See Tom Run, More Money at Hy-Vee Hall, and Insulation Assistance

Good Morning.

See Tom Run:
The big story this morning is an Iowa Governor running for President. He's a self-proclaimed long shot...The national media calls his a lightweight, and this morning there's hardly a mention outside Iowa of the first official Presidential announcement. This is going to be interesting to watch. There are a lot of people, me included, that think Vilsack has a better chance than people are giving him credit for. The national media has already crowned Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton as the shoe-ins for the frontrunner spot. A lot can happen in the 13 months until caucuses. Ask Howard Dean.
About this time in 2003 he was the flavor of the month. The national media came to Iowa and was bowled over by his internet fundraising (innovative but ultimately not a decisive factor). They loved the youth movement that was gravitating toward his optimistic message (again...A lot of kids from outside Iowa that were excited...In the end it didn't matter).
Remember where John Kerry was? He was organizing a structured campaign and quietly raising money. He won. He also reinforced the idea that these early caucuses aren't a popularity contest. They're a test of organization and influence among party activists.
If Vilsack used his time in front of party leaders and fundraiser effectively in the last three years, he's already convinced the right people he can win. He's got a long way to go...but it's a marathon...
And the governor's proven...He may not be fast...but he can finish.

Fade To Black:
The game of Cable Contract Chicken between Mediacom and Sinclair looks like it's going to end with a fiery crash. Midnight is the deadline for all you Mediacom subscribers out there. We'll see if the FCC will step in and save the programming.

Hy-Vee Expansion:
We broke the story last night at five that Global Spectrum will ask the Polk County Supervisors for 33 Million dollars more to fund an expansion of Hy-Vee Hall. If you didn't know the history this would sound like kind of a boring story....and it is. That is, until you realize that we've talked about this expansion before.
When the Events Center was built, The Sups decided not to add on these extra meeting rooms at Hy-Vee Hall because that would have taken the project over budget. Now Global is saying the County needs to build those rooms to make the entire convention complex more marketable and profitable.
This is going to be a hard sell. Some of the County leaders are, to say the least, upset that the county government is being asked to fork over millions more for the Events Center. The sentiment is...This isn't the kind of thing the county should be spending money on. One of them affectionately refers to it as the "Money Pit" on the hill. Don't misunderstand, the Events center has done much better than expected it's first year or two, but some County leaders are sick of people showing up at the door with their hands out. Especially for a project Three of the five supervisors didn't vote for in the first place. This should be an interesting debate. It starts in about a half hour so I've got to go.

Pat's back now at 12 Noon. I wanted to add some pictures that our audio operator Bill Guess took. He has been watching NBC's new series Heros and aparently there was a meantion of more heros being in a small Iowa town called Monteith. It's a real place. Bill actually took the time to go out there and see it. He took some pictures so here they are.
As for the series, I tried watching some of the re-runs they're already showing on Sci-Fi Channel. It's a little gorey for my taste. Adult themes would be an understatement on this one. If your kids are watching it, I'd say you need to at least be watching it with them.

Insulation Freebie!
It's Trisha taking over now. Here's a link to information about assistance for adding insulation to your home. MidAmerican will pay for 70% of the cost up to $600 if you get one of their Home Energy audits, and they find you need insulation! A good deal, if you consider that good insulation can save you 15-20 percent on your energy bills. I'm embarassed to say we got that audit done last spring, and still haven't gotten around to getting the insulatio put in! I guess now's the time before we all freeze to death.

Poor Brad
Captain Traffic was late this morning because his car wouldn't start in the cold! It's a brand new Mercedes, and he was fuming. It took him I think a half hour to get the thing going. Jeriann and I both drive 10-year-old cars to work, and our started up just fine. We found that a lot funnier than Brad did.

Trisha is staying up muy tarde esta noche
I'm pretty excited about a special report I've put together for the 10pm news, so I volunteered to come back to work tonight to make a live appearance in the 10pm newscast. I think it helps a lot for the anchors to have the reporter there in person, so they can ask follow-up questions about the story. I have no idea how I'll find the energy to stay up that late, but it means I'll get to sleep in tomorrow and let Elizabeth handle Pat and Jeriann tomorrow morning!
The special report called "Keeping Your Word" is about Latino kids growing up in Iowa. While many of their families are focused on perfecting English skills, many kids find they start to lose their Spanish ability as they grow up. The piece looks at what some of the kids are doing to improve their skills in their native language.
I got to put my own Spanish skills to the test to gather this piece... (I minored in it in college, but it's not easy to keep up with since I don't speak Spanish on a daily basis).
Personally, I would LOVE to send my kids to a bi-lingual school, or at least one where Spanish was offered in the primary grades. That's not an option in DM public schools now - it's not cheap to offer, and the logistics are tricky. But what an advantage to a kid to GROW UP speaking two languages... instead of having to learn a second language the hard way.

Gotta run - have a great Thursday!
Trish and Pat

Stolen Car Chase, Medicare Bus, Pat's Apology to Trish

Good Morning,

Stolen car - deadly crash
A stolen car and an attempted police stop led to a chase and an accident late last night in Des Moines. The guy driving the stolen car lost control and hit a utility pole...That knocked out power to a bunch of northside customers last night. One of the the three people in the car died, the other two are in police custody.

Bush meets with Al-Maliki
President Bush is on his way to meet with the Iraqi Prime Minister today. This is important enough that the whole Nightly News Crew is packing up and going to Jordan to cover it. The President is also going to have to answer some thought questions from the Prime Minister after an article in the New York Times this morning. It details a memo from Bush's National security Advisor. The memo basically says the NSD has no confidence in the PM's government or their commitment to end sectarian violence in Iraq.

Global Warming Suit
The Supreme Court is hearing a case on whether or nor CO2 (Carbon Dioxide) is a pollutant contributing to global warming. 12 states say it is and wants the EPA to control emissions of CO2 from heavy industry. The EPA contends CO2 is naturally occurring (breathe out) and so it can't be a pollutant. Stay tuned.

Rolling Through
We had the Medicare bus out in our parking lot this morning. It will be parked in the Northwest Community Center later this morning so you can get questions answered about the Medicare prescription drug program. A lot of people still neee questions answered. If you can get up there from nine until noon... Do it. Take your medication and these guys can feed all the information on your healthcare into the computer and come up with the best, least expensive program for you. 9-Noon at the Northwest Community Center(next to the Franklin Ave Library branch).

Inspiring Recoveries
If you missed Sonya Heitshusen's story about wounded soldiers being treated athe Walter Reid Medical Center and its prosthetics and rehabilitation units, you really should watch online.
(We made the decision to re-air the story early in our 5am newscast today, even though we normally don't use long-format stories in our show. It felt important enough to take the extra time and slow down a bit. I'm glad we did. Kudos to our new producer Heather for finding ways to make everything fit in this morning!)-TS
Sonya will continue an excellent series with another story tonight. When we talk about the courage and character of our soldiers on the battlefield that's obvious. A much deeper form of both is evident in the men Sonya talked to. This is also an interesting subject because prosthetics are benefiting from the number of debilitating wounds on the battlefield. The technology advances because so many of these cases are coming out the the wars. Really interesting. Good job, Sonya and our Chief Photojournalist Mike Borland.

UNI vs ISU
UNI and Iowa State go at it on the Basketball court tonight. I always find these Intrastate rivalries much more interesting in basketball. I think all the teams in the state are much more evenly matched in hoops. This should be the first of several good in-state games this year. Add to that the extra storyline of Greg McDermott going back to UNI for the first time with his new team. The former Panther coach will no doubt have mixed feelings as he watched the young men he recruited and coached at UNI, try to beat his Cyclones.

