Big Three No More, Shot in the Arm, and Principal Charity Classic

Good Morning.

I am not in golf shape.

While some of you collect yourself from the hysterical laughter that surely took over your body after reading that...I'll explain

You use different muscles when you play golf. muscles you don't use, even in a good workout...

I'm almost always sore after my first few rounds of the year. This year I'm not playing enough to get my body used to using those muscles. Anyway, I am feeling sore.

This also may have something to do with getting a tetanus shot at the doctor's office Wednesday afternoon. Why, you ask, did I get the shot the day before I went out to play golf? I don't know. It still hurts this morning.

I actually went to the doctor to see him about my back. I've got this constant pain in between my shoulder blades. He says he sees it all the time with new parents. You go to lift that car seat...get used to lifting a 6 lb baby...when they turn into 12 lb babies...you end up pulling a muscle.

So anyway I went to see someone to work on my shoulder and it helped enough to make me comfortable and able to play golf. Lets be honest...I would have needed to lose the use of my arms to turn down the chance to golf.

We played Thursday with Masters and British Open Champ Sandy Lyle. He was great. Gave tips to the whole group. I joked this morning Shawn Terrell is going to tell his kids Sandy Lyle taught him to golf. Shawn is new to golf, but got a lot of great tips....

John is going to be on the range for a week and a half trying to implement the swing changes Sandy gave him over our five hour round.

He didn't give me any tips for some reason. Maybe it was because he found no flaw in my graceful whack at the little white ball. More likely, he didn't know where to begin.

Not so Big Three

GM and Chrysler are both headed into, and out of bankruptcy quickly if you believe the experts. isn't that like going to 24 hours of re-hab? I am still sceptical the culture at The Big three has changed. It has to be a total shift in the business model. Not sure just cutbacks will do it.

Regrets...I've had a Few

President Bush is talking about his life after office.

He says he missed Air Force One...Uhh Yeaaaa?!?!?!?! Dinner at the White House...Nahhh not since they changed Chefs.

Leno Leaving

I don't know why but I've always found Jay a little Vanilla. No disrespect, the guy is funny. I just thought Letterman might have been a better choice. But what do I know, Jay kept the show #1. We'll see if Conan can do the same.

Somewhere back on this blog is a really funny story about my Mom and Conan O'Brien.

She met him at a wedding where he was a groomsman. All of the wedding party was in Scottish dress, so he was wearing a kilt with one of those bags called a sporran. It's a bag that can be quite ornate. Conan's apparently was decorated with some kind of lambs wool...whatever. "So my Mom asks him...So why is your sack so fuzzy?"

Least that's how she told the story.

Looking forward to a nap this afternoon then a date with Sally tonight. We've got a babysitter...We're going to go see Angels and Demons. Before you envision a romantic night on the town, let me disabuse you of that. We're going to a 5pm movie. Hopefully we'll be home in time to go to sleep by about 8...Sleep is still king in our house.

Slow News, Ferris House and Sleeping through the night

Good Morning!

Much of the local news we had this morning had to do with Memorial Day and Parkersburg. We talked about that yesterday so I went out and tried to find a few other topics to write about today.

Nominee

We'll update you during the Noon News, but President Obama is set to announce his Supreme Court Nominee today. The news didn't come down until just after our show.

Interesting...the name bbeing leaked is Sonia Sotomayor. She's a Bush 41 appointee.

California Ruling

California's Supreme Court is set to rule on the constitutionallity of the Prop 8 vote. It's expected the court will uphold the vote that banned same sex marriage, but will hold all of the same sex marriages performed before the ruling are legal.

iPhone Required

We had a story about University of Missouri school of Journalism requiring all students to have an iPhone as of this year. The reason? The school says the reason is twofold. The school wants students to be able to hear lectures again, and it wants it's stu

Ferris' House

I know I know...it's Cameron's House.

The house made famous by the movie Ferris Bueller's Day Off is for sale...it'll only cost you 2.3 million dollars!

I always had a good time bringing people back to Chicago when I was in college. It was fun to take them on the John Hughes tour of homes. They're not too far from where I grew up. I'll also admit to stalking Michael Jordan's house on occasion.

I think they should replace the seller's description with this:

I used to think that my family was the only one with weirdness in it

Then I saw Cameron's family.

