Women take over the news desk, Property Taxes, and Taking off Baby Weight

Good morning!
Pat's in the Windy City, and the women took over!



I was really glad to have Elizabeth Klinge help me out on the anchor desk this morning - it's not easy reading all that news by myself!
I'm curious what you all think of an all-female news team?? (except for Traffic Man Brad!)
Before I worked here I anchored an all-women newscast in Champaign, Illinois, and viewers seemed to dig it.

Here are a few of our big stories today -

PROPERTY TAX DEADLINE
Hate standing in line? This is expected to be one of the busiest days of the year at the Polk County Treasurer's office - property taxes are due Monday!
As promised, here's a link where you can pay your property taxes in Polk county online. THERE IS A SERVICE FEE FOR THIS! It depends on the amount of your taxes.
Also - if you're a new homeowner, don't be confused! If you pay your taxes through your mortgage (an esgrow account) you don't have to do anything at the treasurer's office! Here's a link to frequently asked questions - I found this pretty helpful.

POLITICIANS ON PARADE

Everyone wants a piece of Iowa! New York Gov. George Pataki, Indiana Sen. Even Bayh, and Illinois Sen. Barack Obama are all hitting Iowa this weekend - and John Kerry comes to ISU Monday.

What is it about Obama, anyway? He's got CHARISMA with a capital "C" - people go nuts over him! Something about his demeanor is really appealing, and impressive (and his family story is intriguing too)

STRANDED UNDER ATTACK?

Video tape of an attack on a civilian truck convoy in Iraq offers evidence that soldiers protecting the civilians abandoned them during an attack. One of them was an Iowan from Jefferson, who was shot to death. The military says policies have now changed. That's probably small confort to the victim's family.


BABY WEIGHT

New reason to get rid of your baby weight (besides wanting to fit in your skinny jeans again!) A medical study finds moms who gain as little as 7 pounds between pregnancies, increase their risk of complications in their next pregnancy!
How about you moms out there - was it hard losing the baby weight? I know I'll invite plenty of hate mail for this, but I actually weigh less now than before getting pregnant (with either of my kids). I really think the breastfeeding helped me lose the weight, but the biggest factor - I'M TOO DARNED BUSY TO EAT!

GETTING RICH!

Who doesn't want to be rich?? Apparently we women are more likely to make excuses about not taking charge of our finances! This morning I did a live interview with NBC Today Show Financial expert Jean Chatzky (I really like her!)

She has a new book out giving women motivation and help overcoming financial fears, and showing you how to manage your money and build wealth. I was sad to discover I've already made some pretty dumb money mistakes - but I feel better knowing she made plenty of her own too! I think she offers some really good, practical, easy-to-understand advice.

SORRY, BRAD!!

Darnit, I knew I'd forget!! Today I mentioned on the air that I'd take a new photo of Brad Ehrlich to put on the blog - someone commented yesterday that our picture of him looks weird, and he agrees - he hates that shot! But I let him leave today without getting the new picture - I'll have to pin him down next week.

BEHIND THE SCENES

Since lots of you have said you enjoy glimpses behind the scenes here, I thought I'd introduce you to a working Channel 13 mom you never see on the air! Melissa works in our promotions department - the other day she and I went to the East Village to shoot a promotional spot.

Her baby boy Grant is 6 months old, and she says she feels really lucky to work for someone who allows her to fit in parent duties when needed! We had a good time trading baby stories... I think it's SO helpful to have co-workers in the same boat!

FINALLY FRIDAY!!

So glad the weekend is here! Jeriann's going to Wisconsin for a huge Oktoberfest party, Pat is visiting family in the Chicago area, and I'll be hanging around DM with my kids, looking for ways to keep them busy!

I also have a few things to get ready for Clara's first birthday on Tuesday. Cal has already been wearing the party hats I got for the tiny party we're planning for her! I don't think he'll care WHOSE birthday it is, as long as there are cupcakes, kids, and party hats!

Have a great weekend - see you all Monday!

Trish

ADHD Moms, Grinnell Student Suicidal? And Pat gets a Wake-up Call

Good morning! It's Trisha getting things started...

EARTHPARK ANNOUNCEMENT
Our big story - Earthpark announces its location today! Will it be Pella or Riverside? Watch for the announcement live at 12:30 during our noon newscast. A rainforest, aquarium, prairie, wetlands, and theatre are all part of the plan.
What do you think - will it draw a million visitors a year like the organizers believe?
Pat here....I get to write in funny colors today! If you are like the guy who emailed us after the show and are asking, "do we really need this earthpark?" The answer is yes and no. I'll raise a few points and pose a few questions that I hope will frame the debate a little better.
First, to understand earthpark...You have to understand the Eden Project. It's in England. About an hour off the nearest four lane highway, more than five million people visited this thing in three years since it's opening. I think even critics have to acknowledge there's some interest in this kind of an attraction.
Second, I think you can't ask yourself, do we need this. The answer is obviously no. Do we Need an Arena? Do we NEED a library, Do we NEED the World Food Prize Center? This is an example of Iowa finding something that would be unique in the entire country. If we are looking to attract people from outside the state, bringing in tourist dollars and much needed industry for the state of Iowa, aren't we going to have to take a chance on something that hasn't been tried? The organizers of Earthpark say we're a "flyover". Ask yourself: If you live in Chicago Minneapolis or Kansas City, Why would you come to Iowa? If your answer is..."I wouldn't" you've proven the argument that we need something like this. It is, undoubtedly, a risk. There are millions of people who visit Iowa every year. They're I-80 and I-35 tourists who never stop here. Shouldn't we tap into some of those people?

