Good Morning and welcome to November...I mean April. Hard to tell out there this morning. It was 34 when I woke up. Thankfully, Jeriann says it warms up from here. I went running last night about five... people were looking at me like I had two heads...it's not THAT cold out!
I wanted to thank all of you for your comments. It makes it a lot more fun for us if you give us you feedback, positive and otherwise.
To the News:
Courthouse Vote
We brought you the pros and con's yesterday from each side of this debate. Polls opened at 7am and close tonight at 8. I'll only add this to the conversation: If you plan on commenting or complaining about Polk County government and the way it's managed over the next year, get out there and vote! If the vote fails, I hope you will let your county Supervisor know what you think the solution is to the overcrowding at the Courthouse. I don't think anyone is arguing the building is overcrowded and even a safety hazard. The debate here is how we go about solving that problem. No matter what happens, engage in that debate! If the Courthouse Bond passes, watch the project's progress and make sure the money you ok'd is used responsibly. If the Bond fails, get in on the talks to come up with another solution!
Pay Increase
If you haven't visited the Hot Topics Blog on As Seen on 13...do it. The governor might do well to read it before he signs a nine percent pay raise for himself. Pretty powerful sentiment there Gov.
Ready For Kindergarten
Brooke did a great story for GenX Mom's this morning about getting your kids ready for kindergarten. Is it me or are kids required to know a LOT more than we were when they get to kindergarten? I remember learning my ABC's, writing my name and counting in my first full day classes. Now parents are told their kids should know this stuff before they walk in the door.
On a side note, I related the story of my first day of school this morning on the show. This is my Mom's version. I am the youngest of four which means the year before I went to school my mom and I had a lot of time one on one together. She says before I went to school, I asked her, "Mom what are you going to do all day without me around?" She managed. In fact she took one of her friends down to the beach that morning and split a bottle of vino. She wasn't quite as broken up as my five year-old mind imagined.
Where in the World?
We missed it again...by a lot!
Matt was in Holland this morning. Thanks Today show...a phone call so we could tie in a little Tulip time woulda killed ya?
Seriously, it's always an interesting show. Check back this afternoon for tomorrow's clues...and throw some guesses out there people!
I will be out in the yard this afternoon mowing. Jeriann says today and tomorrow are the days to do it.
Hope you enjoy the warm up!
PWD
Tuesday, April 29, 2008
Monday, April 28, 2008
Cold Start, Check's in the Email, and Where in the World?
Good Morning!
I hope the start of the week doesn't discourage anyone that Spring is, indeed, on the way. We'll warm up mid-week, but Jeriann says cooler temperatures for now and the rain comes back at the end of the week. A reminder, speaking of the end of the week, Tulip Time kicks off in Pella next weekend. We hope the forecast changes but Jeriann doesn't look that that optimistic.
Check's in the E-Mail
The first round of economic stimulus checks go out early this week. When I say early this week, I mean that the check's are going out early, and that they will come via direct deposit in the early days of the work week.
$1200 sounds pretty good right now. The story we read this morning says if we use 40% of the kickback from the government, it will still be the biggest shopping event behind Christmas and back to school.
I'm interested to hear what you all are finding more expensive these days. Aside from gas, are you noticing prices swinging up in anything else?
I can't say I'm noticing the prices as much as I notice the lack of spending on our part. For a lot of different reasons this weekend was our first trip back to the mall in a while. That also meant the first time we've had lunch and/or dinner out in a long time. We've pulled back our spending.
Courthouse Vote
For those of you in Polk County, remember, the courthouse vote is tomorrow. The question in front of voters is: do you want to spend $127 million to build a new courthouse. You can find out more information at BuildingforJustice.com(for the courthouse) and CitizensForReasonableJustice.com (against it).
What do you think?
Miley too Racy for You?
So what do you think of the Miley Cyrus photos in Vanity Fair this month? The 15 year-old was part of a shoot with famed photographer Annie Leibovitz, you've probably seen her work even if you don't know it's her.
Anyway this picture appears in this month's issue of Vanity Fair. The picture doesn't even come close to showing the tween star topless and some media outlets reported but I think there's still a debate to be had here...
Do you take offense? Is it appropriate to have a 15 year old pictured like this?
Where in the World?
Matt Lauer starts his week long jaunt around the globe this morning.
If you missed it he's in Buenas Aries Argentina. The opening of the show this morning showed how good they're getting at this kind of live remote. Matt went across the widest boulevard in the world on a mo-ped while he talked about the country...that takes some talent, both in the execution and the production. He also went fly fishing in Patagonia...lucky guy. I want to be Matt Lauer when I grow up.
We'll look forward to his second location and if you'd like...guess his location. I'll try to update the clue when they're done with the show. UPDATE: MATT'S NEXT CLUE-The people in our second destination are accustomed to being looked down on...we'll let the winds lead us to them...and we should get there on time...unless we stop for the lights.
Weekend
Pretty quiet around the Dix house. Sally and I went out to dinner Friday night. It was good to see the downtown buzzing with the Relays in town.
Saturday we just bummed around the mall, picked up a couple of things we needed and took it easy.
I was asked to host a small event over at the Fairgrounds Saturday night for the Des Moines Springfest Horse Show. This was my first horse show so I really didn't know what to expect. I was even more confused when I was asked to judge a dog contest at a horse show. It was fun...about a half dozen people dressed up their dogs for a costume contest. Even I can judge that. Our winners were a pair of dogs dressed up as a bride and groom.
My aunt Mary Murphy stopped by for a visit Saturday night. She comes out to town to teach a class every year and we enjoy the visit each time. This time she got a two for one because Matt is living here too. So we all went over and had some Pizza Saturday night.
It was also back to the gym for me this weekend. I've fallen off the wagon lately so I'm trying to get back into the swing of things. You'd think I'd learn. I always feel better the next day when I workout. I hope to reinforce that this week.
Hope your weekend was as relaxing as mine.
PWD
I hope the start of the week doesn't discourage anyone that Spring is, indeed, on the way. We'll warm up mid-week, but Jeriann says cooler temperatures for now and the rain comes back at the end of the week. A reminder, speaking of the end of the week, Tulip Time kicks off in Pella next weekend. We hope the forecast changes but Jeriann doesn't look that that optimistic.
Check's in the E-Mail
The first round of economic stimulus checks go out early this week. When I say early this week, I mean that the check's are going out early, and that they will come via direct deposit in the early days of the work week.
$1200 sounds pretty good right now. The story we read this morning says if we use 40% of the kickback from the government, it will still be the biggest shopping event behind Christmas and back to school.
I'm interested to hear what you all are finding more expensive these days. Aside from gas, are you noticing prices swinging up in anything else?
I can't say I'm noticing the prices as much as I notice the lack of spending on our part. For a lot of different reasons this weekend was our first trip back to the mall in a while. That also meant the first time we've had lunch and/or dinner out in a long time. We've pulled back our spending.
Courthouse Vote
For those of you in Polk County, remember, the courthouse vote is tomorrow. The question in front of voters is: do you want to spend $127 million to build a new courthouse. You can find out more information at BuildingforJustice.com(for the courthouse) and CitizensForReasonableJustice.com (against it).What do you think?
Miley too Racy for You?
So what do you think of the Miley Cyrus photos in Vanity Fair this month? The 15 year-old was part of a shoot with famed photographer Annie Leibovitz, you've probably seen her work even if you don't know it's her.
Anyway this picture appears in this month's issue of Vanity Fair. The picture doesn't even come close to showing the tween star topless and some media outlets reported but I think there's still a debate to be had here...
Do you take offense? Is it appropriate to have a 15 year old pictured like this?
Where in the World?
Matt Lauer starts his week long jaunt around the globe this morning.
If you missed it he's in Buenas Aries Argentina. The opening of the show this morning showed how good they're getting at this kind of live remote. Matt went across the widest boulevard in the world on a mo-ped while he talked about the country...that takes some talent, both in the execution and the production. He also went fly fishing in Patagonia...lucky guy. I want to be Matt Lauer when I grow up.
We'll look forward to his second location and if you'd like...guess his location. I'll try to update the clue when they're done with the show. UPDATE: MATT'S NEXT CLUE-The people in our second destination are accustomed to being looked down on...we'll let the winds lead us to them...and we should get there on time...unless we stop for the lights.
Weekend
Pretty quiet around the Dix house. Sally and I went out to dinner Friday night. It was good to see the downtown buzzing with the Relays in town.
Saturday we just bummed around the mall, picked up a couple of things we needed and took it easy.
I was asked to host a small event over at the Fairgrounds Saturday night for the Des Moines Springfest Horse Show. This was my first horse show so I really didn't know what to expect. I was even more confused when I was asked to judge a dog contest at a horse show. It was fun...about a half dozen people dressed up their dogs for a costume contest. Even I can judge that. Our winners were a pair of dogs dressed up as a bride and groom.
My aunt Mary Murphy stopped by for a visit Saturday night. She comes out to town to teach a class every year and we enjoy the visit each time. This time she got a two for one because Matt is living here too. So we all went over and had some Pizza Saturday night.
It was also back to the gym for me this weekend. I've fallen off the wagon lately so I'm trying to get back into the swing of things. You'd think I'd learn. I always feel better the next day when I workout. I hope to reinforce that this week.
Hope your weekend was as relaxing as mine.
PWD
Thursday, April 24, 2008
Food Shortage? Rainy Days, Determining Baby's Sex
Good Morning!
Sorry about the lack of a blog yesterday. It was a busy morning for all of us...we had "class pictures" yesterday. Brooke Jeriann Brand and I stood around trying to look as natural as possible, smiling, but trying not to look cheesy. Not sure we accomplished that one but there's a new "class picture" that will be in the lobby shortly.
To the News:
Food Shortage?
If all of the economic news we've been bringing you over the last few months hasn't freaked you out...you might want to start listening with a little more interest this morning. First, Gas prices are back up this morning. Oil prices hit another record high and that led to another average high for a gallon of gas. The U.S. Policy to promote ethanol is being blamed for a higher demand for corn. That's caused the price of corn to go up and investors speculate on the commodity's future...It also means more corn to fuels and less to the food chain (though an astute emailer noted some ethanol plants reuse the byproduct of the ethanol process for cattle feed). Add that to a shortage of rice on the world market and you get this result: Costco and Sam's Club are both asking shoppers to limit purchases of rice and flour.
