WASHINGTON, D-C – Keep your stomach full of turkey and free from foodborne illness this Thanksgiving holiday. The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) reminds us all that it’s important to remember the steps to food safety during America’s biggest meal. Keep your Thanksgiving celebration food safe by following the tips below.

Clean and Sanitize: Handwashing is the first step to avoiding foodborne illness. Wash your hands for at least 20 seconds with soap and water before, during, and after handling food. In a recent study, 97 percent of participants in a USDA test kitchen failed to wash their hands properly. Make sure to follow these handwashing steps:

·     Wet your hands with clean, running water.

·     Lather your fingers with soap.

·     Scrub soapy hands and fingers thoroughly for at least 20 seconds. Rinse your hands under clean, running water.

·     Dry hands off with a clean towel or air dry them.

Clean and sanitize any surfaces that have touched raw turkey and its juices and will later touch food such as kitchen counters, sinks, stoves, tabletops, etc.

Avoid Cross-Contamination: Cross-contamination is the spread of bacteria from raw meat and poultry onto ready-to-eat food, surfaces, and utensils. One way to avoid this is by using separate cutting boards — one for raw meat and poultry, and another for fruits and vegetables. Our recent study found that sinks are the most contaminated areas of the kitchen. USDA recommends against washing your raw poultry due to the risk of splashing bacteria throughout your kitchen. Clean and sanitize any areas that will come into contact with the turkey before and after cooking.

Thaw the Turkey Safely: Never thaw your turkey in hot water or leave it on a countertop. There are three ways to safely thaw a turkey: in the refrigerator, in cold water and in the microwave.

·     Refrigerator thawing: Turkey can be safely thawed in a refrigerator to allow for slow and safe thawing. When thawing in a refrigerator, allow roughly 24 hours for every four to five pounds of turkey. After thawing, a turkey is safe in a refrigerator for one to two days.

·     Cold water thawing: The cold water thawing method will thaw your turkey faster but will require more attention. When thawing in a cold-water bath, allow 30 minutes per pound and submerge the turkey in its original wrapping to avoid cross-contamination. Change the water every 30 minutes until the turkey is thawed. The turkey must be cooked immediately after thawing.

·     Microwave thawing: To thaw a turkey that fits in the microwave, follow manufacturer’s recommendations. Cook it immediately after thawing because some areas of the food may become warm and begin to cook during the thawing process, bringing the food to the “Danger Zone.”

It’s safe to cook a completely frozen turkey; however, it will take at least 50 percent longer to fully cook.

Cook Thoroughly: Your turkey is safe to eat once it reaches an internal temperature of 165 F. Insert a food thermometer into the thickest part of the breast, the innermost part of the wing and the innermost part of the thigh to check its internal temperature. USDA recommends using a food thermometer even if the turkey has a pop-up temperature indicator to ensure it has reached 165 F in the three previously stated places.

Stuffing your Turkey: USDA recommends against stuffing your turkey since this often leads to bacteria growth. However, if you plan to stuff your turkey, follow these steps:

·     Prepare the wet and dry ingredients for the stuffing separately from each other and refrigerate until ready to use. Mix wet and dry ingredients just before filling the bird’s cavity.

·     Do not stuff whole poultry and leave in the refrigerator before cooking.

·     Stuff the turkey loosely — about 3/4 cup of stuffing per pound.

·     Immediately place the stuffed, raw turkey in an oven set no lower than 325 F.

·     A stuffed turkey will take longer to cook. Once it has finished cooking, place a food thermometer in the center of the stuffing to ensure it has reached a safe internal temperature of 165 F.

·     Let the cooked turkey stand 20 minutes before removing the stuffing.

For more information on turkey stuffing, visit Turkey Basics: Stuffing.

The Two-Hour Rule: Don’t leave your food sitting out too long! Refrigerate all perishable foods sitting out at room temperature within two hours of being cooked, or one hour if the temperature is 90 F or above. After two hours, perishable food will enter the “Danger Zone” (between 40 F and 140 F), which is where bacteria can multiply quickly and cause the food to become unsafe. Discard all foods that have been left out for more than two hours. Remember the rule — keep hot foods hot and cold foods cold.

·     Transporting hot foods — Wrap dishes in insulated containers to keep their temperature above 140 F.

·     Transporting cold foods — Place items in a cooler with ice or gel packs to keep them at or below 40 F.

When serving food to groups, keep hot food hot and keep cold food cold by using chafing dishes or crock pots and ice trays. Hot items should remain above 140 F and cold items should remain below 40 F.