Lastly, There are more than a few studies showing we are doing a poor job of training our children in the sciences. Wouldn't this project be a way of drawing attention to, and even inspiring a few environmental scientists, engineers and biologists? How important is education to the state of Iowa? Is it worth building this place that could become a center of research and experimentation in the US, even if no tourist ever walks through the door? I bet a few of you laughed when they put the Great Ape Trust up in Des Moines. I don't think people in that field of research are laughing. I think they're happy to have a unique place to conduct research. If you told them they were going to have to go to the middle of Wyoming to do it...I think they'd still come.
Let me be clear. I have questions about the viability of the project, but as Governor Vilsack reminds us a lot, Iowans need to stop thinking small and start bragging about this state. It's got a lot to offer.


PHOTOS FROM MARS
Check out the NASA Mars Rover photos here! Will they prove there was life on Mars?
As long and I'm being altruistic...Isn't it cool that somebody, years ago, decided, " we should send a probe to Mars", thought up a way to do it, and then convinced other people it was possible? The time and imagination it takes to think on such a grand scale is inspiring. Talk about thinking big.

STILL MISSING
The search continues for the student missing from Grinnell College - the number to call if you want to help is:
641-269-4600
The Register is reporting he left a suicide note. Police only say he was "despondent." Whatever happened, it's heartbreaking to think of what his family and friends must be going through.
I got a call from my brother who works for one of the news organizations in Chicago yesterday. This is big news in Chicago too. He didn't have too many details on the young man involved here.

WHAT'S THAT SMELL?
In Valley Junction they're cutting down some female Gingko trees on 5th. Apparently these things produce a fruit with a smell somewhere between vomit and a "wet dog rolled in cheese". Store owners are happy to see them go. Maybe they should ask Kluver next time they plant trees.


MOMS ON RITALIN



I wanted to put up this link to a story about parents - especially moms - taking ADHD drugs along with their kids. Really interesting theories about WHY moms feel they need the drugs...
some theorize we're torn in too many directions, and that's why we feel disorganized and frantic! I can relate.




KIDS ARE WEIRD!
At the same time, being a parent really helps me keep my sense of humor. Example - Can you guess what's in this bowl?
Not some strange appetizer - sticky slimy eyeballs!! My son's new fascination. As my husband predicted, they're turning up in lots of creepy places.
I went to get into bed the other day, and there were two eyes staring up at me from under the covers. Totally freaky. Totally gross. Totally hilarious.

LATE NIGHT PARTY GIRLS!

Do you remember this face??? Brooke Bouma - my predecessor on "Today in Iowa," was out with me at an event for the radio station Star 102.5 last night! (Brooke is in real estate instead of TV nowadays, very happy to be getting normal sleep hours!)
The radio team invited several of us WHO'ers to WALK A RUNWAY and model purses at a party last night. It's part of a promotional thing for their listeners. Erin, Sonya, Jannay, Lynn and I all got invited to strut our stuff on the runway (really kind of intimidating!) along with some VIP's from the community.

But the show-stealer of the night was ANDY FALES - brave enough to walk the runway modeling a HOT PINK purse. It was precious. (sorry the photos are grainy - it was pretty dark inside the Embassy Club at 801 Grand!)
We got free wine and chocolate out of the deal, and a chance to mingle with fun people. It reminded me I need to get out more, even if it's very hard waking up so early the next morning!
Speaking of HAVING A HARD TIME WAKING UP....



WAKE UP, PATRICK!!!

Pat says he owes me one today! He overslept - I called and woke him up at 3:40 am. He says without the call he'd have snoozed through the show! Glad he made it here!
Trish
I write in red this morning because I am embarrassed. Best I can tell, I mistakenly turned off my alarm when the cat woke me up at 12:30 doing her impression of an Italian Aria (go ahead listen to it). Anyway, Trish saved my posterior by waking my up at 3:38. That's an hour and a half later than I usually get up.
Thankfully I have co-workers who notice when I'm missing. They did a fantastic job getting the show together and I was NO HELP this morning. Isn't it amazing what that adrenaline rush can do for you when you realize you're late? I was in the newsroom by 4:08. So if I looked a little less than prepared. You now see why, and I owe Trisha bigtime!