Are we at risk of running out of rice here in the US? No, says Erin Burnett of CNBC. We actually export a lot of it. Is Ethanol contributing to higher food prices? It would be hard to argue otherwise. When farmers plant corn instead of other crops, it mean less of that crop on the market and can lead to the price going up. When Ethanol takes a big chunk of the grain market (38%), that means less of our corn crop goes to other uses. That can help drive the price up. This week's Economist Magazine has some good articles on the subject.
I guess the bottom line for me is that we're starting to notice the price of groceries is really getting steep. Ground Beef, Milk, Eggs, cereal...they're all up by double digit percentages.
Are we all going to starve? I doubt it. Is is something to be aware of? I will be.
Rainy Days
Man, is everything going to green up after this. I know we've got good rainfall when I can distinguish the fairway from the rough driving by the 16th hole at Waveland.
One more thing: Since when do I look like the Garden Expert around here. Three separate people came up to me and asked a lawn related question today.
Well ya see if you put some 10-2060 on there and then some fungicides...
These people should take a peek at my sad, mole-ridden, half dead excuse for a lawn before they take my advice.
Determining the Sex of Your Baby
A New British study says what Mom eats around the time of a child's conception can help determine the sex of the baby. It started a conversation I won't repeat here in the newsroom this morning but I did have this thought: How many of you heard strange wives tales about pregnancy or conceiving a baby or whatever. Keep it clean and fire away!
The Video blog was derailed by the rain and overnight fish stockings by the DNR. We'll try to get it on before the end of the week but because that's tomorrow...I'm not sure you can count on me. We're efforting.
PWD
Sorry about the lack of a blog yesterday. It was a busy morning for all of us...we had "class pictures" yesterday. Brooke Jeriann Brand and I stood around trying to look as natural as possible, smiling, but trying not to look cheesy. Not sure we accomplished that one but there's a new "class picture" that will be in the lobby shortly.
To the News:
Food Shortage?
If all of the economic news we've been bringing you over the last few months hasn't freaked you out...you might want to start listening with a little more interest this morning. First, Gas prices are back up this morning. Oil prices hit another record high and that led to another average high for a gallon of gas. The U.S. Policy to promote ethanol is being blamed for a higher demand for corn. That's caused the price of corn to go up and investors speculate on the commodity's future...It also means more corn to fuels and less to the food chain (though an astute emailer noted some ethanol plants reuse the byproduct of the ethanol process for cattle feed). Add that to a shortage of rice on the world market and you get this result: Costco and Sam's Club are both asking shoppers to limit purchases of rice and flour.
Are we at risk of running out of rice here in the US? No, says Erin Burnett of CNBC. We actually export a lot of it. Is Ethanol contributing to higher food prices? It would be hard to argue otherwise. When farmers plant corn instead of other crops, it mean less of that crop on the market and can lead to the price going up. When Ethanol takes a big chunk of the grain market (38%), that means less of our corn crop goes to other uses. That can help drive the price up. This week's Economist Magazine has some good articles on the subject.
I guess the bottom line for me is that we're starting to notice the price of groceries is really getting steep. Ground Beef, Milk, Eggs, cereal...they're all up by double digit percentages.
Are we all going to starve? I doubt it. Is is something to be aware of? I will be.
Rainy Days
Man, is everything going to green up after this. I know we've got good rainfall when I can distinguish the fairway from the rough driving by the 16th hole at Waveland.
One more thing: Since when do I look like the Garden Expert around here. Three separate people came up to me and asked a lawn related question today.
Well ya see if you put some 10-2060 on there and then some fungicides...
These people should take a peek at my sad, mole-ridden, half dead excuse for a lawn before they take my advice.
Determining the Sex of Your Baby
A New British study says what Mom eats around the time of a child's conception can help determine the sex of the baby. It started a conversation I won't repeat here in the newsroom this morning but I did have this thought: How many of you heard strange wives tales about pregnancy or conceiving a baby or whatever. Keep it clean and fire away!
The Video blog was derailed by the rain and overnight fish stockings by the DNR. We'll try to get it on before the end of the week but because that's tomorrow...I'm not sure you can count on me. We're efforting.
PWD
Tuesday, April 22, 2008
Early Morning Storms, Pennsylvania, and Outsmarting a Trout
Good Morning!
Back and relaxed for our Tuesday morning I I hope to share more of the weekend trip through this week's video blog. The amount of decompressing you can do without a cell phone, and with a lot of fresh air is amazing. I really do enjoy being away from it all in Rockbridge. I have a limit on my decompression time though and I was ready to come back Monday. The amazing thing is how well I sleep. We always joke that it's the fresh air.
We caught a lot of trout. For the first day we bought a "catch and release license". I like the concept because it puts the fish right back in the stream for the next guy to catch.
We kept what we caught Sunday and much to my wife's delight...didn't bring it home. We donate the trout we catch to a Monastery close to Rockbridge.
Anyway look for the video blog to include some pictures of this amazing place later in the week. I'm also working on some ways you can learn how to do some trout fishing right here in Central Iowa this weekend.
To the News:
Pennsylvania
Is anyone else ready for this to be done? This time last year all the talk was about how quickly the nominations were going to be decided. Guess that didn't work out. Sen Clinton has a lead in the polls in PA. The question is, will it be enough?
Storms
I hope you were able to sleep through the thunder and lightning this morning. I guess I got lucky. I walked into he station without my rain jacket. the wind was up a little and it was cool, but we slept with the windows open last night. Well, I walked in and Brooked walked in a minute later saying it was pouring! Jeriann really had her hands full. I wish you could all see her work during those commercial breaks she was really jumpin this morning and stayed on top of it like a champ.
Earth Day
Just another Day or is it something you'll take time to consider today? We'll continue our Renew Iowa stories and some of the other environmentally based stories we come across. I'd like to hear some of the things you're willing to do and some of the things you just won't give up in the spirit of going green.
Also, Check out the comics if you get a chance in the Register. 43 strips went with a green theme today. Appropriate?
Have a good week!
PWD
Back and relaxed for our Tuesday morning I I hope to share more of the weekend trip through this week's video blog. The amount of decompressing you can do without a cell phone, and with a lot of fresh air is amazing. I really do enjoy being away from it all in Rockbridge. I have a limit on my decompression time though and I was ready to come back Monday. The amazing thing is how well I sleep. We always joke that it's the fresh air.
We caught a lot of trout. For the first day we bought a "catch and release license". I like the concept because it puts the fish right back in the stream for the next guy to catch.
We kept what we caught Sunday and much to my wife's delight...didn't bring it home. We donate the trout we catch to a Monastery close to Rockbridge.
Anyway look for the video blog to include some pictures of this amazing place later in the week. I'm also working on some ways you can learn how to do some trout fishing right here in Central Iowa this weekend.
To the News:
Pennsylvania
Is anyone else ready for this to be done? This time last year all the talk was about how quickly the nominations were going to be decided. Guess that didn't work out. Sen Clinton has a lead in the polls in PA. The question is, will it be enough?
Storms
I hope you were able to sleep through the thunder and lightning this morning. I guess I got lucky. I walked into he station without my rain jacket. the wind was up a little and it was cool, but we slept with the windows open last night. Well, I walked in and Brooked walked in a minute later saying it was pouring! Jeriann really had her hands full. I wish you could all see her work during those commercial breaks she was really jumpin this morning and stayed on top of it like a champ.
Earth Day
Just another Day or is it something you'll take time to consider today? We'll continue our Renew Iowa stories and some of the other environmentally based stories we come across. I'd like to hear some of the things you're willing to do and some of the things you just won't give up in the spirit of going green.
Also, Check out the comics if you get a chance in the Register. 43 strips went with a green theme today. Appropriate?
Have a good week!
PWD
Monday, April 21, 2008
Drake's New Coach, Flat Tires and fish bait
Good morning everyone! Pat is gone fishin' so I will be taking over the official blog duties today. Hope you all had a wonderful weekend. Wasn't yesterday just exactly what we needed? The sunshine and the warm weather make me excited for summer and all the fun activities that come along with the season. Yesterday, my husband and I finally got the chance to clean out the garage. It was disgusting! All the sand and mud from the bad winter was caked on the floor and kept getting tracked into the house. It's finally clean and I am very pleased about it. It's the little things in life that make me happy.
We had a nice weekend and I finally feel better after being out sick on Thursday and Friday. Not only was I run down, but I had one of those bad sinus infections that make you want to lay in bed perfectly still or else your head feels like it's going to explode. Anyway, I feel a lot better today and thank goodness because it is not easy taking care of a baby, who is now crawling, while you feel like crap!
We had a nice weekend and I finally feel better after being out sick on Thursday and Friday. Not only was I run down, but I had one of those bad sinus infections that make you want to lay in bed perfectly still or else your head feels like it's going to explode. Anyway, I feel a lot better today and thank goodness because it is not easy taking care of a baby, who is now crawling, while you feel like crap!
Drake's New Coach
It didn't take long for the school to make its decision about who will lead the men's basketball team now that Keno Davis is at Providence College. Mark Phelps is an assistant at Arizona State and also coached at North Carolina State. He worked with Drake Athletic Director Sandy Hatfield-Clubb for a short time so Drake has a connection to him. Last night on Sound Off, Andy Fales had a pretty funny rant about Michael Phelps... not Mark Phelps being the next coach. Check it out if you didn't see the show last night.
Flat Tires and Fish Bait
This sounds like it's ripped from the headlines of the latest edition of "Dumb Criminals." Southeast Polk Schools called this morning to report that they were delaying classes two hours because most of the district buses had flat tires. When our photojournalist Roger Riley arrived at the bus lot to check out the damage he found about 30 buses with flat tires and some of them had fish bait smothered all over the seats. The good news in all of this is that the tires were not slashed... they just had all the air out. And, one of the school leaders told us that they already think they know one person behind this prank. There was a cell phone found on the bus, so the superintendent thinks one of the pranksters dropped his phone while in the act.