Leftovers: Store leftovers in small shallow containers and put them in the refrigerator. Thanksgiving leftovers are safe to eat up to four days in the refrigerator. In the freezer, leftovers are safely frozen indefinitely but will keep best quality from two to six months.

Resources: For Thanksgiving food safety questions, call the USDA Meat and Poultry Hotline at 1-888-MPHotline (1-888-674-6854), email MPHotline@usda.gov or chat live at ask.usda.gov from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Eastern Time, Monday through Friday.  Do you have any last-minute turkey day questions? The Meat and Poultry Hotline will be open on Thanksgiving Day from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. EST.

Check out the USDA FoodKeeper App, which helps to reduce food waste by providing food and beverage storage information.

(Atlantic, Iowa) – A woman from Atlantic woman who was arrested in October on a Class-C Felony, Intent to Manufacture/Deliver a Controlled Substance (Fentanyl) charge, and a Class-D Felony charge of Involuntary Manslaughter, was sentenced Monday to serve a maximum of 10-years in prison on the Possession charge.

Judge Jennifer Benson Bahr dismissed Jenny Clark’s Involuntary Manslaughter charge, as part of Clark’s plea agreement. The Judge also issued an Order prohibiting Clark from possessing a gun.

(Radio Iowa) – Looks like we’ll have a brown Thanksgiving. National Weather Service meteorologist, Dylan Dobson, says the rest of our snow should melt away by Thursday. “So, we’re gonna expect it to warm up here through the week, with the warmest day actually being Wednesday. Highs on Wednesday we’ll be in the low 50s,” he says. Dobson says Thanksgiving Day will cool off some.

“Just a little bit not a whole lot with highs on Thursday being in the mid 40s, and then Friday and also in the mid 40s,” Dobson says. “But then we’ll warm back up through the weekend back into those more seasonal 40s and 50s.” Most of the state should see good driving conditions.

“We might have a few chances for some scattered showers — mainly in eastern and southern Iowa — but other than that it should be fairly quiet for Thanksgiving this year,” he says. Dobson says the melting of the snow we had helps the temperatures warm up.

(Radio Iowa) – The U-S-D-A crop report shows the 2022 harvest season is done. The report shows the corn harvest is now 97 percent complete — after being reported as 95 percent complete last week and eight days ahead of schedule. The bean harvest was completed two weeks ago.

The state Ag Secretary Mike Naig says the first statewide snowfall and subsequent melting will help the topsoil moisture improve for next year’s planting season.

(Radio Iowa) – The number of homes sold in Iowa has declined by nearly 14 percent in the first 10 months of this year — with sales in October down significantly. Twenty-nine-hundred Iowa homes were sold in October. That’s 34 percent fewer than in October of last year. Data from the Iowa Association of Realtors indicates home prices in Iowa were up 10 percent last month and the NUMBER of homes going on the market is increasing after record low numbers earlier this year.

The median price for a home sold in Iowa last month was 217-thousand-five-hundred dollars. That’s down nearly 10 percent from the record high set in July. The president of the Iowa Association of Realtors says Iowa properties are selling in about a month, but experts project homes will begin to spend more days on the market — typical for the winter sales season.

DES MOINES, Iowa (November 21, 2022) – The Iowa Association of School Boards (IASB) presented the 2021-22 Annual Board Awards on Nov. 17th during the IASB Annual Convention in Des Moines. The awards are given each year to board members, board teams and superintendents/AEA chief administrators who dedicate time and effort to learning, advocacy, leadership and service projects to expand their knowledge and skills for better governance. Applicants must accumulate a specific number of credits to earn these awards.

Individual Achievement Awards were presented to 112 board members from 48 PK-12 school boards, four area education agency boards and one community college board. Organization and award winner names are listed in the captions of each photo on Flickr. From Atlantic, awards were presented to Board Members Kristy Pellett, Jenny Williams, and Laura McLean. Amy Grau from the Corning CSD also received an award, along the Al Hazelton and James Reischl, from the Harlan CSD.

Team Achievement Award: Atlantic Schools Award recipients: Jenny Williams (Board President), Laura McLean (Board Vice President), Josh McLaren (Board Member), Kristy Pellett (Board Member), Nicholas Hunt (Board Member).

Team Achievement Award plaques were presented to 15 school boards with a majority of board members who won the Individual Achievement Award. Congratulations to Atlantic, Bettendorf, Davenport, East Marshall, Fairfield, Fort Madison, Independence, Le Mars, Marshalltown, New London, North Polk, Sioux Center, Solon, Spencer and West Delaware County.

