Celebrate 2008

Good morning everyone. Hard to believe it's the last day of the year and tomorrow we ring in 2008. It seems like just yesterday we were all worried about Y2k in 2000. Remeber that? What scam that we were all scared the world would come crashing to a technological halt at the stroke of midnight. Ahhh... memories.

What do you all have planned for the evening? This is the night when my best friend says all the amaetures come out. I guess she means that people who normally don't drink overconsume on this night. Not sure if that is true but I know the older I get, the more I prefer to stay home and celebrate from the comforts of my couch. I'm working tomorrow so there will be no late night parties. But that's acutally just the way I like it.

Hope you all stay safe whatever you may decide to do to welcome 2008.

Caucuses
If you've never checked out WHO Political reporter Dave Price's website, IowaVotes2008 you should. Even if you are not a poltical junkie, you'll find some of the things on the website interesting. Yesterday, Dave got to tag along with Barack Obama for a day on the campaign trail here in Iowa. It was interesting to see what goes on behind the scenes during these stops. For example, Obama has several secret service agents who travel with him because of death threats to his family. This is also where you get to see how the candidates act when they're not stumping. Obama told Dave at one point that they should get moving on the interview so he could watch the football game. When you watch the story you don't know if he is joking. Hey, these candidates probably still want to have a life... even if it is only for a few minutes each day.


That's it for now. I have a New Year's Resolution that I think we should all embrace: Let's be nice on the blog! I'm talking about all the blogs... not just The Morning Buzz. How does that sound? See you next year!

Brooke

Weather, Weather and Weather

Mother Nature sure has good timing. The snow started coming down at around 4:00 and really picked up right as people starting driving into work. Hope you made it safely if you did go into work today. As I write this, police are dealing with at least 20 accidents out on the interstate alone.

It's been a weird week. It doesn't feel like Friday to me because of Christmas on Tuesday. Here in the newsroom we have a pretty small staff because so many people are taking vacation. It has been very quiet and for some reason that makes me feel nervous. Newsroom are supposed to be loud and full of people, not bare and quiet. But, perhaps I should be careful what I wish for. Next week will be a different story. In case you've been living under a rock, the Iowa Caucuses are next Thursday.


To the news...

Benazir Bhutto
The oppostition leader in Pakistan was gunned down yesterday during a campaign rally. Today the people of Pahkistan mourned her death by causing a lot of chaos.
Angry Bhutto supporters ran amok through the streets after her assassination, lighting cars and stores on fire in violence that killed at least 23 people. The attack on Bhutto also killed 20 others.

This story could have a profound effect on the Presidential Race. Yesterday in Iowa, all of the candidates campaigning here talked about it. And Des Moines Register columnist David Yepsen said it could help a few of the candidates who are perceived as having experience with foreign relations. John McCain, Rudy Guiliani, Hillary Clinton and Bill Richardson could all get a second look from voters who sense that foreign policy is important in the wake of Bhutto's death.

Shawn Johnson
She was in the most recent edition of Sports Illustrated as Gymnast of the Year. The photo shows Shaw on a balance beam in a corn field. Is anyone else tired of Iowa always being defined by corn? The stereotype that Iowa only has fields of corn doesn't really annoy me or uspet me, but it would be refreshing to see our state portrayed in a new way. Any ideas?

Hope you all have a great weekend.

Wal-Mart gift cards, Iraq and New Year Resolutions

Good morning bloggers! Have you ever had too much coffee? I didn't think this caffeine addict could overdose, but I think I am at that point this morning. I suspected something was wrong when I couldn't keep my hand steady enough to straighten my hair.

Wal-Mart Gift Cards
Yesterday, during one of the busiest shopping days of the year, Wal-Mart stores had a problem with the system that processes its gift cards. That means you couldn't use one yesterday. I wasn't there, but I can only imagine what kind of scene that created in the check-out lanes. Megan Ruether said she was behind someone who had the problem. I would be pretty honked off too. I didn't make it to Wal-Mart, but I did go to Target to scope out all the holiday stuff on sale. I quickly realized I wasn't in the mood but still managed to walk out with $150 in merchandise. Target does a great job of making you WANT everything in the store. My gift card did work there!

Iraq
We had a story this morning. The US Military says its getting a handle on all the violence there and it should continue to stabilize even when we start bringing home troops in July. I was talking to my brother-in-law Bobby over Christmas about this. He's with the 833rd Engineering Battalion out of Mt. Pleasant. He says the difference between the level of violence now compared to his first deployment in 2005is incredible. He said Al-Qida is basically out of the country and there are few suicide bombings. He says the Iraqis are really starting to take control of their country in most areas. He thinks General Patreus and the troop surge are making the difference. And, I'll add that Bobby is not politically motivated in saying this. He always tells us the truth about what he's seeing. With that said, I think it's sad that we're not hearing some of the positive developments on the national news. I guess no news is good news in that sense.

New Year Resolutions
Megan Reuther had a story this morning about a program at Iowa Lutheran Hospital called the Lifestyle Management Center. For $100 fee, counselorshelp you break any bad habit you want to drop in the New Year. This can be anything from over-eating to smoking. There's a lot of psychology behind bad habits, so this program helps you make new ones that are essentially learned. I desperately want to lose those last few pounds of baby fat. But I am terrible at New Year resolutions. Maybe this year will be the year!

Have a great day. Sounds like the roads could be bad tomorrow morning. Hope you stay safe.
Brooke

More campaigning, Holiday spending and Happy Boxing Day!

Good morning. I hope some of you are enjoying a little rest and relaxation today and hope you all had a nice Christmas. What a beautiful day. We didn't get the snow that was supposed to arrive yesterday but Megan Salois says it's coming today. If any of you are crazy enough to head out to the malls today, good luck! All morning on the Today show, the "experts" kept saying that there are lots of deals to be had. I plan to stay home and do some cleaning. If your house is anything like mine today, there are a lot of boxes and wrapping paper to be picked up. It looks like a tornado tore through the living room. I had a nice Christmas at home with Eric and Evan. We traveled to Ottumwa later in the day to be with my parents, sisters, Grandpa and aunt and uncle. My brother-in-law who is serving in Iraq got to come home for two weeks over Christmas so it was a nice treat having him back.

Campaigning
Are you tired yet of hearing about all the candidates for President in town? Well, you only have a week left of all the campaign stops and political ads. Today, eight of the candidates are back in town. Joe Bidden is kicking it into high gear. Between his son, wife and sister, the Bidden family will make 80 stops in Iowa this week. Phew! Political analysts say it is still anybody's game.

