Saddam's Final Days, Smokin Hot Studio, Toast to '06

Morning, everyone!
What a strange Friday morning it's been. Pat won't believe all he's missed!
We had a producer on ZERO sleep, an editor who OVER slept, and a mysterious burning smell almost knocking us out in the studio during the show!
More on that in a second - first here's a quick look at a few of our big stories:

SADDAM'S COUNTDOWN
We lead the newscast this morning with conflicting reports about how soon Saddam will be hanged. Senior Bush Admin. officials and military officials were quoted anonymously as saying they expected the hanging to happen Saturday Baghdad time. Iraq's Justice Ministry said - nope, it will happen late in January. Saddam met with his brothers yesterday, and is turning over some of his personal effects. Many speculate that the execution will hapen BEFORE the Eid Ul Adta Muslim religious feast begins Saturday at sundown. Stay tuned.

HIT AND RUN CAR FOUND
DMPD found the car they think hit and killed Jesse Johnston last month outside the Hull Ave. Tavern. They're still looking for the owner, Andre Williams. They won't say he's a supect, but they do say they think he was in the car. Johnston's mother says only an arrest will bring her closure in the death of her 21-year-old son.

DENVER SNOWSTORM
Yep - Denver's getting pummeled again, about 10 inches of snow overnight. Maybe they're doing a better job with snow removal and contingency plans, because we've been checking all morning and it looks like Denver flights to and from DM are running on time. Justin Sacher (in for Jeriann today) says WE'RE going to get rain, not snow out of the system. Bummer for kids who want the snow, but great news for those of you who'll be out on the town for New Year's Eve and don't want to be sliding all over the road.

HIT ME BABY ONE MORE TIME
Ms. Spears was the most searched person on yahoo.com this year! I was in the dark until this morning about the paparazzi photos taken showing her obvious lack of undergarments... I guess people can't resist the shock value of shots like that.
Number 2 most-searched topic was WWE (wrestling) and #3 was Shakira, who's most-admired for the fact that her "hips don't lie."
As I said on the air, I'm sure it's her MUSIC everyone is most interested in, right?





SMOKIN HOT IN THE STUDIO!
No, Liz and I are not bragging about our combined girl-power on the desk today...
We still don't know what the heck it is, but something is burning in the studio as I write! The smell became pretty overpowering right before 7 this morning... kind of like burning plastic. I truly started to feel woozy! Liz, Brad, Justin and I told our producer during the show - we were not prepared to "go down with the ship," so we'd plan to bail out if we really spotted a fire!
I've been popping back into the studio every half hour for our Today Show updates, and it hasn't gotten better yet! Our chief engineer is investigating... I hope everything's still intact by the end of the day!

SLEEP WOES
I took this shot of the clock in my car during a self-pitying moment as I pulled into work while most of you were sound asleep.
We're not supposed to complain on the air about our hours, or about being tired - I think research shows our audience doesn't want to hear us whine! But here on the blog, I can confess to all of you that I'm crushingly tired after getting to work even earlier than normal all week! We're without an assistant producer right now, and Liz and I have had to come in to help get the newscast written. Even with a nap, there's no way to feel rested on this schedule.

My self-pity eroded though when I got in the door and found our fill-in producer Dan, WHO'D WORKED ALL DAY YESTERDAY AND THEN BEEN UP ALL NIGHT! He had car trouble yesterday that ate up his only chance to sleep. As you see here, 3 cans of Red Bull and he was good to go! The show was actually ready to go EARLIER than normal! I hope Dan's out cold right now catching up on all that lost sleep..

Then, here's photojournalist Roger Riley smiling in the wee hours as he scrambled to get all the video for our newscast edited within ONE HOUR, because our editor overslept! As editor Steven said in his British accent, "I feel lyke crahp aboat it." Don't worry, I told him - it happens to almost everyone on this shift at some point. Our bodies are just not programmed to wake up when crickets are chirping. It's sick and wrong. But necessary!

NOT SO ANGELIC
My "angel" children finally gave Grandma a run for her money yesterday. They were little terrors. (Here they are down in our basement playroom, which we sometimes call the "dungeon.") Clara was all runny-nosed, clingy, teary-eyed, and into EVERYTHING. Calvin was determined to make her (and everyone) even more miserable. Ask him a question, his answer was inevitably "Poop."

By the end of the day, Mom poured herself a healthy glass of wine, and dropped into bed as early as I did! Finally, she gets a taste of the other extreme I have to deal with in my crazy routine! I hope they find their sweet side again today - I'm ready.

HERE'S TO '06
I'm off until next year, so I hope you all have a safe and Happy New Year!
Ian and I have a fun tradition that I'm sure we'll repeat this year. Each New Year's, we make toasts to all the good memories of the past year.
The rule is, we have to keep going until the champagne bottle is empty. Some years have been easier than others, but I think '06 has been full of plenty of blessings to count.


Thanks for reading!
Trish

Iraq deaths hit close to home, Edwards comes to Iowa, Countdown to Alamo

Good morning, everyone!

I'm afraid this morning's blog starts on a somber note.

Iraq deaths hit close to home

Our newscast was headlined this morning with three more soldier deaths in Iraq.
I'm sorry to report that three other deaths we reported earlier this week were men in the same unit as Jeriann Ritter's dad. She tells me he is okay, but very sad that he was unable to save his friends. (His specialty is emergency medical care.)
I know this kind of news must make the anxiety all the worse for her and her family - please keep them in your thoughts.

Edwards visits Iowa
The North Carolina democrat is hosting a town hall meeting at the State Historical Building today. Doors open at 4:30. Follow this link for free tix.
He was supposed to announce his plans to run for president today in New Orleans. But - oops - his website accidentally updated too early, and let the cat out of the bag last night!
Edwards' campaign co-chair Rob Tully was in our studio for a live interview this morning. He says Edwards has strong appeal in Iowa (he came in 2nd to John Kerry in the 04 caucuses, if you recall, but his campaign says if another week or two had gone by, their researcfh shows Edwards would've won). They're not counting out the Tom Vilsack factor, though. What do you all think - would Iowans be more likely to choose their own governor or Edwards at the caucuses?
Mainly, Tully stressed the fact that Edwards is known for running positive campaigns - we'll see if he sticks to that, but I know lots of people appreciate it when candidates hold themselves back from mudslinging!

Alamo Countdown
Our sports guys Andy Fales and Shawn Terrell had to get up early this morning (boo-hoo, must be tough!) to catch a flight to San Antonio! The Hawks are working out getting ready for the Saturday 3:30 game against Texas. Tate is apparently healthy and okay...and I haven't heard any more eyebrow-raising comments from him!

Hero Track Coach
If you missed Elizabeth's hero story this morning, try to catch it in our 5pm newscast. The man she profiled is a retired teacher and track coach from East High who was out on his morning jog, and spotted a teenager in a life-threatening situation. It was a case of the right person being in the right place at the right time, for sure!

Miracle Mom
My mom is working such wonders with my kids that I'm starting to wonder if she's Mary Poppins. (She's in town for the week watching them since my hubby is out of town working).
Yesterday I got home from work and she had BOTH kids napping (miraculous - Calvin never naps for me) and the house spotless. She had even swept out under the bed and dressers to find about a thousand tiny toys, crayons and puzzle pieces hidden among the dust-bunnies.

I told her she's making me look bad! I'm usually thrilled if ONE room in the house has its mess even reasonably contained and the sink isn't totally overflowing with crusty dishes while Thing One and Thing Two (our Dr. Seuss-inspired nicknames for Cal and Clara) are running around!
Eating with Chap-sticks
We managed to wrestle Calvin out of the Superman PJ's long enough for a trip to the mall yesterday afternoon. At the food court, Cal asked to try some "chicken I can eat with chap-sticks."


I never have the heart to tell him the word he's thinking of is "chop sticks!"


Tomorrow's Friday, everyone! Have a good day!
Trish

Farewell to Ford, Sad Anniversary in Altoona, Almost Amish

Good Afternoon, morning fans!