The Award of Honor was presented to 17 superintendents and one AEA chief administrator who invested time and effort to build skills and knowledge needed to be informed decision makers. Organization and award winner names are listed in the captions of each photo on Flickr.

Winner List available for download at: http://www.link-line.com/iasb-annual-board-award-winners/

(Sidney, Iowa) – Fremont County Sheriff’s Kevin Aistrope reports deputies with the Fremont County Sheriff’s Office, Monday (11/21) arrested 40-year-old Jeffrey Brent Vanhouten, of Tabor. He faces one count of Theft in the 5th Degree, Class-D Felony charges (2 counts) of Burglary in the 3rd Degree, and a Class-B Felony charge of Ongoing Criminal Conduct.

Authorities alleged that on Nov. 15, 2022 Vanhouten, who operates a floral company, was contracted to deliver flowers to a wedding in Omaha, Nebraska by a couple from Tabor. Vanhouten then returned to the couple’s residence in Tabor and was observed on camera entering the home without permission during their wedding.

It is also alleged that Vanhouten entered a 2nd Fremont County home in October and was found inside the residence by the owner.

Jeffrey Brent Vanhouten

Deputies also allege that on Saturday, Nov. 12th, Vanhouten entered the Fremont-Mills School in Tabor, where he entered several areas of the school without permission, caused damage to various items, and Vanhouten was then observed leaving the school with unknown items.

Vanhouten was being held at the Fremont County Jail on $32,000 cash or surety bond. The investigation is ongoing at this time. Anyone with similar incidents with Vanhouten is urged to contact the Fremont County Sheriff’s Office.

(Atlantic, Iowa) – Atlantic Mayor Grace Garrett informed the Parks and Rec Board during their meeting this (Monday) evening, that a committee will conduct interviews on December 8^th, with applicants for the Parks and Rec Director’s job. The position became open last month, following the resignation of former Director Bryant Rasmussen, who accepted a job with the USDA. Board member Jeremy Butler said the interviews will be staggered for that afternoon, because the applicants are not all from this area, or from Iowa for that matter.

The Board heard from Snyder and Associates Engineer Dave Sturm, with regard to the Splash Pad project. The Board approved the engineering contract with Snyders during their meeting last month. He says since then, the survey work is finished and they have drawn-up a brief conceptual design. Sturm said “We’re ready to go.” He spoke about the potential locations for the Splash Pad.

The Board was in agreement that the 3,200-square foot location southeast of the Sunnyside Pool would be the best option. By comparison, Walnut’s Splash Pad is 2,400-square feet. In other business, the Parks and Rec Board voted to appoint Erin McFadden, Jolene Smith and Jeff Christensen to the Splash Pad Executive Committee, but at the request of Board Member Jeremy Butler, tabled his appointment as Splash Pad Fundraising Committee Chair with the authority to form the committee and recruit volunteers.

Butler said more information need to be gathered with regard to the steps that need to be taken so that the fundraising takes place legally, and at the same time benefits those who wish to use their donations as a tax deduction.

The Board will circle back to the appointment during their next meeting, and if there are still questions, the have the option to table it again. In other business, the Board discussed the benefit the Parks Department receives from the Hotel/Motel Tax, as it relates to a possible future vote to increase the tax. The current rate of 7-percent is a combined total of state, county and city sales tax rates. In late 2010, voters approved a measure that called for a hotel/motel tax of 4% with the money used to “improve, repair, operate and maintain parks and recreation facilities and grounds for the Atlantic City.”

City Clerk Barb Barrick explained what that means for the department’s budget…

Disbursements from the State are made quarterly.

(Glenwood, Iowa) – The Glenwood Police Department reports two men were arrested on separate charges, over the weekend. On Saturday, 26-year-old Trenton Duncan, of Sloan, was arrested for Public Intoxication and Domestic Abuse Assault. He was being held in the Mills County Jail without bond, until seen by a magistrate.

And, on Sunday, 18-year-old Cody Krause, of Glenwood, was arrested for OWI 1st offense. He has since posted at $1,000 cash or surety bond.

The Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office reports the arrest on Monday, of 35-year-old Demarcus Jermar King, of Elliott, on a charge of Domestic Assault 2nd Offense and Criminal Mischief 4th Degree. King was arrested at approximately 9:43 a.m. and was booked into the Montgomery County Jail and held on no bond.