Severe Weather Friday

Good Morning...though I think you'd get an argument from the people of Union, Clark Marion and Mahaska Counties....

The first reports of severe weather came in spotty reports of trees down roof damage, or wires down, but as we got closer to news time the warnings and the reports of damage got worse.

In Clarke County we got reports of garage damage in Osceola. The storm moved over to Marion County where we heard the worst reports of damage in Attica.

Photojournalist Jeff Felton was oncall for us last night and ran all over Central Iowa. When we got him on the phone you could hear the frustration in his voice for all of the people who've homes were damaged. Our crews have seen a lot of damage storm damage this week and have talked to a lot of people who've lost their homes. I hope you heard in Jeff's voice that they don't just go from story to story without thinking of the people who are effected by the storms. Jeff sounded really bummed to see another Iowa town with heavy damage.

8:20-the first video of Attica just came into the newsroom. I agree with Jeff. If we hadn't just had an f-5 tornado in Iowa...this would look a lot worse. I'm not Meteorologist but it looks like tornado damage to me.

In Parkersburg they're still working to clean things up but it's slow going and the problem again is the weather. Jeriann told me they had four inches of rain! Talk about insult to injury.The state estimates the cost of the tornado earlier this week at 6 million dollars...three million of that in Parkersburg alone.

I was surfing around for news from Parkersburg and came up on these stories...Worth reading from the Milwaukee Journal.

This brings me to Newsroom caller #1 of the day. He bumped another overnight caller for the top award of the morning.

This caller berated me for sensationalizing the Parkersburg tornado. "You haven't showed any of the homes that are still standing...there are a lot of homes that weren't damaged!" He said

Hmmm ....OK

I asked where he would put Parkersburg on a scale of one to ten. He responded that we were just trying to scare people. I told him seven people died...how much worse would you like it to be?

He responded, "But not all of them died in Parkersburg...see there you go sensationalizing the facts again!" I asked if he'd been to Parkersburg and he said no. I tried to tell him that I respectfully disagreed. When talking about an F5 tornado...there aren't enough superlatives to describe it. Ask one of the people who lost their home...I'm not sure, but I think they'd say we've told people what's actually going on in Parkersburg and that there's nothing sensational about it.

Our caller didn't seem to like that. He called me a word I can't repeat here and hung up. You can't please all of the people all of the time but I had to shake my head at this one.

Our runner-up caller is upset we can't move there severe weather warning map during our overnight Poker show. He's taken to calling the newsroom to complain. When we tell him there's nothing we can do about it but that we'll pass along his complaint, he calls us liars...no wait...lazy liars. He says he can the icons around on his computer screen so why can't we just click and drag the map up to the other corner of the TV screen?

Well I'm no graphics engineer but I don't think it's that easy. We did, in fact, pass along the complaint. That wasn't good enough. For the last month, whenever there's overnight severe weather that interrupts his poker show, he calls...we answer. We tell him we'll pass it along...he calls us liars...we tell him we have to go and hang up...he calls and calls and calls.

So I stepped in this morning and talked to the guy. I tried to explain what was going on but he didn't believe me either. Next time he calls I'm going to tell him we moved the graphic on everyone else's TV but until he stops calling, we can't move his.

I hope the weather calms down here while were away. Everyone stay safe and I hope you have a good week. Brooke is back Monday and will taker you through the first part of the week. take you through the rest of the week.

Have a great week, I'll bring Pics back from the desert southwest!

PWD

McClellan Talks, The Other Parkersburg and NY Bound

Good morning! I just talked to Jeriann after our last cut-in and she said there is some bad news coming out of the weather department. In fact, this is one of those mornings when Jeriann is starting to get a little nervous about what COULD happen later tonight. During the day we could see some rain but her models are now indicating that we will have severe weather to the west and maybe even here in the Des Moines area. You certainly hope there isn't going to be another string of tornadoes but I guess we should be prepared. Stay tuned!

Scott McClellan: Telling the truth or just out to make money?
We were talking a lot about this story this morning during breaks and there wasn't consensus about why we think President Bush's former press secretary is telling "his side of the story" in this new book. Does he have an axe to grind or does he really think the country deserves to know what he knows. Either way, you can bet he will be making an awful lot of money off the book.

Here's part of what Scott said this morning on the Today Show:

“My hope is that by writing this book and sharing openly and honestly what I learned is that in some small way it might help us move beyond the partisan warfare of the past 15 years. There’s a larger purpose to this book. It’s about looking at the permanent campaign culture in Washington, D.C., and how we can move beyond it.”
Here's the rest of what Scott said this morning when he was interviewed by Meredith Viera.

The Other Parkersburg
I love this story. The NBC affiliate WTAP in Parkersburg, West Virginia heard about the tornado damage and decided they wanted to help the town that shares its name. So, they held a Red Cross fundraiser outside the station and asked people to stop by and drop off a few bucks. Well, that pocket change turned into around $10,000 that the Red Cross will donate to the people of Parkersburg, Iowa.

I'm leaving town... NY NY


Eric and I are taking a trip to the Big Apple and meeting up with a friend you might know. I am talking about Steve Templeton. Remember him? He used to do the weather before Jeriann came aboard and he's now living and working in St. Louis. We're meeting up with him and his wife, Rebecca along with Mark Tauscheck and his wife. A friend of ours who used to work at 100.3 FM in Des Moines as a morning show host (before it was the BUS... I think it was the MIX?) is going to play real-life host. If you used to listen, his name was Cory Allen. Anyway, we're excited to see everyone, eat good food and just enjoy being part of the excitement that is NY.

Anyone been there recently and have some suggestions on where to eat?

Pat will share his stories about playing in the Pro-am at the Principal Charity Golf Tournament later this morning.

Back from a break and the Noon show well in hand, I can tell you about the the highlight of my golf year. Seriously, unless I get a hole-in-one...this will do it.

I had the pleasure of joining Principal Chairman Barry Griswell, Pat Gallagher of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co, and Joe Mancuso of Ciber; playing golf with U-S Open and Masters Champion Fuzzy Zoeller. To say I was nervous would be an understatement. Fuzzy was nice enough to point out my hand actually shaking as I tried to put my tee in the ground on the first tee. It worked out. I boomed a drive down the fairway and we were off for a great day.
Fuzzy is really generous with his time as fans came up to say hello he always had something funny to say. He was also helpful on the golf course. The team shot a respectable 18 under par. I want to say thank you to all of the people who came up to me and told me they enjoyed the product we put out every day on Channel 13. They were kind words about everyone at the station and it was nice to hear.

I too am headed for a vacation. I'll be on the boys golf trip starting Friday night. I can't remember why we decided to go the desert southwest in June. The forecast is for 100+ degree temps and we're playing 36 holes of golf every day. I'll drink lots of water and hope for the best.

Brooke and Pat

More stories from Parkersburg, Arrests in IC and Golf

Good morning everyone! It's Brooke today. Remember me? Pat took off early today for a "work" assignment at Glen Oaks Country Club. In case you didn't hear him talk about it this morning, he's out at the Principal Charity Classic playing in the pro-am event. Last year he was a caddy for Barry Griswell, former CEO of Principal, and this year Griswell invited him back to play this time. Not too shabby, I say! And not only that, he gets to play with professional Fuzzy Zoeller. This guy is known just as much for his candid personality as he is his golfing. I am sure Pat will have some good stories to tell on the blog tomorrow. Anyway... on to the stories of the day.