His home life is really twisted

That's why he's sick all the time...It really bothers him

He feels better when he's sick

If I had to live in that house,I'd pray for a disease, too.

The place is like a museum.

It's very beautiful and very cold...and you're not allowed to touch anything

Can you appreciate what it must have been like to be there as a baby?

I'm amazed that I got the car out.

I caught Cameron digging the ride

It's good for him. It teaches him to deal with his fear

Plus, I must be honest here

I love driving it It is so choice

If you have the means,I highly recommend picking one up

WHEN CAMERON WAS IN EGYPT'S LAND....LET MY CAMERON GOOOOOOOOOO

Sleeping through the Night

I asked Brooke and Megan this morning but it appears everyone has a different answer...when do you roll the dice and try to let your kid sleep through the night. I mentioned I am still waking the boys up to feed them in the middle of the night. I enjoy those feedings, but I would also enjoy the extra hour of sleep.

It really surprises me how little information there is about twins on the internet. There are a lot of quack-job forums but not a lot of information I would actually read and feel comfortable following. Maybe that can be my second career. It might be a goldmine with the number of multiple births happening in the US right now.

Have a good one

PWD

Memorial Monday, N Korea, and Glee

Good Memorial Day Monday.

No lectures, except to say this. I hope everyone takes some time today to remember the Men and Women who serve, and who served out country. Even in the most challenging of times, their sacrifice allows us the luxury of freedom.

Parkersburg

Join us tonight for more coverage of the 1st anniversary of the Parkersburg tornado. Sonya has done a great job with her stories. The people who live in Parkersburg have overcome so much this year. I can't imagine the emotions today.

N Korea

Anyone else want to hide under the bed?

PCC

The answer is yes...I love to have professional golf in Des Moines. And yes, we'll be talking more about the Principal Charity Classic this week...Sorry.

Glee

Has anyone else seen the pilot of the new Fox show Glee? I can't wait for the show to start this fall. Anyone who was around any kind of performing arts in High School will relate. On top of that...it's hilarious! Go to Hulu.com to see the entire pilot episode.

Weekend

My sister Katie was in town and boy was it nice to have an extra pair of hands. We're getting better at accepting help when it's offered with the boys. In return We grilled for Auntie Kiki last night...the picture here is the grill all filled with chicken, grilled potatoes, and peppers.

Have a good one

PWD

Friday Bloggin

Good Morning and welcome to the Memorial Day Weekend...almost
I can't tell you how much better I feel this morning after some exercise yesterday. I don't know about you all, but I feel about 1000 times better getting up this early if I exercise the days before. I got a half hour run in last night before dinner and it was just about perfect weather.

In The News:
Pull Over Pt 1
Police are watching the roads this weekend...nothing new there. The way they're doing it is new. There will be plain clothes policemen on the sidewalk watching for seat belt violators, drunk drivers speeders etc...then they'll radio the marked cars to pull people over.

Pull Over Pt 2
Louis Alvarado should be back in Des Moines by the end of the weekend to face murder charges. He's the guy accused of killing the 16 year-old East High Soccer Player. The way Police caught him is bizarre. They guy calls police to say he's being held hostage. They figure out he's on a Greyhound and pull the bus over....search the bus...then arrest him when they realize he's got a warrant out for his arrest.

Atlantis Waiting
The Space Shuttle is waiting to come home after weather scrubbed the first attempt to land this morning. These guys get through arguably the most dangerous mission in the last two decades and they have to wait it out in space because of mother nature.

Noon Update:
I don't want to stick my head in the pig's mouth, but I wonder if we're going to get any emails from Pork producers saying this flu virus had no connection to pigs. Apparently that's not what the best scientists in the world found.

They said it is important to start doing better surveillance of influenza viruses in pigs, as they are clearly a potential source of human pandemics.
"Pigs have become a reservoir of viruses with the potential to cause significant respiratory outbreaks or even a possible pandemic in humans," the international team of researchers reported in the journal Science.

To be clear, there is still no way anyone can get the flu by eating pork, but these findings do say, hog production plays a role in the mutation and the spread of the virus.