Holiday Spending
Stores didn't make as much money this Christmas shopping season as they wanted. At least that's what they are saying. Apparently, this means some good deals are out there for the taking because retailers want this last week of the year to be a good one.

Happy Boxing Day
Have you ever noticed on the calendar that the 26th usually says "Boxing Day"? I never really knew what this meant until I spent a year living in England. It's an official holiday there always celebrated the day after Christmas. New Zealand, Australia and parts of Canada also celebrate it. Basically it's a nice excuse for people to take the day off. If you are interested, here's an explanation of the history:

Boxing Day is a traditional celebration, dating back to the Medieval Ages, and consisted of the practice of giving out gifts to employees, the poor, or to people in a lower social class.

It was the day when people would give a present or Christmas box to those who had worked for them throughout the year.

In feudal times, Christmas was a reason for a gathering of extended families. All the serts would gather their families in the manor of their lord, which made it easier for the lord of the estate to hand out annual stipends to the serfs. After all the Christmas parties on 26 December, the lord of the estate would give practical goods such as cloth, grains, and tools to the serfs who lived on his land. Each family would get a box full of such goods the day after Christmas. Under this explanation, there was nothing voluntary about this transaction; the lord of the manor was obliged to supply these goods. Because of the boxes being given out, the day was called Boxing Day.

In England many years ago, it was common practice for the servants to carry boxes to their employers when they arrived for their day's work on the day after Christmas. Their employers would then put coins in the boxes as special end-of-year gifts. This can be compared with the modern day concept of Christmas bonuses. The servants carried boxes for the coins, hence the name Boxing Day.

In churches, it was traditional to open the church's donation box on Christmas Day, and the money in the donation box was to be distributed to the poorer or lower class citizens on the next day. In this case, the "box" in "Boxing Day" comes from that in which the donations were left.


With that said, Happy Boxing Day! See you tomorrow.
BB

Merry Christmas

Good morning and Happy Holidays! This will be short because I am out the door soon. Sadly, I have a few little gifts I need to purchase today. The weather was so bad this weekend that I didn't have a chance to get out. I'm headed to Jordan Creek right after our last cut-in to join the masses of other people who waited until the day before Christmas to shop. What is wrong with us? I also still have to pick up some groceries. Eric's brother and family will come over tonight and then we are headed to my mom and dad's house in Ottumwa tomorrow afternoon.


The Candidates
They are all taking the day off tomorrow.
That's good.
So are we. No Today in Iowa tomorrow!

Hope you enjoy your day! See you back here on Wednesday!

Foggy Friday, Needing a new school and Hillary Clinton

Good morning everyone! I hope you were able to make it to work or wherever else you were headed today. Justin says the fog isn't burning off anytime soon. It is supposed to stick around until about noon. Then, the snow and sleet will move in this weekend. We just can't seem to catch a break. And I still have Christmas shopping to do. Working and trying to adjust to life as a new mom has left me WAY behind on my shopping. I am so unorganized. It's mainly my husband I need to buy for. I just haven't had time... it's not a procrastination problems... really! And you would think your mate would be the easiest person to buy for becuase you know them better than anyone else, right? The problem is that he buys anything he REALLY wants and it usually only includes something golf-related. And there are only so many golf clubs you can buy.





Also, if you watched this morning, you noticed Pat is off. He's on vacation until sometime after the New Year. Today, Lisa, our morning show producer was a rock star. She usually has an associate producer to help her with all the writing, but this morning she had no one. When I came in a little after 3:00, she was writing like a mad woman trying to get everything done. I helped her write a lot of the national stories and we still didn't get everything done. When the show started, she was still writing so there were some scripts that I was reading for the first time on air. Live television is awesome!





To the News...
Students at the West Central Valley High School in Stuart are taking matters into their own hands today. The community has voted down a measure to raise taxes to pay for a new school twice. Students are planning a rally to plead with voters to pass the measure next time it comes to a vote. The school is in such bad shape that a contractor told the principal to move students out of one area because the structure is literally falling apart and it's a danger.





Hillary Clinton
This isn't a story we aired this morning. Really, I don't know if it IS a story but it's something a lot of people are chatting about online. With candidates covering all corners of Iowa and beyond during these last few days before the caucuses, they no doubt are simply exhausted. In fact, Rudy Guiliani spent the night in a St. Louis hospital Wednesday likely because of illness brought on my exhaustion. Anyway, there is a new picture of Hillary Clinton snapped by an AP photographer that shows the face of a very tired woman. It's been fodder for people who don't like Hillary. But it also brings up an interesting point about how men can look old and they are considered distinguished, but women who age are labeled a "hag." Here's what New York Times columnist Maureen Dowd has to say. I think she hits the mark. And I don't always agree with everything she says.



"Yet it’s true that looks matter in politics, even though Abe Lincoln still ranks as our favorite president. J.F.K.’s tan and Nixon’s 5-o’clock shadow helped turn that 1960 debate in Kennedy’s favor, just as Gore’s waxy orange makeup and condescending mien hurt him in a debate with W.
It is also true that perfecting the outer shell has become an obsession in this country. We’re a nation of Frankensteins and the monster is us. Jennifer Love Hewitt was on the cover of People last week and ended up defending her less svelte pictures with her new fiancé in Hawaii, writing on her Web site: “A size 2 is not fat!”
Women are still scrutinized more critically on their looks, which seem to fluctuate more on camera, depending on lighting, bloating and wardrobe.
Mitt Romney, Barack Obama and John Edwards almost always look good, and pretty much the same, in dark suits or casual wear. Fred Thompson always looks crepuscular and droopy. Often Hillary looks great, and sometimes she looks tired, heavier or puffier. Jim Cole, The Associated Press photographer who took the offending shot, said that there were several other pictures that day where she looked “radiant.” "

Have a great weekend everyone. Hope you get all that last minute shopping done. See you on Monday.

Brooke

Earthpark, Tancredo out and Chris Dodd on the show

Good morning everyone! One day closer to the weekend and probably a four day weekend for some of you. Pat is ready for a long vacation, so you'll be stuck with me on the morning show and the blog for a while.
Just getting to the Blog during the Nooner. We're taking some time off for the holidays and it will be a nice break...seeing some family, some friends and taking part in some good Holiday tradition.