Sorry, blog-readers, but I got very busy this morning and am getting the blog off to a late start!

By now you've probably heard the main headlines of the day:

Gerald Ford Dies at 93
Dubbed the "accidental" president because he was never elected, he passed away peacefully in California. I admit that my generation is probably more ignorant than we should be of his contributions - his presidency began the year I was born and ended less than 3 years later. It was nice to hear members of both political parties complimenting Ford's ability to unite, and to restore faith to the injured presidency after the Watergate scandal.


Sad anniversary in Altoona
This is the story that kept me so busy this morning. It was one year ago that Annamarie Rittman was hit and killed as she walked into work at the Altoona Lowe's store. A vigil is planned for 7pm at the Altoona cemetary.

I was anchoring the night the news broke that the suspect - Justin Pollard - had been charged with first degree murder. I was confused as probably many people were when police said the two had no connection, but the crime was murder, implying intent. It seems baffling why someone would *intentionally kill a stranger. We can only speculate about what is shown on segments of surveillance video that haven't been released to the public. Pollard's trial has been delayed until January.

Today I put together a piece from an interview with Rittman's sister. She described the family's pain, and shared some uncanny moments from the night before Annamarie died. (She repeatedly hugged her sister, and even made a comment about getting out of the street so they wouldn't be hit by a car.) The family is asking for prayers.

OVERNIGHT CRASH
We made the call to wake up photojournalist Roger Riley to get video of this crash scene in Story County. It sounded like a serious crash and it was. The passenger (no seatbelt) thrown and in critical condition, driver (with seatbelt - not injured) charged with serious injury by vehicle - alcohol is believed to be involved. This seems like an important double-message in time for the New Year's holiday - don't drive after drinking, and buckle up.

New Year's Yuck?
The forecast for NY eve is looking rainy at best, maybe freezing rain or snow. What's up with that? Bummer! I'm planning to be in the Windy City again, having a kid-free night out with my hubby and our close friends who have an overnight sitter for their 1-year-old TWINS. Talk about a bunch of people who need a night with a bunch of champagne and no responsibility! I just hope we get to and from our destination without too much trouble!

Any of you have big New Year's plans? Which parties in the DM area are the most fun?


Almost Amish
I have decided I would not like to be Amish. They don't use dishwashers. I am miserable without mine. It's been deader than a doornail for a couple weeks now.


Does it seem ironic to you that I had a repairman coming to look at my new-ish Maytag dishwasher the same day Maytag made news headlines by announcing they were bringing back "Ol' Lonely" - the bored Maytag repairman in the ads claiming he had nothing to fix.

You know something funny? There really is no Maytag repairman! They subcontract their warranty repairs! Ol' Lonely is a phony. We got referred to some other appliance maker, who told us we needed a part, which should be ready in a week to 10 days! That feels like a pretty long sentence to an Amish-style kitchen.

Of course I have lived without a dishwasher in the past, and know it's not the end of the world, but I sure will give that repairman a big hug when he shows up -whoever he is!

Heather's Morning Buzz!
I thought you should meet the genious behind our morning show lately - this is Heather, our stellar new producer! She works all night long to make sure our show makes sense! (And she actually keeps her sense of humor in spite of the tough work and weird hours!) She's holding up a mug I got her for Xmas - you can't really tell, but it says "The Morning Buzz." Couldn't pass that up. It has some corny little bees flying around on it... how clever. (groan)

I left Gramma (my mom) in charge of the little ones today - Ian's out of town coaching some young drummers! I hope Mom hasn't spoiled the little "angels" totally rotten! I'm grateful for her help, and hopeful that they haven't let her see their naughty side. (she still thinks they're pretty perfect and I'd hate to let her down.)

See y'all in the morning!
Trish

Trouble in Iraq, Donate Blood, and a Walgreens Christmas Dinner!

Merry Belated Christmas, everyone!
It's Trisha today, Pat, Jeriann and Brad were all off! Elizabeth is sitting in for Pat this week - thank goodness because we need all the help we can get!
The local news was slow today, so international news topped our headlines:

MORE TROUBLE IN IRAQ
Right before our newscast started we heard of another series of coordinated car bombings that killed at least 25 people. We also got news of three more soldier deaths today, plus the deaths of a Marine and a Soldier in Iraq yesterday. What terrible news for those families at Christmastime.

British troops raid Iraq police station
Iraq's police force is known to be problematic, but this sounded pretty horiffic. British troops rescued a bunch of prisoners who were reportedly being tortured, maybe were about to be executed, by police suspected to be involved in sectarian death squads. Read more about the raid here.

IOWA HEROES
Elizabeth is doing a series of stories this week for the morning show (and probably the evening newscasts too) about real-life heroes. This morning she had the story of a 12-year-old boy who helped steer a car safely to the shoulder when his mom had a seizure while driving on the highway! In a moment of panic, I think it's impressive that a kid his age could figure out what to do. I'm looking forward to the rest of her stories.

Be a hero yourself - GIVE BLOOD !
AND write to let us know that you did!

Blood donations are really needed right now. Donors drop out during the holidays, but the demand doesn't!

We had a guest bring the Bloodmobile to our parking lot this morning.
(Did any of you see me run out there in my coat to interview her during the show? I just barely made it back to the desk in time for the next news segment!)
I learned something today -
Did you know only 6% of people donate blood? That surprised me. I used to donate regularly before I got so busy...today's interview was a good reminder to me to get back into the routine.

I always figure if I could survive major surgery and childbirth (twice!) I can handle a little needle stick to help someone who really needs it!

Anyway there's a blood drive today at Maccabee's Deli on Polk Blvd. from 12-6 - or better yet, the Blood Center of Iowa says give them a call at 800 287-4903 to schedule an appointment.
Or follow this link to read more.

BARGAINS, ANYONE?
If your Christmas money or gift cards are burning a hole in your pocket, you might be in luck today. It looks like stores are throwing out some pretty good deals to get you to spend. I'm not interested in fighting crowds - I think I will surf later today for some online deals to make sure we're not missing anything incredible!

SUPERHERO-CHRISTMAS!
I guess I must have mentioned to a few of our relatives that Calvin is into Spiderman and Superman this year. Between Ian and I , the aunties, uncles, and grandparents, he raked in an ungodly collection of Superhero stuff...

a Spiderman suitcase and backpack, a Spiderman towel, Spiderman play tent, 3 Spiderman shirts, a Spiderman shaving kit (fake razor of course!), a Spiderman hat and gloves, Spiderman shoes, a Spiderman figure that squirts water, and a Spiderman Christmas ornament, PLUS a glow in the dark Superman shirt, a Superman jersey, and.... Superman pajamas with a cape.

Yesterday my little hero would not take the pj's off all day long. I didn't argue - it was Christmas day... I say knock yourself out, kid! Here he is with Daddy pretending to fly. (Yes, he even wore the cape to bed.)

Clara Bell
Santa brought Clara got her very own squishy chair to sit in.
She seems to have a little bit of trouble getting in and out of it though. I've seen her kind of bounce and slide right onto the floor probably half a dozen times - grinning the whole time.
The wee one also opened about a million adorable outfits, and a Tinker Bell nightgown (personalized to say "Clara Bell"), a Tink suitcase and a tiny Tinker Bell backpack (which she wanted to wear around the house all day). Poor kid has a nasty cold and didn't sleep well, but she still managed to stay pretty sunshiney through all the Christmas gatherings. She is that kind of girl.


WRETCHED EXCESS
Here's a shot of Ian trying to figure out how to get all the stuff to fit in our minivan as we left the Christmas gathering at my parents' house over the weekend! He is the packing-master - I have no idea how he did it but he got the stuff in!
The whole holiday made me feel very lucky to have a family I love, everyone in good health, and parents who love to shower their kids and grandkids with affection and gifts!
Luckily, my mom went all out and we had a huge pre-Christmas meal on Saturday....