Bear Down
Since the Cubs got swept yesterday I thought I'd turn to happier sports topics. The Bears started a mini-camp yesterday. Jay Cutler is Bears Fans' reason to hope for good things this Fall. We got new clothes out for the boys to celebrate the start of the NFL practice season.

JT almost fits into his bears outfit.

Where are you?
Time to take your pulse again...hold a mirror under the collective nose of the Morning Buzz bloggers. Just want to make sure this continues to have content you'd want to read. If not, suggest what we might do better.



Hope you all have a good weekend.
PWD

Giving me Gas, Cell Phone Craps Out and Making a Difference

Good Morning!
We're making a difference again this morning at a coffee shop in Urbandale.
The idea is to pass along something nice for someone, and hopefully that chain will continue to spread through the day. Jeriann started off the coffee line at 5am with 5 bucks. She paid for the first cup of coffee through the drive through. As I write this at 6:40am, the chain continues. We hope we hear more great stories through the day about how these not so random acts of kindness are passed along. We also had all of our kids down to the coffee shop with Jeriann this morning. I know Brooke and Jeriann join me in saying a HUGE thank you to our spouses for getting up early with little ones. It's a lot of work. They make a difference in our lives every day!

To the news...
Giving Me Gas
I didn't drive by a gas station...or at least I didn't notice the sign when I went by, so I almost passed out when Brooke told me gas had gone up so much since yesterday. It's been a while since I thought about filling up the car or how much I was driving. That changes with this little hike, up fifteen cents.

Cell Phone Woes
So Tuesday wasn't the greatest day. I got home and Sally had already had a rough start with the kiddos for a lot of different reasons. When I tried to charge my cell phone it wouldn't take a charge, so...since I can't be without a phone, I needed a new one. Maybe the last straw was the fact that the microwave also crapped out. SO I took the boys with me and got a new cell phone, then went over to the Mall and got a new microwave. It was just sort of one thing after another. The good news is that I got a new cell phone out of the deal and it really didn't cost anything. The Microwave did.

Thanks again to all of you who made out "Making a Difference Day" special. I hope it is just a reminder that doing the little things for people can make a BIG difference.
PWD

Dancing with the Stars & Powdered Peanut Butter

DWS Finale

I just couldn't do it last night. I tried to stay up to watch Dancing with the Stars but I fell asleep with the remote in my hand at around 8:00 p.m. So, I had to wait until I got in to see who won. I think we all thought it would be Gilles Marini, but I was pleasantly suprised it was our darling, Shawn. Even Shawn's dad told the Des Moines Register the family was expecting to hear Gilles name last night. Way to go Shawn.

Other News...

We should learn more about Adam Harvell and his involvement in those sexual assaults and break-ins in West Des Moines and Waukee. Yesterday we learned that police shot at him 25 times when he confronted officers with a gun at his townhouse. We also heard from Harvell's girlfriend's mom. She said she is the one who tipped off police about Harvell and his suspicious behavior.

Megan Ruether gave us a preview this morning of her Renew Iowa story about wind turbines. Apparently you can now buy your own personal turbine to generate energy for your home. They are big, so they aren't something you can just put in your backyard if you live in Des Moines. At least not yet. She'll break down the cost and the savings tonight at 5. But like most energy alternatives, you have to make an investment upfront to see savings down the road.

Powdered Peanut Butter?

I have a thing for peanut butter. I like it so much it's one of the reasons I work out or I would be VERY overweight. So, when I saw powdered, low fat peanut butter at the grocery store a few weeks ago, it caught my eye. Finally, this week I decided to splurge (it was $7.00) and see if it really measured up to the real thing. The directions say to mix two parts powder to one part water. The consistency wasn't bad. It looked like real peanut butter. But the taste was definitely NOT the same. I kind of tasted a little like old peanuts but without much flavor, if that makes any sense. You know how peanuts can taste when they are old... kind of like rancid oil. Anyway, it was not good. Usually if something is low fat you know there is going to a little sacrifice in flavor, but this was just awful. I am not sure what I was thinking. So, my message to you -- skip it!

I think I will have to turn the airconditioner on today... last night when I was putting Evan to bed, he said to me, "hot." Hope you get to enjoy the weather!