Earthpark
The 500 billion dollar budget that President Bush is about to sign tomorrow will not include about 48 million for Earthpark. The people behind the project say they raised enough money to match the federal grant they thought they were getting. But this morning, it looks like the project is up in the air without that government money. This project has had more roadblocks than the reconstruction of 1-235. Some wonder if this is the final blow.
You've read my opinion on this before. I just can't understand why the Earthpark wouldn't want to release all of the financial support it's received to the public. To hear them talk about it, there's been a huge infusion of cash to this project. It looks like all of that money may have been raised for nothing. The federal grant is almost surely dead.

Tom Out
We are hearing that Republican Tom Tancredo will announce later today in Des Moines that he is dropping out of the race. He's never really had any success in any polls done in Iowa or nationally for that matter. Some might say he focused too much on just one issue -- immigration reform. No matter what you think about his politics, at least he is out there doing what he thinks is good for our country. Pat and I were talking about this very thing earlier this morning. After seeing Chris Dodd walk into our studio looking very tired from campaigning until 1:00 am, we both agreed that these men and women who decide to run for President sacrifice a lot to run for office. (Pat will have more on Dodd's interview later) It's got to be the most exhausting thing these people will ever do. And they do it because they want to continue to make this country a great place to live. I am not saying we need to feel sorry for them, but at least be thankful there are so many people who want to be President so you have a choice.
I'd only add that all of these men and women join the race with the idea they can win. In Iowa that dream is never out of reach. You can look at several examples of people who didn't have all the money in the world or all of the pundits talking when they got started. They put a up a huge effort at the grassroots and won. I think this year they call him Mike Huckabee.

Chris Dodd
Back to Chris Dodd. I won't lie. Pat and I were upset this morning because he got to our studio late. He was supposed to be on the show at 6:35 but didn't show up until about 6:40 even though his staff was told to arrive NO LATER than 6:20. Some places would have just told him sorry, but our wonderfully talented producer, Lisa was able to shift everything and get him on. I realize it's hard always being on time when you make as many stops as a Presidential candidate does, but live TV should be a no-brainer.
Dodd looked dead tired when he walked in with a cup of coffee. I made the mistake of telling his campaign when he was actually on. I should have told them ten minutes earlier.
Dodd isn't the first candidate to be a few minutes late.
I imagine it's a perpetual state of being on the campaign trail. You go from one event to the next never knowing how any people are going to be there and trying to connect with as many people in a day as you can.
As for the tardy Senator, I've seen the first comment on the blog. I think you might be taking this a little far,. Brooke and I aren't mad...and who cares if we are?
It does take a little more than just slapping a mic on the Senator to get him on the air. That's why we ask him to be early. We also have a lot of things to juggle in the 6:30 half hour. Both Justin and Brad do reports for WHO radio while we're on the air and if our timing falls apart, we may or may not have both ready to go when we need them. Anyway it is a little more complicated than it looks.
As far as the actual interview goes, The Senator is one of about four candidates hoping they can sway the 33% of Caucus voters who say they may still change their minds. He told us he needs to finish fourth or better to have a realistic chance to move on to the next set of primaries. He also says he's not planning a challenge to Sen Harry Reid for Majority leader in the Senate as was rumored on some blogs this morning. Finally Dodd talked about living in Iowa while he campaigns here, and how much his family is enjoying it.

Hope you all have a great day. I am making Christmas cookies and candy like a mad woman. I am trying to fatten everyone up who works in the newsroom.

It's time for I'll be back January 2nd..
It's time for our holiday Road Trip. It's also time for me to thank all of the people who helped put on Today in Iowa all year. There are a lot of people you never see who don't ever get credit. I know this show would not be as good as it is without them and I enjoy learning, debating and succeeding with them every day.
Until I see you all again...I hope you have time in the next few days to enjoy your family and friends and to take stock of the many gifts in your life that aren't under the tree. Merry Christmas.
Brooke and Pat

Central Campus, person of the year, and The Biggest Loser

Good Morning!

I'm sure many of you are feeling the same thing I am. Life is in 5th gear right now but it's that out of control pace that makes you feel like you might run off the road anytime. We're "getting it done" at our house but the run up to Christmas is always a little hectic.

It's because we travel for the holiday. You have to have everything planned out well. One of my jobs yesterday was to take all of the presents my wife wrapped and put them into bags that can then be labeled for the appropriate Holiday location (Her Mom's House, My Parents house...etc). We'll then pack the car in reverse order of present distribution so we can simply grab the nearest bag full of gifts and go. It may sound a little over the top but it works.

To the News:

Central Campus

The Des Moines School Board made a decision about Central Campus. The decision is to buy the building next door and renovate the existing campus to the tune of about 26 million dollars.

This means we will have the company of all of the High Schoolers across the street for years to come. Whether that's a good thing is a matter of opinion in our building.

Omaha Ceremony

There's a ceremony at the Westroads Mall for the victims of the Mall shooting today. Tomorrow the Von Maur opens up for the first time since the shooting. I'm sure that's going to be a hard day for a lot of people. I guess the company got some heat for opening "Only two weeks after the shooting". I'd like to hear your opinion on this one...Is it too soon?

Clarke Co Electric

All but about 20 of the customers have power again. I'm wondering if Brad Hook and his family have their electricity again. He called and left a message last Friday about not having a warm shower and having to run the furnace off a generator. It sounds like a horrible way to have to live for a week. If you're out there Brad Post a response for us and let us know when things get back to normal!

3rd Street Exit opens

And so ends the 235 construction closings...Brad Ehrlich asked us what he's going to do from now on...I told him we'd find work for him. I think we will. There are a lot of construction projects on the books still that I think you'll all want updates on...and I still hear from people every day, "I know there's usually no traffic but I want to hear that from Brad before I head out the door." As we've talked about here...a few minutes can make all the difference in your morning commute. We don't have epic back-ups or anything but we do have traffic, and Brad will continue to bring it to you.

Land Value
Those of you with Farmers in the family...they're working some valuable land. the value of farmland in Iowa went up 22 percent last year! It still doesn't mean a lot of farmers are getting rich, but adding value to the farms is a good thing for the hard working families who live on them.

Hanukkah vs Christmas

We got an email yesterday from someone upset that we kept referring to Christmas.

I'm writing, because as a Jew living in Des Moines, I'm tired of hearing references to "Church" on Sunday. If you insist on speaking about "Church" then perhaps you should consider mentioning Synagogue on Saturdays. Also, I didn't once hear a "Happy Hanukkah" but I often hear "Merry Christmas" on your station. I thought this was 2007...

It is in fact 2007.

I checked the calender just to be sure.

I also checked back on some of our shows and, as I thought, we referenced the beginning and the first few days of "The Festival of Lights". That's Hanukkah for those of you who don't know.

