandusky Police Departments, the Perkins Fire Department, the Perkins Public Works, the Erie County Metro Parks, and even the Perkins Local School Principals.

All of the school's guests taught the students about how their organizations are systems or are parts of a system.

We were honored to be part of the launch.

The really cool thing is that the students at Meadowlawn are a part of the NewsDepth system.

That's because there are teachers and students at Meadowlawn that give us feedback on the show to help make it better.

Throughout the day, the students even taught us about all kinds of other systems.

The third graders taught us a little bit about computer programs and computer networks and how that is a system.

They also told us that their favorite PBS Kid show is "Wild Kratts," and that show talks a lot about ecosystems.

An ecosystem is a community of living organisms interacting with their invention in a specific area.

We really enjoyed meeting with the fifth graders.

Like you, they're a part of our audience, which makes them the most important part of the NewsDepth system.

The fifth graders had a lot to share with us about how NewsDepth fits into their classes, which means, you ready for this?

We are a part of their system.

Here's a big congratulations to the students at Meadowlawn Intermediate for being this week's A Plus Award winners.

We'd also like to thank you for letting us be a part of your learning system.

Go Pirates.

Well, that's a wrap for this week's episode of NewsDepth, but let's keep the conversation going, because we always want to hear from you.

You can send a letter.

We're at 1375 Euclid Avenue.

That's Cleveland, Ohio.

Zip code here, 44115.

And you can email us at newsdepth@ideastream.org.

Plus, you can catch all of our special segments on YouTube.

Hit subscribe, if you're old enough, so you don't miss out on any of our new videos.

Thank you for joining us.

I'm Gabriel Kramer and we'll be right back here next week.

(upbeat rock music) - [Speaker] NewsDepth is made possible by a grant from the Martha Holden Jennings Foundation, - [Speaker] Career Callouts featured in NewsDepth, they're funded by the Ohio Broadcast Media Commission.

(soft music)