WALGREENS CHRISTMAS DINNER!
No joke - everything on our table last night came from Walgreens tiny grocery department. All the grocery stores were closed by the time we got home on Christmas Eve, and we were caught totally unprepared. I even had to give Clara hot chocolate instead of milk before bedtime!
So Ian made the Walgreens run and came up with a Christmas menu- grilled cheese, canned chili, green beans, and canned peaches....Christmas stocking candy for dessert!
Good thing Ian makes the best Grilled Cheese in the world!
Maybe we should start a new Christmas tradition.

Thanks for reading! See you in the morning,
Trish

Catching up...Selling out?...and Taking off

Good morning...Three hours thirty minutes and counting....
Trish is gone for a little holiday fun so Liz stepped in. She'll take you through the Christmas Holiday, then Trish is back next week and the two will team up to bring it home for the end of the year. It's nice for our team that we have someone who can step in for the holiday. We appreciate it.

To the news:

Untangling the Delays
At airports around the country travelers will be trying to catch a flight after two days of delays. Here in Des Moines we saw how dependent we are on the hub airports to feed planes to us. Experts are saying it could take two days to untangle all the mess. If you missed Jon Cahill's story last night on stranded travelers...It's worth a look.

And Speaking of travel delays...Fog is going to be a problem for the thousands of us who will be on the road traveling home for the holidays. Maybe delay until about 10am. Justin says the fog is likely to start lifting.

(two hours twenty minutes)

Last Day in Newton
Many of the workers at the former Maytag plant in Newton will have their last day of work today. It has to be incredibly sad for people who'd lived there for a long time. I hope people in Newton decide it's time to move on, attract new business and make sure the town they live in doesn't shrink or die off. The new track is a good start, and no matter what you think about a deal to bring Iowa Telecom to Newton, it's 140 good jobs. That can't be bad. A few more deals like this and the town would be on it's way back to better economic health. I know it's not that simple, but something is better than nothing. There are a lot of Iowa towns that would take the Iowa Telecom deal without hesitation.

(1 hour 30 minutes)

Apology
The chairman of the Polk county Republicans is asking the governor and US Senator Tom Harkin to apologize for their criticisms of Federal agents actions in Marshalltown last week during the Swift raids. He's accused the two of making political hay out of the incident.
Now I have interviewed Ted Sporer several times and think he's a really nice guy, but the only thing I can say is...He just made the whole thing MORE political. The Governor and our US Senator get to complain about the actions of federal agents if they like. They're elected.
Of course the actions they take have some political calculation...but calling for an apology for federal agents? The ONLY reason to do that is politics.
I doubt highly that the Republican party is wringing it's hands thinking about how Federal agents had their feelings hurt over the governor's comments.
The guy who gets to respond to the governor is the guy that was criticized in the first place. Matt Whitaker addressed this in his news conference. He said at the time he thought the criticisim was largely politically based. That's all we needed to hear about it. Voters then get to make up their own mind about which person ACTUALLY INVOLVED IN THE SITUATION is right or wrong. We don't need to hear from the peanut gallery on this one.

Shuttle Detour
I know I know...We've talked about this. Discovery comes home today and will probably have to use an alternate landing site. I only mention it because I turned to Liz this morning and just as a guess, asked, "were you born the last time this thing landed in New Mexico(1982)?" Just barely. It's hard to make me feel old. I'm pretty young, but for whatever reason, people who were born in the 80's seem really young to me.

Powerball Donation
Kudos to the couple from Fort Dodge who won the powerball this year. The $68 million dollars is being put to good use through the FD community foundation. They'll help spread two million around the community.

Neighborhood Watch
If you're going out of town we found out the police will actually swing by your place in most of the metro...As long as you ask. I'd give em a little notice if I were you and don't expect the officers to feed the cats or anything. It's just nice to know someone can stop by and make sure the place hasn't burned down.

(1hour to go)

Happy New Year
I'll say that now. We're (Sal and I) off for a much needed holiday break.
We're lucky to be able to spend time with family and friends over the next week or so. You might spot Sally and I at the grocery store or the mall, ballcap and sweatpants on...and trying to do the end of the year decompress. Stop and say hi if you do.

I hope you all have a great holiday. I hope you have time to reflect on the good things that 2006 brought you; and to dream of the things you can do with 2007. Your support of our morning conversation here is much appreciated.

(30 minutes to departure)

PWD

Winter Weather out West, Holiday party reminders

Good morning...The Christmas vacation clock is ticking for a lot of us. Focus focus focus.....

In the news:

Denver's in Deep:
I'm sure glad I'm not headed west. It's just ugly for anyone who has to get home for the holidays in Denver. Lets give the ol' weather department it's props here though. If you missed the fact that a major winter storm was headed out west...You live in a closet.
I know we get on their back a little when our meterologists miss the forecast...We should give em a pat on the back for getting storms like this right.

The Des Moines Airport has all the latest delays.

For those of you traveling for Christmas - check road conditions first!

Kansas DOT site:

Nebraska info:

Colorado Road conditions:


Holiday Cheer:
I'll be one of the thousands of people who are headed to holiday parties tonight. Our friend has a great party every year. We look forward to seeing some of the same people every year, including the people involved in one of the funniest holiday party stories ever!
Our friend...let's call him "Jim", was at the party early, and I was working an evening shift. I showed up at the party around eleven to find out that "Jim" had been going around telling people he was me.
Well, it was funny until some lady came up and slapped me in the face...really. I'd just arrived so I was sure I hadn't offended anyone yet. All became clear when "Jim" fessed up to impersonating a news personality.
That leads to the second holiday party tip. Watch how much "fun" you have.
The great part about this group is that all are mindful of who gets behind the wheel after having an adult beverage or two. We want to see everyone back for the holiday party next year.

No Hugging in the Hallway:
This is a a news story that caught my eye this morning and frankly it's got me a little riled. A Jr High School in eastern Iowa banned hugging in the hallways.
This made the news after some of the kids wrote a letter to the editor complaining. The gist of the letter is: doesn't the school have more important things to worry about?
I should hope so..but the story only gets good when you read the school's response.
apparently hugging can be seen as a sign of aggression. Um...I think they call that "tackling".
If you don't buy that argument for the hug-free zone, you might like the other reason the administration gave: Hugging can crowd the hallways and cause other students to be late to class. Really? The logjam of teen sweethearts in this school is causing little Sparky to be late to math class?
I've got an idea; walk around them and get to class. This excuse is worse than "the dog ate my homework".
Seriously, this exposes what, to my mind, is a knee jerk reaction by the school to somebody's uncomfortability with teenagers starting to date. If there was a real reason behind the rule..I should think it would be better than, "it's making kids late to class". Instead of a rule banning hugging, how about a teacher standing out in the hallway and just calling out inappropriate behavior.
I distinctly remember getting razzed by a teacher in the seventh or eighth grade for a long, and I'm sure, dramatic embrace with then girlfriend (now wife) Sally Rosenthal. If things get inappropriate...call it what it is.
Remember, you're the adult, they're the kid. That should be enough for a 12 year-old to listen and comply with a simple request like..."stop hugging your girlfriend and get to class".
Actually writing things like this down makes a school, and the adults who run it, look prudish and out of touch(no pun intended). I'll be willing to bet this "rule" will actually entice more kids to test boundaries, having the exact opposite of the intended effect.
I don't disagree with he general concept, but next time how about just asking the teachers to police the hallways a little better.

Nobody's Perfect
We needed monkeys to tell us this?
apparently someone decided it would be a good idea to try to get monkey's to repeat simple actions, then monitor movement and the areas of the brain governing that movement. Got it? Good.
Here's what the Stanford research team found out: We're wired to deal with variations in situations so even when we repeat actions thousands of times, we don't do it the same way all the time.
The researchers applied it to golf, reasoning that even with a lot of practice, this is why we slice or hook a golf ball off a tee.
Of course, I'm the fly in the proverbial ointment here...I can hit the same terrible golf shot hundreds of times in a row without variation. I always knew I was "special".



