Making a Difference

Good Morning!


I'd say I woke up on the wrong side of the bed this morning. I had one of those moments where I thought, I'll just doze for a second. A half hour later I was already late. Someone needs to invent an alarm that can sense if you actually get out of bed when you turn the alarm off...if you stay in bed the alarm would go off again.


Hard to stay in a bad mood though, this last 24 hours has reminded me why this is a really great place to live....





Making a Difference 1:

This morning Jeriann spent the morning out at the McDonalds near 63rd and Grand. We teamed up with 107.1, the Christian radio station in town to promote the idea. It was pretty simple. Pay for the person behind you in the drive through. It's not a new concept but it seems to have gained steam since a Starbucks in Florida reported a chain of people paying for the person behind them all day long just before Christmas this past year. A store in Pennsylvania had the same thing happen and then one in Washington State. There are the conspiracy theorists out there who would say this is just a PR stunt by Starbucks...ok...so what if it started that way. It doesn't take away from the fact that other people kept it going. And it doesn't take away from the effect. No one's problems are going to be solved by having their breakfast paid for. Gas prices won't go down. Your work day is still going to be 8 hours or longer. It's just a nice break to remind you that it feels good to have someone do something nice for you. Maybe more importantly it's nice to do something nice for someone.



Making a Difference 2:

I had the privilege of being invited to be a part of a ceremony at the Science Center of Iowa last night to celebrate a Milestone. We just passed the three year mark since the New Science Center opened Downtown. SCI had a goal of finishing off it's Capitol Fundraising Campaign

From the SCI News Release:

Just one week after the Science Center of Iowa celebrated its third anniversary in its downtown location, officials announced today that the Inspire an A-ha! capital campaign has met the $62 million fundraising goal set when the project was conceived. This is the largest capital campaign successfully undertaken by any museum project in the state of Iowa to date. The comprehensive campaign includes support for all capital infrastructure, capital improvements and an endowment to ensure long-term sustainability.



I was struck by the generosity of people who contributed, big checks and small ones, to the completion of the project. SCI is just one example of that kind of generosity but I think this wouldn't happen with the support and help of so many people if we were somewhere else. That's going to make a difference in someone's life.

Full disclosure: my wife works at the Science Center so I am personally proud of the accomplishment but one a broader level it's a great example of the generosity and vision of this community.



Making a Difference 3:

Kudos to Lynn Melling for her great follow up to Sam's Story. Sam Mills and her family were the subject of a story we brought you in November. She is a Senior at Southeast Polk HS. She was diagnosed last year with Leukemia. She shared she family's struggle with the disease in a very personal way in November. It's great when we get to follow up on stories like this with a happy end.

Sam Graduated High School this week and after she's done with this round of Chemo is going to go on to University of Iowa. Sam's story struck me because the family really wanted to thank the community and the people who helped them through their daughter's illness. Those people may have made a truly LIFE changing difference for Sam.



I hope you started the day feeling a little better through one of these stories or through some act of of kindness someone showed you today.



Have a good day,

PWD

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Obama's Back, International Adoption, and Oreo Invasion

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Good News Bad News, Do the Right Thing and A Great Weekend

Good Morning!
It was hard to think about going back to work after such a wonderful weekend. This was Sally's first weekend of Summer Break from her MBA program so we finally had the weekend all to ourselves. Saturday morning the Farmer's Market couldn't have been more prefect. It looks like they've got all the old favorites back and some new booths as well. Our Farm Boys Breakfast Burrito was a little short on the salsa, but we managed...the Strawberry smoothie was perfect as always.
From the Farmers market we went to work on the Porch and in the yard. Having the porch cleaned off marks the official start of summer. With the wireless Internet in the house it will make it a great place to sit in the afternoons and work.
We also got to planting our impatiens out front of the house. Both of us confessed to being a little sore afterwards but again, the payoff will be when the plants really get going and add some color to the front yard.
Sunday Sally and I hit golf balls at Longview in Urbandale in the morning before a trip to restock the groceries. We made it home in time for me to head out and actually play 18 holes with a friend who's invited me to play at Wakonda.
I'll admit I may not have made the best decision by choosing to walk the course instead of ride a cart, but I think it was a good workout. Didn't play particularly well but I did hit the shot of the round. After Driving my tee shot another zip code to the right, I recovered with an amazing three iron over some oak trees and back into the fairway. I believe it will go down in Wakonda lore.
Home last night in time to try a new recipe. Just about everyone has told us to eat more fish so we got some good salmon at the store and grilled it.
The sauce we cooked it with is pretty simple. Sally cooked up some orzo and we grilled asparagus. Having the Grill out makes for a much easier night cooking with fewer dishes.

OK...to the news...

Good News Bad News
The latest report on the economy is out today and the good news is the credit crunch and poor housing market may improve, the bad news is, prices are going to stay where they are. The combo leaves us where we've been for a while, with people debating whether we're in a recession. The dollar isn't going as far as it used to, that's for sure.

Do the Right Thing
This is an idea somebody cooked up here at the station. The plan is, Thursday morning, if you're in a drive-thru, you can pay for the people behind you as a not so random act of kindness. I think the point here is to look for way in your life to bring some unexpected happiness to someone, even if it's only for a minute. So many of us look for a big way to make the world better and ignore the ways we can make life better in our immediate surroundings.
The link to the Making a Difference Day is on the As Seen On 13 Page.

Paying for the Gym
Megan Reuther had a story this morning about Medicare Prescription Drug providers adding in a wellness component to their plans. This has been going on for about 18 months but this is the first year the option is really catching on. It makes a lot of sense and I'm not sure why more companies don't at least reimburse employees for part of a gym membership. It's amazing how hard it is to convince corporations this is the right thing to do, even in the face of overwhelming evidence that companies who provide the option, lower insurance claims.