So I asked one of my Jewish friends who often has an opinion on issues like this: Are we being insensitive? Her response, was a question. Allow me to paraphrase.

She often wonders why fellow Jews have to compare the two holidays? They have completely different significances in the two faiths.

Her argument is that Hanukkah is not one of the most significant or "High Holidays" in her faith and so making a big deal out of it doesn't make sense. It'd be like me (a lapsed Catholic) making a big deal we don't get more recognition for All Saints Day or The Feast of the Assumption. Both Are holy Days of Obligation for Catholics and they happen to fall near the High Holy days of Roshashana (Rosh Hashana) and Yum Kippur.

Still, there's a natural impulse to compare them. Her solution? Don't take offense when someone says Merry Christmas. Along with the obvious Christian basis for the day there is also a popular and secular feeling to the season. Peace on Earth, Good will to Men...that kind of thing. It's a sentiment of good will no matter how or why you say it. I can't imagine a case where it's meant as an insult or slight.

And if you know someone celebrates Hanukkah...Wish them well in in their reflection and rededicating to their faith. Happy Hanukkah!

I'm going to run over to The Library...we need some books on CD for our Holiday Road Trip.

Have a good one.

Noon Update: We got a Release from Sen Chuck Grassley's office saying:

M E M O R A N D U M
TO: Iowa Reporters and Editors

RE: Earthpark DA: Wednesday, December 19, 2007

Senator Grassley secured a $50 million federal appropriation in 2003, to help pay for part of Earthpark (formerly known as the Iowa Environmental Project). The total cost of the project was an estimated $150-$200 million. Senator Grassley received the appropriation after a tax-credit bond proposal was dropped during the final stages of consideration of an energy bill.
The Iowa Environmental Project has been supported by former Governor Bob Ray; then Governor Tom Vilsack; Senator Tom Harkin; Congressman Leonard Boswell, the former Director of the Iowa Department of Economic Development, Mike Blouin, and the former Director of the Iowa Department of Education, Ted Stillwell.
Two years later, Senator Grassley took action to ensure the federal money was not frittered away. He subsequently won passage of legislation that required non-federal matching dollars to be raised before additional federal tax dollars were spent on the project. The matching money had to be raised by December 1, 2007, or the federal appropriation would be reclaimed by the U.S. Department of Energy. Since December 1, Energy Department officials have been reviewing the pledges and commitments made by non-federal entities to Earthpark for matching funds.
Monday night, the House of Representatives passed a year-end omnibus spending bill that includes legislation rescinding the Earthpark appropriation. The Senate passed the omnibus bill last night which included the same provision. The President must sign the spending bill before Friday in order to keep the federal government from shutting down.
If the Department of Energy does not approve the match proposal submitted by Earthpark and dispense the funds before the President signs into law the omnibus spending bill, then the federal money will no longer be available for the Iowa project.
Congress this year failed to complete action on 11 of the 12 annual appropriations bills that fund government operations and the result is this massive 3,500 page measure that includes more than 9,000 earmarks.
Senator Grassley’s office learned of the rescission of the Earthpark appropriation after the spending bill had been formally filed and prepared for the House vote. Senator Grassley does not serve on the Senate Appropriations Committee. Appropriators have primary responsibility for the omnibus measure, along with the Democratic leaders of Congress.
Here is a comment from Senator Grassley.
“Earthpark could bring unique opportunities to Iowa – not just environmental or energy related -- but also long lasting benefits to Iowa’s economy and education system. Some may agree or disagree with the worthiness of this project, but I put in place a process to ensure the money wasn’t frittered away. The Appropriations Committee should have let the current law play out, giving the Energy Department ample time to consider the matching funds proposal, before allowing the law governing the federal dollars to be changed. I’m frustrated with this move by the majority. It goes to show that the pledge to be more transparent doesn’t appear to be more than a campaign promise that wouldn't be kept. This action was unfair to Pella, the project leaders, and those who stepped up to the plate to provide contributions.”

The Earthpark Project issued a statement saying it was disappointed with the Congressional action.

As the memo says, if the Dept of Energy doesn't approve the matching grant for Earthpark by the time The President signs this budget bill, Earthpark will lose it's FEDERAL Funding.

PWD

A Week Without Power, Budget Boredom and Stuff from the Day off

Good morning. I hope the weekend was good for everyone. The extended time off helped us get a lot of holiday stuff done. We should be good to go.

To the News:
Power still Out
Can't imagine what it would be like to live without power for a week! Our good friend Brad Hook called Friday to lament the fact he didn't have power yet. He has a generator going to keep the furnace running but says it's been all cold showers...or no showers.

Bored with the Budget
The budget is done...sort of. It's about $516 billion and the Senate still has to add in money for the war in Iraq. The consensus is that some of the stuff we're all paying for shouldn't be there. The other running theme in articles this morning was the idea that a lot of people voted for this because they just want to get out of town. The President is going to give a little on his demands as well. I guess the Senate needs to pass the Iraq Spending first, then he'll sign a version of it.

KO
Anybody watch the Bears game? I imagine SE Polk fans were Bears fans again last night. Kyle Orton isn't going to be the answer for the Bears at starter...I can see him being a serviceable backup though.

Online Shopping and Shipping
We had Regina Lewis from AOL on again this morning with some reminders about shipping and shopping. Yesterday was supposed to be the busiest of the season for the Postal Service. I was in a UPS store yesterday and it was packed. No pun intended.

Day off Stuff
I finally got a chance to catch up on some things I really wanted to do and to finish up some Holiday errands.
The first thing I wanted to share was an article in the Atlantic Monthly from the December Issue. It's about Barak Obama and Hillary Clinton. Read it if you like. It's kind of long but I thought it was a great read. If you're thinking of caucusing for either; I'd read it.

What did I do before Costco? I found a lot of gifts in that store for cheap! And who doesn't need a 35lb tub of peanut butter for Chritmas right?

Dad's are hard to shop for...right behind them...the Moms.

Digital picture frames are expensive...and the inexpensive ones are hard to find.

I spent part of my day Monday online at iTunes. I think I'm going to post my first playlist. I'll Call it the Morning Buzz. See if you can find it. iTunes suggested most of these songs.

To avoid the backup at 63rd and I235 every night...go down the ramp westbound and match the speed of the cars on the road...they'll let you in. DON"T STOP AT THE END OF THE RAMP!

It takes no time at all to do something nice fore someone. Ii missed a chance over the weekend and made up for it Monday. Especially this time of year...give it a try.