Enjoy the nice weather. Jeriann says it's going to reach 70 degrees today and stay sunny until later this afternoon.
Brooke
Friday, April 18, 2008
Overnight Fire...a Long Game and Did You Feel That?
Good Morning...
I'm headed out of town for a fishing trip. I've talked about Rockbridge Missouri on this blog before. Sally's Dad and I are going trout fishing
It wouldn't be unusual for us to get a phone call from someone at about 4:30 in the morning saying something that we usually chalk up to,
- A: Too much fun last night,
- B: Too little sleep last night, or..
- C: Just plain crazy.
So, when a woman called this morning just after 4:30am and said..."I think I feel my bed shaking"; we weren't quite sure what to say.
Turns out she was right. Over the next two hours we learned more about the Earthquake centered in Southern Illinois and the extent to which people felt the shock wave across the Midwest.
Bonnie Lucas over at Radio said she felt it sitting at her desk...we got emails from Centerville, Oskaloosa, and even Fort Dodge. All of them had a version fo the same theme, "Am I crazy or did I just feel my bed shake?" Thankfully we can joke about it. Damage was light even in southern Illinois and no one was hurt.
This is the cool part of our job if you ask me. I assumed the quake came from the famed New 
Madrid Fault. Not so, says the USGS (United States Geological Survey). The tremor came from the Ozark Dome:
Madrid Fault. Not so, says the USGS (United States Geological Survey). The tremor came from the Ozark Dome:This large region borders the much more seismically active New Madrid seismic zone on the seismic zone's north and west. The Illinois basin - Ozark dome region covers parts of Indiana, Kentucky, Illinois, Missouri, and Arkansas and stretches from Indianapolis and St. Louis to Memphis. Moderately frequent earthquakes occur at irregular intervals throughout the region. The largest historical earthquake in the region (magnitude 5.4) damaged southern Illinois in 1968. Moderately damaging earthquakes strike somewhere in the region each decade or two, and smaller earthquakes are felt about once or twice a year. In addition, geologists have found evidence of eight or more prehistoric earthquakes over the last 25,000 years that were much larger than any observed historically in the region.
So let us know if you felt the quake this morning. Jeriann and I totally missed it.
To the other news:
Overnight Fire:
We sent Megan up to the Days Inn on Merle Hay this morning after one of the rooms caught fire. One person has some smoke inhalation but other than that it was just damage to the rooms. All of the hotel guests had to be relocated in the middle of the night. I feel terrible for the guy who's room started on fire. He says he tried to put the fire out with a blanket but it was a synthetic and just made the fire bigger.
A Long Game
As I drive into work I try to catch a couple minutes of Sports talk radio. This morning I was shocked to hear the Padres/Rockies Game was STILL GOING ON. The game lasted 22 innings and ended near 3:30 in the morning our time. I wonder how many people stayed to see it end.
Weekend
I'm headed out of town for a fishing trip. I've talked about Rockbridge Missouri on this blog before. Sally's Dad and I are going trout fishing I'm hoping I can show you next week. Roger Riley was nice enough to let me take his mini-cam down there to film a little fly-fishing. I'm hoping to put together my first video blog next week.
I'm sorry to be leaving Des Moines, The Speedway has it's first race of the year. Should be fun.
We'll see you Tuesday.
PWD
Thursday, April 17, 2008
Noon Blogging
Sorry this is coming so late. It's going to be brief too. Brooke was out sick this morning. I sure hope she feels better tomorrow. The two hour show is rough without her.
To The News:
Pope XVI day III:
Mass this morning at Nationals ballpark. The Pope told American Catholics that Hope is a characteristic of the American Church. He also said American Catholics would need hope to get through the church abuse scandal.
Davis on the Radio
We hear Keno Davis on Larry Cottler's show this morning on KXNO. He was pretty candid both with Larry and then with us. Look for more of the interview with KENO tonight as well. By the way, KUDOS to our Photojournalist Roger Riley...he was ALL OVER THE PLACE TODAY. Roger went out and got the Keno story, got some video of the rain for us this morning and...
Gas Prices
Roger also go some people to talk about high gas prices. Some of the stations changed over last night, some changed over this morning...some had the same price we'd seen for the last couple of days. If you filled up for $3.24...good for you. The rest of us are paying more today.
Just Give Me Jesus
Ann Grahm Lotz will be at the Wells Fargo Arena for a two day revival called Just Give Me Jesus. Apparently she doesn't speak in the US very often but through the hard work of a lot of the churches in Iowa...she's coming to speak here. It's free and it';s supposed to be quite an experience.
That's it for me. Again, sorry I was a little late today.
PWD
To The News:
Pope XVI day III:
Mass this morning at Nationals ballpark. The Pope told American Catholics that Hope is a characteristic of the American Church. He also said American Catholics would need hope to get through the church abuse scandal.
Davis on the Radio
We hear Keno Davis on Larry Cottler's show this morning on KXNO. He was pretty candid both with Larry and then with us. Look for more of the interview with KENO tonight as well. By the way, KUDOS to our Photojournalist Roger Riley...he was ALL OVER THE PLACE TODAY. Roger went out and got the Keno story, got some video of the rain for us this morning and...
Gas Prices
Roger also go some people to talk about high gas prices. Some of the stations changed over last night, some changed over this morning...some had the same price we'd seen for the last couple of days. If you filled up for $3.24...good for you. The rest of us are paying more today.
Just Give Me Jesus
Ann Grahm Lotz will be at the Wells Fargo Arena for a two day revival called Just Give Me Jesus. Apparently she doesn't speak in the US very often but through the hard work of a lot of the churches in Iowa...she's coming to speak here. It's free and it';s supposed to be quite an experience.
That's it for me. Again, sorry I was a little late today.
PWD
Wednesday, April 16, 2008
Pope Visit Day 2, Va Tech Anniversary and Intersecting Highways
Good Morning!
We had some fun this morning debating the number of highways that go all the way border to border or coast to coast. The debate started with a story on the 80/35 Music Festival. In a bleary early morning moment, Jeriann asked why they named the festival 80/35. We cleared her head but then Brad commented I-35 and I-80 were the only two highways that intersected then went on to go border to border and coast to coast.
Stuff like this gets my brain turning. I was never good at problems that start with, "A train leaves Chicago..." but I always did well with maps and geography. So we started looking and it turns out there are a few highways that go coast to coast and at least two that I can find that go border to border (if you count Lake Superior as a border).
This is a subject you don't want to mess with the Dix family on. We (my siblings and I) used to joke that there were three books that could answer almost any question, A Dictionary, A Bible, and an Atlas. When I was growing up, they came out all the time at the dinner table. We'd ask a questions or start to debate someone else's answer to a question, and my Dad or Mom would get up and get the appropriate book to settle the question.
The joke went so far that at my and at my brother's rehearsal dinner for our wedding, my parents gave us...you guessed it, a Bible, an Atlas, and a Dictionary.
Pope 2:
The Pope is apparently getting quite a reception from the President this morning. The coverage of Benedict's visit is all over the cable channels and of course it led our newscast too. The Pope will be the second Pope to visit the White House today. He's saying mass for Clergy at the National Cathedral and will celebrate his birthday at The Vatican Embassy.
Keno2:
The Coach is headed to Providence. I hope Drake fans aren't too unhappy with him. I thought the players showed a lot of class in a moment when I'm sure they were as disappointed as anyone. Murph puts out some names for possible replacements:
Associate Head Coach, Chris Davis...Murph says he's a good recruiter, and well liked by the current players.
Also showing immediate interest with ties to Des Moines: former Roosevelt head coach, Hawkeye Assistant, and current Indiana State Coach, Greg Lansing and former Bulldog player Matt Woodley, now an assistant at Washington State.
Va Tech Anniversary
Appropriate that school is canceled today in Blacksburg VA. I can't believe it's been a year already. With all the news going on today, this is going to be pushed down the line a little. It's almost better that way. It would be nice to see that campus get a little privacy to deal with the feelings that will surely surface for a lot of people.
Billy Joel
We missed having it in our show this morning but Kyle Munson's live blog during the Billy Joel Concert gives you a good idea of what happened. I was so tired yesterday afternoon, I'm not sure I would have made it this morning if we'd decided to go.
Hope everyone has a good day.
PWD
We had some fun this morning debating the number of highways that go all the way border to border or coast to coast. The debate started with a story on the 80/35 Music Festival. In a bleary early morning moment, Jeriann asked why they named the festival 80/35. We cleared her head but then Brad commented I-35 and I-80 were the only two highways that intersected then went on to go border to border and coast to coast.
Stuff like this gets my brain turning. I was never good at problems that start with, "A train leaves Chicago..." but I always did well with maps and geography. So we started looking and it turns out there are a few highways that go coast to coast and at least two that I can find that go border to border (if you count Lake Superior as a border).
This is a subject you don't want to mess with the Dix family on. We (my siblings and I) used to joke that there were three books that could answer almost any question, A Dictionary, A Bible, and an Atlas. When I was growing up, they came out all the time at the dinner table. We'd ask a questions or start to debate someone else's answer to a question, and my Dad or Mom would get up and get the appropriate book to settle the question.
The joke went so far that at my and at my brother's rehearsal dinner for our wedding, my parents gave us...you guessed it, a Bible, an Atlas, and a Dictionary.
Pope 2:
The Pope is apparently getting quite a reception from the President this morning. The coverage of Benedict's visit is all over the cable channels and of course it led our newscast too. The Pope will be the second Pope to visit the White House today. He's saying mass for Clergy at the National Cathedral and will celebrate his birthday at The Vatican Embassy.
Keno2:
The Coach is headed to Providence. I hope Drake fans aren't too unhappy with him. I thought the players showed a lot of class in a moment when I'm sure they were as disappointed as anyone. Murph puts out some names for possible replacements:
Associate Head Coach, Chris Davis...Murph says he's a good recruiter, and well liked by the current players.