Pat and Trisha

Immigration Raid Wrap-up,Jacobs Tape and Kids Count

I'm carrying enough caffeine in my system right now to wake a sedated buffalo...
(Pat I knew you'd appreciate this photo I found to illustrate your point! He looks kinda sedated, don't you think? TS)

I can't say it enough...respect respect respect for the people on our show who do this every day.
They make this show work. The overnight shifts end for me with this morning's show. Liz takes over tomorrow. I might as well leave her a hanging IV bag with coffee in it...

I think I'm like a lot of people, this week is one of the hardest of the year for me. I'm on a break after Friday for Christmas. A lack of sleep doesn't help the lack of focus I usually have this week.

To the news:


ICE News Conference
We expect to learn more about the raids that immigration and customs enforcement officers carried out in Marshalltown last week. I would expect an enterprising reporter to ask a few questions about the Governor's criticism of the way the raids were carried out. A U.S. Attorney is talking about arrests and charges at a press conference this afternoon.

Norwalk:
Another chapter in the drama surrounding the fire department in Norwalk. Tonight the City Council gets involved again after two more firefighters were demoted. The two were disciplined for not saying more about the action s of the old EMS chief. He was dismissed over allegations he mis-used drugs intended for medical treatment. This situation is starting to make an episode of Passions look more like the Brady Bunch...I haven't covered this story at all...but you get the feeling there's some infighting here that has more to do with personalities than anything else.

#2 speaks
Al-Qaeda's number 2 man released a video statement I thought was telling this morning. He basically told Palestinians that if they held elections, the Holy war was over...
Translated: Don't do it! Don't accept Democracy!
This would be the worst case scenario for Al-Qaeda. If people get to make their own decisions on who leads them...the leaders of Al-Qaeda don't get to do it for them.

Tis the Season
We've got some great stories this morning just in time for Christmas. A Des Moines family is getting help from police. The family lost it's home in a housefire, and during that fire a police officer had to go into the burning home to save the family's young son.
Well the police decided they didn't like the idea of the family being so down and out for the holidays. Third shift officers gathered presents and some cash to help the family get back on their feet. Say what you want about the Police Department (if you've had a run-in with them...you probably don't have a lot of nice things to say). For me, this is the reason police officers are at the top of my list of people to look up to.

Some High school kids also made some stockings to hang around the metro. The idea was to raise money for a young boy who has leukemia. They got a lot more than they bargained for. The community comes through with more than 13-thousand dollars...Presents, gift certificates....You get the idea. If you need a reason to think this is a great community to live in...There it is.

Jacobs Tape:
Only Mark Tauscheck could pull this story off so well. If you haven't seen it...go to the video section of this website right now...we'll wait.....
OK now that you've seen it, what an amazing series of events. It is so sad and so uplifting at the same time. I pray I'm never in that position...but if I am ever forced to deal with a tragedy like that in my life, I hope I can show the kind of grace Heather Jacobs is.
Watching this morning on the set we were all near tears. I can only speak to myself. The circumstances of Eric and Heather Jacobs, meeting, falling in love and building a life together are so similar to my own life, that it was hard not to become emotional. I know how I feel about my wife. We met at 13 and we've been a part of every major event in each other's lives since.
I don't even want to think about the heartbreak Heather Jacobs and her boys will have to deal with for the rest of their lives.

I'm done...Here's Trish.
Yes, I agree I was fighting the tears as we watched that story.
It's so eerie that he had such a vivid dream about dying young, so close to the time of his premature death.
It made me curious how many people have premonition dreams that actually come true? It's happened to me, but not of course in such a dramatic way. If anyone has stories to share, please do.

Iowa Kids Count
A big new report released today shows conditions for kids in many categories got worse over the past five years.. more are living in poverty, more are victims of neglect and abuse, more have unemployed parents. The director of the report came on our newscast just before 6am - he chalks up a lot of the problems to financial strain on families.
You can read more about it here if you're curious.
Some good signs were higher math and reading test scores, better HS graduation rates, and lower teen birth rates.

Santa Baby!
Loved this shot of my nephew Jackson! Such a little sweetie pie - I'm absolutely dying to hang out with him again this weekend!
I think I'll go home and count how many Christmas cards like this we got showing off our friends and family members' cute kids! Any of you guys getting inundated?
I save the kid-cards year to year, and it's fun to look back and see how much all the kids change. I only keep in loose touch with some of my old college friends, so the annual Christmas kids card is our one time a year to check in with each other!

Free Entertainment
I'll pass along this tip for those of you who like Christmas lights - check out the neighborhood on Ashby just off Beaver Ave.! (just north of the empty field where Rice Elementary used to sit) The whole neighborhood is glowing with unbelievable displays!
We've featured that wild Ankeny lights display in our newscast - anyone else want to point out a really spectacular neighborhood? Calvin has been asking me to take him out for a drive to see "all the crazy lights" almost every evening this week!
Have a good Wednesday!
Trisha

Pentagon Report, Marshalltown Meeting, and Vilsack on The Daily Show

Good Morning,
By the mercies of all things holy Trisha made it to work as did our producer Heather. As Heather said this morning...It's nice to be missed...both of the ladies were.

Pentagon Report
We began this morning with a bleak picture painted by the Pentagon in Iraq. The report on violence basically says that Iraq is a more violent and deadly place today than it was almost three years ago.

Vilsack in Marshalltown
The gov is going to Marshalltown today, his first visit there since the raid on the Swift plant. It will be interesting to see the reception he gets. Vilsack already had an appearance planned for today to campaign for president.

Vilsack On Comedy Central
I thought the Gov acquitted himself well on The Daily show with John Stewart. No matter your political views, you have to admit Vilsack is a smart guy. His smarts also make him quick witted which he needed last night. The best part about his appearance is that he didn't try to force it. He had some bad one liners that are par for the course on that show. He showed he can laugh at himself and that he can shift gears quickly from serious to fun. If you want to watch the whole thing...here's the link...here's part 2 We hear the Tonight Show may be next.
By the way, Vilsack is starting to get some press nationally.
political columnist David Broder, a frequent contributor on Meet the Press, writes about him today in his syndicated column.
I think I'd be shaking in my boots to go up against someone as witty and quick as Jon Stewart. There were a few kind of awkward moments, but for the most part I think our Gov. did well. I wonder if Stewart will take him any more seriously as a candidate now? -TS

Underage Extension
Des Moines City Council members moved forward on an ordinance allowing minors to stay in bars later than they can right now. The idea is to give kids more access to live shows. If there's an audience, bar owners think they can get more live events downtown, and...Well you get it...it benefits everyone. I even heard a city council member on the radio take up the argument that keeping kids in bars later would lead to LESS teen drinking. I'm not sure how that's going to work, but even if the only argument was more live music, I think it's a good attempt to make downtown more viable.
Here's a totally biased opinion and I'll admit it - I like the idea of letting young people stay out later to see live music, as long as they're checking ID's vigorously to prevent underage drinking! My husband is a musician, and of course it benefits him greatly to have an audience to play for! I've read a lot about young people's complaints that "Dead Moines" needs to revv up its music and bar scene, this seems to be at least a step in that direction.

No Smoking
apparently the City leadership wants to make sure you can't have a smoke on the way from the car to the skywalk. I am not quite sure who's going to enforce this one. I haven't seen a lot of police presence in the parking garages. I get the idea that you don't want people smoking indoors where I have to breathe the air...I am not sure I can sign on to tell people not to smoke at all. If that's your opinion...That's fine, but I guess I'm not for legislating what people can and can't do on their own time when there's no evidence it's hurting me. I hate to open up a can of worms, but what do you think?

First Lady Cancer Scare
I saw CNN.com make a big deal out of the fact that the first lady didn't announce that she'd had a tumor removed from her leg in November. She called it a , "private matter" and in this case, I'd tend to agree. Do we really have a right to know what's going on with the First Lady's health. Is it a matter of National Security? I understand why we all should be concerned about the President's health. In the case, however, of a common and curable form of cancer, I'm not sure the media has any right to get indignant with the First Lady's office about not making this public right away.
No one elected Mrs Bush and she has nearly as much right to her medical privacy as we do.