Lastly: A funny story about customer service.
Sally and I went to pick up a toy for a friend before we saw her Friday night. I won't say where we were but it was what they call a "big box" store.
Our friend had called earlier in the day to get a picnic table set aside for her daughter. We have a big car so she asked up to pick it up. The guy she talked to on the phone said it was no problem. So we showed up to pick up the table.

Pat: Hello, I'm here to pick up a kids picnic table for my friend. She called earlier and they set it aside for her...
Toy Store Employee: Do you have a claim check?
Pat: For an item she reserved over the phone? Maybe I'm not explaining myself well. She called earlier and they set it aside for her."
I gave her the last name again.
Employee: They usually give you a claim check for that sort of thing
Pat: Over the phone? We don't have one. I'm sure they just put it aside...would you look?

At this point the employee turns around and makes an assessment of the working area around her. She decides to put in a little extra effort by moving one step behind her and looking on a shelf under the cash register. A plastic bag is on the shelf and she decides to look in the plastic bag.
Now unless this is one of those Acme fold-up tables you see in a Roadrunner cartoon, I think she's probably out of luck. She turns around and I swear to you she says...

Employee: Sorry I couldn't find it.

I notice a walkie talkie on the cash register and hope it's not a toy.

Pat: Could you call the back room and ask if it's back there?

She picks up the walkie talkie and a noise that wakes up dogs through the nearest eight zip codes goes off...
Now she looks annoyed. We've second guessed her picnic table search and now her ear is clearly damaged.
A half hearted call to the back follows with no response. Without a word...she walks away.
About five minutes later, another customer service rep came up to the counter...

Employee 2: Have you been helped?

I'm not sure how to answer that question.

We eventually tracked down the table from the back where someone had clearly marked it with our friend's name. But we left feeling less than bowled over by our customer service.
I know those jobs are thankless, and I know they don't pay much, but you kind of know what you're getting into when you apply. I find more and more often that the stores I frequent are the ones where they are genuinely helpful. I don't need my backside kissed when I walk in the door, but in a world where I have a lot of choice as to where I shop, customer service is usually a tie-breaker. I also thought looking for a picnic table in the plastic bag was particularly funny.
Have a great day!

posted by Patrick Dix @ 7:27 AM 0 comments - Click here to add yours.

Post Postville, Helmet Debate and Max Goes to the Ballgame

Good Morning!
I'm afraid I caught whatever it was that Jeriann had and then gave to Brooke. My nose is running like a faucet. I don't actually feel that bad, but when it's hard to breathe...it's hard to talk and the whole thing just just a little frustrating.
I am glad the weekend is here. We're going to get the house is shape for summer and that means the front porch is going to be cleaned this weekend. We love to spend time outside in the summer and the work is worth it.

To the News:
Post Postville
The workers arrested in the Postville immigration raid are now in county jails across the state awaiting deportation or other criminal charges. We're waiting to hear what's going to happen to the people who own Agriprocessors. They released a statement saying they're cooperating and don't know anything about the illegal workers at their shop....
I'm reminded of Claude Raines in Casablanca..."I'm shocked...shocked to find out there's gambling in this establishment!"

What's worse, The Iowa Department of Labor is investigating allegation of child labor violations. Among the hundreds arrested this week, some kids 13-17 years old.

Helmet Debate
I'm bracing for the flood of emails from people telling me it's none of my business if they wear a helmet on their motorcycle, and that if car drivers would be more aware of cyclists they wouldn't need helmets.
You're right, I respect your freedom of choice. I have no problem with anyone making that decision for themselves.
One thing...Can we have a pre-registration for cyclists that will include a payment for the cost of an ambulance and emergency room care? By the way, I'd include one for driver too. If you're not wearing your seat belt...same fee applies.

Video Blog
Our Producer Heather is the subject of this week's video blog. New parents will love it. As much as you prepare for your baby's "1st" outing anywhere...something will always come up you can't anticipate...like your kid fondling the woman in the aisle.

Farm Bill
I'd be interested to hear farmer's opinions about the new Farm Bill. It passed the house and Senate with veto proof majorities. The president says the bill is too expensive and farmers who don't need them will be eligible for federal subsidies. What do you think?

Same Sex Ruling
California's Supreme court struck down a law banning same sex marriage. The court ruled the law unconstitutional. I wonder if this will have any bearing on the Iowa case?
As you debate this one, try to remember, the court has no latitude to uphold a law just because the people passed it. The Court interprets the law as constitutional or unconstitutional. If the State wants to pass an amendment to its Constitution, the voters can do that. Then it's constitutional.

I hope you find something on here to comment about. Thanks for all your well wishes for my Mom...she's doing well.
And Rosario...you comment whenever you like. that goes for everyone here. I check through the day. If you have a comment...anytime, feel free to leave it.
PWD

posted by Patrick Dix @ 5:44 AM 8 comments - Click here to add yours.

CHina Death Toll, Culver's Big Veto, and Free Food

Good Morning!

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Noon Blogging

Good afternoon

I'm sneaking the blog in this afternoon as I read the Noon News. Not sure how but I lost track of the time.

It could be the emails I'm getting from around the country. The guys who are going on our annual golf trip started our annual email exchange yesterday. Generally it's pretty funny and pretty smart...not a lot of crude humor and most of it at each other's expense...but we're all good humored about it.
To me this is one of the best parts of the trip. I don't spend a lot of time on the phone with most of these guys during the rest of the year, but for about a month we have a pretty good back and forth. The we have a great week of golf. This year it's in Phoenix.

To the News:
Postville
More people arrested in the Postville raid go in front of a judge. Some of the families of these workers had been staying at a local church but by the noon hour today, we'd heard the church had cleared out.
Those are the headlines from Waterloo for now and I'm sure Dave Price will come up with more by 5pm. I wanted to comment on our Hot topics blog though. I thought a lot of the comments were reflective of people's frustration. I think most of these people have a good point...illegal is illegal. That's the bottom line.
I would also says this. I was disturbed at the tone of some of the comments. You can be against illegal immigration and not be bigoted(the majority of the comments weren't bigoted). Some of the comments weren't even relevant.
At each stage of mass immigration in this country's history there's been some form of discrimination. I would think your ancestors were probably the target at some point.
Now, this isn't 1910 and we aren't getting mass immigration through Ellis Island so lets not romanticize people crossing the border illegally. But, wouldn't it help the debate and move us closer to solving immigration if we could get past the bigotry and concentrate on the law?