Also showing immediate interest with ties to Des Moines: former Roosevelt head coach, Hawkeye Assistant, and current Indiana State Coach, Greg Lansing and former Bulldog player Matt Woodley, now an assistant at Washington State.
Va Tech Anniversary
Appropriate that school is canceled today in Blacksburg VA. I can't believe it's been a year already. With all the news going on today, this is going to be pushed down the line a little. It's almost better that way. It would be nice to see that campus get a little privacy to deal with the feelings that will surely surface for a lot of people.
Billy Joel
We missed having it in our show this morning but Kyle Munson's live blog during the Billy Joel Concert gives you a good idea of what happened. I was so tired yesterday afternoon, I'm not sure I would have made it this morning if we'd decided to go.
Hope everyone has a good day.
PWD
Tuesday, April 15, 2008
Keno...Don't Go!, AIrline Merger and The Pope's Visit
Good Morning...by the end of this blog I expect to have my membership card revoked from the Lapsed Catholics Anonymous club. The Pope is in the US and just reading some of the stuff reporters are writing today gets me going. Anyway...we'll get to that in a minute.
Tax Day
It's the 15th of April and I'm realizing while we filed out taxes weeks ago, we may not have sent the check.
I says this because this is one of the many things I count on my wife to do.
As she put it to some of our friends this weekend, 'I tell people where the checkbook is just in case something happens to me."
As she put it to some of our friends this weekend, 'I tell people where the checkbook is just in case something happens to me." God forbid...for a lot of reasons that don't start with the checkbook.
Airline Merger
Northwest and Delta are going to merge into what one can only imagine will be an airlines with lines twice as long, tickets twice as expensive and seats twice as small.
But seriously...what should we call the new airline? Northwelta? Delwest?
It's still going to be Delta...if the deal goes through. People in Minneapolis and Detroit have to be a little nervous this morning even with the assurances of the airline and their elected officials. The Detroit Free Press seems to think everything's going to be OK. In Minneapolis, the Pols are spewing the soundbytes. Someone should read this stuff before they put it out for publication?
From the Minneapolis Start Tribune:
The two airlines are submitting the deal for antitrust review now in the hope that it can be completed before a new president takes office. U.S. Rep. Jim Oberstar, D-Minn., intends to fight the merger by holding hearings in the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, which he leads.
Sen. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., said Monday night that she would hold the executives' "feet to the fire" to ensure that consumers, airline employees and communities are protected. Sen. Norm Coleman, R-Minn., expressed similar concerns and stressed that he would look out for the "best long-term interests of Minnesota." Gov. Tim Pawlenty said Monday that he "will be closely scrutinizing the impact of the merger and will strongly stand up for Minnesota's interests." If the merged carrier doesn't live up to prior commitments to the state,
Hold their "feet to the fire?", "Look out for the best long-term interest of Minnesota" "Scrutinize the impact of the merger?"
I'll translate: We were totally caught off guard by this news and don't have anything to say. Moreover even if we did, we don't want to make promises we can't keep or can't deliver on.
This is the reason a lot of people tune out politics. I mean SAY SOMETHING! How about some emotion!
Keno
Update: 12:15pm- Keno took the job. He'll be announced as the new Head Basketball Coach at Providence tonight at 4pm. Watch tonight at 5, 6 and 10pm for reaction to the announcement.
Reading the Providence newspaper this morning you're left with the impression that Keno Davis is going to have a really hard decision. Murph said in his blog yesterday that Keno has a lot of loyalty to Drake and I'm sure he does. Loyalty doesn't pay the bills and anyone who reaches the level Keno has in his profession has something inside of them that wants more. I'm sure no matter what he decides there will be a part of him that wants to stay and part that wants the new challenge. BTW we looked and saw some of the salaries Big East coaches are making A LOT more than Keno is right now.
Pope
I thought the Media coverage of Pope Benedict's visit was pretty tame. They're making his out to be a pretty great guy and I'm sure he is. One of the interesting undercurrents to this visit is how at odds 
the Pope's views are with those of American Catholics.
the Pope's views are with those of American Catholics.Now ...before any of the Catholics out there email me to tell me all of the things I don't know about being a Catholic...and there are a lot of them; I'm simply point to the results of a Pew research study.
It shows more than half of American Catholics don't believe in the Church's position on abortion, more than half support capitol punishment, and among all people who identify themselves as Catholic; attitudes on issues like gay marriage and stem cell research show a position opposite of Rome's.
Some hope the Pope's visit includes an apology to the victims of sex abuse by clergy and the cover-up that followed. That simple act might be enough to bring some American Catholics back closer to the church they grew up in. It would, for some, acknowledge the need to ask the people for forgiveness, and recognize the humanity of the clergy.
I can't bring myself to believe it will happen that way. Today, the limited number of Priests I meet (especially young ones) give off an air of infallibility. I'm left with the impression that they believe THEY are the church and the rest of us are just visitors.
The fact is, a lot of Catholics I talk to are turned off by that attitude alone. They believe the acts of communion, reconciliation...heck, the Church itself is not built on the clergy, but on the people who fill the pews.
My friend has an easy answer to this: He says that simply means the people with these attitudes should stop identifying themselves as Catholic.
So there it is, I'm sure there will be someone by the blog later to revoke my membership card. In any case I'm interested in hearing what the Pope has to say, and how his visit is received in the United States.
Have a great day!
PWD
Monday, April 14, 2008
Warmer Week, Zach falls Back and Blackouts Begin
Good Monday morning to you all.
Hope you had a good weekend thought he weather was crummy.
Jeriann says it's going to be much better this week so let's just forget the snow covered ground we woke up to Saturday morning and move on.
Zach Falls Back
If you watched the Masters coverage like I did you were happy to see Zach Johnson doing well early on in his round Sunday. He actually got to three under before falling back and ending up in 20th place. No worries. I think he showed 2007 wasn't a fluke and that he'll be a contender at the Masters for a long time.
Did anyone see Brant Snedeker's post round interview? Sad. The guy played so well most of the week and just fell apart at the end. He'll be back.
Barnstormers are just...Back
The Arena League comes back to Des Moines after a seven year absence. It will be interesting to see if the sports market has changed enough to get people to go.
Blackouts
Well, here we go again. Apparently the Cubs were blacked out again in this market Sunday, though I am not sure why.
I like to have seen a game that went into extra innings. Lets start this debate over. Someone explain to me why I can't see a game that was played hundreds of miles away? I will give Mediacom points. The HD version of WGN is now part of my cable package. That mean s at least I'll see SOME of the Cubs games in HD this year.
Sorry this is so sports heavy but that was the weekend for me. We had dinner with some friends at their house Friday and Saturday had two couples over to our house. We don't do it often because our house is so small. Summertime is coming though and that means we can get out on to our screened in porch. The only problem is, I have to clean it and paint it this year.
Hope you all enjoy the weather this week.
PWD
Hope you had a good weekend thought he weather was crummy.
Jeriann says it's going to be much better this week so let's just forget the snow covered ground we woke up to Saturday morning and move on.
Zach Falls Back
If you watched the Masters coverage like I did you were happy to see Zach Johnson doing well early on in his round Sunday. He actually got to three under before falling back and ending up in 20th place. No worries. I think he showed 2007 wasn't a fluke and that he'll be a contender at the Masters for a long time.
Did anyone see Brant Snedeker's post round interview? Sad. The guy played so well most of the week and just fell apart at the end. He'll be back.
Barnstormers are just...Back
The Arena League comes back to Des Moines after a seven year absence. It will be interesting to see if the sports market has changed enough to get people to go.
Blackouts
Well, here we go again. Apparently the Cubs were blacked out again in this market Sunday, though I am not sure why.
I like to have seen a game that went into extra innings. Lets start this debate over. Someone explain to me why I can't see a game that was played hundreds of miles away? I will give Mediacom points. The HD version of WGN is now part of my cable package. That mean s at least I'll see SOME of the Cubs games in HD this year.
Sorry this is so sports heavy but that was the weekend for me. We had dinner with some friends at their house Friday and Saturday had two couples over to our house. We don't do it often because our house is so small. Summertime is coming though and that means we can get out on to our screened in porch. The only problem is, I have to clean it and paint it this year.
Hope you all enjoy the weather this week.
PWD
Friday, April 11, 2008
CIETC, Brooke's Blog and Helping a Guard Soldier
Good Morning!
Brooke took us all to the gym this morning. Her video blog is her post baby workout. First, kudos to her for the work it takes to get back in shape. I let her talk about her success. Second, BIG kudos for letting us look in on the workout and taking up the topic. It's something most of us deal with whether we had a baby or not. Some of us men look like we're expecting if we don't get to the gym enough. I'm not sure I want a camera following me to my workout.
The Video blog is coming... Kelly our web producer will have it up a little later this morning.
If you didn't catch it... I talked about my effort to lose those last few pounds I gained when I was pregnant with my son Evan. I gained about 35 pounds which I hear is normal, but it has been hard getting the last few pounds off even thought it has been 9 months. (Maybe it has something to do with the chips I was eating from Vendoland) Anyway, I started working out with a trainer at Gym/FX in downtown Des Moines. Kayla Bender is awesome and she doesn't let me slack. It's an hour of hard cardio and strength training that I wouldn't do on my own. I have just 9 pounds left to go and my goal is to be back to the old Brooke by June. The other part of the weight loss program which I didn't get into on the video is calorie managment. That's code for dieting! Actually, there's a program on-line called MyApex that helps you log your calories based on what you eat. I am staying under 1,500 every day. It actually hasn't been too bad and I am not one for dieting so that is saying something. I will keep you updated on my progress.
To the news:
CIETC
This is what we've been talking about for a while. Archie Brooks took the stand and admitted he and former CIETC CEO Ramona Cunningham had an affair. He also admitted he'd signed off on pay raises for execs AFTER he and Ramona had sex. After Archie testified we heard from his brother, who was a CIETC employee. Now lets just put aside the obvious problems with a government agency employing the guy who's brother is the Board Chairman....this guy testified he was part of a group that went one more than 100 trips to Iowa Casinos while they were on the clock for the jobs agency. He also testified that the people who got these bonuses were untouchable. They weren't ever going to get fired. My question is, who else knew. It looks like CIETC was a place where government officials had their family and friends hired to pick up a paycheck and not do a lot of work. I want to know who else in local , State or federal government knew about this and had their friends taken care of.