Miss USA
Let me first say how little I care about this story. If the girl who was selected in a beauty pageant wants to go nuts in the NY bars...Have at it. I'm not endorsing 20 year-old doing coke and dancing on tables, but really...We're worried this is the girl that kids are going to look up to?

On a list of all the people I'd want my kids to look up to...Miss USA isn't there and this is why. She hasn't done anything to distinguish herself as any sort of a role model.
In a day and age when 18 year-old men and women are signing up to fight for their country or distinguishing themselves and scholar athletes, or (here in Iowa) even running for local office...I have a hard time fitting the winner of the talent competition on my list of people to look up to.
So, thank you to Miss USA for making sure there's no doubt about it.
And before you fire off your responses about being in beauty pageants and how it's for scholarships and how these women really work hard at this stuff...I'm sure they do. I've met a lot of people who were in the pageants as kids and they had a great experience... I'm glad for them.
I work hard at my job. When I was a kid, I worked hard at hobbies(and that's what those talent are). I even wanted world peace or a cure for AIDS or to help the homeless. Those are the basics. Those are the things we want every kid to aspire to.
To get to the list of people we look up to...You have actually do something extraordinary. All she's done is get her name in the tabloids. If she really was the kind of young person we should be looking to as a future leader...She wouldn't have squandered the chance by putting herself in compromising positions that, at the very least, lead a reasonable person to question her judgment.
And the worst part of this is...that's five minutes of my life I'm never getting back...We've already spent too much time on it.

Home and a nap sound good to me...Trish will take you home from here...
PWD

OWWWWW...
I'm glad to be back to work today. Really and truly! I was in excruciating pain yesterday after turning my head wrong and feeling a muscle go - SNAP! I tend to do that at least once a year, at the worst-possible time! (sorry, Pat, to have abandoned you at a time of short-staffing!) I could hardly move until I got to the doc, got an injection of some anti-inflammatory stuff, and got some knock-you-out muscle relaxing pills! I'm still not great today, but WAY WAY better than yesterday!

A NEW OBSESSION TAKES OVER!

For those of you who found my son's zombie fixation funny, here's the latest one - we got him a little "Mr. Microphone" toy, and he's been singing along NON-STOP to a video of a rock band Ian used to play in. (Temple of Low Men - didn't know they still had a webpage until I just looked it up!) Calvin knows every word to the song "Not for Nothing," and he imitates every gesture the singer makes! He always asks us to turn the music up "totally loud."
"Not for Nothing" has been his favorite song since before birth. I went to watch the band perform while I was very pregnant with Cal, and he rocked so much during that song that I had to get away from the music because he was making me seasick!
Looking at this photo makes me remember how much I miss hearing this band play. It kind of fell apart soon after we moved to Des Moines...like a lot of long-distance relationships, it was too hard to keep things together when people moved apart.

BETTY CROCKER AT WORK

If you noticed any powdered sugar or chocolate on our mouths today, it's because I brought my annual pile of Christmas Cookies to work today! These little powdered sugar ones are my favorite - it's a secret family recipe, only kept secret because I'm embarassed by how simple it is! At least they sweetened people's mood a bit today!
See you all tomorrow!
Trish

Regents Search take 2, Mailing Monday, And...Was it Something I Said?

Good Morning.

Well, After a day off Friday, I got back to find our producer out sick (hope you're feeling better Heather), Our Meterologist has gone to the Night shift to fill in for ED(see you next year Jeriann), our reporter off to a day shift(hope you slept in Elizabeth), and My Co-anchor out sick (hope you feel better Trish). I hope they'll all be back soon, but around the holidays you never know where you're going to see any of us show up.


Search take 2:
The state board of Regents meets tonight to talk about how to form another search committee for the Next President of the University of Iowa. See past postings for my thoughts on this mess. I also thought David Yepsen's column from the weekend had some good thoughts.

Ankeny Decides...One or Two:
The Ankeny School Board may get a recommendation from it's facilities committee tonight on whether it should build another High School. Ankeny is growing as fast, if not faster, than any other Des Moines suburb so this question is going to come up, but it's funny, when you start talking about a new facility people get a little territorial. First about their own kid. Behind someone's argument for or against the new building will be some parent's wish that little Bobby play more on the football team ...or some parent's worry that little Johnny won't be on as good a team if you dilute the talent pool with two schools.
Then there will be the people who will be angry if they're left in the "old" building while their neighbors get a shiny new facility.
Any way you slice it there will be people on both sides of the "new building" debate with motives and reasoning that has nothing to do with the real question...do we have so many kids that we need a new building?

VILSAAAACK
The governor goes on Comedy Central's The Daily Show to talk with John Stewart. This is a big risk for Vilsack, who, is funnier than you might expect. Stewart has been relentless making fun of our Gov. Every time he uses Vilsack's name...The AFLAC duck waddles out on to the screen and says Vilsaaack! Showing he's able to laugh at himself could be a big boost in front of a national audience for the longshot presidential candidate. It could also backfire. Trying to look like a normal guy has been the death of more than one presidential candidate...Ask Gary Bauer (pancake flipping incident) and Alan Keys (body surfing in a crowd).


Mt Hood Search
Search crews found one of three climbers missing since last week dead in a snow cave Sunday. It looks bleak for the other two climbers, but the search continues today.

Mailing Monday:
Boy, am I glad we got our Christmas cards finished over the weekend...you couldn't pay me to go near the Post office today. It's the busiest mailing day of the year.

Long Weekend:
We got a lot done on our long weekend. I told you last week that we went out to dinner Thursday night. We met some great people and had a good time with some old friends as well. I was wrong about the place for dinner. JT's was this little farmhouse where the owner just comes in and cooks you dinner. No joke. It like you were invited over for a casual dinner. I recommend you get your plans made. We looked at the guest book. This lady is booked out through 2007. It's worth the wait.

For the group assembled at JT's that night we learned: conversation is not a lost art...Food 4 Less....Mailbox Mailbox...Mailbox...Sunday only...
Bill?.

I guess you had to be there.

PWD

ICE raids, DNR Lodge Reservations, Warm Winter!

Good morning, all!
It's Trisha today.
If you caught the newscast this morning, Elizabeth did a nice job filling in for Pat who's taking a vaca day (must be nice to sleep in, Pat!)
Jeriann is still fighting a nagging cold but she made it in today to share another warm & sunny forecast!

Before I get going, here's one thought about yesterday's comments on the blog - Please, bloggers, keep your comments clean and tasteful! We hate to edit anyone's comments out, but unfortunately when they cross the line of things that sound like sexual harassment, profanity, or over-the-top ugliness, we do reserve the right to remove stuff, which we did in yesterday's posts.
*Some of the comebacks were really funny, by the way, but they didn't make sense without the tasteless stuff that preceeded them, so some of those witty remarks are no longer there. :(

Now to the good stuff!! News of the day:
Immigration Meeting
State officials are holding a town hall meeting tonight for people in Marshalltown affected by the Swift Raids. 6:30, St. Mary's Church. There are a lot of people who've lost breadwinners and are looking to find out what kind of state assistance they have access to, and what legal rights they and their loved ones have. All those questions should be answered there tonight.

We're always concerned about balance around here. Yesterday there was a vigil and lots of coverage of people concerned about the rights of the detained immigrants. We also heard similar concerns from Sen. Harkin and Gov. Vilsack. But there are also plenty of people, including Congressman Boswell and Sen. Grassley who see the raids as necessary and well-executed.
In the interest of balance, here's where you can read ICE's statement about the Swift raids.

RESERVE A LODGE!
This is pretty cool - the DNR is starting online reservations today at 9am for lodges like this. They're apparently very popular for weddings and big gatherings. We had a State Parks guy on live with us this morning demonstrating how the new reservations system will work. They say they think today will be a very busy day, with brides-to-be snatching up the big weekends! (Campsites and cabins have been available thru online reservations for the past year and that's been working well according to the DNR)
Here's the link - use it after 9am if you're interested in the lodges.