Have a good weekend.
PWD

Brad's turn!
Ok... I ask about the delay yesterday, and it happens today!
It is of course, a "heavy traffic Thursday", and here is what I can surmise...
Thanks to the insightful wisdom of Heather and Angela, as you pass under 22nd street bridge in WDM, the road begins to bend to the south. If you are not prepared for the Sun’s onslaught... you're totally hosed.
As you round the bend, the sun squares itself directly in your line of sight. Due to the sunrise time and clear skies... you are totally blinded. Everyone hits the breaks, as they adjust the sun visor and (hopefully) pop on the sunglasses.
Because most drivers are not prepared for blindness, nearly everyone hits the breaks to avoid kissing the car in front of them. Once an immediate slowdown occurs (even if only a few cars are involved), a ripple affect moves like a wave to the cars behind the initial slowdown. Being a traffic geek, as my job requires, I call this an Emergent traffic Phenomenon.
Here’s the real deal…
Unfortunately once a slowdown occurs, everyone cannot accelerate at the same time (think cars starting up from a green light), therefore, the traffic delay (though the initial slowdown might have been temporary) continues to stagnate the traffic behind it.
Add to the mix that the volume of traffic behind the incident (i.e. sun delay slowdown) is greater that the volume of traffic at the point of the incident. So, we’re looking at big-time backups… think "sand through an hourglass."
OK! ENOUGH TRAFFIC GEEKINESS!
As I look now at 7:50am traffic is easing up at 22nd street in WDM due to the time, and I believe, the position of the sun.
Long story short, wear some sunglasses and drop the sunshade before you hit the 22nd street bridge. There's plenty of road space through there... so we should be ok.
If the slow trend continues... we can at least wait for a daylight savings time correction!
That will help, at least for a little bit!
Keep it between the lines...
Captain Traffic
"Des Moines Great Traffic Avenger"

Search in Grinnell, Good News Overnight and Please Help Brad

Good morning!!

First, the search continues for a 19 year-old Grinnell College student this morning. Paul Shuman-Moore told friends he was going back to his dorm early Monday morning but then he didn't show up for class. The College is mobilizing groups to search. If you think you have information about Moore you can call: (641)236-2650. They're also asking for volunteers to search. The next shift is at one this afternoon.



Some news we just received as we went off of the set. I was checking my fantasy football team and an alert came up. MSNBC is reporting Terrell Owens tried to commit suicide last night. We'll likely get details on the through the day. Watch for updates.



Good news from the Des Moines Police Department overnight. They found a 76 year-old Alzheimer's patient missing since yesterday. Bob Brown was wandering the neighborhood. He's ok. He told his family he was thirsty and tired.

Overnight a fire in West Des Moines caused some damage. Everyone's ok, but the homeowner told us a busted pipe caused an electrical short and then a fire.


The President is having dinner with Afghanistan's president and Pakistan's president tonight. You think this conversation is going to be awkward? Prvez Musharref is out withy a book basically saying he was bullied into being a partner in the war on terrorism. He said President bush gave him a choice: help or be bombed back into the stone age. Should be an interesting dinner.

Regardless of your politics...How great is Senator Grassley? He heard the EPA wanted new regulations regarding dust in the air and went through the roof. I hear his conference call was classic yesterday. He invited the Head of the EPA to his farm to see...It's kind of hard for a farmer harvesting crops to control the amount of dust he/she's putting into the air. No word from the EPA if the Exec is going to accept the invite.




Also - Brad Ehrlich is asking for your help. He's seen a back-up on 235 at 22nd street a few mornings in recent weeks. The problem is, Brad can't figure out why everyone's slowing down. There's no construction, no accident and that part of the freeway is finished. Write in and tell him what you think.

PWD

It's Trisha now! I was fascinated by this story this morning:

MONA LISA'S SMILE -A MATERNAL GLOW?
Canadian scientists used laser technology to peel back layers, and reveal that the famous figure in the DaVinci painting was originally painted wearing a thin gauze dress, worn at the time by pregnant women or new mothers! Could that be why she has such a serene, yet slightly tired looking smile?? I looked up some images online, but without the laser help, it's hard to see what the scientists are seeing.

I do think there's no smile as sincere as the one you get when you think about your child.

ANT FARM UPDATE


Since so many of you were interested when I first mentioned this, here's an updated shot of my brother Kevin's ant farm! They burrowed all these tunnels in the gel. I'm not a big bug lover but I think it is pretty cool.

(By the way it's my OTHER brother who just became a dad - I assume he's too busy this week to be watching ants!)

HOT TOYS LIST

I'm so glad my kids are a little too young to get crazed over popular toys! A Dora doll, the new TMX Elmo, and Nintendo's Wii console made this year's hot toys list.

There's Elmo having his hysterical laughing fit on the floor.
Wonder what's so darned hilarious??

I still have my kids' 2 October birthdays to get through before I even THINK about Christmas! Clara turns 1 next week - hard to believe a whole year has gone by! Do you guys remember how huge I was a year ago right now?? I think next week on her birthday we'll show a clip from when she was born.. and then a shot of her now. It's absolutely staggering how much they grow and change in one short year!
Have a great Wednesday!
Trish
Jeriann's turn now!

Good to be back in Iowa... I wish I had better weather to tell you about.
I was off the past couple of days to say a final farewell to my dad. We're trying to get his picture up here on the blog - we showed it on the air this morning. His picture in combat gear looks kind of scary... but really he's one of the nicest guys you will ever meet.
My dad, Paul, is now in Iraq to train their army so our soldiers can come home. He's part of the military transition team. For the past 28 years he's been in the Army reserves and this is the first time he's been called to duty for this long. He was set to retire in January. Maybe when he gets back home next year they'll let him retire. He turns 56 in November. I think this is harder on my mom than my dad. Keep him and his fellow soldiers in your thoughts and prayers.
Jeriann

New Airport Rules, Different DUI Demo, Working Parent Debate

Good morning. Hopefully Blogger will let us put some pics up this morning with the news. Here it is:

We led off with new airport rules for you frequent flyers. Here they are. Put all the travel size toiletries into a clear quart sized bag. Nothing more than 3oz. The TSA website has a better explanation.