WX
It's funny to see some of the emails we get after severe weather coverage and I thought I'd share some of them. Some of you thought our coverage of the tornadoes last night was "over the top". Ed was on for a long time yesterday afternoon giving people the information about the warnings. I thought about it as I watched, sun streaming through my front window. There were going to be some people upset because the tornado didn't matter to them.
like this viewer:
Way way to over blown with sunny skys here in Des Moines but storms elsewhere. Don't know what your viewer percentage is in the effected area but it was obviously much smaller then the balance of your viewers.
Just making sure I understand: The amount of time we take to cover life threatening weather should be balanced against how many lives we might potentially lose?
I'm trying to work out a matrix with Jeopardy's importance on one side balanced against a number of people hurt or killed on the other. I'm having trouble calculating how much the the importance of double jeopardy ups the stakes for the game show.(read thick sarcasm here)
I think the importance for all of us goes up when the weather is at our front door. We don't make a distinction that Moravia is less important than West Des Moines.
Another viewer shared this:
I tuned in to watch Jeopardy, but the entire 30 minute show was preempted by Wilson's weather. I saw there was a tornado warning in southern Iowa, but that doesn't justify it. I noticed channels 8 and 5 were showing the warnings at the bottom of the screen without preempting their scheduled shows. WHO-TV could do the same thing; you don't have to go wall to wall for a simple weather warning.
I can only say we don't leave it to other news organizations to make our decision about severe weather coverage. We cover severe weather.
There were tornado warnings coming out as these storms moved through. Ed and the rest of our team do the best they can to cover the weather appropriately.
I guess the thing that strikes me here is the emails that weigh the importance of a game show with telling people about a tornado. Is that a question you want us asking next time the storm is coming to your front door?
And just to prove, you can't please all of the people all of the time, here's a complaint from a viewer in southeast Iowa:
I always get a little upset by your coverage during severe weather situations because I live in southeast Iowa. I understand that the majority of your viewers live in Des Moines, but it is like we are in an isolated little corner of your viewing area, and you really dont give a hoot about us. Severe weather can still be in the area, but if it moves just to the east it is out of the viewing area and it is forgotten about. Many of your viewers have family who live, work, or travel to eastern Iowa, so please try to cover the storms as they move off to the east. They dont just disappear when they leave your precious "metro"
Feel free to weigh in.
Helping a Guard Soldier
This took on dual meaning this morning after the family of a soldier killed in Iraq called. They'll be having funeral services here in Des Moines this morning for Major Stuart Wolfer. His wife is from the area. It looks like we're going to be able to help her record and save the funeral service so her children can see it when they grow up. Mrs Wolfer has three young girls. It's the least we can do for that family.
An Iowa guard soldier had to come home from Kosovo because his family lost everything in a house fire. We said we'd put information up so people can donate to a fund set up for the family to relocate. here it is:
SEND DONATIONS IN CARE OF BRANDON AND SHAWNA STALPES
NORTHWEST FEDERAL SAVINGS BANK IN HUMBOLDT
801 SUMNER AVENUE...
P-O BOX 669 IN HUMBOLDT
50548
Zachwatch
Anyone else impressed with Zach Johnson's first round at the Masters? He's in the hunt. That's all you can ask.
Homebuilders
The Parade of homes is this weekend
Here's a link to more information
OK gotta go get some shuteye...but watch this noon. We're going to try to hook up with the International Space Station and talk to Iowa native Peggy Whitson! We'll see if we can make it happen.
Have a good weekend
PWD
Brooke took us all to the gym this morning. Her video blog is her post baby workout. First, kudos to her for the work it takes to get back in shape. I let her talk about her success. Second, BIG kudos for letting us look in on the workout and taking up the topic. It's something most of us deal with whether we had a baby or not. Some of us men look like we're expecting if we don't get to the gym enough. I'm not sure I want a camera following me to my workout.
The Video blog is coming... Kelly our web producer will have it up a little later this morning.
If you didn't catch it... I talked about my effort to lose those last few pounds I gained when I was pregnant with my son Evan. I gained about 35 pounds which I hear is normal, but it has been hard getting the last few pounds off even thought it has been 9 months. (Maybe it has something to do with the chips I was eating from Vendoland) Anyway, I started working out with a trainer at Gym/FX in downtown Des Moines. Kayla Bender is awesome and she doesn't let me slack. It's an hour of hard cardio and strength training that I wouldn't do on my own. I have just 9 pounds left to go and my goal is to be back to the old Brooke by June. The other part of the weight loss program which I didn't get into on the video is calorie managment. That's code for dieting! Actually, there's a program on-line called MyApex that helps you log your calories based on what you eat. I am staying under 1,500 every day. It actually hasn't been too bad and I am not one for dieting so that is saying something. I will keep you updated on my progress.
To the news:
CIETC
This is what we've been talking about for a while. Archie Brooks took the stand and admitted he and former CIETC CEO Ramona Cunningham had an affair. He also admitted he'd signed off on pay raises for execs AFTER he and Ramona had sex. After Archie testified we heard from his brother, who was a CIETC employee. Now lets just put aside the obvious problems with a government agency employing the guy who's brother is the Board Chairman....this guy testified he was part of a group that went one more than 100 trips to Iowa Casinos while they were on the clock for the jobs agency. He also testified that the people who got these bonuses were untouchable. They weren't ever going to get fired. My question is, who else knew. It looks like CIETC was a place where government officials had their family and friends hired to pick up a paycheck and not do a lot of work. I want to know who else in local , State or federal government knew about this and had their friends taken care of.
WX
It's funny to see some of the emails we get after severe weather coverage and I thought I'd share some of them. Some of you thought our coverage of the tornadoes last night was "over the top". Ed was on for a long time yesterday afternoon giving people the information about the warnings. I thought about it as I watched, sun streaming through my front window. There were going to be some people upset because the tornado didn't matter to them.
like this viewer:
Way way to over blown with sunny skys here in Des Moines but storms elsewhere. Don't know what your viewer percentage is in the effected area but it was obviously much smaller then the balance of your viewers.
Just making sure I understand: The amount of time we take to cover life threatening weather should be balanced against how many lives we might potentially lose?
I'm trying to work out a matrix with Jeopardy's importance on one side balanced against a number of people hurt or killed on the other. I'm having trouble calculating how much the the importance of double jeopardy ups the stakes for the game show.(read thick sarcasm here)
I think the importance for all of us goes up when the weather is at our front door. We don't make a distinction that Moravia is less important than West Des Moines.
Another viewer shared this:
I tuned in to watch Jeopardy, but the entire 30 minute show was preempted by Wilson's weather. I saw there was a tornado warning in southern Iowa, but that doesn't justify it. I noticed channels 8 and 5 were showing the warnings at the bottom of the screen without preempting their scheduled shows. WHO-TV could do the same thing; you don't have to go wall to wall for a simple weather warning.
I can only say we don't leave it to other news organizations to make our decision about severe weather coverage. We cover severe weather.
There were tornado warnings coming out as these storms moved through. Ed and the rest of our team do the best they can to cover the weather appropriately.
I guess the thing that strikes me here is the emails that weigh the importance of a game show with telling people about a tornado. Is that a question you want us asking next time the storm is coming to your front door?
And just to prove, you can't please all of the people all of the time, here's a complaint from a viewer in southeast Iowa:
I always get a little upset by your coverage during severe weather situations because I live in southeast Iowa. I understand that the majority of your viewers live in Des Moines, but it is like we are in an isolated little corner of your viewing area, and you really dont give a hoot about us. Severe weather can still be in the area, but if it moves just to the east it is out of the viewing area and it is forgotten about. Many of your viewers have family who live, work, or travel to eastern Iowa, so please try to cover the storms as they move off to the east. They dont just disappear when they leave your precious "metro"
Feel free to weigh in.
Helping a Guard Soldier
This took on dual meaning this morning after the family of a soldier killed in Iraq called. They'll be having funeral services here in Des Moines this morning for Major Stuart Wolfer. His wife is from the area. It looks like we're going to be able to help her record and save the funeral service so her children can see it when they grow up. Mrs Wolfer has three young girls. It's the least we can do for that family.
An Iowa guard soldier had to come home from Kosovo because his family lost everything in a house fire. We said we'd put information up so people can donate to a fund set up for the family to relocate. here it is:
SEND DONATIONS IN CARE OF BRANDON AND SHAWNA STALPES
NORTHWEST FEDERAL SAVINGS BANK IN HUMBOLDT
801 SUMNER AVENUE...
P-O BOX 669 IN HUMBOLDT
50548
Zachwatch
Anyone else impressed with Zach Johnson's first round at the Masters? He's in the hunt. That's all you can ask.
Homebuilders
The Parade of homes is this weekend
Here's a link to more information
OK gotta go get some shuteye...but watch this noon. We're going to try to hook up with the International Space Station and talk to Iowa native Peggy Whitson! We'll see if we can make it happen.
Have a good weekend
PWD
Thursday, April 10, 2008
House Fire, Shorter Deployments, and Visitors
Good Morning!
I hope the weather doesn't destroy your mood today. I was thinking on the way in...there's usually one rain every spring that makes a big difference. It rains and it's just cold enough to be uncomfortable for a couple of days. On the other side of that though,, there's usually sunshine, and the grass pops, the trees start to bud and the air starts to smell like spring. I'm hoping that's where we are by the weekend.
To the News
House Fire
An Ankeny family of four got out of their house safely this morning after a fire started. There's no cause yet, but we found out two firefighters sustained minor injuries trying to fight this one. According to our Photojournalist Roger Riley, it was awful out there.
CIETC
This could get interesting with former Board Chair Archie Brooks on the stand today. Brooks allegedly had a relationship with former CIETC CEO Ramona Cunningham, and has already entered a guilty plea in order to make a deal with prosecutors.