Shooting
Des Moines Police arrested one person and are looking for two others in connection to a drive by shooting. Look for an update on the investigation tonight at five and six.

Equal Access
Anyone see Erin's story last night about the Americans with Disabilities Act and the access the physically challenged have in some of Iowa's public buildings? I'm looking forward to part two but I thought it was a great story. Not only told well, it was shot and edited well.

I'll cut this short but don't keep your comments to yourself. Feel free to comment on the stories you saw here or the ones you didn't.
Have a good day,
PWD

posted by Patrick Dix @ 11:58 AM 0 comments - Click here to add yours.

Postville Raid, China's Quake Aftermath, and Principal Media Day

Good Morning!
Hope you all enjoyed the weather yesterday. Jeriann says not quite as nice today but at least it won't be really rainy.

To the News
China
The pictures and the news of the earthquake in China will come out for weeks before we know the true cost in lives and property. The reporters all sound stunned. They can't believe what they're seeing. If you don't listen to NPR, they happened to have a crew in China doing some stories when the earthquake hit. The reporting is amazing and the stories are heart wrenching.
Listen to some of that audio.



Postville
The raid we all thought was coming finally came Monday in Postville, not in Waterloo. The Kosher packing plant in the town was raided and 300 people arrested. Postville is a really interesting place. If you've ever been there you know what I'm talking about. The first time I went up to northeast Iowa to fish, I started driving through Postville and I started seeing all of these Hasidic Jews walking around. It just seems out of place as you drive through rural Iowa. But it's worked for this town.
We'll get more information from the US Attorney's office this morning at 10am.

Scooters

Sales of scooters are WAY up since gas got stupid expensive. I was looking online this morning at what it would cost to get one and I found the Xtremem Scooter store. They build these things in Newton. Sally has vetoed the idea so far but the couple that lives two doors down from each rides a scooter to work. looks like fun...and I bet they're saving a BUNDLE in gas.





Sinatra Stamp

The Chairman gets his due with a new 42 cent stamp. The stamps come out today but there will only be a limited number sold. I'd say I'm a fan but I'm nowhere near the freak Sinatra fan my friend Tim is.
I was actually on an e-mail list while I was in college. Every day I would get a Sinatra fan update.
It had all kinds of debates about the best live performances, where to get bootlegs of some of his live shows etc. Somewhere I still have the split cover of Time magazine the week he died. Remember this? Anyone tell me what was the second half of that cover?



Principal Media Day

Once a year whether we like it or not I have to see John Bachman when he's not on TV. Yesterday we played our annual round of golf along with Ed and Shawn Terrell. Seriously, John and I couldn't have tow more different schedules. I do enjoy his company and I marvel at his consistent golf. We played Glen Oaks CC as a preview to the Principal Charity Classic yesterday.
It looks like the people who run the tournament have dona great job putting an event together we can be proud of. It looks like we're getting one of the better fields of the year and it looks like new additions to the week's events will make it even better than it was last year.
We'll do some more coverage of the tournament the week of, but make your plans now...The actually tournament is only a couple weeks away.
Thanks to Brooke for doing the Noon show so I could go out and do some "work" previewing the tournament.

Have a good day.
PWD

posted by Patrick Dix @ 7:36 AM 0 comments - Click here to add yours.

China Quake, Primaries Over? and Weekend Wedding

Good Morning!
Sally and I decided we'd have to give up our second career choice as over the road truck drivers. After 13 or 14 hours in the car, our butts are still recovering. We couldn't hack it. The lure of fast food and gallon jugs of diet coke is tempting but I think we should stick to our current line of work.
The road trip was for a friend's wedding in St Louis. These are friends we rarely see because we're spread all over the country. Still, every time we're together we still can fall into he same conversations as if we haven't spent so much time apart. There's something about those people you spend important years with. It makes them friends for life in a very unique way.
The Ceremony was great...The Reverend used the word "erotica"...which I'd never heard at a wedding...but it sure got everyone's attention.

To the News
China Quake
We're watching a developing situation in China. I can only imagine it will get worse as the day goes on...we're hearing about hundreds of student buried and at least a hundred killed. Watch the web for updates throughout he day. I bet this will be Nightly News' lead tonight.

Primaries Over?
West Virginia Votes tomorrow and a lot of Democrats are saying we could have a nominee by tomorrow night. The most interesting comment of the weekend to me came from Clinton Chairman Terry Mcauliffe. He says Iowa won the nomination for Obama. I think I'd disagree. It sure gave him a good start but it's been a fight ever since.

Late Night Replacement?
Conan O'Brien is taking over for Jay Leno...Jimmy Fallon looks like he's going to be Conan's replacement. Like the idea? How about Conan taking over?

I'm headed out to Media Day for the Principal Charity Classic this Morning. I'm looking forward to seeing John Bachman. He and I never seem to cross paths anymore. It'll be good to get out on to the golf course with him.

Have a good day.
PWD

posted by Patrick Dix @ 6:18 AM 0 comments - Click here to add yours.

Homeland Security Takes Over, Video Blog, and Farmer's Market

Good Morning...

Friday brings another road trip for me. I'll be down in St Louis this weekend for a friend's wedding. Hopefully I will have appropriate pictures to show you when we get back.