Parkersburg Day #3


Megan Reuther was up there this morning covering what was happening today and she had some amazing stories about all the debris left behind from the high winds. She was telling us the story of a New Hartford man who got a call from someone in Prairie du chien, Wisconin saying he had tax forms in his front yard that got blown away in the storm. And Prairie du chien is 90 miles to the north. Can you believe this? It always amazes me how tornadoes operate. They will completely demolish a home but then leave a car in the garage unscathed. Or they will lift a home from its foundation, but then leave a vase in that house completely intact. There are so many amazing stories coming out of the town that we don't have enough time to tell them all. We could send three reporters there every day for a month and still not tell you every story of survival and steely determination.





Arrests in Iowa City


This story broke yesterday and Shawn Terrell did a great job of covering it. It takes us back to October when we learned the Division of Criminal Investigation was investigating possible sexual abuse at a University of Iowa dorm. We knew from sources back in October that football players were questioned but then no one was ever charged. Today, we know why no one was charged until now. Yesterday, arrest warrants were issued for former players Abe Satterfield and Cedric Everson. The County Attorney told us they waited out of respect for the accuser. As of yesterday, she was no longer on campus. We were told by the county attorney that the two men are living out of state and will likely be arrested then extradited to Iowa. The past year has been a bad one for the University of Iowa football program. Last night Keith Murphy said there have been 16 players arrested. These are the most serious charges.

More about Golf...
As if it is not enough to golf with a legend like Fuzzy Zoeller, I think I am most jealous that Pat gets to hang out with Ron Livingston. He's one of the celebrities playing in the Principal Golf Classic today. In case the name doesn't sound familiar, he was in the cult classic, "Office Space." And he appeared in Sex and the City as Carrie Bradshaw's boyfriend. He also happens to be from Cedar Rapids and in the category of "it's a small world", Jeriann used to work with Ron's sister who is a morning show anchor in La Cross, Wisconsin. I think I could watch Office Space everyday and still laugh. "Yeah, that would be great.... Umkay!"

Well, I better get going on those TPS reports. See you tomorrow!
Brooke

Parkersburg, Bug Spray and Principal Charity Classic

Good Morning!
Hope the rain helps get you back into a short work week. At least it's not 70 and sunny when we all have to go back. It was nice having the girls back on the set. Jeriann did some severe weather work over the weekend but both she and Brooke say it was nice to have the day Monday. How about that Monday afternoon. I dragged Sally out to the driving range for another practice session. She's already a good golfer and getting better.

Back to the news
Parkersburg
The news is all in Northeast Iowa this week in the Parkersburg area to be exact. You look at some of the video we're getting and you wonder how anyone survived. The attitude of the storm victims may be the most amazing thing about this week. They're just going to push on and rebuild...that's all there is to do. Lynn Melling pout it well this morning..there's a sense that they're all "in it together".
All of our reporters did a great job while they were up there. The talk was particularly about Sonya and her cameo on Nightly News last night. This team does really well on big news events.
The Gov is going to update the clean-up this morning. We'll have the latest at Noon.

Bug Spray
We had a quick hit in our consumer segment about this one. I guess they're trying to come up with a bug spray that will last months at a time. The story says most bug sprays now are only effective for 17 days. Brooke and I both wondered how in the world any bug spray could last that long...the answer came from our AP Wade...don't shower. I'm not sure that's practical but this story claims the military is working on a bug spray that would basically last you all summer long.

Principal
I'll pass of the blogging to Brooke tomorrow. I've got the rough assignment of golfing out at the Principal Charity Classic tomorrow. This all stems from a story I did last year with Principal Chairman Barry Griswell. I caddied for him during the Pro-Am and (I hope) helped. He asked if I'd like to play the next year and sure enough he made good on the invite...To say I'm looking forward to this one is an understatement.
So if you've got nothing to do tomorrow morning around nine...come on out to Glen Oaks. We should be on the course.
See you tomorrow...
PWD

Parkersburg, Memorial Day, and Indy

Good Morning!

Brooke has the Memorial Day holiday off as does Jeriann so it was a little bit of a mad scramble to get everything on the air this morning. It's mornings like this that I'm thankful we have such a good behind the scenes crew on Today in Iowa. I came in a little early but Heather (our producer) and Jenny (our associate producer), had things well in hand.

Parkersburg

Words don't describe the damage. That's what the Mayor of Parkersburg said this morning at the Media update. A tornado tore through New Hartford, Parkersburg and made it all the way to Dunkerton before lifting again. Storm spotters described this tornado as a mile wide at times which accounts for the huge swath of damage in Parkertsburg.

As of the writing of this blog they are letting people back into town, but only homeowners who have proper identification. If you're wondering about helping out, don't go to Parkersburg. They have the help they need for now. As for another place people can donate or help out...keep it tuned to 13, we'll give you that information when we know it.

We'll likely be in Parkersburg for a day or two...the recovery is going to last for months.

If there's good news, the mayor says they got a good ten minute warning that the storm was coming. The loss of life is significant but it could have been much worse.

Our reporter on the scene this morning says you can basically cut the town in half...the south and particularly the southeast quadrant of the town is gone.

Our crews are in Parkersburg and surrounding communities. Look for more updates at Noon five six and Ten.

Memorial Day

I'll only say this. I hope you have the time to thank a member of the military today for their service. I know some of the services and celebrations of the sacrifices made the the military are going to be overshadowed this year by Parkersburg, but I hope the public still takes the time to get out and thanks these men and women for their service.

Indy

We went to see the Indiana Jones movie this weekend. As much as it pains me to say this...don't bother. I explained it this way to my wife: If you loved the first movie and didn't like any of the others...you're going to hate this movie. If you loved the first and thought the second was cute, a little funny and just OK...you'll be able to sit through this one. Sally thought it was a total waste. I think George Lucas has gone round the bend a little. Aliens have no place in an Indiana Jones Movie.

I hope you all have a great day off.

See you tomorrow!

PWD

Ramona in Court, The Rosbergs and Jeriann's Hair

Sorry I'm not getting to this until the afternoon...just a busy morning!

Ramona in Court

A judge decided NOT to block the public and the Media from Ramona Cunningham's mental competency hearing this morning. Sonya is covering this for us and described testimony about the former CIETC CEO's suicide attempt last fall. The prosecution was presenting evidence when we went off the air at Noon.

Rosberg's

America's Family Coaches Barb and Gary Rosberg were on the Noon news talking about the AFC Challenge June 9th at Des Moines Golf and Country Club. It's a golf event to raise money so the two of them can help council Military families when they come home from tours overseas. If there's an undercurrent to the wars this is one of them. Barb and Gary latched on to the idea after hearing from a soldier coming home from a tour. They've counseled hundreds of families right here in Iowa. This event is a way to raise money to help more.

Jeriann's Hair

No one asks me, but if you are a woman and you work here, people often ask, "where do you get your hair done." Jeriann answers in this week's video blog.

I hope you all have a good weekend. there's plenty to do rain or shine. Camping, golfing, Adventureland, The I-Cubs, Farmers Market and a new exhibit at the Science Center among other events. Fill up the weekend with some good times and we'll see you on Monday!

Making a Difference

Good Morning!


I'd say I woke up on the wrong side of the bed this morning. I had one of those moments where I thought, I'll just doze for a second. A half hour later I was already late. Someone needs to invent an alarm that can sense if you actually get out of bed when you turn the alarm off...if you stay in bed the alarm would go off again.


Hard to stay in a bad mood though, this last 24 hours has reminded me why this is a really great place to live....