Brooke

Gas Standards,Getting Hosed and DWTS

Good Morning!
There's nothing like the smell and the look of a freshly cut lawn. I love it. I don't always like to cut the grass, but when I'm done I love the way it makes the house look. That's actually important because we are putting our house on the market. I'm hoping some first time home buyer with an $8,000 tax credit will buy the place. We love our house, our neighborhood, and our location, but it's becoming increasingly clear that we are going to need more room when these boys start moving around. So we hope we can sell quickly.
To the news:
Gas Standards
The White House is expected to announce new fuel efficiency standards for the Auto Industry today. The bottom line? Auto Fleets will have to average about 35 MPG. That means your cars trucks and SUV's are going to cost a little more. It also means billions of barrels of oil wouldn't be used every year...So are you willing to pay a little more for that benefit?

Getting Hosed
If you drive by a gas station this morning you are seeing the same thing every other driver in the country is...higher prices. This always seems to happen right before a holiday. Memorial Day is this weekend. Of Course it is.

School Policy
Des Moines Public Schools is considering a policy that would allow school officials to punish kids for inappropriate behavior...seems OK right? Except, they will be looking on social networking sites like Facebook to find it.
So, say a kid goes to Mexico with his parents on Spring Break, and under the supervision of his parents is in a bar, next to another kid who's 18 and drinking. If that picture shows up on the Facebook...,the kid could be suspended or even kicked off the baseball team.
Now I am sure the District is going to say...we'd use common sense. How? If a kid is caught doing something the District finds objectionable...even if it has nothing to do with school, even if their conduct wasn't in any way under the purview of school activities...the school has to act.
And the District won't have a choice. the complaint against the starting shortstop for the softball team is going to come from the back-up shortstop! What is the District going to do? This is written policy after it passes.
There will be a lot of critics who will say this is the District playing the role of Parent. Someone please tell me how this is not the responsibility of a parent...and not the school District to police what my kid does or does not do when they are outside the supervision of the schools?
I signed an honor code when I was in activities in school. Why is that not enough? If I show up drunk to school, get arrested for underage drinking, or if my parents catch me I get kicked off the team. We'll see if the Board passes the new policy.

DWTS
I didn't get the freestyle dancing last night. First off, mimes freak me out...so I didn't like Shawn's costume. Next, it all looked frenetic. I'm sure the judges knew what they were looking at and they liked what they saw...but I like the precision of some of the more traditional dances.
I liked the other two contestants dances even less than Shawn's...after seeing their effort, Shawn's was clearly the best.
Anyway, Shawn is tied for the lead. Lets see if all the teen gymnasts around the country texted enough to up her fan vote and push her to the top spot. We'll have results tomorrow if you can't stay up or...just don't want to watch the entire three hours!
Have a good one
PWD

VIolent Weekend, Zach, and Family Fun

Good Morning ...

Hope you all had as good a weekend as I did.

It didn't recharge the batteries physically that much but mentally and emotionally it was good. More on that in a minute...

First the News

Violent Weekend

A murder of a 16 year-old in des moines...a shooting death in fort Dodge, and a stabbing in Winterset...all adds up to a pretty bad weekend in Central Iowa. We don't have definitive motives victims or suspects in all of these cases yet, but Police continue to investigate.

President and Notre Dame

I was interested to see the text of the President's remarks at Notre Dame this weekend. Agree or disagree with his stance on abortion and a woman's right to choose, I think his point about not deamonizing eather side fo the debate is a good one.

If you ask me, the far left and the far right have a real interest in keeping this debate as ugly as they can...it's how they continue to make headlines. I would guess most Americans fall into the middle on this debate. They don't agree with the idea of abortion, but wouldn't choose to force thier beliefs on someone else; or they are vehamently for a woman's right to choose but understand and respect the deep faith based opinions of many people. There has to be some common ground...

Zach

I tuned in just in time to see Zach Johnson win the Texas Open. Good to see him winning consistently. I wonder why we're not hearing from all of the writers who called Zach a flash in the pan after his Masters win?

Making a Difference

Jeriann will be at Amicci in Urbandale this Thursday for our annual "Making a Difference Day". She's asking you to write in about someone who made a difference in your life, or the way you make a difference in other people's lives. It doesn't have to be something monumental...it can be an every day act of kindness. In fact, I'd say that's what we're looking for.

Family Fun

We were really a traveling Circus this weekend when my brother's family, Sally, the boys and I met up with Sally's Parents, my parents and my brother Joe.