Vilsack for Pres.
The Gov kicked off his Presidential Campaign tomorrow. We'll have full coverage from Mt Pleasant.
This morning we had Jeff Link on live - he's Vilsack's communications director. He gave us the laundry list of states they're visiting in the next few days (New Hampshire,Nevada, South Carolina, etc. ) and I have no idea how much adrenaline it will take to keep them all going on that schedule!TS

Pat's sorry for dissing Trish!
Tips on choosing and installing a programmable thermostat -I made the comment this morning that it was so easy...Even Trish could install a programmable thermostat.
For the record: I am the LEAST handy man in the world.I will call someone to take care of just about any home improvement project.
Funny story: I didn't want to mess with putting a dimmer switch in the dining room. Sally really wanted one.
After months of relentless ribbing by just about everyone, my best friend Shaun (Electrical/Chemical Engineer and all around handy guy) was over for the weekend and Sally convinced him to put one in. The problem is, he bought the wrong one, couldn't install it and then he had to go. He put the old switch back in the wall...upside-down. Up was off...down was on. My point here is ...This is why I hire people to do this stuff. Inevitably, when those of us who are lacking the home improvment gene try to fix something...we leave a part out, or put it on backwards...whatever. Support the Economy...Hire out home improvement projects.

Trisha's turn now -
I only got mad at Pat for a couple of minutes after that crack on the air. I know that HE knows I probably am handier than he is! Not that I'm some mechanical genius, but my dad is, and he's been able to talk me through some pretty hilarious home fix-ups over the phone!
When our thermostat went bad last winter, the furnace wouldn't shut off and it was 89 DEGREES IN THE HOUSE! Ian was out of town so I was stuck to figure out a solution. I called my dad and he talked me through cutting apart an old phone cord to splice together some wires to make the old thermostat work just long enough for me to get out and buy a new one. The McGyver quick fix worked. Later I got the new rig and installed it by myself - and it still works! So there, Pat!

One Last Hurrah...
The kids and I just had to get outside yesterday because I knew what the weather was bringing next! Bye-bye, warm weather - it was nice while you were here! Cal is ready for some snow - maybe tonight!

Hope all of you have a good day,

PWD and TS

Teen Tribute, Surprise! And Energy Check Online

Good Morning.

Goodbyes
Erika Schwager's family will hold funeral services for her at 10am. Tomorrow and Thursday Culvers Restaurants in the metro will donate proceeds to the Schwager family. (Erika worked at the Urbandale Restaurant)

Not Kelly?
We've got a little egg on our face this morning. Everyone thought the Central Michigan coach was going to be the guy at ISU. Not so Much.
I read a lot about the hiring of Texas Defensive Coordinator Gene Chizik online. To a person analysts see this as a coup for Iowa State. Good for ISU. I hope Coach Chizik does well. A couple of things. This was a well kept secret. Apparently the coach's family didn't even know. Watch Kerry Kavanaugh's story on that(it was really well done). No one else thought to talk to them about the move to Ames. Kerry did a great job. Also As usual Keith Murphy moved well as the story changed yesterday. He has a great interview on the website with one of the broadcasters from Texas that saw Chizik in action. They are both worth watching.

Who's Bugging Andy?
And while we're on the subject of the ISU hire. Someone emailed us berating our sports guys for "wearing a Hawkeye tie to the ISU press conference tonight? The Viewer went on to rip into Andy: " If you can't stand anything ISU the least you could do is wear a neutral color tie. "
Really? Ya think Andy got up yesterday and his first priority was trying to pick a tie that would stick it to the Cyclone fans? Come on, people.
These guys are the best in the business and what they do. I've said it before and I'll say it again...Our entire sports department gets as many of these emails from Cyclone fans as they do from Hawkeye fans. It's a good indication they play it down the middle. There couldn't be a more neutral set of sportos in the country.
Aside from that...I just can't believe someone would actually think that one of these guys would take the time to think out their wardrobe like that. Does it seem a little juvenile?

Presidential Politics
The University Faculty at Iowa wants to verbally spank the Board of Regents for rejecting a panel of potential University Presidents recommended, in part, by faculty. Maybe they've got a legitimate beef. If you don't want their opinion...Don't ask.
On the other hand, we've asked them to run the regents Universities (or at least the Governor has). Let them do their job. The Board believes it can get a better candidate than the ones put forward by the selection committee. I'm certain there's insider politics I couldn't begin to understand here, but I also believe sometimes Academics tend to lose focus. This decision isn't just about the faculty perspective of who would be the best choice. Yes, the next president will first and foremost be the head of an academic institution, but he/she will also be the head of a Hospital system, a foundation, research facilities, and sports teams. It about more than just the classroom. Maybe it should be solely about academics, but that's a naive perspective.

Do it in DM
We missed getting to a Greater Des Moines Partnership news conference about it's latest ad campaign. The idea is basically that whatever you do...do more of it in The Des Moines Metro. It was a heavy news day but you might start hearing about these or seeing these commercials...Just wanted you to know what the deal is. We're getting a lot of advertising for Omaha lately and I think this might be Des Moines' shot back. There's a lot to do around here. We should be getting people from Chicago, KC, Omaha and the Twin Cities down here to see.

Save on Energy Bills
Here's a link to the Midamerican Energy Home Check Online program.

You need to look for the "Energy Efficiency" section on the main page, and the Home Check Online comes up in the drag-down menu.

Tree Time
I promised and have now downloaded the pics of our Christmas tree we put up. It's great. We used to go cut one down but this year we found a perfect tree in the pile at one of the local Home improvement stores. I love our Christmas tree because in eight years Sally and I have managed to collect a lot of interesting ornaments. They're from places we've visited, significant times in our lives, and they remind us of things we love. One fun tradition of you're a newlywed and don't have ornaments: We opened a bottle of Champaign the first year we had a tree. We needed a little more to fill in a bare spot and used the cork and the foil of make an ornament. Each year since we've opened another bottle of Champagne decorating the tree and put another cork ornament on. Funny how simple things that don't mean anything to anyone else come to mean so much to you.

PWD
It's Trisha now! I like that cork ornament tradition!! We have a differnet one - I told Ian on our first Christmas together that I'd get him a new ornament every year, that said something about what was going on in our lives at the time. It's a really fun challenge to hunt for the right thing, and fun to put them up and reminisce!

Musical Freak?
Pat was really on a roll this morning so I'll just share this one tidbit from the home front... check out this photo of my son playing his dad's drums!
I knew he loved to play but I was stunned to hear Calvin the other morning... keeping two different steady beats, one with each hand! (the left is on a snare drum, the right is on a cymbal!) Try it right now on your desk - a slow beat with the left, and a beat twice as fast with the right... (it's easier if you've played piano or something before.) But at age 4? I'm afraid I've got another musician on my hands, God help me! And Clara really likes to play too - just what I need, 3 DRUMMERS IN THE HOUSE!
Happy Tuesday, everyone!
Trish

New ISU Coach, Busy overnight and Winter Makes a Comeback

ISU's New Coach
Points to ISU athletic Director Jamie Pollard for keeping as good a secret as you can when hiring a new Head Football Coach around here. Pollard kept almost everyone around HIM quiet. We've got some persistant Sports reporters around here though, so they got the story anyway(we think). Everyone's expecting Brian Kelly from Central Michigan to be the guy. OPPPPS! At first writing of this that's what we expected...then Jamie (call him Bond.... James Bond) Pollard decided to throw everyone a curveball. The New ISU coach is Gene Chizik. Who? He's an assistant coach for Univeristy of Texas. You'll learn a lot more about him today.

Winter's Coming
It's Trisha now. Did you hear Jeriann's forecast? Enjoy today and tomorrow, a big cold snap starts hitting Wednesday.
This morning I put together a piece on saving energy by winterizing your house. We'll have a new tip each day this week.
Today's focus - windows. (Pat and I both live in old houses with horribly old and drafty windows! We were drooling over the shots we showed of brand new top-of-the line windows being installed in a house!)
Here are some tips on replacing your drafty windows, if you can afford it. The U-Factor is the thing to look for if you're rating how energy- efficient the new windows will be.
Did you know you can get financing deals for windows through MidAmerican? Most of us didn't. Check it out.

Sad Goodbyes
Since it was a holiday weekend you may have missed the news, 16-year-old Erika Schwager died yesterday morning of injuries she suffered last week when her car collided with a West Des Moines fire truck.
Visitation is this evening from 5-8pm at Valley Church in WDM. The funeral service is at 10 tomorrow morning. The interview clips we've shown with friends show they have incredibly strong faith which hopefully is helping them handle this tremendous loss.