Making a Difference 1:

This morning Jeriann spent the morning out at the McDonalds near 63rd and Grand. We teamed up with 107.1, the Christian radio station in town to promote the idea. It was pretty simple. Pay for the person behind you in the drive through. It's not a new concept but it seems to have gained steam since a Starbucks in Florida reported a chain of people paying for the person behind them all day long just before Christmas this past year. A store in Pennsylvania had the same thing happen and then one in Washington State. There are the conspiracy theorists out there who would say this is just a PR stunt by Starbucks...ok...so what if it started that way. It doesn't take away from the fact that other people kept it going. And it doesn't take away from the effect. No one's problems are going to be solved by having their breakfast paid for. Gas prices won't go down. Your work day is still going to be 8 hours or longer. It's just a nice break to remind you that it feels good to have someone do something nice for you. Maybe more importantly it's nice to do something nice for someone.



Making a Difference 2:

I had the privilege of being invited to be a part of a ceremony at the Science Center of Iowa last night to celebrate a Milestone. We just passed the three year mark since the New Science Center opened Downtown. SCI had a goal of finishing off it's Capitol Fundraising Campaign

From the SCI News Release:

Just one week after the Science Center of Iowa celebrated its third anniversary in its downtown location, officials announced today that the Inspire an A-ha! capital campaign has met the $62 million fundraising goal set when the project was conceived. This is the largest capital campaign successfully undertaken by any museum project in the state of Iowa to date. The comprehensive campaign includes support for all capital infrastructure, capital improvements and an endowment to ensure long-term sustainability.



I was struck by the generosity of people who contributed, big checks and small ones, to the completion of the project. SCI is just one example of that kind of generosity but I think this wouldn't happen with the support and help of so many people if we were somewhere else. That's going to make a difference in someone's life.

Full disclosure: my wife works at the Science Center so I am personally proud of the accomplishment but one a broader level it's a great example of the generosity and vision of this community.



Making a Difference 3:

Kudos to Lynn Melling for her great follow up to Sam's Story. Sam Mills and her family were the subject of a story we brought you in November. She is a Senior at Southeast Polk HS. She was diagnosed last year with Leukemia. She shared she family's struggle with the disease in a very personal way in November. It's great when we get to follow up on stories like this with a happy end.

Sam Graduated High School this week and after she's done with this round of Chemo is going to go on to University of Iowa. Sam's story struck me because the family really wanted to thank the community and the people who helped them through their daughter's illness. Those people may have made a truly LIFE changing difference for Sam.



I hope you started the day feeling a little better through one of these stories or through some act of of kindness someone showed you today.



Have a good day,

PWD

Obama's Back, International Adoption, and Oreo Invasion

Good Morning!

I'm still fighting off a cold and every time I think I've got it beat, it comes back with a vengeance. I sound like Val Kilmer's Doc Holiday in Tombstone. "I'm Right as the mail!"

What's worse, I've now passed this little gift on to my wife. She's really happy about it.

To the News

Obama's Back

Barrack Obama comes back to Iowa for his first visit since he won the Caucus. They've got a big area around the State Historical Museum blocked off. It will be interesting to see how many people show up. 70,000 showed up for his latest rally in Portland. I'm not sure they'll get that kind of number on a work night but I wouldn't be surprised to see a big crowd.

Postville

The first illegal workers arrested at Postville last week were given sentences yesterday. The hearings continue today but the bottom line is that they'll be sent back to their country of origin.

Vaccine

Some parents in Des Moines and the suburbs will have to bring their kids back in for vaccinations after getting a letter from a physicians office telling them the shots they got may not work. You'd get a letter if this applies to you. I don't have kids but if I ever do, this will be the thing I least look forward to.

Oreos

I like reading Brian Williams blog and this past Friday he had a good one. He found an article in a British newspaper about the coming of the Oreo to England. Apparently they don't much like the idea of Americanizing the cookie over there. I thought it was a good read.

International Adoption

This was a story I kind of had a "sense" about and thought it would be worth a story. Over the years, I have covered quite a few stories about a nice organization that helps families in the US adopt children from Russia who don't have a home. These are usually older children and they often were put in orphanages because their parents died or become alcoholics and could no longer take care of them. Anyway, after covering stories of these adoptions, I would sometimes hear that these children would have problems adjusting (which is completely understandable) to life at home and school. Sometimes, these kids never really learned to love their new parents and put up a defensive wall that prevented them from having friends, too. They sometimes got in trouble with the law. So, I heard about this family that attends my church and they agreed to tell their story. Their story is slighty different. They came together through a missionary doctor who met the girls during his stay in the country. The Deardorffs brought them to the US 3 years ago when they were already teenagers and have discovered that the girls had a past filled with abuse and other problems. The Deardorffs got them into counseling and are still working on getting the girls to accept love and affection and adjust to home life. But it has been a hard road. they didn't expect these problems would be in store for them. They thought just loving the girls would be enough but it wasn't. Anyway, I learned a lot about adoption and have a new appreciation for the families that bring children into their homes.

BB

Have a good day,

PWD

Good News Bad News, Do the Right Thing and A Great Weekend

Good Morning!
It was hard to think about going back to work after such a wonderful weekend. This was Sally's first weekend of Summer Break from her MBA program so we finally had the weekend all to ourselves. Saturday morning the Farmer's Market couldn't have been more prefect. It looks like they've got all the old favorites back and some new booths as well. Our Farm Boys Breakfast Burrito was a little short on the salsa, but we managed...the Strawberry smoothie was perfect as always.
From the Farmers market we went to work on the Porch and in the yard. Having the porch cleaned off marks the official start of summer. With the wireless Internet in the house it will make it a great place to sit in the afternoons and work.
We also got to planting our impatiens out front of the house. Both of us confessed to being a little sore afterwards but again, the payoff will be when the plants really get going and add some color to the front yard.
Sunday Sally and I hit golf balls at Longview in Urbandale in the morning before a trip to restock the groceries. We made it home in time for me to head out and actually play 18 holes with a friend who's invited me to play at Wakonda.
I'll admit I may not have made the best decision by choosing to walk the course instead of ride a cart, but I think it was a good workout. Didn't play particularly well but I did hit the shot of the round. After Driving my tee shot another zip code to the right, I recovered with an amazing three iron over some oak trees and back into the fairway. I believe it will go down in Wakonda lore.
Home last night in time to try a new recipe. Just about everyone has told us to eat more fish so we got some good salmon at the store and grilled it.
The sauce we cooked it with is pretty simple. Sally cooked up some orzo and we grilled asparagus. Having the Grill out makes for a much easier night cooking with fewer dishes.

OK...to the news...

Good News Bad News
The latest report on the economy is out today and the good news is the credit crunch and poor housing market may improve, the bad news is, prices are going to stay where they are. The combo leaves us where we've been for a while, with people debating whether we're in a recession. The dollar isn't going as far as it used to, that's for sure.

Do the Right Thing
This is an idea somebody cooked up here at the station. The plan is, Thursday morning, if you're in a drive-thru, you can pay for the people behind you as a not so random act of kindness. I think the point here is to look for way in your life to bring some unexpected happiness to someone, even if it's only for a minute. So many of us look for a big way to make the world better and ignore the ways we can make life better in our immediate surroundings.
The link to the Making a Difference Day is on the As Seen On 13 Page.

Paying for the Gym
Megan Reuther had a story this morning about Medicare Prescription Drug providers adding in a wellness component to their plans. This has been going on for about 18 months but this is the first year the option is really catching on. It makes a lot of sense and I'm not sure why more companies don't at least reimburse employees for part of a gym membership. It's amazing how hard it is to convince corporations this is the right thing to do, even in the face of overwhelming evidence that companies who provide the option, lower insurance claims.