Senator Johnson Update
Signs of hope today for that sick Senator from SD. His wife says he's responded to her after his brain surgery for a hemmorhage. Docs say no further surgery is needed. Everyone's watching him because if he has to give up his seat in the Senate the Republican gov. will choose his replacement, which could shift the power back to the GOP when the new Congress begins in a few weeks. (It's a 51-49 D-R split with Johnson in).

Happy Hanukkah!
The festival of lights starts tonight. Aren't menorah's beautiful? I'm guessing that Macabbee's Deli on Polk Blvd. is doing their annual menorah lighting tonight - a cool event. Calvin is still very interested in the dreidel at his school - he showed me how fast he can spin it. I still haven't picked one up for him but I will if I see one out shopping this weekend.


The award for most bizarre news story goes to....
World's tallest man tapped to save sick dolphin. You have to read this one to believe it. Thank goodness I didn't have to read this script cold on the air - I knew it was coming. Otherwise I'd have thought our producer was playing a practical joke!

Holy Aerosol...
Here's a shot of Liz showing off our dueling cans of hair spray! We laughed this morning when we noticed the two were side by side on the little table we have hidden behind the news desk, along with our lipsticks and coffee cups. Something you don't see when Pat's anchoring - I don't think he uses "Big Sexy Hair".



Winter Wonderland

It was so warm yesterday! My kids and I played out in the yard just like it was springtime again! (Clara likes to wave "hi" to the camera)
Calvin is still dying for snow, but if you can't get that, might as well get near-60 degree days!


Thanks for watching and reading, everyone!
This weekend I'm planning to stop by a WHO Christmas party (hooray! a night out!) and get lots of Christmas errands done, and cookies baked! (The crew at the TV station counts on my annual Christmas cookies to binge on)

Have a great weekend!
Trisha

Camp Dodge Houses Arrested Immigrants, Teen Dating Safety advice, Cheap but Nice Christmas Gifts

Good morning!
It's Trisha - my head is spinning a bit since I had to get in extra early this morning to help write the newscast. We're a little short-handed lately so we all have to pitch in and help out. I hope I made sense on the air!
Thank You Thank You Thank You Trish...It made sense...and I liked getting an extra hour or two of sleep.

Here are a few of the big stories of the day:

CAMP DODGE HOUSES IMMIGRANTS
I was surprised to hear that the National Guard HQ in Johnston is being used as a processing facility for immigrants arrested in the Swift raids Tuesday. A woman being released told us she estimates about a thousand people are being held there - many from other states.
Governor Vilsack says he's disappointed with the way the raids happened. He says the people who were arrested should have immediate access to family members so they can set up child care, and access to lawyers. It sounds like they have to get through processing before they'll be allowed that kind of access. I do hope that they're being treated with respect and decency - even if they broke the law. No need to be heavy-handed with people once they're already in custody, unless they're causing problems.
It's Pat now, I'll preempt the emails now from everyone telling us we're only telling one side of this story. I guess I'd counter by saying...The other side of the story is that these people were arrested. They're going to be deported.
We had reaction (most of it in favor if the action against the illegal workers) from our congressional delegation, and I say again...They were arrested!
I'll also say again that this isn't as easy as one side or the other. I hope this starts a debate in Iowa about how businesses like Swift deal with a shortage of workers, and how we as a state help make sure they're hiring people who are supposed to be there.

To the complaint that "these people should have just come in through the regular system": we answered that in a short story this morning with an immigration lawyer. The process takes five years.
When you apply for a job did the employer want you there in two weeks or did they say...It's ok be here anytime in the next five years.
I know, I know...that's the system. It is, but you can't dismiss the fact that the system doesn't meet the demand of the workforce.
The question in the months to come is how to get people here legally, with the proper immigration checks, and get them to the jobs. There are ways to do it.


BALANCE OF POWER
How strange that a SD senator's illness could flip the balance of power? Senator Tim Johnson was in critical condition as of this morning after suffering stroke-like symptoms and going through overnight surgery. The governor - a Republican - gets to choose a successor if Johnson has to leave his post for medical reasons. IF he appoints a Republican, the Senate will be split 50-50 with the GOP VP Dick Cheney getting the tie-breaking vote.
We got an update from Reuters:

The source familiar with the situation said doctors told Johnson's family that there was a cluster of blood vessels in the brain that were bleeding and it was uncertain how long it would take the senator to recover.
The source quoted hospital officials as telling Johnson's family and friends that the senator is in "critical but stable condition."

TEEN DATING VIOLENCE/SEXUAL ASSAULT
Here's a link as promised on Choose Respect - a CDC educational program to help teens avoid dating violence and unhealthy relationships.
This is a topic I plan to hammer home with my kids when they're teenagers! I think so many teens are naive and so caught up in their first love, that they can't see when a relationship is unhealthy (controlling, consuming, etc.)
The reason this topic came up today is a Youth Violence conference going on at Grandview today. We had a live guest talking about sexual assault and teens - most kids get into danger within the context of a relationship or friendship. She said the biggest warning signs are a "controlling" personality who cuts you off from your friends and activities. She also told us many girls who are slapped by their boyfriends don't see that as a serious warning sign of abuse. They need a wake-up call - it's not okay to get hit by someone who claims they care about you!

CHEAP BUT NICE CHRISTMAS GIFTS?
Okay bloggers, here's your chance to share your creative ideas!!! Our "Happier Holidays" tip of the day was don't feel guilty if you can't afford gifts that match the monetary value of things you receive from loved ones. I know there's no way I can even come close to matching what my in-laws and even some of our siblings spend on gifts. So I've gone to great lengths this year to be creative and come up with cool, meaningful gifts that were more labor-intensive than expensive!

I can't blog about one of them since I'm worried family members who are getting the gift will read this.. but here's one I can show you that I showed on the air today...Hand-made jewelry! Someone I know is way into making these things and taught me how to do it. If I had more time I'd get addicted - I've always been a sucker for pretty, shiny things, and it's really fun to get to put them together exactly to your taste! I hope these gifts will go over well with my sisters-in-law!
One hint - if you try this at home - don't bring a small child into a bead store. Bad idea. Lots of tears about pretty things she couldn't touch.

\

Pat again and I'll take the other side of the inexpensive gift issue. I guess I feel like big or small expensive or inexpensive you've got to feel good about the gifts you give. My A-#1 concern for gifts is...are they considerate. No matter that they cost...If they show some thought you're good to go.

I like Trisha's ideas and I have to say...I love receiving these thoughtful gifts that take more time...and usually more effort than store bought stuff.

I have to say though, I'm not in favor of tailoring my gift giving to others.

If I am feeling the Christmas Spirit and I want to give an expensive gift...I hope no one would have a problem with it.

To quote Col. Nathan Jessup from A Few Good Men: "I'd rather you just said thank you and went about your business."

I don't eat breakfast 5000 yards from a bunch of Cubans trained to kill me, but I do make a good living. If I'd like to show some appreciation to my family for their patience and graciousness in all the years they had to smile when they opened a $2 pair of socks or the aluminum squirel ash tray from you're truly...Let me do it!

Here's the catch: If you give generously, you can't expect anything.

I love my family, I love my friends. I don't care if a search under the tree reveals nothing for me. I'm blessed with some success in my life and I'd like to give back to the people who helped with that success.

Plus, Christmas is supposed to be about what you can give...not what you receive. Nothing makes me happier than watching Sally try to figure out what I am getting her. I like it even better when I can come up with something she's mentioned that year in passing, or something I've found that reminds me of her. It's the gift that makes her face light up...and that's the best part of Christmas morning for me.

See you all tomorrow - Liz will be sitting in for Patrick, and who knows who will be in the weather chair since Jeriann was out sick today (poor thing sounds awful!) It should be a break from the norm!

I'll take that in the spirit it was intended...(just kidding she's sleep deprived folks).

Sal and I are both taking the day tomorrow because we have a great opportunity to go out to dinner with some friends tonight. There are few things I enjoy more than a good meal and good conversation with smart people. I think I'm going to get a lot of both tonight at a place called JT's in Newton.