Congress is debating two big bills this week. One deals with how we treat terrorism suspects and the other deals with building a border fence. Anyone remember how ridiculous this idea sounded months ago when Iowa congressman Steve King floated it. Well that"crazy" idea is now a reality. Don't ever underestimate King's ability to convince someone he's right.

Des Moines City Councilman Tom Vlassis says he won't resign. Vlassis was on the CIETC Board when the scandal about inflated salaries broke. Looks like he's said what he's going to say about this. Time to move on and maybe concentrate on who knew about this and was responsible at the state level?

The City Council also heard it from people in the neighborhood surrounding the proposed site of a homeless shelter. I understand the neighbor's concerns and I would be madder than you know what if I wasn't consulted on the location before it was announced. That said, this shelter provides a valuable service and the commission looking into this identified proximity to the bus station as a major factor in choosing a site. There aren't too many places closer to the bus station that you could build.

Gov George Pataki says he'll set up a campaign office in Des Moines for the 2008 Caucuses. It seems the men and women just dipping a toe to test the presidential waters now have their wetsuits on and are ready to jump in with both feet.

It's Trisha now!
I wanted to weigh in on a couple of things this morning.
First - No more ear and sinus infections? Researchers say they've found a vaccine that can fight the bacteria that cause most of these awful problems in kids! Miraculous, I say! We have been VERY VERY lucky in the ears department - no ear infections so far in either kid! But Calvin and I are both prone to sinus infections, which are a major pain to deal with. I'm interested in reading more about this vaccine...

WORKING PARENT DEBATE
I had some thoughts in response to the anonymous Principal employee who wrote comments in yesterday's blog. (check it out in the comments below yesterday's entry). He or she says that some parents he works with abuse the family-friendly policy, spending too much time away from work, and leaving him or her with extra workload.
Here's what I think:
A - Prove yourself on the job.
This applies to all employees, not just working parents! To be respected and successful, you must do a good job at work. Period! If you take time away for whatever reason, make sure to cover your work somehow! There are time-wasters and slackers in every profession, and probably, as the writer observed, some working parents who don't put quite enough effort in at work to make up for the time they spend doing parenting-related things. That's too bad for the rest of us who do our best to balance it all and be good employees and good parents!

B - Don't take on more than you can handle.
If your job is demanding too much of you, and sucking you away from parenting duties too often for your comfort, do whatever you can to renegotiate better/fewer hours, or look for other work! The catch is, of course, it's not easy to find good-paying jobs that offer fewer or more flexible hours. but it's worth trying if you feel overwhelmed by a job you can't really manage while being as involved as you want to be with your family.
I'll add to that that IF you're lucky enough to find a great gig with an employer who's flexible, and nice about letting you fit in parenting duties, DON'T LET THE SNARKINESS OF COWORKERS GET TO YOU! Stand proud. If you feel you're doing a good job AND your boss is cool with your schedule AND you're fitting in family duties, BE HAPPY! Don't dwell on the inevitible cold shoulder you'll occasionally feel from co-workers around you who aren't in the same boat.

C - Worry about yourself, not everyone else
I always say unless you're DIRECTLY affected by someone else's work ethic, don't drive yourself crazy tallying up all the things they're getting away with that you're not! If you believe in karma or something like it, what goes around comes around, and you will ultimately be rewarded for your hard work, while they may be sacrificing their career advancement by putting less effort into their job.
BUT -

D - If something negatively affects you, take action
I would say to the writer of the comment that if he or she is really taking on an unfair burden because of his or her co-workers, he/she needs to speak up. It seems to me to be much healtheir to try to change an unfair situation, than to stew about it, and a bit unfair to complain without being willing to take action.

Finally - a little empathy goes a long way!!! Of course until you have kids there's no way to understand how much of your heart and soul is wrapped up in them, and how far you'd go to protect your time with them. But I'd hope that workers without kids would at least try to offer support, and realize that involved parents create solid families, and well-adjusted kids who are society's next generation of leaders! You may find yourself in need of some support and understanding from co-workers someday too, if a family member of yours has a crisis, a health emergency comes up, or some once-in-a-lifetime vacation opportunity arises at an inconvenient time at work! If you offer working parents a little bit of your understanding, they're hopefully going to offer you support as well if you ever need it!

I could go on about this topic forever, but I do have kids to get home to today (teehee) so I'd better get the rest of my work done so no one gets bent out of shape! See you tomorrow morning!
Trish


Pat's turn :
I'm going to weigh in on this too.
My first response is: Great reply to the blog. It is a critical comment that is made with a thoughtful and respectful tone.
Second, not having kids, I admit to being a part of these conversations at times in my career. Someone calls in with a sick kid. Yep...The rest of us who don't have kids can't miss work for a sick pet. Yes, sometimes that means more work.
I started thinking about it though and here's the thing; What do we want parents to be? It isn't possible for the majority of parents to have one of the two stay home. Sometimes that's a choice, sometimes that's a necessity. These parents made a choice to have a child. They are acting responsibly, taking care of that child, acting as a good role model or giving the child the time he/she deserves. Should we be complaining about that?
There will always be people who abuse the system. I think I should get my sick time back in the form of vacation if I don't use it. I don't take sick time, and I think I should be rewarded for that. Other people I've worked with look at sick time as a right...Time they're owed. They'll take "mental health days". Just because some people abuse the privilege doesn't mean you throw out a good benefit.
If our society values parents who are involved in, responsible for and in tune with their kids; then one of the costs is a workforce where parents are allowed a little slack with regard to taking care of those kids.
We may be thanking them for staying home, going to a play, parent teacher conference or lunch on a random day; when that kid turns out to be a well adjusted productive member of society.
PWD

Just our opinions, folks - feel free to disagree! Thanks again for the civilized feedback - we love it!
Trish and Pat

Waiting for a winner, No More CIETC and It's a Boy!