We walked around the farmers Market then went off to the Zoo. It's hard to keep that many

people (and kids) going in the right direction...we still had a great time and it was good to see everyone.

On Saturday night we went out to Celebrate Sally's graduation. We went to 801, and I have to thank our family again for indulging in this total extravagance with us. The thing about it...the bill wasn't nearly as bad as anyone thought it was going to be. Some of us split an entree...we shared sides and deserts. I don't think anyone was hungry, but there weren't any leftovers either. Good stuff.

We were going to plant some flowers out front Sunday...it wasn't the weather stopping us...it was the fact that impatiens haven't' come in yet. We always plant impatiens in front of our house...we'll have to wait at least another week for it.

So anyway here's a couple pics of our trip to Iowa City for Sally graduation.

Having so many helpers allowed Sally and I to sleep a little more this weekend, which was nice...but all the activity was also draining. Overall I'd say it was a re-charge cause it's nice to have so many people around who support and love you.

Hope you all had a good weekend

PWD

It's Friday!

Good morning. Pat's off today because his lovely and amazing wife Sally is graduating from University of Iowa this morning. She just completed one of the school's masters programs and did it while taking care of two newborns. Pretty amazing, huh? I could barely get changed out of my pajamas most days when Evan was first born. Anyway, congratulations to Sally.

The start of the weekend is pretty wet but Jeriann says we have two nice days ahead of us. Sounds like the really good weather comes next week when it is supposed to get up into the 80's. Something to look forward to.

This morning I brought in donuts to work to celebrate our morning show producer's birthday. Have you ever been to Quick Trip at 3 am? It's a really weird experience. I think the manager was looking at me strangely.. wondering why I was dressed up in a suit and shopping for donuts that early in the morning, but he was very nice. I was looking at some of the other people there and wondering why they were either still up... or just getting up. Are they night owls looking for a late night snack... do they work crazy hours like me? I also often wonder what the people I pass on the road are up so early. Your mind works in weird ways when you don't get sleep, I guess.

The thing I love about Friday is that EVERYONE is in a good mood. I mean, you can always count on Jeriann. She's always happy. But on Friday, nothing seems to get anyone too upset.

Here are some pictures I took at Tulip Time last week. I went with my friend Gretchen who has a 4 year old daughter. The difference between boys and girls became very, very clear to me while we were trying to navigate the crowds with our kids in strollers. Ava sat there like a perfect angel the whole time, while Evan was trying to unbuckle his seat belt the whole time. He also tried to climb on everything... and pick the tulips. And picking the flowers is a BIG no-no in Pella. Unfortunately he did get away with one... when I was wasn't looking for 10 seconds. Anyway, the one thing he DID sit still for was the parade. He loved the music and the fire trucks. As always, it was a fun trip.

(Since he IS HALF Dutch... I had to get the hat!)

Hope you get out and enjoy the weather this weekend. We are enjoying a pretty relaxing weekend around the house. The past two weeks have kept us busy, so it will be nice to chill for a while.

Brooke

Shooting, Loser and Semi-Accident

Just before seven and the heavy rain is moving in. Glad I mowed the lawn yesterday.JR says the heavy rain is in the Metro this morning...outa here by tonight.

In the news:
Shooting
I actually felt a little better this morning leaving Sally and the boys at home when I went to work. The news that West Des Moines Police think they'd shot and killed a person of interest in a string of break ins and sexual assaults made me feel better. It's tragic anytime a Police officer has to fire his/her weapon, but in this case, police seem confident they've got the person they've been looking for.
While we're talking about the shooting, a woman called the newsline to yell at me this morning. She was annoyed that we used this sentence:
Police think they shot and killed a man who had some involvement in a string of home invasions and sexual assaults over the last few months.
She thought it sounded as if they police weren't sure that they'd shot the man.
I can see her point of view. As I explained, we have a limited amount of time to tell these stories. I think the way we delivered it left no doubt that police believe they'd shot their suspect. See, there, I did it again. We're trying to cover ourselves and the police a little here. They are not sure this person was the one who broke into all these homes and attacked these women. They think that's who he is. To make it more clear, we could have broken the thought into two sentences. I still feel like people got it. The woman on the phone called me stupid and hung up on me.