Des anyone else feel like you need a degree in astrophysics to decipher your cell phone contract and the new deals they put out. We're at the end of a two year run and it's time for new phones. The deals sound good but I've been here before. I just want to make sure I don't have to give them my kidney or my first born if I go over my minutes.

Jeriann hosted a great party Friday night for all of us. No one made an ass out of themselves...so that's good. We all got to see our Producer, Heather's new baby..he's a good lookin kid. We also got to meet Megan Reuther's little boy. Also a great little boy. Jeriann's Chili was really good. Sally's is much sweeter...more tomatoes. I thought the addition of corn into Jeriann's made it really different.

I'm going to add Brooke's thoughts here in a sec. I'll post this for now.
PWD

Endorsements, Holiday Party and Cheesy Chocolate

Good morning. It's me again today because Pat is off. I imagine he is sleeping in but I could be wrong. Last week he said the cat got him up early and he couldn't go back to sleep. That's the thing about this schedule that I hate. You wake up early even on the days you WANT to sleep in.

I hope you all had a nice weekend. Jeriann had a Holiday Party for everyone on the morning show. We had a lot of fun eating and talking about work. It seems like no matter how hard you try NOT to talk about work, that's all you end up doing. I guess it's what we all have in common but I still think there are better things to do when we are not on the clock. Pat and Jeriann made their famous chili. I am not sure which one was better, but I think I am leaning toward Jeriann's. Sorry, Pat. It had some major kick. I am hoping to post some pics of the event soon.

To the news...

Endorsements
The Des Moines Register this weekend released its choices for President on the Republican and Democratic sides. The editors picked John McCain and Hillary Clinton. Arthur Sanders, a political science professor from Drake said the endorsement will help Clinton but hurt McCain. Republicans see the Register as left-leaning so an endorsement might be perceived as confirmation that a candidate is liberal. On the other side, an endorsement for a Democrat is good because the other candidates have to explain why they didn't get it.

Staying fit over the Holidays
In our Holiday Survival Guide this morning, Megan Ruether talked to a dietitian about not gaining weight over the Holidays. Did you know that a Ritz cracker with a piece of cheese and salami has about 250 calories? Not that I really watch what I eat this time of year but that came as a surprise. She also suggested eating before you go to a party to prevent over-eating. Yeah, right! Like eating before hand is going to stop me from having 10 peanut butter balls or an entire plate of spinach dip.

Speaking of Holiday Food. Megan brought in some fudge her neighbor made. One of the ingredients is Velveeta. Have you ever heard of such a thing? You don't taste the cheese until after you swallow it. It's kind of an after-taste. I don't know if I like it or not.

Well.. I hope you all have a great day. Pat is back tomorrow.

BB

Overnight Outage, McCoy Verdict, and Today in Iowa Holiday Party

Thanks for the blog responses yesterday. I hope I was clear without sounding annoyed. We write this blog for those who want to see it. Like a lot of blogs...I would guess there aren't a lot of people who really care what happens behind the scenes of our show, our perspective on some of the stories we cover, or what's going on in life outside work. If you read this, great, if you don't like it...I don't blame you.

The outages continue to be repaired all over Iowa. They should be able to make a real dent in this today. Maybe even get everyone on. I hope so. It's cold out there and I'd hate to be without my heat.

If it's not the ice it's the cars...someone hit a power pole last night and knocked out power to about 1000 people on the east side of Des Moines. Be careful out there...the ice almost seems worse this morning than it did the other day if your street isn't clear...and mine isn't.

The verdict is in on State Senator Matt McCoy and it's not guilty. His lawyer made an interesting point. Something like 90 percent of all federal cases are prosecuted successfully...so when a verdict comes back not guilty you have to wonder...what happened? In this case it appears the Federal case was not as rock solid as prosecutors thought. By way of full or at least partial disclosure, I live in McCoy's district.

I have not followed The Farm Bill and don't know the intricacies but can someone explain why a farmer who's pulling down $270,000 in profit needs government subsidy? I'm serious. Is there a reason? I know farmers have to invest hundreds of thousands of dollars for some of that equipment and the risk is pretty big. Those are the only two reason I can think of. City Boy.

Once again I have yet to see any of the Golden Globe nominated Movies. Charlie Wilson's War looks good. Some of the others...I'm going to need a recommendation. Oh wait! I've seen Ratatouille.

Happy day!

I just wandered into the Coffee Room to get some water and found out...not only are we getting a new coffee maker...we're getting a New Brand of Coffee. Maybe this means we can stop buying coffee for ourselves in the AM.

Christmas Time is Here

And to Prove it, we're going to have a party tonight at Jeriann's house. Sally made Chili, though she won't be able to go. Jeriann made Chili too...it's a cookoff showdown throwdown...

Seriously I do like the people I work with in the morning and it will be nice to celebrate a little Christmas with them.

We're going to another fabulous on Saturday night...funny story with that one.

This is the party we go to every year in West Des Moines. The first year we went, I had to work that night. One of our friends decided it would be funny to tell people he was me all night. So he did and when I showed up, I started talking with a women who'd been enjoying herself quite a bit...I told her who I was and she slapped me...right across the face. Apparently my friend had said something to her (posing as me) that she didn't like all that much. It was interesting. Christmas parties always are. So I shared my Christmas Party story...I'd like to hear your best office embarrassment, family legend, or neighborhood night to remember.

Have a good weekend...Brooke is back Monday and I'll be back Tuesday.

PWD

Getting back to Normal, Caution: Falling Ice, and How Sad

Good afternoon

I'm flying solo today so there's a little more to do. Brooke gets to sleep in this morning and tomorrow.

I'm getting to the blog during the Noon news so it will be a little shorter. Sorry I'm late.



Getting back to normal. It was good to hear from some of you who are getting the power back on. We sent Megan down to Knoxville, where more than a thousand people still didn't have power this morning. She was there when a family got it's light back. We're running the story at Noon.

One of the by-products of today's weather? I'm not sure if any of you saw it but there's ice falling off trees, buildings...our transmission tower! Cars in our lower parking lot may have a few dings in the this afternoon. Aaron, the guy who runs camera for us says he saw ice chunks just missing people downtown while he was at lunch.