Cyber Monday
Fess up - How many of you are shopping online at work today? It's so tempting... but I have too much work to get done! Today is dubbed "cyber Monday" because so many people get back to work after Thanksgiving and want to use their high-speed work connections to shop online.
Do any of you work for employers who are very strict about this? I think it shouldn't be a problem as long as you do it during a break time, and your company doesn't have a strict policy against it. I have a feeling I'll be doing a lot of online shopping this year. (probably from home, though!) The stores are a zoo and I have no patience for crowds when I'm dragging kids along!

Vatican Premier
It's a first - a major movie premier at the Vatican! Of course it's not the new Bond movie or Borat... it's The Nativity Story. Check out the movie's website - I like the fact that the director puts so much emphasis on authenticity. The actors really appear middle-eastern, and this Mary (in the photo) is not the blue-eyed, lighter haired Mary we're used to seeing. I always give points for cultural accuracy in these kinds of films!
Cal has been playing with the baby Jesus in our Nativity scene at home. (We got a few decorations up this weekend, but no tree yet.) It will be a miracle if our baby Jesus survives this Christmas season!

Stranger than strange...
How weird is this - Ian had been friends with this guy, Dave Lubbers, for at least a year, when he finds out THEY'RE SECOND COUSINS! They had NO idea - it was Ian's aunt who first made the connection. Dave's dad and Ian's dad (who grew up in LeMars, Iowa) are first cousins. Ian's Grandma Clara and Dave's Grandma Helen were sisters!
So this weekend we had "Cousin Dave" over to the house, and he brought his parents from Webster City, so his dad and Ian's dad could reminisce about old family stories.
The gene pool kind of explains why Ian and Dave hit it off so well. Dave is a sports TV producer for ESPN - who plays blues harmonica in his spare time. He and Ian are both really tall, and have the same sense of humor. I'm glad to have him as part of the family!

Congrats, Uncle Pat!
I'll let him spread the good news, but I'm excited to see the photos of Pat's newest nephew! Check back soon - we're still working on this!

Sorry this took so long...here he is. Henry James weighed in at a little more than nine pounds. His mom says he was a week and a half early. She thinks he would have gone over ten pounds is he'd gone full term. Henry and His brother Elliot are both a blessing to our family. I hope I'll get to see him in person soon.

I think I said this before but as fate would have it my brother married an Iowa girl. She's from Indianola so there might be a few people interested to see the pics around here.

Shopping madness, T-giving recovery

Happy Friday!
It's Trisha getting things started.
Hey, who are we kidding - very few of you are online reading up on news today, so I'll keep it short and sweet.

Black Friday is Huge
We had Chopper 13 up and Elizabeth at a Best Buy store in WDM this morning. Before dawn people were lined up all the way across parking lots at Best Buys and Toys R Us and Menards, just to name a few.
If you weren't watching you missed a really funny scene inside the Best Buy - the lights went out in the store for a while, because they're on a timer system that got confused because they opened so early!
This is an All-American tradition. Ian's Canadian family is in town, and I had to explain the Black Friday phenomenon to them. (their Thanksgiving was in October, so this weekend isn't a holiday for them) I'm not sure if they'll actually want to go out shopping today to experience the madness for themselves, but Ian's stepmom was pretty impressed by the deals being offered in the ads. We'll see how energetic we feel later today.
My brother in-law was fiddling with our new TV yesterday and he made the picture 100 times better(thanks Chip).
I think we're going to have to go out and buy an HD antenna but I'm scared to step into a Best Buy today. I'm also scared to see what my wife is going to say when I tell her we need ONE MORE THING for that TV.

Online deals too

Online shoppers - here's a link to a coupon site we mentioned this morning. It's a good tool to find some good deals. I've been checking several big retail sites - many are offering the same deals you'll get in the store, and free or very cheap shipping. I think that's the route I'd rather take rather than fighting the crowds and packed parking lots!

Iraq Violence prompts curfew
Did you hear about the rash of bombings yesterday? 200 dead, 250 injured - bad stuff. There was another bombing this morning in Sadr City, a slum neighborhood in Baghdad. There's a curfew in place now and Baghdad Int'l Airport is shut down. Keep our military folks in your prayers, things are pretty intense over there lately.

Fire Victim Upgraded
We checked on that 18-month-old boy hurt in the fire this week - he's been upgraded to fair condition this morning.
Unfortunately the 16-year old girl injured in the crash with the WDM fire truck this week is still critical.

Thankful for the weather
I hope you're enjoying the extreme warmth - a huge arctic air mass is coming next week to make it feel like Christmas season!
A lot of the Shepherd Thanksgiving day was spent outdoors. We all went for a long walk, and Cal and I hung out at the playground.

Here are some shots of a new game he had me playing... head first down the slide, he'd scream "Down the To-let!! AAAAHHHH!" as he twisted downward. Of course I had to do the same. Good thing there was no one else there.

Ian and his folks put together a nice dinner last night - but poor Clara got left out! It wasn't ready until after she went to bed at 7. Good thing she'll get plenty of leftover turkey, potatoes, and pumpkin pie over the next couple of days! I have to say I'm very thankful for a healthy, happy family - sweet, hilarious kids, a cool husband, and awesome parents, in-laws and siblings.

I know Pat has some Thanksgiving pics to share too...

I'd say it is a drawback to have to work Thanksgiving Day and the day after but I really like the traditions Sally and I have been forced to carve out because of my schedule. We had a good day yesterday with my in-laws. I imagine it's a lot like the scene at other homes around the metro. We cooked most of the day...re-ajusting the thermometer to get the right reading three times. We watched too much football...Took a break to watch the movie Elf (I admit I hadn't seen it and it was cute) and we ended the night with a fantastic meal. Mom the stuffing was great! Best batch in years.




Here are a few more pictures of us Strategizing over the bird

carving the bird...


The table and the gang....


The Pies....

And the Aftermath!

Now it's on to Christmas. We go to get the tree this afternoon. After that, it's me on a ladder for about five hours putting lights on. I think I'm going to go for a record this year and try to put on 5000 lights. I'm a little Grizwaldian about our Christmas tree. Never can have too many lights. Hopefully the rest of the weekend will be relaxing.

My in-laws are going to cook for us tonight. Not dinner tonight, but some stuff to put in the freezer. Home cooking that will last us weeks.
Liz's(my mother in-law) Swiss steak, and Rick's(my father in-law) Brunswick stew.
I'll put up the recipie for The Brunswick stew when I get home today. It's a great way to get rid of the rest of that turkey if you can't eat all the leftovers.

Have a good weekend and remember before you blow up at your family because they're really starting to bug you....IT"S NOT THAT BIG OF A DEAL. Be patient. A lot of people don't have anyone to spend the holidays with.

Check back later today. I'm going to put a few pictures up from last night's dinner.


See you all Monday!
Trish and Pat

Happy Thanksblogging!

Good morning and Happy Thanksgiving. I suspect there won't be a lot of people reading this firmly ensconced behind their office desk this morning. I also suspect a larger than normal percentage of people missed the early morning news. Hope you slept in...We'll get you a quick update.

Fire Rescue:
An 18 month-old Des Moines boy is in critical condition this morning but he's alive thanks to the actions of a Des Moines Police officer. The Police were the first to show up at the housefire on the south side. The mother told them her baby was still inside so one of the officers went in. He couldn't see for all of the smoke...Until his partner broke out the back window. The baby started to cry and the first officer in found the boy. He's in bad shape, but again, he's alive.
The officer simply said he was doing his job, and he was. This, however is a reminder of the kind of people we are lucky enough o have as officers in Des Moines. They are told NOT to go into a burning home like this. I would take a guess that instinct takes over. I am glad our officers have that kind of instinct.

Where's the VP?
Iraqi state TV reported Vice President Cheney arrived in Iraq for a surprise visit of the troops. Or maybe he didn't. Cheney's office denies he's in Iraq. The embassy couldn't confirm he was there...But they did say he MIGHT be there. OK. Here's the deal. There's a lot of speculation because three years ago the President went to Iraq for Thanksgiving and the reporters with him couldn't say anything until he was out of the country. It's for security. I get it. I just want to put the confused reporting into context. We're not just guessing around here.