Truck Accident
How in the world does a semi break in half? The result was all over I-35 this morning. At least it was in the southbound lanes.

Biggest Loser
Still my favorite reality show...Sorry Shawn and DWTS. This one really does change people's lives. As someone who struggles to keep making trips to the gym and keep making good choices where food is concerned...it helps to see this. If these people can make this kind of a change...I can get me backside to the gym.

Have a good day
PWD

Postville, China and What Would I do?

Today is another morning I have to ask myself...what would I do without Jeriann and Brooke. They can put things in perspective, and keep things on track better than any team I've ever worked with. I've said it before and I'll say it again...it's hard getting up at 1:30 in the morning to come to work. These two make it easier.

To the News:
Postville
It's the one year anniversary of the raids on the Agriprocessors plant in Postville. A year later, no one responsible for the problem is convicted, Postville is much worse off, and we are all still struggling with the questions of how to deal with illegal workers in this state.

China
While we're on the subject, it wasn't in our newscast this morning but it is also the one year anniversary of the earthquakes that devastated China. Thousands of families lost kids who died when buildings collapsed. It should be interesting to see how the networks are able to cover the anniversary. Lat year China was playing well with others because of the Olympics. I will be interested to see what they'll do with the foreign press this year.

Shuttle
We told you yesterday, The Space Shuttle was going up. Just wanted to give you an update cause, again, this wasn't in our show. A couple of things I found interesting. At 350 miles above the earth, Atlantis faces a significantly higher danger of being hit by space junk. Also the astronauts, well one of them anyway, is going to Twitter, or tweet, or whatever you call it...from space. Now I have no interest in finding out what anyone down here on earth is doing, but I might actually follow this one...

Miss California...
Who's gonna tell this gal to exit stage right? I am done hearing about it. I feel like I'm back in seventh grade listening to two girls try to blame each other for poassing a note in class then lying about it. Enough already!

Pleasant? I think not
Apparently for the next few months I'm going to have to deal with a major inconvenience. They're tearing down a bridge on Pleasant near my house and replacing it.
Good. Safety first and all.
I knew it was coming, I just didn't know they were going to close down the entire bridge all at once. Add to my frustration, that the road was shut down yesterday...and as far as I can tell, no one did any work yesterday. Delays happen, I understand...but cmon...if you close a street down...make sure you look like there's some REASON to close the street!

Have a good one!
PWD

Healthcare, Shuttle and Weekend Road Trip

Is it 7am yet?

As I write this, it's the 6:30 half hour and I am barely staying awake. I think the lack of sleep is just catching up with me.

I hope all of you Moms out there had a good Mother's Day. Sunday we woke up early (the boys and I) so Sally could get a little sleep. We'd spent the weekend in Iowa City. Sally had her last class this weekend to complete her MBA. She graduates next weekend. They had a nice reception and dinner for the grads of the program. I couldn't be prouder. She deserved the three hours extra sleep...and not just because she's a new Mom.

After a Mom's Day breakfast we hit the road back to Des Moines. The boys did great in the car. It gives me hope for a longer trip we're planning later this spring to Chicago.

To the News:

Healthcare

They couldn't do it back in the 90's but now the stakeholders in the Health care debate like the drug companies doctors and hospitals are ready to talk about cost cutting that might help save some money. When I say some...I mean trillions. Ya think this has anything to do with the fact that they see the President with enough votes in Congress to do just about whatever he wants?

Shuttle

We didn't say it in our story this morning but I think the most fascinating fact about this shuttle mission to the Hubble telescope is the fact that there's another shuttle waiting on the launch pad for a rescue mission. It should tell you the kind of danger the astronauts are going into that they've got this kind of a back-up waiting. Since the Hubble telescope is in a much higher orbit than most shuttles achieve, they'll have the potential to run into a lot more space junk. it's not like stuff just bounces off the shuttle when it is going that fast.

Stand Up

Did anyone see the President's speech at the Correspondents dinner Saturday? He was funny. Watch it on youtube...

A joke that some Dems didn't like came from golf analyst David Feherty. The CBS commentator wrote an article for D magazine and in it he made some controversial remarks about the Speaker of the House and Senate Majority leaders.
-It's Bike to work week, please slow down when you see one of these folks on the road.