The Final Democrat Debate before the Caucuses starts in an hour. Did any of you watch the Republican Debate? Not much there in the way of fireworks. I was hoping to hear more of a debate and less of the canned answers a lot of the candidates give. And by the way Who let Alan Keyes in the Debate. The guy may say he's running for president and complain about being left out...but He's run no credible campaign here. I know this debate was broadcast around the country, but the point was for Iowa voters to try to decide who they want to support. Are we really supposed to commit to a candidate who hasn't made a serious commitment to the process here in our state? And if any of you are ready to argue the process is closed to people without the cash to run, I would send to to the Huckabee campaign. As of last quarter he had spent something like 300-thousand dollars this year or this quarter...I think I could raise $300,000. Keyes didn't try so someone explain to me why he deserves to be at that debate?



Speaking of politics. I had a call from a woman on our tip line wanting Channel 13 to do a story on Mitt Romney. She contends that because he's a Mormon, he can't separate his beliefs from his decision making if he were elected President. I talked to this lady about her opinion for a little while. "I'm a Catholic" I asked, "Does that mean I would let the Vatican dictate my decisions?" It's the same argument made against John Kennedy. this woman went so far as to tell me If Mitt Romney is a true Mormon, then he can't associate with anyone who's not Mormon. Really? So let me get this straight, He ran Massachusetts, A Fortune 500 company, and the Olympics...and he did it all associating only with people who are members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Later Day Saints? Seems like it would be a reasonable assumption right?

My point in tell you this story is that there are a lot of people who are afraid of beliefs they don't hold. I admit I don't know enough about Mormonism, Islam,...heck I don't know enough about being a Methodist to speak in any kind of an educated way about what Methodists do or don't believe. I know what I believe, and as a voter it's my job to go out and ask the candidates questions if I have concerns. Everyone is entitled to their opinion. If someone doesn't want to vote for someone it's their own business, but before you make that decision, I would challenge Iowa voters to look more closely at their own beliefs before they try to challenge a candidate's.



And One more note this afternoon. I thought a lot about the tenacious Anonymous bloggers who seem to get a big charge out of posting rumor or innuendo about the people on our show. I guess you've got to do what you've got to do. But the more I think of it, the more I think: how sad is that?

This person has so little to do, so few people to talk to or interact with that they have to post things they've made up about people they don't know. I'll keep deleting the posts and the rest of you can keep ignoring them.

I think the rest of us are just here to talk about the news of the day, maybe what's going on in the cities or towns you live in. I don't think too many people really care about my personal life or that of anyone else here. To borrow from the great Ron Burgundy, I don't know if you knew this but....we're really not that big of a deal.

Outages Continue, Roads Improve, and Back to School

Good Morning.
It'll be another shorter blog this morning, only because we're talking a lot about one subject...cleaning up from the winter weather.

The clean-up is going to be slow for a lot of the homes in southeast Iowa where power is still out. At the peak of the outages there were as many as 60-thousand or more customers without power. That number went down significant;y overnight. About 10-thousand people were still without power on Mid-American's Central Iowa list (that # went down to nine thousand in the two hours we were on the air), Alliant Energy told us it still had about 25-thousand customers state-wide that were out overnight but again they made some progress. Have you heard from family or friends who are coping without light or heat? I wonder sometimes what the heck we'd do?

Schools in Southeast Iowa couldn't go this morning because, obviously, they have no power...most of the rest of the state was back in including the metro schools. Again I'd ask...what did you do with the kids on a day off? I heard Jordan Creek Closed by 5pm last night because it was just dead out there. That kind of surprises me. Sally and I went out the the gym about 4pm and the roads weren't too bad. She asked last night if I thought the schools jumped the gun by closing yesterday. My answer: No. I think they made a good decision, but I'd be interested in hearing from an actual parent or two.

Politics were the other activity that suffered yesterday. Dave Price reported 20 events canceled because of the snow. If you look at the front page of the paper this morning, you see what happens when the weather gets in the way...you have a lot of media looking for something to cover. If you were Mitt Romney, that meant you benefited yesterday. It looked like there were more cameras than people with the former Massachusetts Governor when he visited Kaleidoscope Mall at lunchtime.

It'll be back to the snow blower at my house this afternoon, but I think I'm going to have a hard time. My house is on a corner and it popular with the dog walkers in neighborhood. Before I can get to the snow, there are already tracks in it and it's pretty packed down. I'm trying my best but I'm afraid my neighbors think I'm neglecting my homeowner duties and putting them at some risk of ending up on their backs. We'll try again today.

I might also do a pulse check on some of our regular bloggers today? Where are you guys. I'm starting to think you all lost power.
Have a good one.
PWD

Rain, Ice Snow, Schools Closed and Power Out

Good Morning.
We had a lot of "other news" in our show that just never made it on air this morning. I know most of you would probably say this is no fun to deal with, but I think Brooke would agree we really like to do morning's on a day like this.

If you missed it, Des Moines Schools made the decision to close. Dr Seibring made that call a little earlier than we're used to. I think parents would probably say that's a good thing. There will always be a few people who complain that school shouldn't have closed. Some of you will say the roads are fine...just a little slick, but I think they really try to consider the safety of the kids walking to school, the condition of the neighborhood stress...not just the major roads, and they try to anticipate what it's going to be like later today. If you've seen a radar...it's going to keep coming for a while.

I hope it didn't inconvenience too many of you to have an unexpected snow day. I wonder what parents do on a day like today. Let us know!

The other big problem for today will be ice accumulation on power lines. We're already hearing about downed power lines in Southeast Iowa and more here in the Des Moines area. The Power companies got ahead of this one as best they could. They were already anticipating this one yesterday and had crews in place.

How about that Jeriann Ritter? If you tuned in last night and this morning you likely noticed she was wearing the same thing. That's because she was here for the evening shows yesterday and stayed for our show this morning. She really does like her job folks...If you're a Meteorologist this is the time when you want to be a part of the action. We may have to physically remove her from the building today so she will go home and get some rest.

Great Job Jeriann!

Ambassadors of Harmony

This will be the third day of dealing with the ice for me. I was down in St Louis this weekend. Those of you with a really good memory will recall I posted about a Christmas Concert I go to every year. I meet my friend Shaun and his wife Erin down there(Sally couldn't go this year).

Shaun's Dad is in a Barbershop Chorus called The Ambassador's of Harmony that does a big show. It's a lot of fun, and these guys are really great.

The bonus was getting to meet Shaun's niece Moyra. Moyra is six months old and is Shaun's sister Megan's first baby. It's the family's first grandchild so obviously everyone is really excited.

Shaun's family is as close as I get to a second family. They're all pretty close, but they're one of those families that sucks in friends and in-laws to one big group. His sisters(there are three of them) have also become like family. Since they're all younger than me...it's been great to have "little" sisters.

Their home is a great place to be...for me it's like a visit home.