Macy's Tradition in Trouble:
We were worried all morning about the balloons. They giant balloons for the Macy's Thanksgiving day parade. They we're expecting 34 mile per hour gusts....That's not good for the balloons. Fortunately they decided the weather will be ok and we should be able to get through the parade. What a bummer for the kids and families standing along the parade route though. It's raining and cold. That can put a damper on even the best tradition. I guess you have to plan for bad weather in New York in November.


Thanksgiving Traditions:
We sent Liz Klinge to Chuck's again this year. The Parks Community Thanksgiving Dinner
started in 1985 when area churches came together. 125 volunteers will make 2500 dinners for people who need a little holiday cheer today. The interesting this here: Liz told us they were turning away volunteers this year because they had so many. They had to re-work the volunteering schedule and duties so people weren't tripping over each other.
Another holiday tradition is the Service at the Plymouth Congregational Church. Along with the traditional Pilgrim garb, somebody's going to have a long pole with a feather on the end to wake anyone up whop gets sleepy during the sermon.

Our traditions continue in the Dix household. Sally and her mom are up this morning to watch the Macy's parade. They've done it every year that Sal can remember. Christmas doesn't come until Santa pulls up in front of the Herald Square Store.
The tradition I love on the Today show is the band marching through the studio. Not sure if they're going to do it or not, but it's always funny to watch the little skit they put together.

The only other tradition I have responsability for is grace tonight before the meal. I am not a devoutly religious person though I feel like I am a person who has a lot of faith. Saying something before we take in a meal like the one we're going to have tonight is a tradition in my family. My Dad and my Uncle Jim are two people I try to emulate. They both captured the spirit of the holidays, the hopes of the year to come and both also manage to challenge everyone to look for a little deeper meaning in the holiday season.
No pressure. It's a good exercise for me personally too.

I should also say we had a great meal out last night. If you and your family are looking for something aside from leftovers Friday night try Mi Mexico. It's out just east of 35/80, North of University and West of 50th (NW 114th). I had the steak burrito. The margaritas are good too. The thing is it was dead. There have been four or five restaurants here over the years we've lived in Des Moines. This is a family business, they're serving good food in a great atmosphere. Anyway, just thought you might want something different.
My in-laws arrived last night along with my mom's stuffing. She put it in a little cooler like the ones they use when they transfer organ donations. Then she put a note on it saying it was like delivering "heart of thanksgiving". Good stuff mom.

Happy Thanksgiving everyone.
PWD
Trisha now - ick! Don't really want to picture donated organs when I'm eating! But I'll give her points for creativity!

Anyone else have unique Thanksgiving traditions they want to share?

I hope my little boy is waking up in a good mood this morning! We had a very late night at Disney on Ice. He LOVED the show, Peter Pan was especially a big hit since they harnessed him up to make him fly. Here he is ice-dancing with his "shadow" - I thought that was really cool.

All the Darling kids were very good actors and skaters - I give them credit for being brave enough to fly on that rig.



And being a big fan of the Little Mermaid, I really loved that part of the show. Under the Sea was really colorful and fun, as you'd expect - with bubbles in the air to make it look like water!


We only had a couple of problems.

First - the ridiculously overpriced souvenirs! I generally like Disney, but their merchandising folks are just cruel. Outside every door to the arena was a huge booth of toys that light up and spin - most of them priced at $18! And they know darned well how much pressure little kids put on their parents to get them the silly things when they see other kids waving them around inside a darkened arena. Manipulative price-gouging, I say. No, we didn't come home with one, and yes, there were a few tears shed over the "spinners" Calvin didn't get to have.
The other issue was parking. I'm still stunned that such a huge arena went up without a huge parking deck right beside it. We had to park about 5 blocks away, which wouldn't be a big deal, except for the fact that almost everyone in the audience was bringing very small children! It was no problem for my friend Rachel and I to get our 4 year olds TO the show, but afterwards, when Cal had fallen asleep in his chair and had to be woken up to leave the show (without a spinner toy, remember?) he was not a bit happy about the long walk. Rachel and I both ended up carrying our little 40+ pound lugs a good portion of the way back to the car. As she commented, "People always ask how I stay so thin after having kids... just look what I'm hauling around every day! It's a workout!"
Aside from the parking, I have to say the ice show is a pretty magical experience for kids. I told Cal I'll take him out ice skating for the first time sometime soon. I bet I'll be worse at it than he will, I haven't done it in years!

Happy Thanksgiving, everyone - I'm happy to say my Canadian in-laws (Ian's dad and stepmom) made it in okay last night, so I'm gonna go entertain the kids so I can hopefully keep them and myself out of everyone's way as the expert chefs get the turkey dinner going!
See you tomorrow!
Trisha

Traveling Holiday, Wash Your Hands and Tribute in Pink

Good morning, I hope a lot of you are waking up with just a half day of work or a day off ahead of you. Welcome to your Thanksgiving weekend.

Travelin:
28 million people are going more than 50 miles to celebrate with family and friends. If you are flying remember to bring clear plastic bags for toiletries you carry on. If you are picking someone up at the airport, bring your cell phone. The new cell phone lot opened yesterday. If you are driving, bring your credit card. Gas prices are up. And no matter where you go...Bring your patience.



Norovirus Scare:
About 1000 people reported symptoms of Norovirus around the state including 170 people at a school in Manchester. That's one of seven confirmed incidents of Norovirus. They're still trying to determine exactly what caused 71 people to get sick after eating at the Greenbriar restaurant in Johnston. This place is an institution. I applaude the owner for getting up with health officials and talking about the problem. His business is going to take a hit anyway, but he did the right thing is getting the restaurant and its practices checked right away by state officials. That way they could get up and give the Greenbriar a clean bill of health. Point of the story? Wash your hands and be very careful cooking this weekend. With so many people traveling around the state and so many people gathering in large groups...We could have a lot more sick people by the end of the holiday weekend. As an aside, we used to do those "Dirty Dining" reports; I saw a lot of inspections for the Greenbriar and I can't remember one where the inspector saw a violation that would cause someone to get sick.


Tribute:
Sixteen year-old Erika Schwager is still in the hospital after her accident with a fire truck in West Des Moines. Her classmates at Des Moines Christian Academy paid tribute to her at the girls basketball game by wearing pink ribbons in their hair and pink sweatband. Her parents continue to ask for the community's prayers.

Holiday Bowling
The Hawkeyes are headed to the Alamo Bowl. Murph says they're probably going to play Texas Tech. I hope Missouri gets the nod instead as the Big XII representative.

The First Kind of Holiday Shopping
We talked to the manager at the Windsor Heights HyVee this morning about last minute Thanksgiving shopping. I know I need ice. I'm not sure what else we forgot. I almost forgot to get the turkey. Thank god Hy vee still had a fresh one for us. There's going to be six of us at dour house for dinner and we've got 19 lbs of turkey. AWESOME!
What did you guys forget at the store?
It's Trisha now. Ian has to go back today for pumpkin pie ingredients, because I didn't call him to tell him exactly what we needed until he was already in the checkout line last night. My take - it would've been a lot less time-consuming for him to have gone back and gotten the stuff then and there, instead of making a second trip today, which is what he opted to do! I tried telling him this would be the busiest grocery day of the year, but he wouldn't hear it. I think it was a guy moment - he was in a hurry to get out, and couldn't be derailed.
Sigh. My luck he'll be in and out in 2 minutes today and my point will be moot.
Thanks and Giving
Last but not least, Liz Klinge has an awesome story about a four year old little boy who's been fighting a rare form of leukemia this last year. His name is Liam Renier, and he'll be featured as the Thanksgiving story for the Today show's Thanks and Giving series. Liam is quite a young man. Doctors told his parents he had no hope of surviving. St Jude's hospital told him otherwise. The doctors there shepherded his family through a year-long process that has given him a chance. Here's Liam's web page (sorry for those of you who tried earlier. I tried to fix the link. Now it will take you to the caring bridge website. click on the link that says: visit a Caring Bridge site. When you get to the page type Liam's name and you'll be there. Sorry that's a couple extra steps. It's worth it.) Now you can read more about him.
You can see more of Liz's interview with Liam and his family tonight on our evening newscasts.
We get really caught up in the stupid stuff around the holidays. This family has something to be thankful for. I'm glad I picked up the phone when his aunt called us about the story Monday. Thanks Liam!
This little guy seems like a great ambassador for St. Jude's! What a sweetie. I got tears in my eyes each time we heard his story, thinking about my own 4-year-old son, and our niece who battled leukemia. It's totally overwhelming to think about watching your child fight a life-threatening illness, and totally humbling to see what a great attitude he seems to have in spite of it all. -TS