Finally this morning some of you ask about routine. Mine is getting better. I'm getting the boys up at about 2 after I get ready...feeding them, then getting them back to sleep before I go.

If I can keep them in my head, these are the kinds of pictures I will remember from out middle of the night feedings together.

That's will on the left...passed out from a food coma...

JT is the pic on the right...he was wide awake this morning. Even as I was leaving. Hopefully he didn't keep his mom up.

PWD

H1-N1, Pella and Today in Iowa's Biggest Bull

It's been a long time since we had this much fun on our Friday morning show. Should be a great Mother's Day weekend. There's a little pressure on the New Dads in the group. Rob (Jeriann's husband) and I need to come up with something memorable for Sunday morning.

To The News:

H1N1
Overnight we got confirmation of about 30 more cases of the flu in the state. The high number came all at once because the CDC gave Iowa's Hygienic Lab permission to confirm these cases.
It's still not something you have to be SCARED of. It is something to be aware of. Normal flu precautions should be enough to keep you healthy.

Pella
Jeriann was down in Pella this morning and did not show her proficiency in Dutch names. She did show us some of the great events you'll get for free if you go to Pella, some of the great food you can eat down there, and even some of the dancing you"ll see. I'm always struck by the people when I visit Pella. Not only are they some of the nicest people you'll ever meet; these people really take a lot of pride in their heritage. They know a lot about their town and the people who came before them. It's something to admire.

Biggest Bull
A Cowboy from the Pro Bull Riding Tour got up early and brought a bull over to our parking lot so we could talk about the riding event tonight at Wells Fargo Arena. Predictably we got Brad to climb up on the bull...and wear chaps.
Please insert your jokes here.

Have a great weekend.
PWD

Tulip Time and a Yogurt Diet

Tulip Time

Good morning. What a beautiful day so far. Hopefully the rain will hold off for most of the day down in Pella as the town opens up for hundreds of thousands of visitors starting today for the annual Tulip Time Festival. Megan Reuther was there this morning for the show and it looks like the Tulips are perfect this year. I am planning to head there today with my friend Gretchen. We lived together when we went to Central College and we both LOVE Tulip Time. It never gets old. I think the main reason we both go is for our love of pancakes. I think I could write a book about the pofferjis. They are little dutch pancakes with powdered sugar on top. It's kind of like going to the State Fair just to get a corn dog. My mouth is watering just thinking about it. Anyway, hopefully I will have some pictures to post tomorrow.

Probiotics and Weight Loss

Pancakes probably won't help you shed a few pounds, but apparently probiotics will. At least according to researchers in Finland. They studied women who ate yogurt (it contains probiotics) during their pregnancy and up to six months after they had a child. Those who at it, lost more weight than those who did not. Gee. I wonder if it has something to do with the yogurt and eating healthy instead of the culture in the yogurt.

There is a lot going on this weekend. I love this time of year when you can start spending time outside at the Farmers' Markets and different charity events. The Valley Junction Farmers' Market is one of my favorite. It's not as a crowded as the Des Moines market and you don't have to get up early to get there. They have music and food, including these awesome pulled pork sandwiches.

Kenny Chesney is also playing Wells Fargo tonight. I have been to a few of his shows and they are incredible. You will be entertained, even if you are not a big country music fan. I guarantee it! If you are going, let me know what you thought of the show.

Hope you have a great day!

Brooke

Marshltown Reverse, Face Transplant and By Request

Good morning and sorry for neglecting you for a few days. We're experiencing what you might call a surge of activity in our house. I don't mean to by cryptic, but we may be in for some big changes (no, we're not pregnant again) soon. So I apologize if I've failed the blog.

To the news:

Marshalltown Reverse

So now we know this strain of the flu isn't as bad as they thought it might be. In fact, what were' finding out is that they didn't know much of anything at all. We've now started calling this virus H-1 N-1 on the air, in large part because the Govt changed it's terminology. This morning I got an email complaining that we'd caved, and saying they'd never watch us again.

So you can people some of the people some of the time but you can't please all of the people all of the time...

Is that the way that one goes?

Anyway, the Marshalltown Schools will reopen tomorrow. That's a reversal of a previous decision to close schools until the start of the next week.