To the News:

Homeland Security in Waterloo
So the Waterloo paper's been reporting Homeland Security's activities for a few days now. We finally got curious enough to head up there and check it out for ourselves. The agency took over the National Cattle Congress grounds. To much of the Latino community in Waterloo, it looks like they're getting ready to house a large number of people...and to some, that means a raid. Homeland Security won't confirm any activities, some people say it's just a drill, we're still not sure.
It brings up a question form a viewer which is: If there's a raid that's going to happen, why would you report it and tip people off?
Here's a quick answer. First, the Waterloo Paper's been reporting Homeland Security's activities for days now. We're not tipping off anyone here in Iowa.
Second I'm sure our reporters tried to give anyone from Homeland Security the opportunity to tell us any reporting might jeopardize an ongoing operation. I've always been open to hearing the argument that we should hold off on reporting a story. It's our decision but I certainly think we would have taken that into account.

Farmer's Market
If you missed the Fun Forecast this morning Jeriann was live at the Downtown Farmer's Market. Thanks to all of the people who came down to see Jeriann and Megan.
Just a few highlights for your first trip to the Farmer's Market tomorrow.
First Start time is at 7am sharp. There won't be any advantage to showing up before that. They're enforcing this start time strictly because they want to give everyone a chance to set up. Frankly, I think it's a good idea. Usually stuff is pretty well picked over by the time we get down there at eight.
Second, The traffic flow will be a little different. they've added, or moved vendors and now sales will be in the street and on the sidewalk. This is supposed to reduce some of the bottleneck's that happen when 20-thousand people are going in opposite directions down a five foot sidewalk. BTW: The Farmboys breakfast burritos are now going to be at the end of fourth street near Walnut where they had live music last year.
Third: Dogs: This is one of my favorite parts of the Farmer's market but apparently the dogs are causing some problems. They're asking every dog be on a leash, and that the lead be no more than three feet. And finally, I should think this would be obvious but, clean up after your dogs. Nuff said.

Video Blog
OK we're going to try to get this going again this morning with a video blog about Fly Fishing.
My last trip to Missouri was a few weeks ago and I took Roger Riley's camera along. Pardon the quality of the video but I wanted to try to give people a sense of what it was like. Here's a History of Rockbridge if you're interested.
I also wanted to give people a few resources if you want to learn how to fly fish.
The Hawkeye Fly Fishing Association has a very active membership as does the Central Iowa Fly Fishing Association. that would be happy to steer you in the right direction. Also Iowa Outdoors has a great message Board where people are happy to answer questions.


Have a Good Weekend!
PWD

posted by Patrick Dix @ 6:11 AM 1 comments - Click here to add yours.

Post Primary Thoughts, Mother's Day and

Good Morning!
Well...it happens every once in a while. This morning it happened to me. I opened my eyes this morning about 1:20AM and thought...great!... 40 more minutes to sleep.
The next time I opened my eyes it was because Sally was telling me it was 3am! I was LATE.
So I did my best to get ready quickly and actually made it in by about 3:35.
I blame my failure to set my alarm last night. That was the result of an hour and a half workout from my cruel trainer. We got our signals crossed so I was already working out when she got to the gym. Instead of letting me finish the hour I was already working on, the clock started over and we went and hour and a half total. The soreness is creeping through my body just waiting for tomorrow morning.

To the news:
Post Primary
Indiana and North Carolina were still all the talk yesterday. I got in the car on my way home and it was already tuned to 1040 WHO radio from the morning. That means I was listening to Rush Limbaugh. He was talking about "operation Chaos". Sounds ominous, but essentially this was a tongue and cheek bit Limbaugh did when the Democrats Primary race started to drag on.
He encouraged his listeners to go out and vote in the Democrats primary. The idea would be to vote for whoever was behind in the polls or whichever candidate might extend the race. The end result could be to make either candidate weaker in the November election because they've had to use more money and throw more punches to win their own party's nomination.
Well, yesterday Barak Obama's campaign credited Limbaugh for getting Hillary Clinton the win in Indiana. Now the mainstream press is actually talking about this as a possibility. Just to be clear...Limbaugh isn't talking about the success of "Operation Chaos"...he's laughing. He's making fun of the people who are writing about this...now I can include myself in that group.
It certainly couldn't be that Obama's campaign simply lost a close vote in Indiana...or that Democrats are divided on who they want as a nominee...of course it's got to be someone else's fault.
Gone Batty
Brooke was a little grossed out at the Bat video we had this morning. Apparently its the season for bats. We featured a pest control guy that'll get em out of your house.

As an aside, I took a call on our newsline this morning and a man on the other end of the phone reminded me bats are a protected species in Iowa. You can't kill em. A check of the DNR website confirms that. The Indiana Bat is endangered.

Mother's Day
Megan Reuther had some great ideas for Mother's Day if you're waiting until the last minute guys...
This is the week we ask that eternal question, "Why are Mom's so hard to shop for?". It came to me in a flash as Megan was talking this morning. There must be some genetic shift that comes during labor. Women must have the answer, "Oh I don't need anything...you're my Mother's Day gift" implanted in their heads as part of the maternal instinct.
Here's the problem...that doesn't help us shop for Mother's Day.
Maybe this is just one more lesson from Mom. Mothers Day teaches us (especially the Men) to figure out a thoughtful gift. Instead of just getting flowers and calling it a day, maybe this is the day we learn how to find something that's really going to be meaningful to Mom.
For us, as kids, the annual Mother's Day gift from the financially challenged boys of the family was cleaning off the from porch and planting impatiens in the front yard. Since they don't have the house anymore and I'm no longer 16 and broke...we had to come up with something else. Jeriann got her Mom a very thoughtful address book this year. Sometimes it's the small things that can make a difference.

Where's Jeriann going to be?
Tomorrow Jerian does her Fun Forecast and it is again time to spruce up your dance moves. If you can find her tomorrow morning between five and seven in the morning, and if you are prepared to dance on TV, you can get a free red umbrella! Here's the clue to where she's going to be:

posted by Patrick Dix @ 6:46 AM 0 comments - Click here to add yours.

