(Radio Iowa) – The wintry weather is forcing most Iowans to spend more time indoors — and with furnaces, fireplaces and space heaters running, there’s a serious risk from an odorless, colorless gas. Le Mars Fire and Rescue Chief Dave Schipper strongly recommends carbon monoxide detectors in all houses, apartments and mobile homes.  “We want everybody to have a carbon monoxide alarm or carbon monoxide detector just like a smoke detector,” Schipper says. “We want those to be placed where you can hear them. A lot of people tend to buy carbon monoxide alarms and put them in the basement, which is fine — if you can hear them. Otherwise, we want them in the sleeping area so they can awake you if there’s a problem.”

When people close up their houses because of the cold and there is little ventilation, Schipper says that’s when carbon monoxide calls to his department become common.  “This time of year, we see all kinds of problems with carbon monoxide as far as furnaces that aren’t running properly, fireplaces that may be plugged or have creosote built up in them,” he says. “We have a lot of people that tend to run their cars in their garage to warm them up in the wintertime. Even if the garage door is open, that carbon monoxide is staying in the garage or pushing into the house.”

Schipper says it’s critical to take precautions since carbon monoxide is invisible and has no scent, and without a detector, there’s no way to know if it’s seeping into your house.  “That causes headache, fatigue, nausea, vomiting,” the chief says. “A lot of people think they’re just getting a cold or the flu or getting sick, but really they could be having a carbon monoxide problem.”

A good C-O detector can cost as little as $15 and it could save your life.

(Radio Iowa) – The Sioux City Police Department is warning the public about a group called the National Police and Trooper Association after it contacted the police chief. Officer Valerie Rose says the legitimacy of the group cannot be verified. “It claims to help law enforcement families but when you google it you can see out there that it looks like it’s fraudulent and we can’t verify its legitimacy on it,” Rose says. She says they do know that local law enforcement is not being helped by the group. Rose rose says this is the time of year when scammers try to take advantage of people being in a giving holiday spirit:

“They happen all throughout the year every day it’s just an ongoing thing but of course, they do tend to take advantage of the holiday spirit and the generosity that people are feeling during this time of the year they’ll try to pull on those heartstrings to get money, unfortunately,” she says. Rose says they always advise you to take the time to verify online what the organization is and if you know they are local or otherwise legitimate. “Get on there, Google it, check their ratings check and see if there are any news stories that have already been done that are warning people that they are a scam,” Rose says. “See if there are any complaints against them claiming that they are fraudulent. You can check with the Better Business Bureau. You can also get online and you can check the Federal Trade Commission.”

If you do decide to donate, be suspicious of how they want you to pay them. “If it’s a scam, they’ll try to pressure you. They’ll tell you that you need to act immediately and then they’ll tell you weird ways to pay them,” she says. “We always advise never pay by gift card or wire transfer or cryptocurrency those right there are red flags if they’re trying to get you to donate using kind of a strange or an odd, uncommon means a way to pay.”

She says these scams primarily use the telephone to contact you, but scammers may also use email, text messages, social media, or U-S Mail. Rose says Chief Rex Mueller immediately recognized it might be a scam and checked it out.

(Glenwood, Iowa) – Sheriff’s officials in Mills County, Tuesday, issued a report on five accidents, during which there which no injuries….

On Dec. 19th, a 2004 GMC driven by 18-year-old Jeremiah Day, of Malvern, was traveling east on Highway 34 at around 7:30-p.m., when his vehicle went out of control due to the extreme ice and snow conditions. The vehicle entered the east ditch and hit several trees before coming to rest.

On the 21st, 42-year-old Floyd Cozad, of Glenwood, was leaving his residence at Gillens Court at around 12:23-p.m., in order to pick his kids up from school. Authorities say while backing up, Cozad’s 2003 Chrysler struck the driver’s side box of a 2015 SIlverado pickup, driven by 42-year-odl Jeremy Blum, of Glenwood. There was no recognizable damage to the Chrysler, authorities said, but the truck had a dent. Floyd admitted to being at fault, as he did not see the pickup. He was cited into court.

On Dec. 23rd, a 2014 Ford driven by 59-year-old Raymond Weber, of Glenwood, was traveling north on 221st Street at around 3:18-a.m., when the vehicle went out of control while Weber was negotiating a curve on the slick, snow-packed road surface. The vehicle struck a cable barrier on the east side of the road, causing the vehicle to change direction and further downhill, sliding into a ditch on the westbound side of the road, where the vehicle rolled onto its top.

Mills County Sheriff’s office say on Christmas Day, 64-year-old Carol Brehmer, of Clarinda, was driving a 2002 Dodge south on Highway 59 at around 8:24-p.m., when a deer ran onto the roadway. The road was  wet and slick, conditions which officials said made it impossible to avoid striking the deer. The impact occurred on the front driver’s side, and resulted in disabling damage.

On Monday (12/26), 35-year-old Corrie Lusch, of Glenwood, was driving a 2011 Nissan northbound in the 50,000 block of 221st Street, when his vehicle struck a deer. The accident happened at around 6:19-p.m.

(Radio Iowa) – If you’ll be making a New Year’s resolution on Saturday night, you may need to genuinely focus on making the change in order to keep the pledge. Alison Phillips, a psychology professor at Iowa State University, says our approach to making resolutions usually sets us up for failure.  “I’ve seen two different statistics, one is that 80% of resolutions fail by the second week in February,” Phillips says. “The other is a bit less depressing and that’s 40% of us are still hanging on after four months. Either way, long-term efforts at changing our behavior generally fail.” Phillips, who studies behavior change and habit formation, says to focus on how to make changes that will lead to creating a better version of yourself.

“This is important because behaviors that do stick around are those that become part of our self-identity, it’s how we see ourselves,” Phillips says. “They’re usually things that we’re proud of, that we’re good at, and they make us feel like we’re competent at something.” Zero in on things you can become good at and that you see yourself doing and take pride in, she says, as those are the kinds of things people won’t give up on. “Habits form as you repeat them in a stable context,” Phillips says. “Pick a time that’s pretty regular that you could do it and that will help you form a habit more quickly. Also, pick something that you relatively enjoy. You might not like exercise at all but pick something that you hate the least and that you would be proud of yourself to do.” If better physical fitness is your target, Phillips says it’s important to aim for specific goals that focus on behavior and not on certain outcomes, like a number on the scale.

“If you prefer bicycling to running, by all means, go for the bike,” Phillips says, “even if it’s in the gym and the stationary bike isn’t awesome, maybe try a spin class until the weather is nicer.” Everyone fails, she says, so plan ahead and rehearse how you will cope when you run into barriers. Also, social support is important, so in addition to having a workout buddy, make sure your family is on board, too, and will encourage you as you create new, positive habits.