Face Transplant

Amazing...that's what I thought about the face transplant doctors performed at a Cleveland Clinic. The before and after photos are shocking. I also have to admire the way the woman faced the process and the prospect of multiple, painful surgery. She's not done yet, but the applications of this surgery and what they learn really have to potential to make a difference for people who would otherwise live disfigured.

By request

I want to thank some of you who read this daily for your kind notes checking in on my family. We are doing really well. Both of the boys are healthy an, most of the time, happy.

We're getting ready for our first big road trip....that should be interesting. SO far we've only ventured out for a few hours so we didn't have to feed them. We're testing boundaries every time we go out though. We kept the boys out long enough to have to feed them Sunday. That meant an entirely different set of supplies to bring on the road. We had a really nice lunch at Gateway out in the Village at Ponderosa. What a great place. I hope they can survive.

These are pictures from that day.

Etiquette Question:

What do you do when someone you don't know or don't know very well requests to be a friend on Facebook? You don't want to be rude, but I'd really like to keep the number of people I communicate with on this thing down as much as possible. So if you ignore the request, they know you don't want to be friends with them. What if you see them out then? Someone post a solution.

Have a goodone

PWD

H1N1...Souter and Wonderful Weekend

Good Morning. Lots to talk about again today so here we go...


H1N1
So the folks who wanted the name of the SWINE flu changed to it's technical designation H1N1 got their wish.
I'm not in the camp that thinks this is a good thing. To be clear: I respect the views of Pork producers in our state and understand their concerns. They are a vital part of the Iowa economy and in general are pretty good people.
I think instead of taking the time to ask for a change in the name, the organization that represents the producers could have come up with a better PR response.
Get every Governor in the nation to eat pork one night. Get famous faces to eat their favorite pork dish...and most importantly, get on local shows like Today in Iowa to emphasise that the flu virus is not transmitted through food.
I also think it sets a bad precedent.
The flu virus was commonly known as Swine flu. The W.H.O. and the CDC called it swine flu. That decision shouldn't be influenced by the interests of one group, or in this case, money. The Media should act independently.
Otherwise this is a slippery slope.
When a hurricane blows through Florida are we going to call the destruction of homes "natural renovation" so we don't hurt tourism?
If there's a train derailment this year...maybe we should call Amtrak before we air the story...They could suggest we call it a "Reallocation of Transportation Resources" rather than a derailment. We wouldn't want people worried about their next train trip.
Andy Fales made a good suggestion...maybe instead of calling it the Whooping cough...we could just refer to the common disease found in schools this time of year as pertussis...
The Audubon Society and Whooping Crane lovers all over the country will be much more comfortable with that.
I'm being ridiculous, of course, but I think you get the point. Context is key and we should be giving it where it's appropriate.
I hope that if there was a drop in pork prices on the markets that it was nothing more than a momentary dip.
I hope education about the flu virus continues and that people simply get a hold of themselves. This is not leprosy sweeping the nation. It's the flu. It can be very dangerous if it's ignored but when treated properly, every expert I am hearing from says this should be no worse than a bad flu season.

Souter
The Justice the left complained about as he was nominated and the right complained about once he started deciding cases is retiring. Reports say Justice Souter will retire at the end of the summer. The buzz is already starting about who might replace him on the court. It's not likely this will change the balance of the court right now. The change would come if some of the court's older Justices decide to retire as well.

Wonderful Weekend
Call it the start of a very busy summer. Downtown Farmer's Market starts tomorrow morning. We'll take the boys down for their first breakfast burrito early. OK, so they won't actually have a burrito, but they get to go to the Farmer's Market and we get to get out of the house!
he YESS (Youth Emergency Services and Shelter) Duck Derby is tomorrow afternoon. It's a chance for the winner to get $10,000. There's even a small chance the winner gets a million!
The March of Dimes March for Babies will be hosted by our own Megan Reuther tomorrow morning at Racoon River Park.
On top of all of this, It's the Kentucky Derby Party out at Prairie Meadows.

The best part is we've got the weather to make it a really nice weekend. Enjoy it.
I'll be out on the lawn getting it mowed for the first time this year. I also need to clean off the porch. Time to sit outside on beautiful days like we're about to have and Enjoy and Iowa Spring/Summer.

Have a good one
PWD