WHo's the Real Winner? Teachers Need More Time, and

Good Morning!


Heavy rain and flooding hit hard in Northern Iowa last night. Roger Riley was out again for us this morning getting pictures of some of the farm fields, flooded from the rain. Jeriann had one rain total that dropped four inches! Thankfully we had a soft light rain fall overnight here in the Metro area. We have some mock cherry trees in our yard and I was commenting this morning...our neighborhood just looks beautiful. everything is blooming and colorful. we were out on the deck last night grilling and I thought, it just doesn't get much better than this.



To the news:

Who Won?

The answer to who won the primaries contested by Democrats last night is...they both did. By the numbers Hillary Clinton won Indiana by a close margin and Barak Obama won North Carolina going away. Online this morning the general consensus was that Clinton doesn't have any way to win the nomination. On the Today show Tim Russert says he can't find a "credible Democrat" who thinks Clinton can win. What do you think? Is it over?

Teachers and Time

The Des Moines School District is pitching a plan to give teachers more time. The idea is that students get an early dismissal once a week. The extra 90 minutes is supposed to give teachers time to do some professional development or to work on lesson plans.


Now before all of the teachers in the state send me nasty emails about how much harder they work than anyone and how they're underpaid...let me put a few things out there.

• Do most teachers work hard, take their jobs home with them and spend more time than "just teaching" in the classroom? I would say yes.


• Should teachers be making a lot more money? Well, I'll put it this way...we should value the profession at a higher level than we do.

That said, this is not a good plan. We're going to let teachers and students go 90 minutes early every week? Will there be planned professional development every week? Will that time be spent learning new teaching methods and collaborating with colleagues and lesson planning? Who's going to pay for the professional development?

Here are a few things working against the teachers. A lot of us work hard. A lot of us bring work home and don't get paid for it. A lot of us would like more time for professional development. Most of us do not get a month off in the summer (I say a month because teachers usually work long after the school year ends and show up long before the kids do in the fall), We don't get three weeks off a Christmas, and a week spring break...no to mention all of the holidays on the calender. You're going to have a hard time convincing me that there's no time in there for professional development.
Moreover, what about the kids? I've heard a lot of complaints about the early out days in other districts. It leaves a lot of kids with nothing to do long before mom and dad get home from work. I've heard complaints from merchants at the mall about kids congregating on early out days...unsupervised with nothing to do.
What do you think. Should teachers get an extra 90 minutes without kids in the classroom?





Baskin But No More Robbins
One of the Co founders of Baskin Robbins died yesterday at the age of 90. Irvine Robbins expanded all of our imaginations where ice cream is concerned creating flavors for just about any occasion. As a tip of the cone to him what's you're favorite flavor? Doesn't have to be BR.


Have a Great Day!
PWD

posted by Patrick Dix @ 7:12 AM 4 comments - Click here to add yours.

Two more Primaries, Efficiently Wasting Your Money, and Golfing With the Stars

Good Morning!

I'm glad I took Sally's advice and took two Aleve before going to bed last night.
I walked 18 holes of golf yesterday and I'm feeling it this morning. I can't believe what a candyA%$ I am!
I used to walk three or four rounds a week! The goal here is to get into better shape and carrying a golf bag around for four hours could help. The most interesting part of the day was a chance meeting with one of the actors in the movie South Dakota. A lot of you may have heard about this one filming out in Earlham. Matt Harwell was using his day off to golf.
We didn't get into the details of his character, but I found another movie he mentioned online. It's called The Wretched...check out the movie's myspace page. It's a horror flick. Matt seemed like a great guy. He's in from LA to shoot but originally is from the Midwest so he said he was glad to be back. Welcome to Matt and the rest of the cast and crew!

To The News:
NC/IN
The Dems are voting again today. I'd like to think that this would wrap up the primary season, but no one seems to think it will. South Dakota here we come! I don't want to hear anyone complain about not getting the candidates to come and campaign in their state next time around. If you live in Florida and Michigan how mad are you at the Dems for changing the date of the primary?

Wasting Your Money Efficiently
I remember sitting in the press conference when The State hired a consultant in Chicago. The consultant promised there would be huge efficiencies they could find that would save taxpayers millions. Turns out the Chicago firm found 50-thousand in savings. We paid them $900,000!!!!!
If this were a story about a consumer or a private business that did this you know what we'd call it? A scam. How can this not be Breech of contract? How is it that we went through our State government with a fine tooth comb and could only find savings of $50,000? I bet if you and I went through the books we could find fifty thousand in savings before we got out of the first Department. I'm not saying government employees are all wasteful, and I'm sure every department feels their spending is all worthwhile. The job of this firm was to find the places we could cut spending and save taxpayers money. They failed miserably and we're out $850,000.
What a scam.

Moving
Megan Reuther gave you some tips on moving today as May is one of the more popular months of the year to move... The tips aren't rocket science. Everyone knows how to pack up and move right? Then why do so many of us have a truly horrific story about a move? It can be bad.
Mine starts in Baltimore. We were moving Sally from grad school. The truck was supposed to come at 8am on the day her lease ended. So we were ready to go at 8am, and thought we'd be halfway home by nightfall. Turns out nightfall came and we didn't even have a truck. It finally showed up at about 9pm. The guy told us once all of her stuff was out of the apartment it was the company's responsibility. So we told him to get it all out (she had to be out by midnight). At around 11:45pm he took the last box out and we packed up the cats and left. As we drove away, all of Sally's stuff was still on the lawn waiting for these two guys to load it into the truck.
Turns out it got worse. The truck missed the drop off date in Peoria at my apartment. I had to leave Christmas dinner to drive down and meet the guy so he could unload. When he was done we figured out he'd lost at least two of her boxes including one with the dress she had on when I asked her to marry me.
We ended up not having to pay a dime for the move...not because the company was in any way apologetic. Their incompetency stretched all the way to the accounting department. They had Sally's credit card and never tried to charge it.
It's one of the stories I'll always look back on as a building block for our relationship. Packing up everything you own really helps you see all that you have in your life. It reminds us of all the things we've been through and all of the important times we've spent together. And If I've got to go through things like that in life...it makes me realize I want to go through all of it with her.