There are some unanswered questions a lot of people have about who ELSE knew about all of the bonuses and salary bumps given to CIETC employees and execs. Brooks may answer some of that today.
If you remember, the Federal prosecutors have been saying all along, their investigation is not closed yet and they reserve the right to bring more indictments against people if the need comes up.
Zach Watch
As I write this play has been pushed back 40 minutes for the Masters. Our Director Joe points out you can't watch the entire thing on ESPN until this afternoon. He's right but you can watch online starting at 9:45. So if you have fast online access you can watch some of Zach Johnson's round live. If you get bored you can play the putting game they've got at Masters.org.
Tours Shortened
The President will announce the shortening of US combat tours in Iraq today. The tours will go from 15 to 12 months. That, I would think is great news for those families who will not have to be away from loved ones quite so long.
American Cancellations
I got an email from my father -in-law this morning just as I was reading the story about American Airlines delaying hundreds more flights today. The airline is inspecting and repairing its entire fleet of MD-80 aircraft. I mention my father-in-law's email because he is actually in American';s headquarter airport, Dallas. He's flying to Portland today on, you guessed it, an MD-80. As of the email he was on time to go to Oregon, but as Rick is a very resourceful guy. He'd already reserved a seat on a United flight American Cancels his trip.
Visitors
We had two students in from the class I spoke to at Iowa State this week. I offered to let anyone from the class come down and see a newscast and these guys were quick to take me up on it. I hope the visit was worth the trip. We had a little bit of everything for them to see this morning, a satellite interview, a live breaking news story, and a big weather forecast for Jeriann.
I'm going home to get a quick nap before masters time. I'll be online watching.
Have a good day.
I hope the weather doesn't destroy your mood today. I was thinking on the way in...there's usually one rain every spring that makes a big difference. It rains and it's just cold enough to be uncomfortable for a couple of days. On the other side of that though,, there's usually sunshine, and the grass pops, the trees start to bud and the air starts to smell like spring. I'm hoping that's where we are by the weekend.
To the News
House Fire
An Ankeny family of four got out of their house safely this morning after a fire started. There's no cause yet, but we found out two firefighters sustained minor injuries trying to fight this one. According to our Photojournalist Roger Riley, it was awful out there.
CIETC
This could get interesting with former Board Chair Archie Brooks on the stand today. Brooks allegedly had a relationship with former CIETC CEO Ramona Cunningham, and has already entered a guilty plea in order to make a deal with prosecutors.
There are some unanswered questions a lot of people have about who ELSE knew about all of the bonuses and salary bumps given to CIETC employees and execs. Brooks may answer some of that today.
If you remember, the Federal prosecutors have been saying all along, their investigation is not closed yet and they reserve the right to bring more indictments against people if the need comes up.
Zach Watch
As I write this play has been pushed back 40 minutes for the Masters. Our Director Joe points out you can't watch the entire thing on ESPN until this afternoon. He's right but you can watch online starting at 9:45. So if you have fast online access you can watch some of Zach Johnson's round live. If you get bored you can play the putting game they've got at Masters.org.
Tours Shortened
The President will announce the shortening of US combat tours in Iraq today. The tours will go from 15 to 12 months. That, I would think is great news for those families who will not have to be away from loved ones quite so long.
American Cancellations
I got an email from my father -in-law this morning just as I was reading the story about American Airlines delaying hundreds more flights today. The airline is inspecting and repairing its entire fleet of MD-80 aircraft. I mention my father-in-law's email because he is actually in American';s headquarter airport, Dallas. He's flying to Portland today on, you guessed it, an MD-80. As of the email he was on time to go to Oregon, but as Rick is a very resourceful guy. He'd already reserved a seat on a United flight American Cancels his trip.
Visitors
We had two students in from the class I spoke to at Iowa State this week. I offered to let anyone from the class come down and see a newscast and these guys were quick to take me up on it. I hope the visit was worth the trip. We had a little bit of everything for them to see this morning, a satellite interview, a live breaking news story, and a big weather forecast for Jeriann.
I'm going home to get a quick nap before masters time. I'll be online watching.
Have a good day.
Wednesday, April 09, 2008
Smoking Ban, Champion's Dinner and ISU Visit
Good Morning.
I wanted to start my saying thanks to the crew from Iowa State University that had me up last night for a critique of their student newscast. They were great! In fact a few of them are coming down tomorrow to watch Today in Iowa from the Studio. It's not something we do a lot but I like to tell people: Somebody did this for me when I was in their position. I hope they enjoy the experience.
Smoking
The smoking ban passed by the Iowa Legislature has caused more than a few people to fire off an email aimed att our newsroom and it's coverage of the issue.I heard the sound we played form the debate on the Senate floor last night including the argument that this was going to put people out of business. We don't know if that's true, but here's part of an article from Chicago where they enacted a no smoking ordinance in the city:
I wanted to start my saying thanks to the crew from Iowa State University that had me up last night for a critique of their student newscast. They were great! In fact a few of them are coming down tomorrow to watch Today in Iowa from the Studio. It's not something we do a lot but I like to tell people: Somebody did this for me when I was in their position. I hope they enjoy the experience.
Smoking
The smoking ban passed by the Iowa Legislature has caused more than a few people to fire off an email aimed att our newsroom and it's coverage of the issue.I heard the sound we played form the debate on the Senate floor last night including the argument that this was going to put people out of business. We don't know if that's true, but here's part of an article from Chicago where they enacted a no smoking ordinance in the city:
It’s been one year since the Chicago City Council passed a controversial ordinance prohibiting smoking in practically all enclosed public and work places except—for now—bars. Despite strong opposition by the restaurant industry, the gloom-and-doom predictions have not materialized. In fact, business may actually be booming.Overall, food establishments experienced a ten percent increase in sales in the first two quarters of 2006 compared to the same period in 2005. Illinois Department of Revenue data showed an increase of more than $1 million in municipal sales tax paid in each quarter, which represents an additional $100 million in sales in each quarter for the approximately 30,000 businesses classified as “drinking and eating places” in Cook County. Included in this tax category are three types of establishments: eating places, including fast food restaurants; drinking places; and hotels and motels, which collectively paid over $12.4 million in municipal sales tax in the second quarter of 2006, at a taxable rate of one percent. Although not yet required to do so, some restaurant/bar owners have already gone smoke-free and have seen business increase. After polling employees, Poag Mahone’s, at 175 W. Jackson St., went 100-percent smoke-free in September. Sales are up about 20 percent over last year, said Dan Rosenthal, president of Rosenthal Group, which owns and manages Poag Mahone’s and six other restaurants in Chicago that are all smoke-free.“This particular bar/restaurant is a benchmark study because it’s in the heart of the financial district,” Rosenthal said. “We have lots of traders as clientele, and they can’t smoke on the trading floor. We were afraid the clientele would go elsewhere, but that has not been the case at all.”
Champion's Dinner
Zach Johnson was the host of the Champions dinner at the Masters Golf Tournament last night. It's a tradition Johnson will now be a part of for the rest of his life. As defending Champ, Zach got to pick the menu. His choice? Cornfed steak, shrimp, crabcackes, corn of some kind. Go Figure. Zach tees off just after nine tomorrow. Guess where I'll be...
SHort blog today...I need to go home and get a quick nap. We're having the folks from the Temple for the Performing Arts here mid-morning for an interview that will air on the Noon News.
Have a good one. I'll add more if needed
PWD
Tuesday, April 08, 2008
CIETC inturrupted, KU Champs and Did you see the Today Show?
Good Morning!
Opening statements were interrupted in the CIETC trial when one of the jurors grabbed his chest and complained of chest pains. An ambulance took the man away. We get more of the prosecutions opening arguments, all three defense attorney's opening arguments and some testimony today. With former CIETC CEO Ramona Cunningham not at this trial, look for the other defendants to throw her under the bus quickly.
Bob Dylan wins a Pulitzer
I have to admit I used part of my morning on the set to look at the articles posted this m
orning about the Masters and Zach Johnson. The week of a major golf championship in our house is like a holiday. I plan on spending A LOT of time in front of the TV this weekend and you can't make me feel badly about it.
orning about the Masters and Zach Johnson. The week of a major golf championship in our house is like a holiday. I plan on spending A LOT of time in front of the TV this weekend and you can't make me feel badly about it.I found some good articles about Zach this morning including one from the local paper in Augusta GA. Also an interesting article about Zach's much publicized faith. I found both really interesting.
Anyway, I'll be distracted this week.
To the News
CIETC Interruption
Opening statements were interrupted in the CIETC trial when one of the jurors grabbed his chest and complained of chest pains. An ambulance took the man away. We get more of the prosecutions opening arguments, all three defense attorney's opening arguments and some testimony today. With former CIETC CEO Ramona Cunningham not at this trial, look for the other defendants to throw her under the bus quickly. Olympic Flame Saga Continues
I'm not making light of the situation in Tibet. I know it's serious. I just don't think the people protesting the Olympic Torch's run through the US, France and the UK played the tape to the end. How did they think this was going to play out. They look kind of crazy. No one's talking about human rights violations in Tibet. Everyone's talking about how crazy these protesters were to climb the Golden Gate Bridge!
Strug on Satellite
We talked to Olympic Gold Medalist Carie Strug this morning about a new program you can participate in this year called America's Cheer. It's a bus where you can record your good wishes for our Olympic athletes. The closest it will come to Iowa is Chicago(May 13-14 and Aug 16-17).
The other alternative is to go online and record a message or send an email.
With that plug out of the way I tried to ask about Shawn Johnson and what Strug thought about her. She talked about Shawn being a talented athlete...and then went on to re-plug the site. We'll see if Murph can pull a little of the interview for tonight's news.
Bob Dylan wins a Pulitzer
This is a story that got Pat and I talking this morning. Maybe it's because we didn't grow up listening to his music, but we both agreed that we don't completely understand his influence on music and pop culture. Clearly the guy is an amazing song writer, but I don't enjoy his music as much as some of the other singers of his time. Maybe its his delivery or maybe its his style, but there are other musicians I would rather listen to. In fact, I don't really know a lot of his music and I love music from the '60's and '70's. But what do I know. Anyway, the guy won a Pulitzer for his lyrics and his influence on rock-n-roll.