We are taking the day off tomorrow for reasons that should be obvious to all the adults in bloggerland who like to imbibe with friends on a semi-regular basis. We'll see ya next week.

Trisha and Pat

Marshalltown Raids, Edmunds staying open? Save money on wrinkle cream!

Good morning!
It's Trisha getting things started.
We're pretty busy in the newsroom so I'll keep it short and to the point.

IMMIGRATION RAIDS
Federal immigration officials are planning a news conference in Washington D.C. today to tell us more about yesterday's immigration raids at Swift and Company plants, including the one in Marshalltown. Elizabeth Klinge was the first TV reporter there yesterday when agents surrounded the plant, questioned workers, and arrested many of them on suspicion of using false documents. It was interesting to hear from her this morning - she explained that many of the workers' families and friends gathered outside the plant were having their own debates about immigration. She says some shared the viewpoint that if you broke the law, you pay the price. Others say their concern is about the children of the workers - others say this is evidence the whole immigration system is broken.
One man we interviewed talked about the lack of work in Mexico, hinting at the desperation for families there to find a better life for their families, even if it means breaking US law. My personal wish - that Mexico would find a way to improve its own situation so its normally law-abiding and hard-working citizens wouldn't be driven to take such a huge risk and break laws in order to survive economically. A very sad situation.

It's Pat now I like the points that Trish made, but no matter how hard we try to play this one down the middle someone's going to fire off an email telling us we're heartless republican capitalists because we don't care about these people as human beings at all, or that we're bleeding heart liberals because we didn't emphasize the fact that these people broke the law, and that none of this would be happening if they'd just come here illegally.
A few observations:

1. There are people here illegally, and the raid yesterday likely did deal with some of those people. No matter what side of this debate you are on...the people here illegally DID break the law. There is no debating that, they did.
2. Some of the people who were arrested really are good people. Since they came to the US they've have never broken a law or caused a problem in their community. They just want to be here to work and provide for their families. Talk to a lot of people in Marshalltown and they'll tell you that. If we're talking economics, the town has gained a lot because of the immigrant population...legal and illegal.
3. There are kids that are legal US citizens because they were born here...now Mom and Dad are going back to Mexico. Trish is right, that's just sad.
4. No one has the high ground here. This situation may not be complicated in your viewpoint...but it sure is a tangled mess. Enforcement is one arm of a solution, dealing with the population that's already here is another and don't even get me started on how all of this will effect the price of that pork loin you like so much next time you hit the store. everyone needs to come out of their ideological corner and understand theirs is not the only viewpoint.

One more thing. I was on the phone with a guy once who was telling me these people were taking away jobs from him. I offered to take him up to the swift plant to get a job. He declined and said he didn't want to work there...It was just the principal of the thing. The jobs are there and I just have a hard time believing that these companies are going to turn away an able body. It's not like people are knocking down doors to get these jobs. In fact, anyone who believes that the undocumented workers took their jobs away....I think Swift is hiring today.

Buying time for Edmunds:

School board member Teree Caldwell-Johnson made a phone appearance in our newscast to talk about Edmunds Academy of Fine Arts. The board last night talked about Supt. Nancy Sebring's request that the closure of Edmunds be postponed a year to talk about more options. Teree is CEO of the Oakridge neighborhood which is right next door to Edmunds, and says she's encouraged by this move. You can read more about it here:

Register article
School District Website info

No confidence again:

The U of I faculty voted "yes" to that no confidence measure against the Board of Regents yesterday. Today, grad students and a staff group will vote on a similar measure. Seems no one is happy with the so-far unproductive search for a president.

Cheap wrinkle cream just as good

I tend to trust Consumer Reports, and it found that cheap drug store wrinkle cream is just as good as the expensive stuff! That said, none of the stuff - even the best they found - really does a whole lot. About a 10 percent improvement.

Olay Regenerist got the best marks. Does anyone out there use it? What do you think? I'm starting to fight the crows feet that run in my family... at least I can say I get them from smiling, not frowning!

GRAY CHRISTMAS?

With warm temperatures sticking around, Jeriann is NOT predicting a white Christmas. Not good news for my son Calvin is DYING for snow.

Yesterday I had to break some more bad news to him - the snow that fell at Grandma and Grandpa's house near Chicago a few weeks ago is melting away! When I told him yesterday he looked like he was going to cry. Cal has been saying he's excited to go to their house for Christmas, because "lots of snow came to their house, not to Des Moines!"

He tells me he wants to lay down in the snow and make a snow angel. Jeriann and Pat say I should have him do what that kid in a TV commercial does - lay down in the middle of his messy room and make an "angel" out of all the toys!

Have a good Weds, everyone! I get the privilege of showing up extra early tomorrow to help produce the newscast, as Pat has been doing this week. Who needs sleep, anyway?

Indeed. It's always easier being the one coming off of that overnight shift than it is being the one going into it. To answer a bloggers question from yesterday: Yes Trish, Liz and I are splitting the duties usually assigned to our Associate producer. That means we'll come in about one and help write more of the show than we usually do. We're short a producer right now so it's just temporary.

It 's a nice reminder that there are people who do it on a regular basis...Our associate producers are hard workers who show their commitment just by showing up. I'm glad to see some of them have moved on to produce some of our other newscasts, and brought the same commitment. It makes me even happier to talk to a few of them in other cities who've gone on to much bigger things.

I got even less sleep last night because the dirty little secret of my family's TV viewing habits was on last night. I am officially a fan of Friday Night Lights. It's a little like Dynasty for teenagers but hey, we all need a little captain Crunch for the brain every once in a while.

I was in bed by eight. Four hours is enough to work on if it's a short stint.

One other funny thing, and again...I remind our bloggers that I walk right up to the line of being one of those crazy PETCO people without actually stepping over the line.

We were making dinner last night and when we were finished we turned the stove off. I went back into the kitchen for something and found this:

The cat was sitting on the stove. I think she's cold. Then we went upstairs and went to sleep. I get up in the middle of the night and there she is on our new dish receiver...it puts out quite a bit more heat than the old one...I think the cat is lobbying for a little more juice in the furnace. You've got a fur coat...deal with it.

I'm going home to crawl under the covers...

PWD and Trish

Iraq Violence, 4th Ward Primary, and Cal wants a dreidel...

Good Morning,

Violence in Iraq
Twin suicide car bombings just outside the Green Zone in Iraq dominated overnight headlines from around the world. This attack targeted day laborers trying to get jobs. This is the kind of attack that is nearly impossible to defend against when you're trying to foster an open society. How do you stop two guys in two cars with a bunch of explosives?
If you're just an Iraqi trying to make a buck and you have to worry about dying standing in line...This would be the disheartening event that, I would think, leads to the kind of bitterness and anger the people who don't want free government are looking for.
I'll say again, how do you counter that? More troops? Not sure that would make a difference in this case. And how anxious do you think the Iraqi people are going to be to join a police force or an army while they're living through all of this. That makes it harder for the US to leave and leads to the kind of cycle critics worried about in the first place in Iraq.

Regents Flap Continues
I was glad to hear Sheldon Kurtz say he has the highest respect for Michael Gartner and the rest of the Regents this morning on our show. It was a classy way to lead off the interview and an important point to keep in mind. These people may disagree about the best course for choosing a new President of the University...but they don't have to get ugly about it.
Having said that...the next thing out of Sheldon Kurtz's mouth was that he wants Michael Gartner out as President. A vote of no confidence against the Regents is scheduled today for University staff.
I agree, Pat, it was classy of Sheldon to start off complimenting Gartner's integrity. It always makes me nervous when I begin a live interview with a question and the interviewee says, "Well, let me start off by saying..." because that usually means they're changing the subject! But I thought he did a good job getting back to the focus, and answer the question of why the faculty is so unhappy with the Regents.
I always like when we can have the major players in a big news story of the day join us for a LIVE discussion that's unscripted and unedited! It makes for interesting television! (It does take some juggling to get this stuff planned - yesterday after a game of phone tag I finally got ahold of Sheldon while I was in my car waiting to pick up my son at preschool!) Just goes to prove that the work doesn't stop when we go off the air!
Trish

Vilsack in the Sunshine State
I was a little surprised to see how much coverage Governor Vilsack's early trip to Florida got in both the Florida press and in the National media. Vilsack's portion of a nightly news story was significant. That's not taking anything away from the Gov. I think he'll do a lot better than most Iowans think he will on the national stage, and once he gets into the mix...Who knows?