Lastly: A funny story about customer service.
Sally and I went to pick up a toy for a friend before we saw her Friday night. I won't say where we were but it was what they call a "big box" store.
Our friend had called earlier in the day to get a picnic table set aside for her daughter. We have a big car so she asked up to pick it up. The guy she talked to on the phone said it was no problem. So we showed up to pick up the table.

Pat: Hello, I'm here to pick up a kids picnic table for my friend. She called earlier and they set it aside for her...
Toy Store Employee: Do you have a claim check?
Pat: For an item she reserved over the phone? Maybe I'm not explaining myself well. She called earlier and they set it aside for her."
I gave her the last name again.
Employee: They usually give you a claim check for that sort of thing
Pat: Over the phone? We don't have one. I'm sure they just put it aside...would you look?

At this point the employee turns around and makes an assessment of the working area around her. She decides to put in a little extra effort by moving one step behind her and looking on a shelf under the cash register. A plastic bag is on the shelf and she decides to look in the plastic bag.
Now unless this is one of those Acme fold-up tables you see in a Roadrunner cartoon, I think she's probably out of luck. She turns around and I swear to you she says...

Employee: Sorry I couldn't find it.

I notice a walkie talkie on the cash register and hope it's not a toy.

Pat: Could you call the back room and ask if it's back there?

She picks up the walkie talkie and a noise that wakes up dogs through the nearest eight zip codes goes off...
Now she looks annoyed. We've second guessed her picnic table search and now her ear is clearly damaged.
A half hearted call to the back follows with no response. Without a word...she walks away.
About five minutes later, another customer service rep came up to the counter...

Employee 2: Have you been helped?

I'm not sure how to answer that question.

We eventually tracked down the table from the back where someone had clearly marked it with our friend's name. But we left feeling less than bowled over by our customer service.
I know those jobs are thankless, and I know they don't pay much, but you kind of know what you're getting into when you apply. I find more and more often that the stores I frequent are the ones where they are genuinely helpful. I don't need my backside kissed when I walk in the door, but in a world where I have a lot of choice as to where I shop, customer service is usually a tie-breaker. I also thought looking for a picnic table in the plastic bag was particularly funny.
Have a great day!

Post Postville, Helmet Debate and Max Goes to the Ballgame

Good Morning!
I'm afraid I caught whatever it was that Jeriann had and then gave to Brooke. My nose is running like a faucet. I don't actually feel that bad, but when it's hard to breathe...it's hard to talk and the whole thing just just a little frustrating.
I am glad the weekend is here. We're going to get the house is shape for summer and that means the front porch is going to be cleaned this weekend. We love to spend time outside in the summer and the work is worth it.

To the News:
Post Postville
The workers arrested in the Postville immigration raid are now in county jails across the state awaiting deportation or other criminal charges. We're waiting to hear what's going to happen to the people who own Agriprocessors. They released a statement saying they're cooperating and don't know anything about the illegal workers at their shop....
I'm reminded of Claude Raines in Casablanca..."I'm shocked...shocked to find out there's gambling in this establishment!"

What's worse, The Iowa Department of Labor is investigating allegation of child labor violations. Among the hundreds arrested this week, some kids 13-17 years old.

Helmet Debate
I'm bracing for the flood of emails from people telling me it's none of my business if they wear a helmet on their motorcycle, and that if car drivers would be more aware of cyclists they wouldn't need helmets.
You're right, I respect your freedom of choice. I have no problem with anyone making that decision for themselves.
One thing...Can we have a pre-registration for cyclists that will include a payment for the cost of an ambulance and emergency room care? By the way, I'd include one for driver too. If you're not wearing your seat belt...same fee applies.

Video Blog
Our Producer Heather is the subject of this week's video blog. New parents will love it. As much as you prepare for your baby's "1st" outing anywhere...something will always come up you can't anticipate...like your kid fondling the woman in the aisle.

Farm Bill
I'd be interested to hear farmer's opinions about the new Farm Bill. It passed the house and Senate with veto proof majorities. The president says the bill is too expensive and farmers who don't need them will be eligible for federal subsidies. What do you think?

Same Sex Ruling
California's Supreme court struck down a law banning same sex marriage. The court ruled the law unconstitutional. I wonder if this will have any bearing on the Iowa case?
As you debate this one, try to remember, the court has no latitude to uphold a law just because the people passed it. The Court interprets the law as constitutional or unconstitutional. If the State wants to pass an amendment to its Constitution, the voters can do that. Then it's constitutional.

I hope you find something on here to comment about. Thanks for all your well wishes for my Mom...she's doing well.
And Rosario...you comment whenever you like. that goes for everyone here. I check through the day. If you have a comment...anytime, feel free to leave it.
PWD

CHina Death Toll, Culver's Big Veto, and Free Food

Good Morning!

Anytime there's free food around the station it's usually gone within minutes. It doesn't matter what it is, whether your hungry or even if the food looks like it's been sitting out for a week. The rule is this: If you're a journalist, you eat when you can cause you never know when you're going to get into a situation where you can't eat for hours. This isn't really the concern for those of us who don't go out on stories anymore, but you get the idea.

We're going by a slightly different rule this morning. When there's free food, send Pat. So I'm going to go get some free breakfast sandwiches from McDonalds. McD's is offering its new chicken breakfast sandwiches this morning for free is you buy a medium drink. I'll keep the blogging short.

Noon update and Disclaimer: The AM crew did some extensive research into the free sandwiches...I went down the the Fleur McD's...if you drive through they'll only give you one sandwich, even if you buy several drinks. We found out the Drake McD's isn't participating...maybe it has something to do with State Track being in town. They'd eat em out of house and home.

China

The bad news keeps coming in. There's not a lot more to say about this but I wondered if any of our regular readers have friends or family in China? I'd be interested to hear your stories.

Postville

Our crews headed back to Des Moines last night after some good coverage of the raids. You comments keep going up on our Hot Topics Blog. more than 160 people had commented at last check.

Culver

The governor is off to China this morning to try and drum up some bushiness for Iowa companies and to celebrate the anniversary of Iowa's Sister state in China. Before he left the Gov dropped a bomb on his own party and vetoed expansion of the labor union's bargaining rights and a salary increase. I can't believe he was ever going to sign these things! He said it during his press conference...it makes no sense to ask taxpayers to pay for higher union salaries or for higher elected official salaries when most Iowans aren't getting minimum raises or no raise at all.

Emmenecker

We debated this one on the set this morning. If you had the chance at a great job at Principal that would put you on the fast track toward management or a chance to go play basketball overseas for a while which would you do?

Emmenecker is going overseas and putting his job at Principal on hold.

For the record, I'd go overseas. Your young, you're unattached, go have some fun in Europe. And by the way, he's going to get paid in Euros? Have you seen the exchange rate?

Mom

If I could ask for your thoughts or prayers, my Mom is having a series of surgeries to replace her ankle this fall. Her first was this week. She came through just fine but has a long road ahead. She's a regular reader of this blog and would love to read your well wishes....

I'd like to think she reads this blog because it's well written...I'm not sure she's an unbiased reader.

Golf at Grandview

Just a reminder Jeriann will be at Grandview Golf Course tomorrow morning with Van and Bonnie. They're offering free golf tomorrow morning during their show and they're even giving away a free car if you can hit a hole in one.

Free golf is like free food in the newsroom for me...I'll be there.

Have a good day

PWD

Noon Blogging

Good afternoon

I'm sneaking the blog in this afternoon as I read the Noon News. Not sure how but I lost track of the time.