My moving story isn't quite as bad but it still makes me steam every time I think about it. Thanks Pat for bringing this subject up again! Right before Eric and I got married, he bought the home we currently live in and we hired a company that came highly recommended from several people here at the station. The movers were supposed to arrive at 8 am but never showed up. We finally called at 10am and got an answering service. Finally, at around 2 pm the movers finally called and said they were having mechanical problems with one of the trucks (yeah, right!) and wouldn't be able to get there until later in the day. Eric was so made he told them to forget it and hung up. Ok... I guess this means we try plan B. A few hours later we finally secured a UHaul truck which broke down on us on 1-235 during one of our trips. After we called the UHaul hotline to try to get help, the customer service representative ended up getting in a shouting match with us and hung up. We eventually got another UHaul and made it to our new house at around 4 am. And just to make things a little more interesting, this was during a bad snow storm in December on my 30th birthday! The moral of this story: Don't move!

City Hall
I had my hearing with the City yesterday and I should get a written ruling within a week. I'm not sure I convinced anyone that this was a misapplication of the nuisance ordinance but I said my peace and that's all I wanted to do. I get the chance to appeal to a district court judge if I don't like the ruling and I may just do that. The City inspector who came over to look at my walk showed a picture of it the day he came by. You can see the cement, and the grass on the lawn!
I asked for a warning and said the entire episode would serve as a lesson for future trips out of town. It will.

Have a good day!
PWD

Pat also told me this morning that there may be an Anchor Man 2 in the works. This makes my day. Check out what I found online. Have a nice day!
BB

posted by Patrick Dix @ 6:43 AM 0 comments - Click here to add yours.

Hey Cabbie!, PETA on the Derby and I Strenoiusly Object!

Good Morning!
What a great start to the week. I wish I could get out and enjoy the day right away, but I have a few pieces of business..
First of all the blog will be shorter today...I have to go over to City hall and defend my sidewalk's honor. Remember this? This is the fin the city wants to throw on me for not shoveling my walk while I was on vacation. We'll see how it goes.
I'm practicing my Tom Cruise impersonation..."I want the truth...You can't handle the truth!"

To the News

Hey Cabbie!
The City's considering a change to its ruled regarding cabs. I hope it happens soon. As an aside I am part of a group from all of the TV and Radio stations that meets every other month. At our last meeting we had three guests, all of them talked about the lack of cabs here in Des Moines. I don't use cabs but I have had visitors in town who either think the fares are outrageous, or who's waited more than an hour for a cab to pick them up. If you want a vibrant downtown, you have to allow suburbanites to come into downtown for the night and get a cab home.

Derby and PETA
I'm sorry I can't hold my tongue on this one...This is why so may people think PETA is a joke. The sentiment is right, the cause is surely one that a lot of us would support, but the people running PETA speak out on these ridiculous topics. In this case, the organization thinks that it's the jockey's fault that Eight Bells broke both ankles and fell right after finishing second in the derby. The animal was injured in a tragic and terrible accident, but saying the idea that horse racing is the place that animal cruelty people need to focus their efforts is CRAZY.
Did the jockey drive Eight Belles too hard at the finish? We won't ever know. The filly didn't seem to be letting up at the end of the race and had her ears up when she crossed the line...an apparent sign she was alert and not in distress. Terrible things happen... These athletes (that's what people call these horse) are treated with the care you'd expect an investment of thousands of dollars.

Michelle Parker
Finally, we'd like to extend our condolences to the KCCI family and the family of Michelle Parker. Michelle died over the weekend of heart failure.
Most of us here at 13 worked with Michelle at one time or another and everyone used one word to describe her when they found out about her tragic death....kind. She will be missed by her colleagues.

Hope you all have a good day.
PWD

posted by Patrick Dix @ 7:03 AM 2 comments - Click here to add yours.

Unemployment, Tulip Time and Chopper Video Blog

posted by Patrick Dix @ 6:20 AM 3 comments - Click here to add yours.

Overnight Shooting, Thinking About the Weekend and Recommiting to the Blog

Good Morning!

posted by Patrick Dix @ 6:03 AM 6 comments - Click here to add yours.

Courhouse Vote, Kids Ready for Kintergarten?and Matt Moves On

Good Morning and welcome to November...I mean April. Hard to tell out there this morning. It was 34 when I woke up. Thankfully, Jeriann says it warms up from here. I went running last night about five... people were looking at me like I had two heads...it's not THAT cold out!

I wanted to thank all of you for your comments. It makes it a lot more fun for us if you give us you feedback, positive and otherwise.



To the News:



Courthouse Vote

We brought you the pros and con's yesterday from each side of this debate. Polls opened at 7am and close tonight at 8. I'll only add this to the conversation: If you plan on commenting or complaining about Polk County government and the way it's managed over the next year, get out there and vote! If the vote fails, I hope you will let your county Supervisor know what you think the solution is to the overcrowding at the Courthouse. I don't think anyone is arguing the building is overcrowded and even a safety hazard. The debate here is how we go about solving that problem. No matter what happens, engage in that debate! If the Courthouse Bond passes, watch the project's progress and make sure the money you ok'd is used responsibly. If the Bond fails, get in on the talks to come up with another solution!



Pay Increase

If you haven't visited the Hot Topics Blog on As Seen on 13...do it. The governor might do well to read it before he signs a nine percent pay raise for himself. Pretty powerful sentiment there Gov.



Ready For Kindergarten

Brooke did a great story for GenX Mom's this morning about getting your kids ready for kindergarten. Is it me or are kids required to know a LOT more than we were when they get to kindergarten? I remember learning my ABC's, writing my name and counting in my first full day classes. Now parents are told their kids should know this stuff before they walk in the door.