Note to blog audience: I tried downloading pictures and the blogger site is being really slow. I'm going to try again from home.
PWD

Good Morning!
We're all waiting around wondering who's going to show up at the Fort Dodge Kum n Go where the 200+ million dollar lottery ticket was sold. There are rumors flying. We'll see if they come forward by the end of the day.

CIETC should cease to exist today when the CIETC Board votes to change the organization's name and hand over operational responsibility to DMACC.

On a side note to that, it sounds like a group or an individual is going to ask Tom Vlassis to resign from the Des Moines City Council again tonight. We've been through this. Mr Vlassis says he's staying. Don't expect the answer to be different tonight.

Iowa moves to lucky #13 in the polls this week after beating Illinois this weekend. It wasn't the most impressive weekend victory, but I think the Hawks will take it and move on to a week solely focused on beating #1 Ohio State.
(Trisha - Ouch! Ian and I and the kids were in Champaign over the weekend visiting friends... There were a lot of Illini fans hanging their heads! )

Speaking of beating...The US ran into a buzzsaw this weekend at the Ryder Cup. The European team was making every shot. Honestly these guys on the US team didn't play that badly...Europe played really well. Iowan Zach Johnson was a bright note for the future. He stared down a few of Europe's biggest players, he played with poise and emotion. I like this guy more and more every time I hear about him.

I didn't have any trouble pulling myself away from the TV to head over to the Beaverdale Fall Festival Parade Saturday. It's a great neighborhood event. Sonya, Lynn and I walked behind our satellite Truck.
I ran into some neighbors, some friends, a girl who told me I was her idol(a sure way to get a mention in the blog); I was even introduced to Kevin Cooney's Dad. Nice guy.
Thanks you to all of you who said hello. Thank you for you kind comments, and for not throwing the candy back.

That's it for me but Trish has some exciting news....


Trish Here: Yes - I nearly gave Pat a heart attack this morning when I said I had news - a new baby in the family. Not mine... my brother's!!!

I wanted to share photos of my brand new nephew! Baby Jackson was born yesterday at 11am- here's my proud brother, Brian, holding his new son when he was less than 2 hours old! We stopped by to see him in Joliet yesterday morning.... He's precious! Jackson looks a lot like my kids did as newborns - but everyone says Cal and Clara look more like Uncle Brian than either Ian or I!
Get this - Jackson weighed in at 9 lbs 8 oz!! Mom and baby are both doing great - I told Kelly she'll have great war stories to tell this child as he gets older!

WORKING MOTHERS LIKE PRINCIPAL

Principal Financial is in the top 10 of Working Mothers Magazine's "Best Companies" this year!

The website - workingmother.com - is down at the moment or I'd create a link, but check it later if you're curious about the whole top 100 list!

I am always thrilled to read about companies with family-friendly policies! It's such a hard balance, and I really believe our whole country and society benefits when parents can be involved with their kids as much as possible, and keep advancing their careers if that's what they want to do. I feel lucky my job schedule has allowed me to be a hands-on parent! I also think being a working mother has made me incredibly efficient at work - I really want to prove myself to my co-workers, and there's no time to waste when you have kids waiting at home! So, good for the companies that treat their employees well, and respect their family commitments!

One more thing -THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU to everyone who's been writing such nice comments on this blog! We love to hear from you!

Take care and see you in the morning!
Trish

Distracted

Good Morning,

If I look distracted this morning it's because I am.

They're going to take my internet privledged away from me after this morning's performance. I was watching the Ryder Cup live feed on the internet while we were doing the show. The producers were impressed I didn't let out a "YOU DA MAAAAAN!" while Elizabeth was reading. Anyway we found out Drake grad Zach Johnson led things off for the Americans this afternoon in Ireland. If you don't want to know the results till you watch it don't click here. Sports will have some hilights tonight.

Liz was back because Trish is taking a much deserved vacation with her husband. I think they're kidless this weekend. Good break for them!

The Polk County sheriff is looking for another accomplice in the escape from a prison transport Wednesday. They've already got two people in custody, they're looking for a third who drove the fugitive away from the escape. Give him this...He had it planned well. All the way to the point he got caught and thrown back in jail again.




The President meets with the President of Pakistan today in the Oval Office. The two will likely discuss a second hand exchange of comments on Osama Bin Laden. President Bush says if we found out he was in Pakistan, US troops would go get em. Not so fast says President Musharraf.

Good news for the Prez, he played let's make a deal with Congress and will get legislation to clarify the Treatment of terrorism suspects and rules for their trial.

Speaking of things presidential, Governor Vilsack will be in New Hampshire this weekend. He's speaking at a Democratic fundraiser. Here's what New Hampshire papers have to say about Vilsack's visit. The Gov says he'll make a decision about running for president after the November elections.