It could be the emails I'm getting from around the country. The guys who are going on our annual golf trip started our annual email exchange yesterday. Generally it's pretty funny and pretty smart...not a lot of crude humor and most of it at each other's expense...but we're all good humored about it.
To me this is one of the best parts of the trip. I don't spend a lot of time on the phone with most of these guys during the rest of the year, but for about a month we have a pretty good back and forth. The we have a great week of golf. This year it's in Phoenix.

To the News:
Postville
More people arrested in the Postville raid go in front of a judge. Some of the families of these workers had been staying at a local church but by the noon hour today, we'd heard the church had cleared out.
Those are the headlines from Waterloo for now and I'm sure Dave Price will come up with more by 5pm. I wanted to comment on our Hot topics blog though. I thought a lot of the comments were reflective of people's frustration. I think most of these people have a good point...illegal is illegal. That's the bottom line.
I would also says this. I was disturbed at the tone of some of the comments. You can be against illegal immigration and not be bigoted(the majority of the comments weren't bigoted). Some of the comments weren't even relevant.
At each stage of mass immigration in this country's history there's been some form of discrimination. I would think your ancestors were probably the target at some point.
Now, this isn't 1910 and we aren't getting mass immigration through Ellis Island so lets not romanticize people crossing the border illegally. But, wouldn't it help the debate and move us closer to solving immigration if we could get past the bigotry and concentrate on the law?

Shooting
Des Moines Police arrested one person and are looking for two others in connection to a drive by shooting. Look for an update on the investigation tonight at five and six.

Equal Access
Anyone see Erin's story last night about the Americans with Disabilities Act and the access the physically challenged have in some of Iowa's public buildings? I'm looking forward to part two but I thought it was a great story. Not only told well, it was shot and edited well.

I'll cut this short but don't keep your comments to yourself. Feel free to comment on the stories you saw here or the ones you didn't.
Have a good day,
PWD

Postville Raid, China's Quake Aftermath, and Principal Media Day

Good Morning!
Hope you all enjoyed the weather yesterday. Jeriann says not quite as nice today but at least it won't be really rainy.

To the News
China
The pictures and the news of the earthquake in China will come out for weeks before we know the true cost in lives and property. The reporters all sound stunned. They can't believe what they're seeing. If you don't listen to NPR, they happened to have a crew in China doing some stories when the earthquake hit. The reporting is amazing and the stories are heart wrenching.
Listen to some of that audio.



Postville
The raid we all thought was coming finally came Monday in Postville, not in Waterloo. The Kosher packing plant in the town was raided and 300 people arrested. Postville is a really interesting place. If you've ever been there you know what I'm talking about. The first time I went up to northeast Iowa to fish, I started driving through Postville and I started seeing all of these Hasidic Jews walking around. It just seems out of place as you drive through rural Iowa. But it's worked for this town.
We'll get more information from the US Attorney's office this morning at 10am.

Scooters

Sales of scooters are WAY up since gas got stupid expensive. I was looking online this morning at what it would cost to get one and I found the Xtremem Scooter store. They build these things in Newton. Sally has vetoed the idea so far but the couple that lives two doors down from each rides a scooter to work. looks like fun...and I bet they're saving a BUNDLE in gas.





Sinatra Stamp

The Chairman gets his due with a new 42 cent stamp. The stamps come out today but there will only be a limited number sold. I'd say I'm a fan but I'm nowhere near the freak Sinatra fan my friend Tim is.
I was actually on an e-mail list while I was in college. Every day I would get a Sinatra fan update.
It had all kinds of debates about the best live performances, where to get bootlegs of some of his live shows etc. Somewhere I still have the split cover of Time magazine the week he died. Remember this? Anyone tell me what was the second half of that cover?



Principal Media Day

Once a year whether we like it or not I have to see John Bachman when he's not on TV. Yesterday we played our annual round of golf along with Ed and Shawn Terrell. Seriously, John and I couldn't have tow more different schedules. I do enjoy his company and I marvel at his consistent golf. We played Glen Oaks CC as a preview to the Principal Charity Classic yesterday.
It looks like the people who run the tournament have dona great job putting an event together we can be proud of. It looks like we're getting one of the better fields of the year and it looks like new additions to the week's events will make it even better than it was last year.
We'll do some more coverage of the tournament the week of, but make your plans now...The actually tournament is only a couple weeks away.
Thanks to Brooke for doing the Noon show so I could go out and do some "work" previewing the tournament.

Have a good day.
PWD

China Quake, Primaries Over? and Weekend Wedding

Good Morning!
Sally and I decided we'd have to give up our second career choice as over the road truck drivers. After 13 or 14 hours in the car, our butts are still recovering. We couldn't hack it. The lure of fast food and gallon jugs of diet coke is tempting but I think we should stick to our current line of work.
The road trip was for a friend's wedding in St Louis. These are friends we rarely see because we're spread all over the country. Still, every time we're together we still can fall into he same conversations as if we haven't spent so much time apart. There's something about those people you spend important years with. It makes them friends for life in a very unique way.
The Ceremony was great...The Reverend used the word "erotica"...which I'd never heard at a wedding...but it sure got everyone's attention.

To the News
China Quake
We're watching a developing situation in China. I can only imagine it will get worse as the day goes on...we're hearing about hundreds of student buried and at least a hundred killed. Watch the web for updates throughout he day. I bet this will be Nightly News' lead tonight.

Primaries Over?
West Virginia Votes tomorrow and a lot of Democrats are saying we could have a nominee by tomorrow night. The most interesting comment of the weekend to me came from Clinton Chairman Terry Mcauliffe. He says Iowa won the nomination for Obama. I think I'd disagree. It sure gave him a good start but it's been a fight ever since.

Late Night Replacement?
Conan O'Brien is taking over for Jay Leno...Jimmy Fallon looks like he's going to be Conan's replacement. Like the idea? How about Conan taking over?

I'm headed out to Media Day for the Principal Charity Classic this Morning. I'm looking forward to seeing John Bachman. He and I never seem to cross paths anymore. It'll be good to get out on to the golf course with him.

Have a good day.
PWD

Homeland Security Takes Over, Video Blog, and Farmer's Market

Good Morning...

Friday brings another road trip for me. I'll be down in St Louis this weekend for a friend's wedding. Hopefully I will have appropriate pictures to show you when we get back.

To the News:

Homeland Security in Waterloo
So the Waterloo paper's been reporting Homeland Security's activities for a few days now. We finally got curious enough to head up there and check it out for ourselves. The agency took over the National Cattle Congress grounds. To much of the Latino community in Waterloo, it looks like they're getting ready to house a large number of people...and to some, that means a raid. Homeland Security won't confirm any activities, some people say it's just a drill, we're still not sure.
It brings up a question form a viewer which is: If there's a raid that's going to happen, why would you report it and tip people off?
Here's a quick answer. First, the Waterloo Paper's been reporting Homeland Security's activities for days now. We're not tipping off anyone here in Iowa.
Second I'm sure our reporters tried to give anyone from Homeland Security the opportunity to tell us any reporting might jeopardize an ongoing operation. I've always been open to hearing the argument that we should hold off on reporting a story. It's our decision but I certainly think we would have taken that into account.