Let the Games Begin!
I am thankful for my wife's family this year and their willingness to pick up and come to Des Moines for the holiday. Sally and I have always spent Thanksgiving together in DSM. I have to work every year so we have to stay put. We are lucky that Sally's family understands. Her Dad Rick was in television news for a lot of years and his family always worked around the holiday too. I have great in-laws who make this easy for us.
My folks are spending their last Thanksgiving in the house I grew up in. They moved in the month before I was born so it's the only house I've even known in Chicago. The two of them are downsizing to a condo in Downtown Evanston(just north of Chicago). My parents are getting more hip as I get older. I will miss being there with my family, but they are sending my mom's homemade stuffing with Sally's parents so I get a taste of home (Thanks Mom!).

I'm off to go to the store, get a haircut, catch a quick workout, and maybe put up the Christmas lights before everyone shows up.

I hope any of you who are traveling get to your loved ones and friends safely. Please be careful. We'd like to see you back here Monday. We'll be back tomorrow with what we hope is a fun show and some Thanksgiving thoughts.

Have a good one,
PWD
It's Trisha again - I'm planning on being a little sleepier than usual tomorrow morning. I'm taking Cal to Disney on Ice tonight. He has no idea we're going. I hope he'll love it as much as I expect him to.

Ian's dad and stepmom are in the car right now making the long drive from rural Ontario, Canada (not far from Detroit) to Des Moines. They're the best kind of guests - fun and helpful! They're going to help us cook and celebrate Thanksgiving, even though they already had their Canadian Thanksgiving last month! (did you even know their holiday was at a different time? I never did until I married into a half-Canadian family!)

I'm so glad not to be in charge of the turkey. I'm not a very good cook and I get totally panicky under the pressure of a big family occasion-meal.
I already called the 1-800 -BUTTERBALL hotline to settle a dispute Ian and I had over whether I'd thawed the turkey for too long. I won - they said we're okay!

Here's a shot of Pat manning what we call the "nutline" this morning. People call the newsroom with all kinds of crazy stuff. Sometimes of course they're normal requests for information, but lots of times, people just want to rant about something. Pat was on the receiving end of a pretty long and windy rant today... glad it wasn't me! He did a good job staying patient!
Safe travels, everyone!! If you're up early tomorrow on your day off, we'll all be here to give you the news!
Trisha

Fire Truck Vs. Car, 10 worst toys, Racist Rant

Good morning,

Lots to talk about today so we'll get to it.

Coal in your stocking?
Over on Des Moines' East side neighbors are getting in on the debate over two proposed ethanol plants. They gave the City Council a petition saying they didn't want Lincolnway Energy's plant to be built. Lincolnway apparently would use coal to fuel its ethanol production. Neighbors are worried about the dust.

Fire Truck Vs Car Crash
It's Trisha now. Just wanted to add an update to info we had this morning on last night's 10pm lead story. A fire truck on a call hit a car at Valley West Dr. and Westown Pkwy last night. The driver, a 16-year-old-girl, is in critical condition. It's a terrible reminder of how important it is to be aware of your surroundings when you're driving, and make sure to yield to the flashing lights and sirens.
TS


Richards Rant
Did anyone see Michael Richards tirade on stage at an LA comedy club? It was quite a rant at a pair of hecklers. He says it was "insane", and that he is not a racist.
So do you believe he was just rattled and flew off the handle? I googled Michael Richards Video and it's the first thing that pops up. Use your discretion here...It is adult content...
Trisha now - I was totally blown away by this rant. It's hard to believe those words could come out of anyone's mouth - in public! Really shocking and sad stuff. I'd say his career as a comic is over.

Pick-up
If you're going out to the airport to pick someone up...Bring the cell phone. The Des Moines Airport followed the lead of other larger facilities and set up a cell phone parking lot. It allows you to go to the airport a few minutes early...When your visitor comes in, they call you and you pull around and pick em up. Convenient...and you avoid a ticket police might give you if you wait too long at the curbside pick-up.



Crash Test Dummies
The Insurance Institute for highway safety released its annual list of crash tests for 07 model year cars. Here's the list of the 13 that made the grade. Interesting info for anyone in the market for a car, and a relief for those of us who just bought a new one. My car is on the list of the ones with the highest crash test rating.



What's easting Gilbert Grape?
apparently an Iowa School District is pulling, What's Eating Gilbert Grape from a literature to film class. I'm going to start by saying I haven't read the book and it could be really racy for all I know. I just feel like a complaint from a parent shouldn't be enough to change curriculum. And do we really think High School students are unaware of sex?
If What's eating Gilbert Grape is the raunchiest thing your kid is reading at sixteen years old...You're lucky.
What's more disturbing here is the slippery slope this presents in school districts. What's next? Are the themes in a book not Christian enough for a family? Are the themes in the book not reflective of the "values" in our community? Sometimes that's the point! Sometimes learning what's right isn't enough...
Sometimes it's reading about and learning about things that might make us uncomfortable that challenge our values...in the end it may solidify them even more!
We should be aware of age appropriate reading for kids, but more importantly, as kids get into high school, it's time to start talking to them about these subjects. They're not adults, but they are forming the opinions they will use as young adults.
My parents weren't afraid of watching an R rated movie with me as long as they were there. If there was a subject they thought was borderline or too adult...They talked to me about it and made their values and opinions on the matter clear.
I don't have kids, I don't have any room to talk here, but I just hate to see a book, by an Iowa author cut from class because we're worried it might bruise the sensitive ears of the kids that are cursing every third word out of their mouth when the adults aren't around.
Nice rant, Pat. I think you're on the right track. TS

10 worst toys
Check out this list of this season's 10 Worst Toys! Trish is going to take issue with this one. I only take issue with why anyone is selling a bow and arrow as a toy!

Pat's right! Here's my beef - some of these toys are obviously stupidly dangerous. A bow and arrow set - rocket launcher, a light-up Superman that's an electrical hazard so kids are not supposed to touch it! (good luck keeping their hands off something that looks cool and glows!)

But can you believe this wooden stacking rings toy made the list? Clara has something similar. She loves the thing! Apparently they're worried that the wooden pole is dangerous if the child falls on it. I must be a negligent mother but I never would've come up with that one.

Parents back me up - just about ANY TOY can be a lethal weapon. Trust kids to find a way to injure themselves or their siblings with something that looks innocuous. At our last big family gathering my brother Kevin had to confiscate the CABBAGE PATCH DOLLS because the kids were launching them at each other, and those big plastic heads hurt!

The biggest hazard at our house lately is Calvin's guitar. Seriously. He likes to "rock out" to his loud music in the living room (he's a true rocker's child so it's usually "Rage Against the Machine" or one of the rock bands my husband Ian used to play in). But Cal leaves the guitar propped up against the coffee table. Clara then inevitably leans up on it or trips over it, and falls on the floor. It's happened enough times that you think she'd learn, but no luck. So now, we're teaching Calvin to put it away somewhere safer. I'm sure she'll find another deadly hazard soon.TS

Which Wine Fits?
I'll add my compliments to the woman who wrote in and guessed the favorite kind of wine for each of us(see yesterday's blog responses). I'll admit my dinner is usually accompanied by a nice shiraz/Cabernet blend. I love those Aussies!


As to the idea of a bloggers night out: you are a loyal and interesting bunch, but I am not sure how big this group really is. We hear from a lot of the same people, and I, for one, love it. I know there are more of you out there but how many? I'd be afraid we'd plan a big night for the five of us who read this thing. Maybe we'll revisit that idea as we go along here.