Wal-Mart is slashing the price of some 300 generic prescription drugs. Target is following. Right now this is only in Florida, but both companies indicate the cuts are going to expand. Is this the start of price wars for prescriptions? Millions of Americans who are having a hard time affording drugs hope that's the case.


It's a great weekend to be in Des Moines. Iowa is at Illinois, and ISU is in Texas. So get out and enjoy either the Oktoberfest celebration downtown, or head northwest young man...Beaverdale Fall festival is this weekend. Most of us will be out for the parade tomorrow. Even if you have to bring an umbrella, come on out. We'd love to shake your hand and say hi.

Have a good Weekend. We'll see you back here Monday.

PWD

Shuttle Landing, Less then $2, and Sticks and Stones

Good Morning,

Glad to see the space shuttle Atlantis back on home soil safely this morning. Call me a geek(and some of you do), but I still think it's so cool to watch this thing land. It's basically a brick with wings and they manage to bring it in right on the mark. It's an amazing feat of engineering and imagination.


On the southside of Des Moines last night an inmate apparently jumped out of a Polk County sheriff's van as he was being transported from a jail in Missouri to the Polk County Jail. The sheriff's Department told us this morning that this isn't a big deal. They don't believe the inmate, thirty three year-old Chad Hale is armed or dangerous. He was wearing handcuffs and an orange jump suit. I'm not sure this guy is going to get too far. It's a reminder of the hoops the Polk County sheriff's Department has to jump through to get an inmate here. Our jail is so overcrowded that they use two jails in Missouri to hold prisoners. They have to spend millions of dollars a year to transport and house those inmates. The new Jail is being built just northeast of the east Mixmaster...

Gas prices are down to less than $2 a gallon in the Metro area. We'd already seen these prices in other parts of Iowa but now in the Des Moines Metro. Experts say the price could be going down another .25 cents a gallon. Then there are the people who warn prices could be going back up again. Confused? Just be glad we're going to right way.


A great honor for an Iowan today when Drake football player Stacey Walker is honored as the Boys and Girl Club Youth of the year. He was chosen from four other finalists. As part of the honor he'll be making an appearance on the Today show this morning and He gets to meet the President tomorrow.



We got a call just before seven this morning saying Ed McMahon wasn't going to make it to Corning Iowa today for the dedication of Johnny Carson's boyhood home. The folks running the event tell us they will advertise the re-scheduled date. We'll put it all over the web and on-air when we get the details. They're asking you not to call, so we won't give you the number like we said we would.



Funny news about the boss this morning. A new study says a vast majority of bosses thing they are doing a great job. Problem is, the folks in the trenches don't agree. The other part of this study showed only a quarter of all bosses get reviewed by their employees. So how would they know if they're doing a good job?


I'm sure Trish has more to say about the "clean your plate" study and a few other things. We were glad to have her back this morning. She's officially off Jury Duty.
It's Trisha - it's good to be back! The courthouse wasn't nearly as stuffy yesterday, and they decided a bit earlier in the day that they didn't need me to stick around, so it wasn't too bad!
The "clean your plate" study found basically that parents shouldn't push their kids to finish their food if they're not hungry. That being said, I sometimes have to cajole my son into eating his lunch or dinner, since he'd much rather keep playing - but I know he'll turn into a falling-apart crabby mess if he goes too long without a meal! I also make him eat a substantial amount of healthy food before he's allowed to have any kind of treat. But I don't force him to "clean his plate" - I trust him to know when he's had enough. Clara (almost 1 year old) has the opposite problem - she would eat and eat into eternity if we never cut her off! The girl LOVES her food.

She took her very first tentative steps yesterday - maybe she'll start walking off all those calories soon! We caught some of it on video - priceless!

Thanks to everyone who responded to the blog yesterday. I mean it. Even the guy who told me I have a "fat head".
Really I hadn't noticed. You think that's the first time someone's commented on the size of my Mellon. I come by it honestly...My Grandfather was in TV too ...

I go on a golf trip with some buddies every year ands it's a standing joke no one can borrow my hats. One of the guys does a great Mike Myers impression of the scene from So I married an Axe Murderer. You know the one:
Head! Paper! Now!

Move that melon of yourself you can.

Hauling that gargantuan cranium about.

No kidding. His head's like Sputnik.

Spherical, but pointy in parts.

That was offside, wasn't it?

He'll be crying himself to sleep tonight on his huuuuuge pillow.

Funny stuff. Anyway...It's not the first time.

Also, note to that very brave...anonymous blogger: My last name is DIX...Consider that next time you spend the effort to try to come up with a sharp insult...I've heard worse...Maybe just responding to the actual content of the blog would be easier.

Have a good day...I'm going to do some neck exercises so I can keep my head upright.

It's Trisha again! Nice comeback, Pat!!! You have a much better sense of humor than I would about such rude and insulting (and childish) insults! I'm so glad you have thick skin!

Most of you blog-readers have been so nice with your feedback - even when we've asked you to be brutally honest about what you see on our air and read on the blog.

Here are my thoughts about mean comments:

---We ALWAYS welcome honest criticism about the content of our news.

---We NEVER appreciate mean-spirited insults about our appearance or personal lives.