Farmer's Market
If you missed the Fun Forecast this morning Jeriann was live at the Downtown Farmer's Market. Thanks to all of the people who came down to see Jeriann and Megan.
Just a few highlights for your first trip to the Farmer's Market tomorrow.
First Start time is at 7am sharp. There won't be any advantage to showing up before that. They're enforcing this start time strictly because they want to give everyone a chance to set up. Frankly, I think it's a good idea. Usually stuff is pretty well picked over by the time we get down there at eight.
Second, The traffic flow will be a little different. they've added, or moved vendors and now sales will be in the street and on the sidewalk. This is supposed to reduce some of the bottleneck's that happen when 20-thousand people are going in opposite directions down a five foot sidewalk. BTW: The Farmboys breakfast burritos are now going to be at the end of fourth street near Walnut where they had live music last year.
Third: Dogs: This is one of my favorite parts of the Farmer's market but apparently the dogs are causing some problems. They're asking every dog be on a leash, and that the lead be no more than three feet. And finally, I should think this would be obvious but, clean up after your dogs. Nuff said.

Video Blog
OK we're going to try to get this going again this morning with a video blog about Fly Fishing.
My last trip to Missouri was a few weeks ago and I took Roger Riley's camera along. Pardon the quality of the video but I wanted to try to give people a sense of what it was like. Here's a History of Rockbridge if you're interested.
I also wanted to give people a few resources if you want to learn how to fly fish.
The Hawkeye Fly Fishing Association has a very active membership as does the Central Iowa Fly Fishing Association. that would be happy to steer you in the right direction. Also Iowa Outdoors has a great message Board where people are happy to answer questions.


Have a Good Weekend!
PWD

Post Primary Thoughts, Mother's Day and

Good Morning!
Well...it happens every once in a while. This morning it happened to me. I opened my eyes this morning about 1:20AM and thought...great!... 40 more minutes to sleep.
The next time I opened my eyes it was because Sally was telling me it was 3am! I was LATE.
So I did my best to get ready quickly and actually made it in by about 3:35.
I blame my failure to set my alarm last night. That was the result of an hour and a half workout from my cruel trainer. We got our signals crossed so I was already working out when she got to the gym. Instead of letting me finish the hour I was already working on, the clock started over and we went and hour and a half total. The soreness is creeping through my body just waiting for tomorrow morning.

To the news:
Post Primary
Indiana and North Carolina were still all the talk yesterday. I got in the car on my way home and it was already tuned to 1040 WHO radio from the morning. That means I was listening to Rush Limbaugh. He was talking about "operation Chaos". Sounds ominous, but essentially this was a tongue and cheek bit Limbaugh did when the Democrats Primary race started to drag on.
He encouraged his listeners to go out and vote in the Democrats primary. The idea would be to vote for whoever was behind in the polls or whichever candidate might extend the race. The end result could be to make either candidate weaker in the November election because they've had to use more money and throw more punches to win their own party's nomination.
Well, yesterday Barak Obama's campaign credited Limbaugh for getting Hillary Clinton the win in Indiana. Now the mainstream press is actually talking about this as a possibility. Just to be clear...Limbaugh isn't talking about the success of "Operation Chaos"...he's laughing. He's making fun of the people who are writing about this...now I can include myself in that group.
It certainly couldn't be that Obama's campaign simply lost a close vote in Indiana...or that Democrats are divided on who they want as a nominee...of course it's got to be someone else's fault.
Gone Batty
Brooke was a little grossed out at the Bat video we had this morning. Apparently its the season for bats. We featured a pest control guy that'll get em out of your house.

As an aside, I took a call on our newsline this morning and a man on the other end of the phone reminded me bats are a protected species in Iowa. You can't kill em. A check of the DNR website confirms that. The Indiana Bat is endangered.

Mother's Day
Megan Reuther had some great ideas for Mother's Day if you're waiting until the last minute guys...
This is the week we ask that eternal question, "Why are Mom's so hard to shop for?". It came to me in a flash as Megan was talking this morning. There must be some genetic shift that comes during labor. Women must have the answer, "Oh I don't need anything...you're my Mother's Day gift" implanted in their heads as part of the maternal instinct.
Here's the problem...that doesn't help us shop for Mother's Day.
Maybe this is just one more lesson from Mom. Mothers Day teaches us (especially the Men) to figure out a thoughtful gift. Instead of just getting flowers and calling it a day, maybe this is the day we learn how to find something that's really going to be meaningful to Mom.
For us, as kids, the annual Mother's Day gift from the financially challenged boys of the family was cleaning off the from porch and planting impatiens in the front yard. Since they don't have the house anymore and I'm no longer 16 and broke...we had to come up with something else. Jeriann got her Mom a very thoughtful address book this year. Sometimes it's the small things that can make a difference.

Where's Jeriann going to be?
Tomorrow Jerian does her Fun Forecast and it is again time to spruce up your dance moves. If you can find her tomorrow morning between five and seven in the morning, and if you are prepared to dance on TV, you can get a free red umbrella! Here's the clue to where she's going to be:

It's not far....

Merely on the mark

It's where you'll find Petula Clark.

Kudos to Camera Operator Aaron Shaffer for coming up with the clue.

This one should be pretty easy but it's a clever clue.

Hope you have a good day!

PWD

WHo's the Real Winner? Teachers Need More Time, and

Good Morning!


Heavy rain and flooding hit hard in Northern Iowa last night. Roger Riley was out again for us this morning getting pictures of some of the farm fields, flooded from the rain. Jeriann had one rain total that dropped four inches! Thankfully we had a soft light rain fall overnight here in the Metro area. We have some mock cherry trees in our yard and I was commenting this morning...our neighborhood just looks beautiful. everything is blooming and colorful. we were out on the deck last night grilling and I thought, it just doesn't get much better than this.



To the news:

Who Won?

The answer to who won the primaries contested by Democrats last night is...they both did. By the numbers Hillary Clinton won Indiana by a close margin and Barak Obama won North Carolina going away. Online this morning the general consensus was that Clinton doesn't have any way to win the nomination. On the Today show Tim Russert says he can't find a "credible Democrat" who thinks Clinton can win. What do you think? Is it over?

Teachers and Time

The Des Moines School District is pitching a plan to give teachers more time. The idea is that students get an early dismissal once a week. The extra 90 minutes is supposed to give teachers time to do some professional development or to work on lesson plans.


Now before all of the teachers in the state send me nasty emails about how much harder they work than anyone and how they're underpaid...let me put a few things out there.

• Do most teachers work hard, take their jobs home with them and spend more time than "just teaching" in the classroom? I would say yes.


• Should teachers be making a lot more money? Well, I'll put it this way...we should value the profession at a higher level than we do.

That said, this is not a good plan. We're going to let teachers and students go 90 minutes early every week? Will there be planned professional development every week? Will that time be spent learning new teaching methods and collaborating with colleagues and lesson planning? Who's going to pay for the professional development?

Here are a few things working against the teachers. A lot of us work hard. A lot of us bring work home and don't get paid for it. A lot of us would like more time for professional development. Most of us do not get a month off in the summer (I say a month because teachers usually work long after the school year ends and show up long before the kids do in the fall), We don't get three weeks off a Christmas, and a week spring break...no to mention all of the holidays on the calender. You're going to have a hard time convincing me that there's no time in there for professional development.
Moreover, what about the kids? I've heard a lot of complaints about the early out days in other districts. It leaves a lot of kids with nothing to do long before mom and dad get home from work. I've heard complaints from merchants at the mall about kids congregating on early out days...unsupervised with nothing to do.
What do you think. Should teachers get an extra 90 minutes without kids in the classroom?





Baskin But No More Robbins
One of the Co founders of Baskin Robbins died yesterday at the age of 90. Irvine Robbins expanded all of our imaginations where ice cream is concerned creating flavors for just about any occasion. As a tip of the cone to him what's you're favorite flavor? Doesn't have to be BR.


Have a Great Day!
PWD

Two more Primaries, Efficiently Wasting Your Money, and Golfing With the Stars

Good Morning!