Did you see the Today Show?
How disturbing was the video of the girls who beat on another girl for talking trash about them on the Internet. Talk about not playing the tape to the end...literally. There's a special kind of dummy that commits a crime and puts it on tape. Worse than that the mother of one of these girls defended her daughter. "My daughter told her not to go in there".
OK well that's nice, but Matt Lauer's question was right on track: How many times did your daughter or anyone else call the Police to stop the beating over the half hour it took place? How many times did she call the Paramedics when the girl was beaten so badly she passed out?
I'm not saying the victim is an innocent in all of this but no one deserves to be ganged up on and beaten. There's something in all of us that knows when a situation crosses over from right to WRONG. These girls knew what they were doing.
KU Wins
Once upon a time I was a KU fan. I know...I know. It's hard for me to admit. Four years in 
Columbia Missouri changed my mind and now the evil Chickenhawks are my nemesis. The problem is the source of my once undying love for All things KU. It's my Sister and Brother's fault. They went to KU. The last time the Jayhawks won the national championship I actually helped my homeroom teacher win the teacher's pool at my Junior High by picking Kansas. You gotta hand it to the Jayhawks. They played a great tournament.
Columbia Missouri changed my mind and now the evil Chickenhawks are my nemesis. The problem is the source of my once undying love for All things KU. It's my Sister and Brother's fault. They went to KU. The last time the Jayhawks won the national championship I actually helped my homeroom teacher win the teacher's pool at my Junior High by picking Kansas. You gotta hand it to the Jayhawks. They played a great tournament. Finally I've been invited to go to Ames tonight to critique the Student Newscast at ISU.
Actually I was like the fourth person asked to go.
I love doing stuff like this but we've got a lot of ISU and Drake, Simpson and Central grads around here. They usually ask alumni first.
I'm happy to go up there and hope I can help with some constructive suggestions.
Thanks for your comments lately, keep em coming.
PWD
Monday, April 07, 2008
CIETC, Olympic Torch, and Why I Think I Broke My Thumb
Good Morning....
Brooke's back after a much deserved three day weekend. We were all glad to see her back.
Hope you enjoyed the weekend weather. If you missed a chance to get outside, Jeriann is saying next weekend looks good too. Still, you missed a good one this weekend.
I led the golf season off with an 82 that included the 1st birdie of the season!
Thanks to a friend, I got to play one of the best courses in town. The grass wasn't green but it just feels good to be out in short sleeves swinging a golf club.
It is amazing what just one day of vacation will do for your soul. And on this shift, sleeping in is a true luxury. Eric and I didn't do much during our mini-vacation which is exactly the way I like it. I did manage to make it to Oskaloosa to meet up with my mom and aunts for the afternoon. They wanted to see Evan. Everyone wants to see Evan. In fact, I don't really matter much anymore at family gatherings. And that's fine with me. On our way home Evan and I stopped in Pella to do a little window shopping. There are so many things I love about the town that I could probably write a book about it. It got me thinking that Tulip Time is just around the corner.
To the News:
CIETC
If you don't remember this one we tried to remind you this morning. There was an organization who's sole job was to help people who'd lost their job re-train and re-enter the workforce. An audit of the organization showed crazy bonuses and salaries going to some of the execs. The more we found out the worse this one got. Former City Councilman and former CIETC Board member Archie Brooks was implicated. We found out he'd allegedly had a relationship with the former CEO of CIETC, Ramona Cunningham. Stories about afternoon gambling trips to Prairie Meadows, boats bought with those big salaries, and even whispers about favor being given to political cronies inside and outside CIETC. To put it kindly this is a mess. The details of this trial may end up reading like a trashy novel.
Olympic Torch Relay
Isn't the Olympics supposed to be about peace and bringing the spirit of competition to all nations? Instead we're seeing people tackled as they try to extinguish the Olympic Torch. The issue is Tibet and it's status under Chinese rule.
I may be way off base on this one...I support these people's right to protest...but it needs to be peaceful protest.
Why not line the streets of London and Paris with people who are for Tibet's freedom? Every shot of video of this torch run will have that image in it. Organize a ticket boycott, buy up the available tickets with people who will make some sort of peaceful showing at the games themselves.
My gut reaction from these protests is not to sympathize or even ask more about the alleged injustices in Tibet. My reaction is negative...against the protesters.
Why I think I Broke my Thumb
We had a thank you event for some of our clients at a bowling alley Friday. I was supposed to bowl with some of our stations clients, but they couldn't make it at the last minute. So I ended up bowling all eight games on our lane by myself. I'm not sure what possessed me to do it...and No it wasn't beer! My right thumb looks like I ran it through a jigsaw. We had a good time but my left leg and my right arm were SORE the next day. Before I hear the bowling jokes...try it some time. Bowl eight games in less than two hours and see how your body feels the next day. That added to 27 holes of golf Saturday was enough to make me sore. I need to get back to the gym more often.
Have a good one!
PWD
Brooke's back after a much deserved three day weekend. We were all glad to see her back.
Hope you enjoyed the weekend weather. If you missed a chance to get outside, Jeriann is saying next weekend looks good too. Still, you missed a good one this weekend.
I led the golf season off with an 82 that included the 1st birdie of the season!
Thanks to a friend, I got to play one of the best courses in town. The grass wasn't green but it just feels good to be out in short sleeves swinging a golf club.
It is amazing what just one day of vacation will do for your soul. And on this shift, sleeping in is a true luxury. Eric and I didn't do much during our mini-vacation which is exactly the way I like it. I did manage to make it to Oskaloosa to meet up with my mom and aunts for the afternoon. They wanted to see Evan. Everyone wants to see Evan. In fact, I don't really matter much anymore at family gatherings. And that's fine with me. On our way home Evan and I stopped in Pella to do a little window shopping. There are so many things I love about the town that I could probably write a book about it. It got me thinking that Tulip Time is just around the corner.
To the News:
CIETC
If you don't remember this one we tried to remind you this morning. There was an organization who's sole job was to help people who'd lost their job re-train and re-enter the workforce. An audit of the organization showed crazy bonuses and salaries going to some of the execs. The more we found out the worse this one got. Former City Councilman and former CIETC Board member Archie Brooks was implicated. We found out he'd allegedly had a relationship with the former CEO of CIETC, Ramona Cunningham. Stories about afternoon gambling trips to Prairie Meadows, boats bought with those big salaries, and even whispers about favor being given to political cronies inside and outside CIETC. To put it kindly this is a mess. The details of this trial may end up reading like a trashy novel.
Olympic Torch Relay
Isn't the Olympics supposed to be about peace and bringing the spirit of competition to all nations? Instead we're seeing people tackled as they try to extinguish the Olympic Torch. The issue is Tibet and it's status under Chinese rule.
I may be way off base on this one...I support these people's right to protest...but it needs to be peaceful protest.
Why not line the streets of London and Paris with people who are for Tibet's freedom? Every shot of video of this torch run will have that image in it. Organize a ticket boycott, buy up the available tickets with people who will make some sort of peaceful showing at the games themselves.
My gut reaction from these protests is not to sympathize or even ask more about the alleged injustices in Tibet. My reaction is negative...against the protesters.
Why I think I Broke my Thumb
We had a thank you event for some of our clients at a bowling alley Friday. I was supposed to bowl with some of our stations clients, but they couldn't make it at the last minute. So I ended up bowling all eight games on our lane by myself. I'm not sure what possessed me to do it...and No it wasn't beer! My right thumb looks like I ran it through a jigsaw. We had a good time but my left leg and my right arm were SORE the next day. Before I hear the bowling jokes...try it some time. Bowl eight games in less than two hours and see how your body feels the next day. That added to 27 holes of golf Saturday was enough to make me sore. I need to get back to the gym more often.
Have a good one!
PWD
Friday, April 04, 2008
King Anniversary, What Lies Beneath, and Megan's News
Good Morning!
We're going to continue to build off of Jeriann's video blog from last week. Megan Reuther's agreed to share some great news that most of us have known for a couple of weeks. She's expecting and with a toddler already running around the house, she says this time around she's having to remind herself of a few tips to stay sane while she's pregnant.
We'll continue these video blogs every once in a while, if you've got suggestions let us know. We're trying to keep them to personal subjects that we think might be relevant to other people's lives. We may miss the mark sometimes and just have some fun but that's the goal anyway.
I was really excited to have the chance to blog about pregnancy--mainly because I'd like to hear what other mom's-to-be do to get the rest they need and get everything done! I remember being tired during my first pregnancy, but I had the luxury of going to bed after dinner and sleeping a good 10 to 12 hours. Now, I'm lucky to get 7 hours at night! Fortunately my 14 month old cooperates and takes an afternoon nap (most of the time.) Best wishes to all you other pregnant women and new moms! ~Megan
To the news:
40th Anniversary
This is one of those days where anyone who was alive in 1968, remembers what they were doing and where they were when they heard. Every generation has at least one, this generation had a lot more than that...There are a lot of articles speculating about what king's life would have been like if he'd live these past 40 years. What would the country be like?
Economics and Unemployment
As I write this the Federal Government just released it's report on unemployment in March. The numbers went up again and badly. The unemployment rate nationally stands at 5%. Now I'm going to put in a plug for the Iowa economy one more time. Our latest numbers show job growth not job losses here in Iowa. We may see some losses but the employment picture is still a lot better here than it is elsewhere in the country.
What Lies Beneath 2
If you missed Dan Winters story you need to see it now. It's about the Des Monies couple who bought a piece of land for their dream home in Knoxville only to find out there's a city dump underneath. It looks like there are signed record acknowledging people involved in the sale knew about the dump and didn't disclose it. I wonder what the county or city knew and why they rezoned the land for residential use? In any case it's a story Dan did a lot of hard work on and I'd bet next months salary on the fact that it's going to win some recognition from journalism organizations.
Leukemia Lymphoma
If you want to put your bad day into perspective? Spend an evening with the inspiring people at the Leukemia Lymphoma Society. I did last night. It was the kick-off event for the Man Woman & Celebrity of the Year competition.