On a side note, I related the story of my first day of school this morning on the show. This is my Mom's version. I am the youngest of four which means the year before I went to school my mom and I had a lot of time one on one together. She says before I went to school, I asked her, "Mom what are you going to do all day without me around?" She managed. In fact she took one of her friends down to the beach that morning and split a bottle of vino. She wasn't quite as broken up as my five year-old mind imagined.



Where in the World?

We missed it again...by a lot!

Matt was in Holland this morning. Thanks Today show...a phone call so we could tie in a little Tulip time woulda killed ya?

Seriously, it's always an interesting show. Check back this afternoon for tomorrow's clues...and throw some guesses out there people!



I will be out in the yard this afternoon mowing. Jeriann says today and tomorrow are the days to do it.



Hope you enjoy the warm up!

PWD

posted by Patrick Dix @ 6:14 AM 2 comments - Click here to add yours.

Cold Start, Check's in the Email, and Where in the World?

Good Morning!

I hope the start of the week doesn't discourage anyone that Spring is, indeed, on the way. We'll warm up mid-week, but Jeriann says cooler temperatures for now and the rain comes back at the end of the week. A reminder, speaking of the end of the week, Tulip Time kicks off in Pella next weekend. We hope the forecast changes but Jeriann doesn't look that that optimistic.


Check's in the E-Mail

The first round of economic stimulus checks go out early this week. When I say early this week, I mean that the check's are going out early, and that they will come via direct deposit in the early days of the work week.


$1200 sounds pretty good right now. The story we read this morning says if we use 40% of the kickback from the government, it will still be the biggest shopping event behind Christmas and back to school.

I'm interested to hear what you all are finding more expensive these days. Aside from gas, are you noticing prices swinging up in anything else?


I can't say I'm noticing the prices as much as I notice the lack of spending on our part. For a lot of different reasons this weekend was our first trip back to the mall in a while. That also meant the first time we've had lunch and/or dinner out in a long time. We've pulled back our spending.


Courthouse Vote


For those of you in Polk County, remember, the courthouse vote is tomorrow. The question in front of voters is: do you want to spend $127 million to build a new courthouse. You can find out more information at BuildingforJustice.com(for the courthouse) and CitizensForReasonableJustice.com (against it).


What do you think?

Miley too Racy for You?

So what do you think of the Miley Cyrus photos in Vanity Fair this month? The 15 year-old was part of a shoot with famed photographer Annie Leibovitz, you've probably seen her work even if you don't know it's her.

Anyway this picture appears in this month's issue of Vanity Fair. The picture doesn't even come close to showing the tween star topless and some media outlets reported but I think there's still a debate to be had here...
Do you take offense? Is it appropriate to have a 15 year old pictured like this?


Where in the World?
Matt Lauer starts his week long jaunt around the globe this morning.

If you missed it he's in Buenas Aries Argentina. The opening of the show this morning showed how good they're getting at this kind of live remote. Matt went across the widest boulevard in the world on a mo-ped while he talked about the country...that takes some talent, both in the execution and the production. He also went fly fishing in Patagonia...lucky guy. I want to be Matt Lauer when I grow up.

We'll look forward to his second location and if you'd like...guess his location. I'll try to update the clue when they're done with the show. UPDATE: MATT'S NEXT CLUE-The people in our second destination are accustomed to being looked down on...we'll let the winds lead us to them...and we should get there on time...unless we stop for the lights.

Weekend
Pretty quiet around the Dix house. Sally and I went out to dinner Friday night. It was good to see the downtown buzzing with the Relays in town.

Saturday we just bummed around the mall, picked up a couple of things we needed and took it easy.
I was asked to host a small event over at the Fairgrounds Saturday night for the Des Moines Springfest Horse Show. This was my first horse show so I really didn't know what to expect. I was even more confused when I was asked to judge a dog contest at a horse show. It was fun...about a half dozen people dressed up their dogs for a costume contest. Even I can judge that. Our winners were a pair of dogs dressed up as a bride and groom.

My aunt Mary Murphy stopped by for a visit Saturday night. She comes out to town to teach a class every year and we enjoy the visit each time. This time she got a two for one because Matt is living here too. So we all went over and had some Pizza Saturday night.

It was also back to the gym for me this weekend. I've fallen off the wagon lately so I'm trying to get back into the swing of things. You'd think I'd learn. I always feel better the next day when I workout. I hope to reinforce that this week.


Hope your weekend was as relaxing as mine.
PWD

posted by Patrick Dix @ 6:45 AM 16 comments - Click here to add yours.

Food Shortage? Rainy Days, Determining Baby's Sex

Good Morning!
Sorry about the lack of a blog yesterday. It was a busy morning for all of us...we had "class pictures" yesterday. Brooke Jeriann Brand and I stood around trying to look as natural as possible, smiling, but trying not to look cheesy. Not sure we accomplished that one but there's a new "class picture" that will be in the lobby shortly.

To the News:
Food Shortage?
If all of the economic news we've been bringing you over the last few months hasn't freaked you out...you might want to start listening with a little more interest this morning. First, Gas prices are back up this morning. Oil prices hit another record high and that led to another average high for a gallon of gas. The U.S. Policy to promote ethanol is being blamed for a higher demand for corn. That's caused the price of corn to go up and investors speculate on the commodity's future...It also means more corn to fuels and less to the food chain (though an astute emailer noted some ethanol plants reuse the byproduct of the ethanol process for cattle feed). Add that to a shortage of rice on the world market and you get this result: Costco and Sam's Club are both asking shoppers to limit purchases of rice and flour.
Are we at risk of running out of rice here in the US? No, says Erin Burnett of CNBC. We actually export a lot of it. Is Ethanol contributing to higher food prices? It would be hard to argue otherwise. When farmers plant corn instead of other crops, it mean less of that crop on the market and can lead to the price going up. When Ethanol takes a big chunk of the grain market (38%), that means less of our corn crop goes to other uses. That can help drive the price up. This week's Economist Magazine has some good articles on the subject.
I guess the bottom line for me is that we're starting to notice the price of groceries is really getting steep. Ground Beef, Milk, Eggs, cereal...they're all up by double digit percentages.
Are we all going to starve? I doubt it. Is is something to be aware of? I will be.