The only thing about my second home this weekend...it was being hit by an ice storm. We watched the temperature hover around 32 all weekend and, like here, the first round fell as rain. Overnight into Sunday morning though, all that rain froze up. I decided to wait to come home until Monday....until I saw the 10pm forecast for more ice overnight Sunday into Monday. I got on the road around 10:30 and decided I'd try to get past the ice and rain coming into St Louis by spending the night in Columbia Mo. It turned out to be a good decision. I made it out of Columbia with few problems...

The thing about the drive home that was really striking was the change in conditions from place to place. In one part of Missouri, trees would be covered with freezing rain, and ten miles down the road it looked like nothing had fallen at all!

Anyway, kudos to the Missouri and Iowa Department of Transportation. They got me home safely.

I hope you all stay safe today. Tune into the Channel 13 news at 5 and 6 for the latest on the power outages and all of the day's news!

PWD

Church Shootings, Holiday Stress and Storm Brewing

Good morning everyone. Pat is off today burning some of his vacation days. I just talked to him a few minutes ago and he is in Columbia, Missouri where he spent the night after attempting to drive home from St. Louis yesterday. In case you missed it on the show this morning, parts of Missouri, Kansas and Oklahoma are covered with about an inch of ice in some areas. This doesn't sound like a lot when you are talking about snow, but with ice it can create major damage. The video from Missouri shows power lines that are down on the ground and trees snapping. Megan Salois says we are in for as much ice here! That means we could have a lot school cancellations and a crazy commute. Our news director Rod told me he'll probably be bringing in some extra people to deal with it.

Church Shootings

A shopping mall in Omaha then a church and a missionary training center in Colorado. I don't want to sound alarming here, but I just wonder, "is any place safe anymore?" A mega church in Colorado Springs and a missionary training center outside Denver were the targets of a gunman who walked in and started shooting. 4 people died and the gunman was shot and killed by a security guard at the church. Police think the two shootings could be related.

Holiday Stress

Megan Reuther brought us this story this morning. We all feel it in some form. And if you don't, something is wrong with you! A mental health counselor from Iowa Health Systems says we all need to take a deep breath. One good suggestion she had that really hit home for me, is that we shouldn't get so caught up in trying to do everything our mothers and grandmothers did over the holidays. For example, don't try to break your back making homemade Christmas cookies while at the same time working, shopping and taking care of children. Instead, just buy the dough from Dahl's and save yourself a lot of stress. Easier said than done. But it is a good reminder that you don't have to be Martha Stewart during Christmas and Hanukkah. If it is going to stress you out, don't try to make everything look perfect. Instead, focus on enjoying family. We've heard these tips before, but it's a good reminder to follow them!

Storm Brewing

We could be in for a doozie tomorrow morning. You'll want to keep it here for the latest coverage and school cancellations.

Weekend

Had a nice weekend with my husband. My mom was in town and watched Evan on Saturday while I enjoyed "vegging" on the couch and shopping for Christmas gifts. Eric got me a new camera for my birthday because as you know, when you have a child, you have to document every stinkin' move they make. I am still learning how to use it but the pictures so far look amazing. We also had dinner at Gino's on Friday night which is one of my favorite places in town. It's got old school charm and fabulous food. Gino himself stopped by to say hello during the meal and make sure our food was good.

Have a great day. See you tomorrow!

BB

Weather: This is Iowa, afterall

Good morning, everyone! Pat is off today. Dan Winters was filling in for him today and I have to say it felt kind of weird having someone other than Pat on the desk with me. Not bad, just different. With Pat, I can usually anticipate what he's going to say, but when you anchor with someone new, it's a new experience. Anyway, I was happy to have Dan with me today because anchoring for two hours all alone is well, lonely.

It's Friday and I couldn't be more ready for the weekend. This has been a very exhausting week and I think we are all ready for some rest and relaxation. In the news and weather department, we've had a lot going on the past few days. The storm that hit last night is making travel pretty tricky. And, the shooting in Omaha is still fresh in our minds here at WHO. In fact, I cannot quit thinking about it. I don't know about you, but I feel like because it happened in a town just 2 hours from here, it somehow seems more personal. I've been to that mall and I can picture the Von Maur store in my head. And, I know people in Omaha. I just can't help thinking that someone I know could have easily been one of the victims. And, could it have happened here? Maybe I am just more paranoid now that I have a young child. Whatever the reason, this shooting has me feeling sad. Ok... enough about me.

On to the news of the day...

The Roads
Yes, they were bad last night and yes, it might be a little slick in some spots today, but this is Iowa! It's easy to forget that fact sometimes when you work in the news business because we have to get so geared up for winter weather. Justin says we'll probably get about the same amount of snow we got yesterday again starting tomorrow. Hopefully you have all shoveled or plowed your sidewalks and driveways, otherwise you'll have your work cut out for you come Saturday.

Oprah coming to Des Moines
She's here tomorrow and you can still get tickets to Hy-Vee Hall where she'll be speaking with Barack Obama. In case you haven't heard, she's supporting him for President and is campaigning here and in New Hampshire and South Carolina.

Well, that's all for now. Hope you stay safe this weekend.
BB

Snow Preview, How are the Roads? and Green Christmas

Good Morning everyone.

It appears we all managed to get out of bed on time and make it in without major issue this morning. We'll try to run that streak to two days tomorrow.

In the News

The News is Weather

And the weather is news. We're going to get about seven days of on again, off again winter weather starting tomorrow morning. We had some overnight snow that caused some road conditions to deteriorate. The problem? At about three thirty this morning we sent Roger Riley out to Story county to see about some of the road conditions. The DOT website said the interstate was totally covered with snow and ice at that point. Roger found the roads wet but not covered. Not sure what the issue was, but the website updated by about 6:30 this morning. Still, the further east and north you go today, the worse the roads will be.

The bigger issue is the weather we're going to get. Tomorrow it will be 2-4 inches with the heaviest stuff around noon. Friday we get a break before an active weekend. Stock up on your salt and loosen those arms up so you can shovel.

Noon Update: I was at the Hardware store this morning and they were talking about all the stores being out of ice melt including the Lowe's and Home Depot. We'll have a story about winter weather preps tonight.

Green Christmas

Megan Reuther keeps coming up with interesting stuff to talk about with the holidays. Today it was the "going green" trend for Christmas.

This may already be something you do, but in my family...we never thought of. Christmas Eve and Christmas morning were a flurry of paper and bows that ended up in about three large bags of wrapping paper. In the past few years we've been a lot better at saving boxes and bows.