Hey Pat, don't forget, I have several family members who read every day just to keep tabs on us! I bet that increases our numbers to at least 8 blog-readers! A blogger party might be fun... think the company would spring for it? TS

Have a good day!
PWD and TS

Deadly weekend, Mo's Celebration, and Brad's back!

Good Monday morning to you.


Weekend Police Blotter:
This isn't the kind of stuff you want to wake up to on a Monday morning but this weekend there was a lot on the police blotter. A Stabbing early Sunday morning lead to first degree murder charges against a Des Moines man. The stabbing happened in the same neighborhood as a hit and run accident outside the hull ave tavern. Also this weekend, a hit and run killed an ankeny man. The driver of the truck police believed was involved is in custody.

MOmorial:
Today the community gets together to remember Mo Dana. The former Director of the des Moines Arts Festival will be memorialized at 4 this afternoon at the Temple for the Performing Arts.

Brad's Back:
Thank goodness we've got Brad Ehrlich. He pointed out the major routes into downtown from the south side are open again. SW 9th and SW 8th are both back open. So ninth is a one way again out of downtown and you can get back into the downtown area on 8th.
While we're on the Ehrlich beat, we're glad to have him back in studio this morning. That means we heard a lot of good Brad stories...or should I say, bad stories. Brad had a break in last week. Among other things taken out of his garage...A pair of size 15 shoes.
Note to thief: don't steal stuff that's so recognizable! Not sure how you sell a pair of size 15's without being noticed.
Glad to know Brad wasn't hurt. Things can be replaced, Our traffic guy can't be...

Gas prices are up again. Surprised? It's a holiday week and we're past the elections. I hate to go Oliver Stone about this but it happens all the time. If the prices only went up on odd weeks when there was no outside influence...I'd be less skeptical. This is however simple supply and demand. If you know people are going to have to and want to buy it...Wouldn't it make sense a commodity like oil is worth more?
This is an especially bad week for gas prices to go up here. We just got that new car and let's just say it's not as fuel efficient as my old Civic. Sally's brother will be in town and he will likely give his sister(who has 2 environmental science degrees) a hard time.
I'll let her off the hook and tell him it was his environmentally insensitive brother-in-law that made the decision. I do love the room and the feel of that big heavy car.

Go Big Go Long or Get Out
Not sure who decided the name of the plan but those are the three choices in front of the Pentagon. The Washington Post is reporting this story this morning. US Military officials see three realistic responses to improving the situation in Iraq. I think they're all pretty self explanatory.


Counting your Blessings:
This weekend also started the annual dance that determines where we'll go and what we'll do around the holidays. By holidays I means Christmas. Sally and I grew up in the same Chicago suburb, so our families still live a couple miles apart. Let me say first that our families are always AWESOME about being flexible and and accomodating as they can be with the short time we are home. we're also luycky to have the ability to see two families in one holiday. A lot of couples have to split the day.
As the years go by we add more members of our family. This complicates things. Juggling time to see each of our families for Christmas, Sally's Grandma in from Florida(who's birthday is the day after Christmas), A new baby nephew (due in just four days), and all the friends we still have in Chicago is a little like trying to figure out the National budget(Not enough resources to spread over the things we'd like to do).
Let's just say we always go into our own little Christmas time deficit.
I'm sure we're not the only ones. It always seems to be stressful for a few weeks before Christmas, but in the past few years we've tried to remember how lucky we are to have family and friends to see, places to go, and loved ones who are after our time.
It focuses your attention on your good fortune when you consider that there are tens of thousands of families who will be without thier loved ones overseas...and thousands more who don't have anyone to spend the holiday with in the first place.
Look around the Thanksgiving table and see just how lucky you are.

I'll cut the blog short this morning. I'm having trouble keeping my arms up. Sally and I raked yesterday cleaning out all of the places the leaves found to hide in the bushes and under the deck out back. I love the mature trees our neighborhood has for about 10 months out of the year. The other 2, I have to watch about 500-thousand leaves fall off of each of the two trees in our yard.
We're getting better at it.
It only took us three hours and about 15 bags to get the yard clean.

Trisha's Two Cents'
Not much time - I'm running out the door on assignment! Amen to the stress of fitting lots of family into the holidays! I'm not sure exactly how we'll cover our bases this Christmas. I think we're resigned to the fact that you just can't see everyone on every holiday. I'll settle for quality time over quantity of relatives!

It was a busy weekend for us - my aunt and uncle from Chicago brought my little cousins to visit, and we had a great time at the Science Center! It's amazing how one place has so much for kids of all ages (and big kids too - my uncle is notorious for monopolizing kids' toys on Christmas - he had a ball at the science center too!)

We even stopped to see Santa already at the mall. Cal was too shy to say what he wanted, so he wrote him a letter asking for a toy computer with a mouse he can click. I hope "Santa" can find one that's not too pricey!

NEW ADDITION!

Pat, correct me if you were referring to something else, but I assume your hints last week were about our NEW PRODUCER, Heather Lewis! She's a welcome addition to our team, since our producer Jodi is moving to the evening shift. Heather just moved here from North Dakota, and says there's no job she'd rather do than produce a morning newscast. (Really!) I hope she means it! Anyway, whatever you see from now on that you like, or dislike, give her the credit or the complaints - she's our boss! Welcome, Heather, we're really happy to have you!

HAPPY Monday!!

Trish and
PWD

Where's the President? Where's My Refund? and why are they throwing things at Jeriann this morning?

Good Morning,

Kum and Go Fire:
News developed while we were on the set this morning at the Krause Gentle corporation out on Westown Parkway in West Des Moines. They had a little electrical fire out there. The sprinklers took care of it, but the building was without power for a while today.

Kidnapped
In Iraq they're still looking for four American contractors kidnapped yesterday. We know one of them is a former police officer from Minneapolis. Witnesses say one of the Americans was wounded as the group's convoy was hijacked.

Vietnam:
The President learned of the kidnappings when he got up this morning in Vietnam. The President is attending the Asia-Pacific Economic cooperation summit there. He's scheduled to meet with the head of Vietnamese Communist Party tonight in Party Headquarters.
There are all kinds of jokes floating around...My favorite was relayed by Mike Zavacki, our studio tech, this morning. Letterman apparently told it this way: I hear President Bush is on his way to Vietnam...I guess his Dad couldn't get him out of it this time. He's supposed to meet with the Head of the Communist Party while he's there...Wait a minute...I thought Nancy Pelosi was in Washington DC these days.
Funny stuff for both sides of the aisle.


Hydrogen Stupidity, and Playstation 3:
The Playstation 3 madness continues this morning. I bet you were all waiting for this one. It's proof of my Father -in-law's favorite saying, "The two most common elements in the Universe are Hydrogen and stupidity"
A fight broke out in California as people waited in line for the new Playstation 3. I've made my feelings known about how stupid I think this is...It starts to get sad when somebody gets hurt over it. Here in Iowa we've shown actual use of the brain in this situation. They gave people in line at a Best Buy tickets. Anyone who's got a ticket...Can have a Playstation. No one is running, pushing trampling or fighting over the order...You get a ticket...You get a Playstation.

Where's my Money?
If your IRS tax refund check never came, go to this site to correct your address and check the status of your refund.


State Titles and Conflict of Interest
SE Polk goes after it's first state title in Football tonight in the UNIdome. Good luck.
Dan McCarney's last game is tomorrow in Ames and I'm torn. The Clones are playing Missouri. I can't cheer against the school I went to, I'm finding it hard not to want McCarney to go out a winner at Iowa State.

Weekend Plans:
The Brenton Skating Rink opens up tonight. This is the outdoor skating rink on the Riverwalk. We were told the thing can stay frozen up to 50 degrees or so. It's gonna be close over the next few days.



Polar Express begins it's Christmas run at the Science Center today. Call or go to their web address for tix.



Grapes of Wrath:
I'd try to explain to you why the floor crew was throwing grapes at Jeriann this morning but I'm not quite sure how things deteriorated.
It started with a story about a guy who broke the world record for catching grapes in his mouth. Now I'm not demeaning his unique talent but do we really need a world record for that? And I've always wondered: How does someone acquire a talent for things like this?