I'm glad I took Sally's advice and took two Aleve before going to bed last night.
I walked 18 holes of golf yesterday and I'm feeling it this morning. I can't believe what a candyA%$ I am!
I used to walk three or four rounds a week! The goal here is to get into better shape and carrying a golf bag around for four hours could help. The most interesting part of the day was a chance meeting with one of the actors in the movie South Dakota. A lot of you may have heard about this one filming out in Earlham. Matt Harwell was using his day off to golf.
We didn't get into the details of his character, but I found another movie he mentioned online. It's called The Wretched...check out the movie's myspace page. It's a horror flick. Matt seemed like a great guy. He's in from LA to shoot but originally is from the Midwest so he said he was glad to be back. Welcome to Matt and the rest of the cast and crew!

To The News:
NC/IN
The Dems are voting again today. I'd like to think that this would wrap up the primary season, but no one seems to think it will. South Dakota here we come! I don't want to hear anyone complain about not getting the candidates to come and campaign in their state next time around. If you live in Florida and Michigan how mad are you at the Dems for changing the date of the primary?

Wasting Your Money Efficiently
I remember sitting in the press conference when The State hired a consultant in Chicago. The consultant promised there would be huge efficiencies they could find that would save taxpayers millions. Turns out the Chicago firm found 50-thousand in savings. We paid them $900,000!!!!!
If this were a story about a consumer or a private business that did this you know what we'd call it? A scam. How can this not be Breech of contract? How is it that we went through our State government with a fine tooth comb and could only find savings of $50,000? I bet if you and I went through the books we could find fifty thousand in savings before we got out of the first Department. I'm not saying government employees are all wasteful, and I'm sure every department feels their spending is all worthwhile. The job of this firm was to find the places we could cut spending and save taxpayers money. They failed miserably and we're out $850,000.
What a scam.

Moving
Megan Reuther gave you some tips on moving today as May is one of the more popular months of the year to move... The tips aren't rocket science. Everyone knows how to pack up and move right? Then why do so many of us have a truly horrific story about a move? It can be bad.
Mine starts in Baltimore. We were moving Sally from grad school. The truck was supposed to come at 8am on the day her lease ended. So we were ready to go at 8am, and thought we'd be halfway home by nightfall. Turns out nightfall came and we didn't even have a truck. It finally showed up at about 9pm. The guy told us once all of her stuff was out of the apartment it was the company's responsibility. So we told him to get it all out (she had to be out by midnight). At around 11:45pm he took the last box out and we packed up the cats and left. As we drove away, all of Sally's stuff was still on the lawn waiting for these two guys to load it into the truck.
Turns out it got worse. The truck missed the drop off date in Peoria at my apartment. I had to leave Christmas dinner to drive down and meet the guy so he could unload. When he was done we figured out he'd lost at least two of her boxes including one with the dress she had on when I asked her to marry me.
We ended up not having to pay a dime for the move...not because the company was in any way apologetic. Their incompetency stretched all the way to the accounting department. They had Sally's credit card and never tried to charge it.
It's one of the stories I'll always look back on as a building block for our relationship. Packing up everything you own really helps you see all that you have in your life. It reminds us of all the things we've been through and all of the important times we've spent together. And If I've got to go through things like that in life...it makes me realize I want to go through all of it with her.

My moving story isn't quite as bad but it still makes me steam every time I think about it. Thanks Pat for bringing this subject up again! Right before Eric and I got married, he bought the home we currently live in and we hired a company that came highly recommended from several people here at the station. The movers were supposed to arrive at 8 am but never showed up. We finally called at 10am and got an answering service. Finally, at around 2 pm the movers finally called and said they were having mechanical problems with one of the trucks (yeah, right!) and wouldn't be able to get there until later in the day. Eric was so made he told them to forget it and hung up. Ok... I guess this means we try plan B. A few hours later we finally secured a UHaul truck which broke down on us on 1-235 during one of our trips. After we called the UHaul hotline to try to get help, the customer service representative ended up getting in a shouting match with us and hung up. We eventually got another UHaul and made it to our new house at around 4 am. And just to make things a little more interesting, this was during a bad snow storm in December on my 30th birthday! The moral of this story: Don't move!

City Hall
I had my hearing with the City yesterday and I should get a written ruling within a week. I'm not sure I convinced anyone that this was a misapplication of the nuisance ordinance but I said my peace and that's all I wanted to do. I get the chance to appeal to a district court judge if I don't like the ruling and I may just do that. The City inspector who came over to look at my walk showed a picture of it the day he came by. You can see the cement, and the grass on the lawn!
I asked for a warning and said the entire episode would serve as a lesson for future trips out of town. It will.

Have a good day!
PWD

Pat also told me this morning that there may be an Anchor Man 2 in the works. This makes my day. Check out what I found online. Have a nice day!
BB

Hey Cabbie!, PETA on the Derby and I Strenoiusly Object!

Good Morning!
What a great start to the week. I wish I could get out and enjoy the day right away, but I have a few pieces of business..
First of all the blog will be shorter today...I have to go over to City hall and defend my sidewalk's honor. Remember this? This is the fin the city wants to throw on me for not shoveling my walk while I was on vacation. We'll see how it goes.
I'm practicing my Tom Cruise impersonation..."I want the truth...You can't handle the truth!"

To the News

Hey Cabbie!
The City's considering a change to its ruled regarding cabs. I hope it happens soon. As an aside I am part of a group from all of the TV and Radio stations that meets every other month. At our last meeting we had three guests, all of them talked about the lack of cabs here in Des Moines. I don't use cabs but I have had visitors in town who either think the fares are outrageous, or who's waited more than an hour for a cab to pick them up. If you want a vibrant downtown, you have to allow suburbanites to come into downtown for the night and get a cab home.

Derby and PETA
I'm sorry I can't hold my tongue on this one...This is why so may people think PETA is a joke. The sentiment is right, the cause is surely one that a lot of us would support, but the people running PETA speak out on these ridiculous topics. In this case, the organization thinks that it's the jockey's fault that Eight Bells broke both ankles and fell right after finishing second in the derby. The animal was injured in a tragic and terrible accident, but saying the idea that horse racing is the place that animal cruelty people need to focus their efforts is CRAZY.
Did the jockey drive Eight Belles too hard at the finish? We won't ever know. The filly didn't seem to be letting up at the end of the race and had her ears up when she crossed the line...an apparent sign she was alert and not in distress. Terrible things happen... These athletes (that's what people call these horse) are treated with the care you'd expect an investment of thousands of dollars.

Michelle Parker
Finally, we'd like to extend our condolences to the KCCI family and the family of Michelle Parker. Michelle died over the weekend of heart failure.
Most of us here at 13 worked with Michelle at one time or another and everyone used one word to describe her when they found out about her tragic death....kind. She will be missed by her colleagues.

Hope you all have a good day.
PWD

Unemployment, Tulip Time and Chopper Video Blog

Good Morning!

Sometimes the anticipation of being sore is worse than actually being sore. A workout last night with my trainer and I know I'm going to be sore tomorrow. The thing is, I have to remember that this makes me feel about a thousand times better when I try to get up the next day. It doesn't make any sense to me but a good workout usually means I'm more awake the next morning. You'd think I'd be dead tired.

The Weekend is here and we're all glad to see it.

To the News:

Unemployment

The Experts expect the rate to climb to more than five percent. This is one of those stories that isn't good nationally but seems to be holding off here in the Midwest. In fact Iowa's unemployment numbers were a little better than expected last time around. At some point you would think some of this would balance out. It's cheaper to live here, we have jobs...I would think people from the coasts or bigger cities would be moving to places like Iowa.