I realize we have a job where appearance matters - but we're not models. Physical appearance, while relevant in TV, is not the most important part of our job!

I've heard my share of mean comments over the years in front of a camera too - a couple of my favorites :

- My hair looked like the "Liberty Bell" (it was a little longer and flipped at the ends)

- A woman TO MY FACE said: "Oh - I thought you were a big fat girl! You're really much smaller in person."

-My hair is too thick and my hairstyle unflattering.

Someone wrote that comment in a letter to me when I was 9 months' pregnant. I guess I had the nerve to be a little more concerned about finding any clothing that still fit, and trying to grow a healthy baby ..rather than finding the perfect hairstyle.

So - my deepest apologies to all the people I've offended with my imperfect appearance! If you don't always like what you see, I don't blame you!!! But I do ask that before you fire off a nasty note, you ask yourself, "Would I say this to the person's face?" and.. "How would I feel if someone said that to me?"

Before I go - here's something that may make some of you smile. My son Calvin has been insisting for the past week that he needs to have an "eye toy" (a fake slimy eyeball). We broke down yesterday and found a whole BAG FULL OF EYEBALLS at the store. He really wanted his picture taken showing off his gooey eye - so here it is. Ian says whenever we move out of our house, we'll probably find dust-covered eyeballs in all kinds of nooks and crannies!

Now that the photo feature is up and running again, I'll add in a few photos from Tuesday's blog entry of my misadventures in Chicago, for any of you who are REALLY curious about the dumb stuff we do in our time off!

I'm off again tomorrow - heading to Champaign-Urbana to see friends! Illinois vs Iowa game Saturday should be interesting...!

See you back on the air Monday!

Trish

BREAKING NEWS, A new Courthouse, and Practice that Piano.

Good morning,

It never fails. I was asking Liz this morning if the title of the blog should be...Slow News Day. Not so much anymore.

Just after six this morning we showed you live pictures from the Beaverdale Neighborhood in Des Moines. Police tell us someone was hit by a red SUV there just about six. We'll get more details through the day, but the pedestrian died.





Also this morning we were called about a train derailment in Allerton. Where's Allerton you say? We asked the same thing...Thank goodness for googol maps. The sheriff's office down there called to tell us twenty train cars are off the tracks including some carrying hazardous materials. Apparently the HAZMAT stuff didn't spill and there aren't any injuries. We'll likely get more pictures of that from Chopper later in the day.

We expected to lead off with a shuttle landing this morning. It was supposed to touch down in Florida just after five our time. Now they think something might have fallen off the shuttle. As I write this they spotted another piece of "debris". Not what you want to hear if you're one of those astronauts.



In Iowa House District #94, the race is now between an independent and a Democrat after the Republican party sent out a mailer it's (former)candidate didn't agree with. The party says it was an informational piece calling into question the Democrat's positions. The former Republican candidate disagrees. He apologized and will run as an independent.

And the "Round Guy" will make his network debut this afternoon on "The Biggest Loser". I applaud Steve and anyone else who is this brave to go out and take something like this on so publicly. Speaking as someone who struggles to keep his Irish middle, and round cheeks in check, I'm motivated by this show. If these people can change their lives in such a drastic way, we can all do a little more to make ourselves healthier.



Interesting concept from the Presidential office of Drug Control Policy...They're putting Anti Drug Messages on YouTube. It's a video website. Try searching for "pot" or "weed". You'll get video of people in a drug induced haze, but you'll also find anti-drug videos. Interesting tactic.



And finally I understand why I'm not that smart. I quit piano lessons. A new study says kids who take music lessons have a higher memory capacity, do better in school and are generally smarter. Makes you wish you practiced your scales a little more.



Spekaing of smarter than me...Trisha's in the courthouse again today. We miss her around here but are thankful to have Liz to help fill in.

One more personal note. I was invited to speak at Drake's MPA class last night by West Des Moines city Manager Jeff Pomerantz. Interesting questions and a great discussion with the City and county leaders of the future. Myself, and two other members of the media talked about what we need from government officials. Register reporters Jason Clayworth and Tim Higgins were there as well. These are two of the smartest guys in Des Moines Media. They are thoughtful, responsible and dedicated journalists. I respect them even more than I did before after hearing their views on how media and government can and should work together. The Register is luck to have these two guys.

Have a good day.
PWD

Back to Court

Looks like I'm not a complete reject.
I'm called back to the jury pool for tomorrow (Wednesday) which is part of the reason I'm staying up later than normal! (I think it's after 9pm Tuesday as I type this!)
I hope things go just fine at the station in my absence - Elizabeth, if you fill in again, GO GET 'EM, GIRL! Just do me a favor and don't be TOO outstandingly awesome - I'd hate to disappoint people when I come back to work!

Still no luck posting photos - I'll keep trying!
Good night, and good luck...
Trish

UN Day Two, Gas Down Again, and The Laramie Project

Good Morning,
Trisha said she's been rejected by the Polk County courts after one day on jury duty...We'll take ya back Trish!
(Trisha here. The court decided at around 2:45 that they didn't want me yesterday, but there's still a chance they'll call me back for tomorrow! It was a long day in stuffy rooms with lots of people crammed in. I watched the morning show forecast and followed Jeriann's advice to bust out my favorite fall sweater - then SWEATED it out in those stuffy courtrooms! My advice - dress in layers on these chilly days! ts)

The President is on day two in New York where he'll give an address to the UN General Assembly. The side story here is that the President of Iran will be in the audience when Bush gives his speech. I'm wondering if Vegas is giving odds on whether Mahmoud Ahmadinejad(President of Iran) will interrupt Bush. He's asked for a meeting with The President, and to debate him. The two will be at lunch together today at the UN as well. I don't think the guy in charge of the seating chart is going to put these two within a mile of each other.