The Lend Lease Program:
For those of you keeping score at home, I got a new car last night. I won't give a blatant plug to the dealership, but I will say I remained brand loyal in this case. They had a really good lease deal going. I'm excited to have a new ride.

Come Fly with Me:
We're taking our editor Mat Teller out to breakfast so I'm going to cut this short. He's leaving today for a new career. Matt's going to become a professional pilot. We wish him good luck and know that if he puts half the effort and passion toward his new career that he put in here at WHO, he will be a success. Matt is always the first to volunteer and the last to complain. We will miss his commitment to the show, especially because it's hard to find people to get up so early in the morning. Thanks Matt!


Hope you have a good weekend.
PWD

Two Rivers Messages, Smokeout Help

Good morning, We had a few early links up this morning and we hope they're helpful for you early risers...

Plane Crash Questions
The investigation into the crash that killed four employees at Two Rivers Marketing continues and the focus is the plane and the pilot. This morning's Des Moines Register reports that that pilot did not have the proper license to operate a charter. The question now...was it a charter? Two Rivers says it was. We talked to the NTSB investigators yesterday who told us that they have no information to indicate money changed hands for the flight. That's important because if the pilot simply ferried the group to South Bend and didn't take cash, it's a legal flight and he was licensed to do it. If it was a charter, the pilot operates under different rules and the plane is inspected in a different way. We'll hear more about this in the coming days.

Condolences...
Thanks to Trish we've got an early link to Two Rivers Marketing website, where you can leave condolence mssages to co-workers of the four employees killed in Monday's plane crash.
Thanks to those of you who've written on this blog concerned about the surviving family members and friends. I'm glad to see the company has made their website an outlet for people to share their condolences. TS

Hit and Run Search

A hit and run on the east side of the city meant police were searching for a suspect early this morning.
It happened near the Hull Ave. Tavern on a sidewalk around 2am. We're waiting for updates from police.

Asia Trip Begins
The President is in Asia. He's on an eight day tour.
North Korea and trade relations seem to be the main topics on the table. Read more about what President Bush is doing in Asia here.

More Wannabe Presidents
Sen John Mc Cain and former Wisconsin Governor Tommy Thompson are apparently going to file with the FEC to organize presidential exploratory committees. Go to Dave Price's blog The Price of Politics for more on that.

Camping out Crazies
Did you see the kids waiting outside for the release of the new Playstation3? It's fun for them and I hope these kids are really going to take the game home and use it. Don't get me wrong...I think they're crazy. I say that cause I heard someone say there are people out there who are going to buythese games for $600 tomorrow and turn around to sell it on Ebay for up to $2000. Come on...they know Sony is going to make more of these right? You're really willing to pay more than 3 times the retail price?
It reminds me of the guys who stand in line to get an autograph of a famous sports star and then sells the autographed item online. It ruins the process for the kids. I see this Playstation thing the same way. IT'S A GAME FOR KIDS! ADULTS GET A LIFE AND WAIT FOR THE THING TO COME OUT. LET THE KIDS PLAY THE VIDEO GAMES.

Kicking Butts
It's also the Great American Smokeout....For help quitting smoking, try the American Cancer Society website.
Anyone want to share suggestions on what works if you're trying to quit? I'm a nonsmoker, but have several family members who smoke. I keep hoping they'll quit for good, but I know it's really really hard. TS


NO BELLRINGERS AT TARGET
It's Trisha now. Target is sticking to its no solicitations policy again this year - even for charity. But this year Target's giving the Salvation Army a million dollars - AND they're selling these angel ornaments with Swarovsky crystals, to benefit the Salvation Army. $9.99. I kind of like the idea of giving someone a stocking stuffer that's for a good cause... maybe more fun than plunking change in a kettle.

A word of advice for wives...
Don't let your husband order your cocktail. Especially if he has a mischievous streak.
Ian and I had a rare dinner without the kids last night..and I was dumb enough to let him choose my beverage. Some type of raspberry martini - and all I ate was salad and an appetizer. Yikes. My 2:30am alarm was unusually disturbing this morning. It took about 4 cups of coffee to shake the cobwebs out of my head. Now I'm craving a greasy breakfast.

I can't blab such blibber blubber...
Just a quote from one of my all time favorite books, Dr. Seuss's Fox in Socks! That's what I'm reading this morning when Pat and I go over to a grade school for a reading event with kids. I LOVE reading that book out loud - if you haven't tried it, it's a TRIP. And your kids will think you're a rock star if you can actually spit out all the crazy tongue twisters - FAST. Nonsense is so much fun. Dr. Seuss was a genious.

I'll do my best to get through the book, even though I'm moving a bit slowly today!

Before I go, one request for those of you responding to this blog- we love comments and appreciate your enthusiasm - but ask you to keep any comments clean.

Have a good Thursday!

Trish

Tsunami, Crash Investigation Continues, and Labelman!

Good morning,

Hope a lot of you liked the live link with the WHO radio studios this morning. Is that customer service or what? You ask, we deliver...
Actually it was a surprise to most of us...But it was nice to see Brad in his element this morning.

In the News:

Crash Investigation:
As if it wasn't hard enough to lose five people in a plane crash Monday...This morning the process of trying to figure out what went wrong continues.
I say this because now the questions will begin. Was the pilot certified to fly under those conditions? Were his medical certifications current? Was the plane inspected as often as charter flights should be? This is not en effort to pin blame on anyone. It happens after every accident like this. The FAA will take a lot of time to do a very...And I mean very thorough investigation. Finding out what went wrong and why is an important way the FAA passes information along to pilots so they can avoid dangerous situations in the future.

Tsunami:
We told you about he Tsunami warning out of Japan this morning. An earthquake measuring 8.1 on the Richter scale is significant and you can see why they'd issue the warning. By the end of the show, CNN started reporting "16 inch tsunami waves". Really? Cause I'd just call those waves.
I don't want to pre-judge because everyone is still a little on edge waiting for a bigger surge, and it still could happen.
It was the right thing to do to warn people. I'm not convinced the 16 inch wave was something we needed to breathlessly report on CNN this morning. I say all the time. If people don't take TV news that seriously anymore...This is the kind of stuff contributing to that trend. We can be such a good resource, but we've got a lot of time to fill, and sometimes, we end up saying things we wish we wouldn't.

Mo Memorial:
We learned more info on Mo Dana's memorial service. As only Mo could...She left, "strict instructions" that this was not be a funeral service. She wanted a celebration.
It certainly will be.
Next Monday, the 20th of November, the service will start at 4pm in the Grand Hall of the Temple for the Performing Arts. I'm going to get there early. It's going to fill up quickly.

Downtown Grocery:
This is one of those ideas that, if I had a million dollars, I'd have done myself. The owners of the Royal Mile, Hessen House, El Baitr Shop and High Life Lounge are at it again. They're taking the risk none of the Fat Cats will around here. They're going to try out a downtown Grocery. As someone who looked into living downtown, I have to say this was the deciding factor on the NO side. How are you supposed to live down there if you can't go get a gallon of milk and some stuff to get you throughout he week? The Ingerdall's or the Fluer Hy-Vee are far enough away...I might as well live in the burbs.
So here it is, anyone can take the idea if they like, but I think one of the bigger chains should open a grocery store centered around urban living in the old Younkers Building. It's perfect. Put a Deli/fresh foods/cafeteria type place on the second floor with the skywalk access. People could eat lunch there.
Then the first floor could become an urban grocery store. Not only would the people who live down their appreciate it...Think of the 60-thousand people who work downtown. They could swing by and pic up that "one more thing" they need to cook dinner on their way home.
If anyone takes this idea and rund with it,...Could I at least get a free bag of chips every once in a while for helping you out?
The worst part about this is that if the grocery on Court ave is successful, one of the big chains WILL find a way to get down there. They'll use influence and power to slide into a tested marketplace rather than taking a risk on a community they serve. They'll beat down the independent grocer and sooner or later we'll have our downtown chain grocery store.