Primary Focus
There's a primary election in ward four of Des Moines today. There are eight people running for the right to be one of two candidates in a January run-off. Ironic that one of the polling places...is the Archie Brooks community center. The former councilman resigned under pressure for his role in the CIETC salary scandal.

Alzheimer's Test?
Researchers think they've isolated a number of proteins in a patients spinal fluid that indicate, or are a "fingerprint" for Alzheimer's. Right now the only definitive diagnosis of Alzheimer's comes from autopsy. This might help develop a reliable test for people at risk to see if they are going to develop Alzheimer's.

I'm on my way back to bed. One more night of the overnight shift then it's Liz's turn.

Have a good one:
PWD
It's Trisha again. I'm impressed Pat! You had a lot to contribute considering you're a walking zombie!

Merry Christmas, Baby!
Yes, I'm on an Elvis kick again! Watch for my fabulous Elvis ornament (that Pat gave me last Christmas) to make a cameo in a new holiday promotional ad for our news team! (Promo gal Melissa was going around shooting video today) I had to seriously clean off my desk to make it even marginally presentable for the camera!

Wide-mouthed with wonder
I know most kids get wide-eyed, but my Clara tends to let her jaw drop any time she's really enthralled with something! Here's a shot I caught of her yesterday - bouncing around in her striped shawl to the song Ian wrote for her first birthday! She absolutely loves it! Of course since Daddy's a drummer there's a good beat, and he sings her name a lot. I think she feels very important to be the subject of a song. Who wouldn't?

Crafty Christmas
I can't give away too much since I know quite a few of my family members check this blog, but I've been very busy getting some creative Christmas gifts put together! This afternoon I'm getting together with someone much more talented than I am so she can teach me how to make some very cool gifts... I've never considered myself artistically gifted, so I hope she's a good teacher!

Dreidel, dreidel, dreidel
Before I go - Calvin has been studying up on Hannukah at school (as well as Christmas and Kwanzaa) and yesterday he told me he wants a dreidel. Any good ideas on where to find an inexpensive one? Is it considred tacky or disrespectful in any way to get one if you're not Jewish?

Happy Tuesday!
Trisha

Iraq Shake -up, happier Holidays and Smoke em if You Got Em...

Good morning.

As a holiday scheduling present I'm working a little more of the overnight shift this week, so I'm keepin it short and going to get some sleep.


Al Maliki Government
This morning we're getting word out of Iraq that the coalition government led my Nuri Al-Maliki may be breaking up. Some members of Al-Maliki's coalition party are reportedly plotting to out him. This is (pardon the expression), a foreign concept for us in the US. We've got the Dems and the Republicans. Think of the Iraqi ruling coalition like throwing the green party, some libertarians, a few federalists and a whig or two into the mix. None of them have a majority needed to control the parliament, so they have to form a government made up of the smaller pieces. It's held together by bubble gum and duct tape...Fragile is putting it lightly. The question is...Once the coalition falls apart, if it falls apart, what, and who's next?

Discovery Gets to Work
Looks good for Space shuttle Discovery. It will dock with the international Space Station today. Then Tim the Toolman goes to work rewiring the place. Seriously, no problems with chunks of foam falling off the fuel tank during liftoff. That's good news for NASA.

Happier Holidays
This is one of Trisha's great ideas. She talked to someone about managing the stress of the holidays. Good suggestion today. Buy something for yourself while you're out shopping. Think of it as a treat to make the day more enjoyable. I love walking around the mall at Christmas time with a peppermint Mocha. I know... I know... I can already hear the chants of Cooooffee Snoooooob! Hey I like what I like. Anyway, the guy says just don't go overboard. Money is the big X factor for stress and the holidays.
I love the idea of working in more "treats". The other day out shopping I picked up some scented lotion for myself - and a bag of Christmas chocolates! I have to hide them, of course, or Calvin would inhale them all at once!
I'm stressing about getting all the gifts out to Ian's Canadian relatives in time for the shipping deadlines. Funny how he doesn't seem to worry about it nearly as much as I do!

Happy Holidays
I don't mean to stick my head into the proverbial lion's mouth here, but Jeriann told me we got a lot of phone calls after she "tongue and cheek" corrected Jerry Kluver when he said Merry Christmas on his gardening segment this weekend. She told him a more politically correct phrase might be Happy Holidays.
Either way I don't really care.
It's not like you're telling someone to go take a hike with Happy Holidays. There's a big segment of people out there who take offense...like someone is trying to take away Christmas...or secularism Christmas.
In the same way some people get bent out of shape if you say Merry Christmas. Really...good tidings to you and your kin is offensive now?
How about taking each for what they're worth? No matter what your beliefs, and no matter how someone wishes you the best of the season...They are wishing you THE BEST!
Take a step back from the ideological ledge and realize it's just someone trying to say they hope your life is filled with wonder, and family and friendship and joy. How can you be against that, no matter how someone says it?
I agree - I'll take whatever nice greeting someone gives me!

St Louis
Had a great time in St Louis this weekend with friends and family. I ate Bison Stew at a place called Shlafley's brewery. Good beer, good stew. We heard a great concert(though I am bummed I missed Trisha's concert). The Ambassador's of Harmony put us all in the spirit of the season as usual.

Must...Get ....Sleep....
PWD

I'm feeling a bit wiped out too! We had a really great but really busy weekend!!! More on that in a second -
I have one news item to comment on...
SMOKE EM IF YOU GOT EM
This was stunning to me - a study found nearly half of people who had surgery for lung cancer started smoking again within a year! Is this a statement on the addictiveness of nicotine, or people's stubbornness? I can't imaging having a black spot removed from my lung, looking cancer in the face, and then lighting up again. But then, I'm a non-smoker. It's hard to imagine...

NOW TO THE FUN STUFF! My choir's Christmas concert went well Saturday night (The Des Moines Choral Society). We had a packed audience, and a standing ovation - so nice! What more can you ask for?
Ian, two of our close friends, and my parents were all there. Cal even came to the final rehearsal the night before to check it out. Since he's always "rocking out" to daddy's rock music, I thought he should get a taste of classical too!

PEEL AND STICK!

Whenever my parents come to visit, our house ends up looking 100x better when they leave! This time, our home improvement project of choice was re-doing the basement laundry room! Some peel and stick tiles worked magic on the dungeon floor - some paint, curtains, lighting, and a few minor touch-ups made it a room I'd actually let my kids play in now! Before, I even shuddered to let the dirty clothes hit the floor.
I told my dad he should audition to be a handyman on one of those home makeover type of shows!

While we were all working on that room, my mom cleaned out closets, entertained kids, located some of Cal's long-lost toys - including his beloved Spiderman slipper that had walked away somehow and wedged itself under the TV armoire!

Mom also did every piece of laundry she could find. Yes - I know how lucky I am!

Baaaah!

My parents also never show up empty-handed. The kids bank on this. This time, my parents brought a kids' nativity set with parts that are impossible to break! Baby Jesus wound up under the Christmas tree a few times, and we promptly lost one of the three wise men (who turned up later in a bin of play-doh cans).
Everyone got a kick out of telling Clara to "go get the baaaaah!" She'd go toddling over to the scene and pick out the lamb, AND the little shepherd boy holding a lamb. Very thorough, I thought. Her "baaah" is pretty convincing as far as animal sounds go - much better than her "meow" which comes out like an angry croak.

Happy Monday, everyone! 2 weeks until Christmas!
Trish