Gas prices are still going down. The end of the summer driving season, weak hurricane season, and ample supply are driving down the costs. Fill up while you can.




District 66 candidate for the Iowa house, Jack Whitver is challenging Ako Abdul-Samad to a debate. He is going over to Ako's house as I write this to challenge him to a debate. He says Ako won't respond to his request for a debate so he's going to get an answer in person. Only problem? Ako won't be there. He says he's got a sick relative that he'll be with. Update: We got this on tape. It's an interesting exchange you'll see on the Noon and Evening news. Not Sure Whitver thought this through.

Didn't Whitver get into the race like ten minutes ago? I'd like to see a debate between these two but it's not like Jack Whitver has spent the last six months in an epic struggle trying to get in touch with Ako. I'm not sure we needed the dramatics. Maybe just a continued insistence on a debate. Hopefully they'll be able to work out a debate before November.

I don't mean to open a can of worms here but these stories about the Laramie Project interest me. I understand that some parents might be concerned about the language in the show(even though it can't be worse than the language their kids hear or use every day). I guess my question is...Are they making the entire city of West Des Moines show up?
If you don't like the play...If you object to it's content, don't show up. If you are a parent who objects, you have the right to make sure your kids do not participate. I thought the young lady's soundbyte was right on the money. If kids are killing kids because of intolerance, shouldn't they be able to talk about and debate the issues that feed intolerance? I'm interested to hear from people. My only request. Keep it civil and keep it clean. People should be able to debate this without name calling. And a disclaimer: I haven't seen the play. I might though.

The Space Shuttle Atlantis crew is stowing gear and getting ready to come home. Meanwhile that Soyouz rocket headed to the Intl Space station is due to dock with the ISS tomorrow. apparently our first female space tourist isn't feeling well. Pretty common for first timers in space.

There's a new energy drink out there called Cocaine...Yes Cocaine. It's being marketed as, "325% stronger then Red Bull". Really. We need 325% stronger than Red Bull? I've a lot of these energy drinks and they have their place but what's next? The Can comes with a syringe and needle and we can just tap a vein to put all these energy boosters right in our bloodstream? And come on, couldn't' we come up with a better name. I'm not sure we need a lot of kids asking for Cocaine.
Trisha: Pretty unreal to think that a bunch of people sitting in a room came up with that idea. Sounds like a marketing nightmare, but I guess they think they have a certain population that will like it! I'm more worried about the MEDICAL effects than the tacky name of the drink.

Finally, speaking of energy in the morning. We're coffee drinkers on Today in Iowa. Good thing we like each other. Trisha found this on the AP.

Former postal worker sentenced for tainting workplace coffee
AKRON, Ohio (AP) -- A former Akron, Ohio, postal worker who poured

urine into his co-workers' coffee must serve six months in a jail work-release program.
Thomas Shaheen also must pay 12-hundred dollars to the people

he used to work with, to cover what it cost them to set up a

video camera to catch him messing with the office coffee.
Yesterday's sentencing in Akron Municipal Court came after Shaheen pleaded

guilty to two misdemeanor charges for tainting food. He has been fired from his

ob at a postal service vehicle maintenance facility.
In court, Shaheen apologized and asked his former co-workers for their forgiveness.

Thank goodness I make the coffee.
Have a good day.
PWD

It's Trish again. I wouldn't dare tick Patrick off now after reading that story. Occasionally, we complain that our coffee tastes like "you-know-what".... but usually that's only when we run out of our private stash of good stuff and have to use the station-provided java.
Ian and the kids just stopped in the station this morning to bring me a cup of REALLY nice coffee - it's always funny to hear those little voices and footsteps in the newsroom!
(9-21 - just added these photos!!TS)
Since I was gone yesterday, I thought I'd share a couple of funny moments from last weekend. I went to Chicago to meet up with one of my dearest friends, Carrie, who just got back from 2 years in Kosovo! (She works for the State Department, and yes, she's met Condoleeza and Colin! I'm so impressed!) We had a great time, and TONS to catch up on! She's had quite the adventure, globe-trotting over the past couple years, while I've been doing news and having babies!

I managed to get us a tiny wee bit lost on the way back to our train. I'm not sure if it was the wine with dinner, or too much chit-chat as we walked - but once I figured out our mistake time was running out and we RAN for the train - I mean hauled a** across about 6 city blocks...only to realize I had READ THE SCHEDULE WRONG and we were an hour early anyway.
So we sat. And talked some more. And laughed our sore little butts off.

I also came to Carrie's rescue when she got a blister from running all over the city in her cute shoes! 'Like any good mom, I had a bandaid in my purse. A Spongebob Bandaid. She also bought cheap flip-flops at Payless. A nice combination, if I do say so.


Hope to see you back in the morning! If not, think of me sitting in a stuffy courtroom performing my civic duty!
Trish