Tulip Time

Jeriann had some4 good news. It's not going to be a total rain out for Tulip time. In fact this morning we're going to have some rain but she was saying the afternoon and evening parades should be great. Enjoy the Dutch letters.

Afghanistan

Lost in the headlines about Iraq is the war that's still going on in Afghanistan. NBC did some great reporting from there last night on Nightly News. If you missed the stories Here's a link to the first. It's about a woman who got a Silver Star for Heroism in the face of fire. The problem? Officially women are not supposed to be in combat roles. It's actually illegal.

My question is should it be? Should women be allowed to volunteer for combat roles?

The second was some reporting from the front lines of what they're calling the Spring Offensive. Great combat photojournalism that gave a great feel for what Marines were going through.

Where in the World?

See we were wrong again this morning so no one knew where Matt was until the show actuallyy started. He's in the Seychelle Islands. It's off of Africa's east coast in the middle of the Indian Ocean. Brooke knew where it was right away. I admit to not knowing where the heck it was. Looks beautiful, and an appropriate place for Matt to wrap up the week. I can imagine that's an exhausting trip!

Chopper Video Blog

Roger Riley takes us on a tour of Chopper 13. He loves it...he really does, and Roger is a trooper about his duties. Sometimes trips in Chopper 13 leave Roger with an extended day, but he also gets to see Iowa in a really unique way. He and pilot Fred Redman do a great job and now that we've got better light during the morning show, look for Chopper 13 more often on Today in Iowa.

Friday Night should be a pretty quiet night then it's off to a fundraiser Saturday night. It looks like I'm going to be able to clean off our screened in porch on the front of the house this weekend too. That signals the start of the summer season for us!

Hope you have a great Weekend.

Overnight Shooting, Thinking About the Weekend and Recommiting to the Blog

Good Morning!

We have great viewers. I say that because you guys catch everything. First. I want to apologize for the days we've missed putting up a blog.

Lorie wrote:

What's up with you guys?? The Morning Buzz brags about blogging every weekday morning, but no blogs on Apr. 23, Apr. 25, Apr. 29 and again today Apr. 30th. I guess I'll just quit reading.

Then I got this email from Tom:

Patrick,
I look forward to your blog daily. Last week there was not a Wednesday blog or a Friday blog. today not a blog again, and not a video blog last week. I enjoy these and I always look first thing in the morning so that I might be ready with the morning news. I know we sometimes get busy, but I do want you to know that people do read it even if they do not reply.
Thanks
tom

I'm Busted...Sort of.
First, thank you for taking the time to write.

Second, nobody's bragging about our blog, I promise you that. It's just another way to talk about the days news. Maybe it'd be more accurate to say we promise you the buzz every morning.

So, for shirking my responsibilities...mea culpa.

I think some of the days we missed are a little off, but the point is...it seems there is always something getting in the way of blogging.

I've started trying to write some of this during the show.

The encouraging part is that someone is reading this every day. It helps us motivate to write it if we know you're reading so drop us a comment anytime. What did you like in the show, what did we miss this morning. Did you want to see something else?

To the News:

Overnight Shooting

One man died and two more were injured in an overnight incident at a southeast side bar. Police say the owner's version is that he was being robbed...pulled a gun on the two robbers and shot them. Police found One of the alleged robbers on the floor of the bar. The owner of the bar and another man were found in a nearby parking lot. Police are sorting it all out.

Arrest

Police made an arrest in the stabbing of a woman in Waterworks Park. When something like this happens I always try to remember that our parks and trails are generally very safe. We always ask people if they'll be more cautious now that there's been a stabbing in Waterworks Park. Will you be more cautious in parks or on the downtown trails? I think some people get legitimately concerned, even though, in this case, it was simply a young woman who was attacked by someone she knew.

I would only say this: It's still a reminder to know who's around you at all times when you're out on a trail or in a park without a lot of people around.

McCain in Town

If you've been going through withdrawl since the caucuses, you get your chance to either protest a candidate or hear him speak today. Sen John McCain will be in town to talk healthcare at 2pm. McCain is getting a big jumpstart on the Dems in swing states like Iowa. If you would have asked me 10 months ago whether a Republican could win the White House in 08, I would have said no. That's certainly not the case now. The latest Wall St Journal/MSNBC poll shows it's pretty much a horse race no matter what happens.

Anyone see the Obamas interview with Meredith on the Today show? What did you think? Here's a link.

Pat, Jeriann and I watched the interview as it aired after the show today and the thing we all agree is one of Obama's (and his wife, Michelle's) strengths is his ability to "keep in real." What I mean by that is that he seems to answer questions with a real heart-felt response, instead of always giving a canned political answer. Yes, that's probably a political strategy in itself, but he just seems to be more conversational with his dialogue. This isn't an edorsement because we in the media are always to remain neautral, but it's an observation that really did stand out today as we were watching the interview. I thought Meredith did a great job... these were NOT softball questions. She had to re-ask questions to get answers a few times and to me, that is one of the marks of a truly talented journalist.

BB

Thinking of the Weekend.

While we try to keep things pretty consistent for you, we also often talk about what we might add to Today in Iowa. Brooke came up with the idea of previewing the weekend for you every Thursday. We started that this morning with the Head of the CVB Greg Edwards. We're hoping he'll come back every week this summer and give us a preview of some of the weekend's events around town. There's so much scheduled every weekend of the summer that I think we often miss a chance to participate in an event we'd like to be a part of.

Where in the World?

Matt is in Istanbul (or is it Constantinople?) this morning for WIWIML. I thought his clue for this morning's location was harder than the last two. We'll see what he comes up with for Friday. I'll try to post the clue during the Noon News. Check back!

One more thing. I can't get a hold of the DNR so I'm going to go a head and try to shoot that video blog today! The absence of a video blog was my fault last week. Photojournalist Roger Riley bailed us out this week. Maybe I can rally next week.

Here's the Clue for tomorrow...go a head and guess...

Clue 1: Many come here to see the natural wonders but the national symbol is for your eyes only.
Clue 2: Where in the world is this photo from?

All of us feel like this is a fun idea and a great addition to the blog (Jeriann's idea).

We all also feel a little embarrassed when it's our turn. None of us are shy, but we all feel like, who's going to care about what we do in our free time or in our personal lives?

I hope I'm not overstating how the girls feel about it, but that's what I think most of the time. The answer, of course is to do what Jeriann and Brooke did. they gave you something you can use along with a little bit of personal information. I promise I'll try, but I still feel like, who the heck cares about what I do with my free time?

Have a good day and get out to Tulip Time today!

Speaking of Tulip Time, I was hoping to get down there today but Evan is sick so we might have to skip it this year. However, if any of you are planning to make the treck to Pella for the first time, I have a few suggestions.

1. Poffertjes (pronounciation: pof-er-gees)

These are little dutch pancakes that are alone worth the trip to Pella. The Kiwanis Club makes these things by the thousands and part of the fun of getting them is watching them be made. The long is always long but worth the wait. It's right in front of the big windmill.

2. Bologna on a stick

No, not the nasty, highly processed slices that you buy at the grocery store. This is the ring-version that you can buy at Int'veld Meat Market. It's INCREDIBLE and I have a friends who doesn't like red meat but can't stay away from this. Anyway, you can buy it at the store on the square or get it at a booth by the Bank of America. You can get it on a stick or they have something called a Dutch Taco.

3. Dutch Letter

This is a Pella trademark. Jaarsma Bakery on the square has been making these for years and they are like nothing else you will ever try. I could write a book about these things. No wonder I gained the freshman 15 my first year at Central College.

PWD