Rainy Days
Man, is everything going to green up after this. I know we've got good rainfall when I can distinguish the fairway from the rough driving by the 16th hole at Waveland.
One more thing: Since when do I look like the Garden Expert around here. Three separate people came up to me and asked a lawn related question today.
Well ya see if you put some 10-2060 on there and then some fungicides...
These people should take a peek at my sad, mole-ridden, half dead excuse for a lawn before they take my advice.

Determining the Sex of Your Baby
A New British study says what Mom eats around the time of a child's conception can help determine the sex of the baby. It started a conversation I won't repeat here in the newsroom this morning but I did have this thought: How many of you heard strange wives tales about pregnancy or conceiving a baby or whatever. Keep it clean and fire away!

The Video blog was derailed by the rain and overnight fish stockings by the DNR. We'll try to get it on before the end of the week but because that's tomorrow...I'm not sure you can count on me. We're efforting.
PWD

posted by Patrick Dix @ 7:12 AM 1 comments - Click here to add yours.

Early Morning Storms, Pennsylvania, and Outsmarting a Trout

Good Morning!

Back and relaxed for our Tuesday morning I I hope to share more of the weekend trip through this week's video blog. The amount of decompressing you can do without a cell phone, and with a lot of fresh air is amazing. I really do enjoy being away from it all in Rockbridge. I have a limit on my decompression time though and I was ready to come back Monday. The amazing thing is how well I sleep. We always joke that it's the fresh air.
We caught a lot of trout. For the first day we bought a "catch and release license". I like the concept because it puts the fish right back in the stream for the next guy to catch.
We kept what we caught Sunday and much to my wife's delight...didn't bring it home. We donate the trout we catch to a Monastery close to Rockbridge.
Anyway look for the video blog to include some pictures of this amazing place later in the week. I'm also working on some ways you can learn how to do some trout fishing right here in Central Iowa this weekend.

To the News:

Pennsylvania
Is anyone else ready for this to be done? This time last year all the talk was about how quickly the nominations were going to be decided. Guess that didn't work out. Sen Clinton has a lead in the polls in PA. The question is, will it be enough?

Storms
I hope you were able to sleep through the thunder and lightning this morning. I guess I got lucky. I walked into he station without my rain jacket. the wind was up a little and it was cool, but we slept with the windows open last night. Well, I walked in and Brooked walked in a minute later saying it was pouring! Jeriann really had her hands full. I wish you could all see her work during those commercial breaks she was really jumpin this morning and stayed on top of it like a champ.

Earth Day
Just another Day or is it something you'll take time to consider today? We'll continue our Renew Iowa stories and some of the other environmentally based stories we come across. I'd like to hear some of the things you're willing to do and some of the things you just won't give up in the spirit of going green.
Also, Check out the comics if you get a chance in the Register. 43 strips went with a green theme today. Appropriate?

Have a good week!
PWD

posted by Patrick Dix @ 7:41 AM 1 comments - Click here to add yours.

Drake's New Coach, Flat Tires and fish bait

Good morning everyone! Pat is gone fishin' so I will be taking over the official blog duties today. Hope you all had a wonderful weekend. Wasn't yesterday just exactly what we needed? The sunshine and the warm weather make me excited for summer and all the fun activities that come along with the season. Yesterday, my husband and I finally got the chance to clean out the garage. It was disgusting! All the sand and mud from the bad winter was caked on the floor and kept getting tracked into the house. It's finally clean and I am very pleased about it. It's the little things in life that make me happy.

posted by Brooke Bouma @ 8:05 AM 1 comments - Click here to add yours.

Overnight Fire...a Long Game and Did You Feel That?

Good Morning...

• A: Too much fun last night,


• B: Too little sleep last night, or..


• C: Just plain crazy.

So, when a woman called this morning just after 4:30am and said..."I think I feel my bed shaking"; we weren't quite sure what to say.

Turns out she was right. Over the next two hours we learned more about the Earthquake centered in Southern Illinois and the extent to which people felt the shock wave across the Midwest.

posted by Patrick Dix @ 8:17 AM 2 comments - Click here to add yours.

Noon Blogging

Sorry this is coming so late. It's going to be brief too. Brooke was out sick this morning. I sure hope she feels better tomorrow. The two hour show is rough without her.

To The News:

Pope XVI day III:
Mass this morning at Nationals ballpark. The Pope told American Catholics that Hope is a characteristic of the American Church. He also said American Catholics would need hope to get through the church abuse scandal.

Davis on the Radio
We hear Keno Davis on Larry Cottler's show this morning on KXNO. He was pretty candid both with Larry and then with us. Look for more of the interview with KENO tonight as well. By the way, KUDOS to our Photojournalist Roger Riley...he was ALL OVER THE PLACE TODAY. Roger went out and got the Keno story, got some video of the rain for us this morning and...

Gas Prices
Roger also go some people to talk about high gas prices. Some of the stations changed over last night, some changed over this morning...some had the same price we'd seen for the last couple of days. If you filled up for $3.24...good for you. The rest of us are paying more today.

Just Give Me Jesus
Ann Grahm Lotz will be at the Wells Fargo Arena for a two day revival called Just Give Me Jesus. Apparently she doesn't speak in the US very often but through the hard work of a lot of the churches in Iowa...she's coming to speak here. It's free and it';s supposed to be quite an experience.

That's it for me. Again, sorry I was a little late today.
PWD

posted by Patrick Dix @ 12:20 PM 1 comments - Click here to add yours.

Pope Visit Day 2, Va Tech Anniversary and In