LABELMAN!
This was the early link to the FDA's new superhero, Labelman! We had fun with this one this morning. Maybe I can make a second career as a voice actor. If you missed it, I did my best superhero introduction every time Trish did this story...LABELMAN!

Hope you had some fun with us this morning.

Plane Crash, Medicare Call-in, and Pat can't schpell

Good Morning!

We're working on getting more information this morning from our affiliate in South Bend Indiana. A plane crashed just after take-off there last night. That plane was supposed to be headed to the Ankeny Regional Airport. The airplane was registered to a company out of Atlantic, Iowa. No word if the victims were from Indiana or Iowa, or both. UPDATE: since the show we've learned a fifth body was found at the scene of the crash. Officials tell WNDU that their initial search found only four bodies. We expect an update on this story this morning and will bring you the latest on the Noon news.

In Iraq this morning security forces are looking for about 150 people abducted from a research facility. I'd say this is the latest in a string of sectarian violence in Iraq, but the men taken were both SHI'ITE and sunni.


It's round two for the Medicare prescription drug sign-up. The sign up period starts tomorrow so we decided to get some people in to answer phone in questions this morning during the show. You might have questions if you need to sign up for the first time, if you missed the sign up period last year or if you just don't feel like the prescription plan you have is working...You can pick up a new plan.
Our phone volunteers left at 7:30 but they will be back to take your calls from Noon to 1pm and from 5-5:30 or 6pm. Hopefully they will be helpful in answering your questions. This program can be confusing.

It's one month until the Ward 4 primary run-off in the City of Des Moines. eight people want the seat vacated by Archie Brooks. The two top vote getters will run off in January.

If you thought election commercials were gone for a while think again. The committee to recruit/elect/Shanghai former New York city Mayor Rudy Guilini has radio ads running. "America's Mayor" filed paperwork to raise money for a presidential run. He says he's not sure yet. Tell you what...I'm sure as of right now he has every intention of running...

Liz Klinge has a story you have to see tonight at 10pm. I hope you will make the time. A company in Cedar Rapids was wondering why it's employees weren't using sick days, and why an employee with a degenerative eye disease didn't lose her sight. What they found is described by scientists as a breakthrough...An Ahh Haa moment that comes once in a lifetime. See it tonight at ten.

And how funny is that lady on Deal or No Deal -Myra from Chariton. (She won more than $80,000 on the episode seen last night) She's great. My favorite part of her interview with Jannay was the part where she talked about, "her producer". She is of course talking about the show's producer who is keeping in touch with her. But I bet she's the only lady in Iowa who has her own producer...

Before Trish gets on me for my spelling mishaps this morning...In my own defense, I have fat fingers.
Trisha's turn now:
PAT IS NOT SWEDISH...
But this morning he claimed to have used the "Swedish spelling" of the word "headed" in one of our scripts. It came out "hjeaded." Cute excuse. Security forces became "froces." I've been to Sweden and I am sure that's not the Svensk spelling of anything! It always makes me smile inside to have a really ridiculous typo on a very serious story. Thanks to my friend Patttt, threere araere ltsoots ooff tthttoset moemnets evvrery mrornigng.
:)
STUDIES FROM THE PARENTING CORNER...
Did you hear about that crazy study involving pregnant mice? The ones that took a supplement while pregnant passed along changes in their appearance not just to their babies, but to their grandbabies too! I thought expectant moms faced enough guilt worrying that the ice cream sundae or Cheetos they might crave will somehow taint their precious growing baby. Now you have to worry about ruining your grandkids' health with every bite!

That reminds me, have any of you read the "What to Expect..." book's chapter on eating? Where it says that you should ask yourself with each bite you take, "Is this really the best thing for my baby?" It made me want to stick my junk-food encrusted fork in the author's eye. I am ALL FOR excellent nutrition during pregnancy, but I rage when I hear some self-righteous (and probably not pregnant at the moment) author pouring guilt onto a mom-to-be over an occasional self-indulgent treat. PLEASE! Save it - moms have enough guilt already!
Sorry. Got a little fired up. I think I need some chocolate now to improve my mood.
Before I go here's a link to another study about parents being unaware that their kids aren't getting enough sleep. I can't imagine that. If my kids aren't sleeping, they let us know it. Loud and clear.

BACHELOR ADDICTION
Yes, I watched the ridiculous show again last night, it's down to two bachelorettes now, and Pat's pick, Jen, is still in! I'm glad to see the prince (who's really not my type anyway) got rid of the crazy girl who's obsessed with being married. I'm siding with Pat, I think Jen will be the last woman standing. I'm ashamed to admit I care - really, I watch and read more intelligent things, I just have a strange fixation with watching these people look pathetic on national television. The crying in the limo scenes when they get rejected are my favorite. Kind of sick, huh?

Have a good day!
PWD and Trish

Microsoft Trial, Busy day for Bush, Jeriann's Iraq Update

Good morning! Sorry we're late getting this up this morning - Pat and I are both busy with assignments today!
Here are a couple of things in the news and on our minds today -

Microsoft Trial
A class action lawsuit against Microsoft is being tried in Polk County. Today they'll start picking from 450 potential jurors! If you bought a Microsoft program in the last decade or so, you could see 10 to 50 bucks out of the deal if the plaintiffs win. Bill Gates may have to show up at some point. I'm sure that'll be a bit of a circus - wish I got called to jury duty this week instead of a couple months ago!-TS

Speedway Announcement
This could be a big deal at the Iowa Speedway. Rusty Wallace will be there at 12:45 making a big announcement. Nascar has said it plans to launch another series... Pat says it'll be like the AA or AAA in major league baseball. My dad follows racing and thinks this should be a pretty big deal for Newton - stay tuned!

Waltz away heart disease
A way to combine romance and exercise that won't get us in trouble when we talk about it on the news! (wink wink) A study finds folks with heart failure should dance more. We had hilarious video this morning of older people square dancing in full costume. Made my morning.

PB Pancakes
I think I like Rachel Ray (her show's on our station at 11am nowadays) but I'm not sold on her idea of the day - peanut butter pancakes with jelly syrup. Pat said it looked good to him.
What do you guys think of the idea? What about Rachel? I'm not much for cooking shows, but at least she seems like a fun person to watch!

Now I turn it over to the weather goddess, who's got this to contribute to the blog today:
Jeriann's Iraq Update

I said I would keep you updated on my dad, Paul, who is stationed in Iraq. It was good to see him in this picture he sent. It's his birthday this week. He'll be 56. I'm forecasting he never thought he would be spending his birthday in Iraq!
He does e-mail at least a couple of times a week. He and the other 10 American soldiers are in a camp with over 400 members of the Iraq army. Thanks for the nice thoughts and prayers many of you bloggers sent last time I mentioned him!
-Jeriann

Holy Hail!
It's Trisha again. A couple more things to share with you...
I survived one of the scariest driving experiences of my life on Friday! I was driving with the kids on I-80 near Iowa City when a hailstorm hit us. Here's a picture of the aftermath when we finally pulled into a gas station to wait out the storm under a shelter. Luckily the pieces were small, but they were coming down so hard and fast it was DEAFENING. Cal thought it was funny.


Luckily the rest of our weekend was much more relaxing and fun! Here's my new nephew, Jackson, with Calvin. Cal was really interested in him - he wondered ,"What can he do? Can he crawl?" Nope. "Can he play with toys?" Nope. He pretty much smiles, cries, eats, and poops. But he looks great doing it! What a peanut.
Brian and Kelly are very proud parents, and thankfully, very relaxed, since Jackson got passed around to approximately 500 million doting relatives.


Not to be outdone, my other brother, Kevin, (here with his wife, Kim and my kids) showed up with a huge bag full of GUM and candy from his new job at the Wrigley company. (This pic shows the goods in a pile on the coffee table) I told Kevin he's cheating. You should have to work harder to be the favorite uncle.

We had a good time, but I really missed my hubby who had to stay back home and work over the weekend. (He was home alone like Pat - minus the cool new TV to play with!) We're going to try to get out for a legitimate "date" this week to make up for lost time!
Happy Monday, everyone!
Trisha