Sally's family is still using the boxes they got for Christmas in the Nixon administration. I don't know why this never occurred to me. Each year, the bows, boxes and even Christmas cards that catch they eye are recycled to the next year. We have a closet full of boxes ourselves and a drawer or two full of bows. As Sally's Grandpa used to say..."Comes in handy when you need a box or a bow".

The point is there's a lot we can do this time of year to reduce the amount of garbage we produce. A couple of the interesting ideas I hear from Megan this morning: Use Sheet Music to Wrap a gift, maybe an old map? Those new long life light bulbs are expensive but might make good stocking suffers. They can save you like $165 bucks over the life of the bulb. Talk about giving green this year!

Have a good day

PWD

Conflicting Polls, Hanukkah or Chanukah? and Bad Weather out East and West

Good Morning Bloggers!

Pat is back but I'm starting the blog today. I'm VERY happy he's back. It's not the same on the set because I don't have someone with whom I can complain, joke and have just have fun. So... welcome back my friend! Unfortunately he's using a lot of his vacation time this month so you're stuck with me on the morning show.

It's nice to be missed.

I had a scheduled day off yesterday. I found myself with some extra vacation days at the end of the year because of schedule changes during the summer months. I'm going to take a few days off in December to use up that vacation. I hope you won't take offense. It was nice to sleep in, and when I say sleep in...I got up to watch the 6:30 half hour of the show. Much different watching from your point of view.

I'm going to use the time to get some Christmas errands done, get some of the honey-do list done and to do some relaxing.

Yesterday was particularly productive if for no other reason that I got the draft in my basement door fixed. I am not particularly handy, but I figured out the magic of weather stripping enough to seal up the door. If you remember, months ago I put my butt through the window of the basement storm door. I finally took it to the hardware store to be fixed. I'll pick it up today when I get done with the Noon News.

I also used my day off to give a station tour to a Cub Scout Den from West Des Moines. Some friends called and asked if I would help them out with their Communications Merit badge. So we gave them a tour of the station during the 6PM news. It was fun and they were REALLY well behaved.

To the news of the day.
The Battle of the Polls
The Des Moines Register Poll out this weekend put Barack Obama and Mike Huckabee ahead of their respective party's candidates for the first time. It looked like the two were starting to gain ground on the two people who used to be leading most Iowa polls, Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama. But an Iowa State Poll reminds us that polls are just that -- polls and it's still anyone's game at this point. The Iowa State Poll shows Hillary and Mitt still commanding a lead.

By the way... speaking of the Caucuses. There was a nice write up of Des Moines in the Sunday New York Times. One of the paper's political writers has been traveling here since the '80's and said he is amazed by the city's transformation. If you care to see what he says, here's the link.
I think it is just one more reminder that Des Moines is a truly great place to call home.

Hanukkah or Chanukah?
Wade, our morning show producer today asked this question when he writing the story about the start of the Jewish Holiday. They are both the same, but here's a good explanation I found online...
"They are the same, it's just that in Hebrew the Ch is pronounced like an H, so we usually spell it Hanukkah to keep gentiles from saying it wrong."
With that said, Happy Hanukkah OR Chanukah! The Maccabee Deli on Polk Boulevard celebrates the 8 day Festival of Lights every year by lighting the candles on the menorah each night. Drive by and check it out.

Bad Weather Surrounds Us
There is some crazy weather out east and west. In Washington and Oregon there is rain. Lots of it. In fact there is flooding because of the 10 or so inches they got in the past day. In the northeast, there is lots of snow and ice. So, what does this mean for us? Jeriann said it looks like we could get some significant snow on Thursday evening and perhaps more snow and sleet this weekend. I love the snow. It's makes Iowa look pretty and then I don't mind the cold weather as much.

I'm supposed to travel next weekend and I'm wondering about the trip now. It looks like it's going to be a mess, but it also looks like I might get around it if I can time my trip right.

That's all for now from me. I'll let Pat add more later. Have a great day.

Van and Bonnie

Thanks to V&B and the Science Center of Iowa for opening up early. Our viewers and their listeners got to go into the Science Center for free. Van and Bonnie wanted to get their viewers in the holiday mood so they had a Quintet come play Christmas Music for them. It was nice.

Thanks for all the Playlists! Keep them coming.
Ditto

BB and PWD

P.S.-I'm having trouble with the pictures today. Not being lazy...they're just not cooperating. Sorry, I know some of you don't like reading this without the pics too.

Caucus Leaders, Stop Using your Credit Card and What a Weekend!

Good morning everyone. Pat is off today so I'll be doing the blog whether you like it or not. So bear with me! This morning was a little crazy behind the scenes here at WHO. Nothing breaking going on but we had a producer who was training new producer and therefore things were a little hurried this morning right before the show started. Wade is filling in for Heather, our producer who had a baby last week and training Jennifer a new associate producer who comes to us from Minot. So if things seemed a little hairy, it's because there was a lot going on. Plus, it is a little more challenging doing a show alone because you get no breaks. Well, I will stop whining now, but just wanted to let you in on the chaos.

Obama and Huckabee
You might have noticed the poll in the Sunday Des Moines Register. There is some shifting going on among who likely caucus-goers will chose in January. Mitt Romney and Hillary Clinton have maintained the lead in Iowa polls for a while but that is changing. The poll shows Barack Obama ahead on the Democrat side. Although it's still a statistical tie with the margin of error. On the Republican Side, Mike Huckabee is ahead of Romney by 5 points. Tom Vilsack has long predicted that Huckabee will win the Iowa caucuses and it looks like our former Governor could be on to something. There really is no way to tell who will win the Caucuses at this point which makes it a lot of fun here in the newsroom.

Staying out of Debt this Christmas
We talk about this every year but it still doesn't stop people from over spending. If there is one thing you should remember about buying gifts, it is this: Make a list of gifts based on your budget and stick to it! This is possible if you plan ahead. If you wait until the day before Christmas, we tend to do "frantic shopping" and that's when we overspend!

Wild Weather
I hope most of you were able to stay inside Saturday instead of sliding around on the roads. I know meteorologists are supposed to predict with accuracy what happens, but it isn't always possible because mother nature does what she wants sometimes. But last Jeriann nailed the forecast and I think that helped a lot of people prepare. Patrick told me that he went to Hy-Vee this weekend to stock up and it was hard to get around because there were so many people. He said the store manager thanked him for all the business! Hey, whatever we can do to help!

I also have to say that it's a shame Missouri lost. I am sure Pat is still mourning this morning.
Have a great day!
BB