As last years honoree, I get to MC this year and I'm excited for the opportunity. More than that I'm lucky to have the chance to be around these people who've been dealt a tough hand in their lives and played it the best way they know how.
I walk away feeling like I want to do more and am reminded that there are opportunities for all of us to take time out and give back to something...anything. Anyway, good luck to the Man Woman and Celebrity of the Year Candidates!
Getting the Sticks Out
It's going to be way too nice tomorrow for me to stay inside or event to do yard work (thought I should). I'm going to do a little selective landscaping when I go out and swing the golf clubs for the first time this season with my friend Fred. I'll let you know how it goes. In the meantime let us know what we can do on the blog to make it more interesting, write in your ideas for a video blog and feel free to comment on anything we've put on the show or left off in the last few days. Have a good one!
PWD
We're going to continue to build off of Jeriann's video blog from last week. Megan Reuther's agreed to share some great news that most of us have known for a couple of weeks. She's expecting and with a toddler already running around the house, she says this time around she's having to remind herself of a few tips to stay sane while she's pregnant.
We'll continue these video blogs every once in a while, if you've got suggestions let us know. We're trying to keep them to personal subjects that we think might be relevant to other people's lives. We may miss the mark sometimes and just have some fun but that's the goal anyway.
I was really excited to have the chance to blog about pregnancy--mainly because I'd like to hear what other mom's-to-be do to get the rest they need and get everything done! I remember being tired during my first pregnancy, but I had the luxury of going to bed after dinner and sleeping a good 10 to 12 hours. Now, I'm lucky to get 7 hours at night! Fortunately my 14 month old cooperates and takes an afternoon nap (most of the time.) Best wishes to all you other pregnant women and new moms! ~Megan
To the news:
40th Anniversary
This is one of those days where anyone who was alive in 1968, remembers what they were doing and where they were when they heard. Every generation has at least one, this generation had a lot more than that...There are a lot of articles speculating about what king's life would have been like if he'd live these past 40 years. What would the country be like?
Economics and Unemployment
As I write this the Federal Government just released it's report on unemployment in March. The numbers went up again and badly. The unemployment rate nationally stands at 5%. Now I'm going to put in a plug for the Iowa economy one more time. Our latest numbers show job growth not job losses here in Iowa. We may see some losses but the employment picture is still a lot better here than it is elsewhere in the country.
What Lies Beneath 2
If you missed Dan Winters story you need to see it now. It's about the Des Monies couple who bought a piece of land for their dream home in Knoxville only to find out there's a city dump underneath. It looks like there are signed record acknowledging people involved in the sale knew about the dump and didn't disclose it. I wonder what the county or city knew and why they rezoned the land for residential use? In any case it's a story Dan did a lot of hard work on and I'd bet next months salary on the fact that it's going to win some recognition from journalism organizations.
Leukemia Lymphoma
If you want to put your bad day into perspective? Spend an evening with the inspiring people at the Leukemia Lymphoma Society. I did last night. It was the kick-off event for the Man Woman & Celebrity of the Year competition.
As last years honoree, I get to MC this year and I'm excited for the opportunity. More than that I'm lucky to have the chance to be around these people who've been dealt a tough hand in their lives and played it the best way they know how.
I walk away feeling like I want to do more and am reminded that there are opportunities for all of us to take time out and give back to something...anything. Anyway, good luck to the Man Woman and Celebrity of the Year Candidates!
Getting the Sticks Out
It's going to be way too nice tomorrow for me to stay inside or event to do yard work (thought I should). I'm going to do a little selective landscaping when I go out and swing the golf clubs for the first time this season with my friend Fred. I'll let you know how it goes. In the meantime let us know what we can do on the blog to make it more interesting, write in your ideas for a video blog and feel free to comment on anything we've put on the show or left off in the last few days. Have a good one!
PWD
Thursday, April 03, 2008
Correction, Pre Cambrian and Walking while you Text
Good Morning.
Not our finest hour here at WHO this morning.
We reported an Associated Press story this morning that the one year-old involved in that house fire in Marshalltown this week had died. The AP put the report out about 10:30 last night so it was after our 10 PM newscast.
We went with the AP version of the story, as we often do, this morning.
The one thing we didn't do is call the hospital to confirm the AP report. We simply trusted the AP.
I'll be the first to apologize for it. Everyone here feels horrible about it. We're not sure where the AP got the report. There isn't much more to say except that we made an incredibly stupid error and may have made an already heartbreaking week even more so for some people.
It's opening day of the AAA baseball season here in Des Moines and the I-Cubs are going to try to squeeze one in. There's rain in the forecast so bundle up and cover up if you're going to the game.
While we're on the subject of baseball here in the Capitol City, Do you go to the games to hang out and enjoy the outdoors or do you go for the game? Our Sports team took up the question last night, but I'd be interested in your response.
We read this story and laughed this morning:
There's an exhibit called the "tower of time" at the Smithsonian's museum of natural history. Recently, a fifth-grader found a mistake with the exhibit!Since the museum opened in 1981, no one noticed that the exhibit labeled Precambrian as an era.The only problem, it's an eon, not an era. An 11-year old remembered that from his class -- and reported it to the museum. The Smithsonian sent a letter to the boy, telling him *he was correct. They fixed the mistake by painting over the word "era". The fifth-grader said he was happy to get the letter -- but pointed out that the museum spelled both his name, and his city.
Not our finest hour here at WHO this morning.
We reported an Associated Press story this morning that the one year-old involved in that house fire in Marshalltown this week had died. The AP put the report out about 10:30 last night so it was after our 10 PM newscast.
We went with the AP version of the story, as we often do, this morning.
The one thing we didn't do is call the hospital to confirm the AP report. We simply trusted the AP.
I'll be the first to apologize for it. Everyone here feels horrible about it. We're not sure where the AP got the report. There isn't much more to say except that we made an incredibly stupid error and may have made an already heartbreaking week even more so for some people.
It's opening day of the AAA baseball season here in Des Moines and the I-Cubs are going to try to squeeze one in. There's rain in the forecast so bundle up and cover up if you're going to the game.
While we're on the subject of baseball here in the Capitol City, Do you go to the games to hang out and enjoy the outdoors or do you go for the game? Our Sports team took up the question last night, but I'd be interested in your response.
We read this story and laughed this morning:
There's an exhibit called the "tower of time" at the Smithsonian's museum of natural history. Recently, a fifth-grader found a mistake with the exhibit!Since the museum opened in 1981, no one noticed that the exhibit labeled Precambrian as an era.The only problem, it's an eon, not an era. An 11-year old remembered that from his class -- and reported it to the museum. The Smithsonian sent a letter to the boy, telling him *he was correct. They fixed the mistake by painting over the word "era". The fifth-grader said he was happy to get the letter -- but pointed out that the museum spelled both his name, and his city.
We read this story and scratched our heads this morning:
The state of Illinois is considering a law banning people from texting while they walk. The Illinois Secretary of State said the legislation was prompted by one too many close calls -on busy crosswalks. The bill would fine a person crossing the street while sending or reading text messages at the same time. Officials say it is a safety issue. The Secretary of State says the bill would focus only on the state's large cities.
First of all, can a State law only apply to big cities? I have rights in some towns but not in others?
Then there's the issue of the law already on the books to criminalize this behavior...it's called JAYWALKING. If you aren't paying attention to where you are going and enter a crosswalk without the right of way; you are breaking the law, Right? Do we really need another law to clarify this rule for cell phone users?
What if I am walking down a bike trail? If I am on the sidewalk in front of my house can I be fined? What constitutes walking? If I saunter, sashay, or amble down the street am I OK? What if I'm reading the paper and do the same thing? Is that better or worse?
I understand the motivation for the law and the sentiment behind it may be full of good intentions for public safety. I just don't understand why the State of Illinois should spend any time duplicating laws.
If my parent's reports are accurate, roads are falling apart in Illinois, the State's budget is not in the best shape and the Governor is facing the very real possibility of going to Jail!
I can think of a few other things that might be worth a debate at the Statehouse in Springfield.
I let it go at that this morning.
We'll do better tomorrow.
PWD
Tuesday, April 01, 2008
Oil Prices, Opening Day and April Fools`
Good Morning and Happy April Fools Day. Jeriann tried to get Brooke and I thins morning when she came in but we were on to her.I can't say the same for Packer fans this morning who, no doubt had their hopes elevated and dashed within seconds after seeing this headlines.
Happy April Fools Day!
To The News:
Oil Prices Questioned
Glad to see Congress is right on this problem. Gas Prices have been at record highs for months and we're just getting the CEO's in to ask about the record profits they're turning. Let me be clear, I'm not into punishing companies for turning a profit. These oil companies are making money off of a high demand business. Who's fault is that? To my mind, the questions is: are they artificially raising the price of a gallon of gas. I don't mind the marketplace working on it's own...I mind it being manipulated so a few people can make billions. And they're going to have to come up with a really good reason for 16 billion in tax breaks when their combined profits topped 100 billion.
Truckers are also hacked off over diesel prices. They're going to get off he road for a day, or slow down traffic to try and make a point.
Relays at the Mall
Call it the "Pole Mallt" or "Mall Vault" Whatever you call it's going to be another unique Drake Relay's event. The Pole Vault competition will be held indoors and in the center court (presumably) of the Jordan Creek Town Center. Brilliant, for the Mall and the Relays.
Diana
We did land on the Moon, There are no aliens at Roswell, and The Royal Family did not have Princess Diana killed. At least that's what an inquest says.
Opening Day
So the 100th anniversary season of the last Cubs World Series Win isn't off to a great start but it could be worse. I have a feeling this team is never going to be boring. For the first time in a long time I'm looking forward to baseball season. Wallet Part 2
They found my wallet at the Gym...sans the cash. looks like someone took it, relieved the clip of it's cash and threw it in a towel bin. Still my fault. Still annoying but at least I got my drivers license back. I'm without credit this week as I canceled all of the cards we had to avoid fraud.
Hope you have a good day!
PWD
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