Iowans are enduring much colder-than-normal, snowy weather for the last half of fall, and while there’s a little relief in sight for the weekend, the winter ahead is still a toss-up. Jeff Zogg, senior meteorologist at the National Weather Service office in Johnston, says they’ve re-run all of their computer models to get a glimpse at December through February and so far, it’s 50-50.

“We’re calling for equal chances for temperature,” Zogg says. “That means there’s really no strong signal of above-, near- or below-normal temperatures. For precipitation, generally equal chances, maybe a little bit of a dry signal across the eastern part of the state.” Armchair prognosticators may claim this current cold spell could be a sign of a bitter, blizzard-filled season ahead, while other say it’s an indicator a warmer winter is on the way. Zogg says nobody really knows at this point.

“When you go back and look at past winters, really the temperature trends that you see in November really have very little if any predictability as to the rest of the winter,” Zogg says. “Yes, we have been quite cold for the first part of November but that would not necessarily translate into a certain trend for the rest of the winter.” While much of Iowa should see highs in the 40s this weekend — a nice change from the 20s — but the travel forecast for Thanksgiving looks dicey.

“This weekend, we’re looking for a warm-up, even a chance of rainfall on Saturday and Sunday,” Zogg says. “Temperatures will be warm enough for rain but there is the potential for some additional unsettled weather next week, particularly towards Thanksgiving. We’re seeing the potential for below-normal temperatures again, maybe another system to bring us some rain or snow.” Stay tuned in to the latest forecast at weather-dot-gov.

(Radio Iowa)

With KJAN News Director Ric Hanson.

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Police in Glenwood report the arrest on Thursday of a man wanted on warrants for Eluding and Assault while displaying a dangerous weapon. 36-year old Charles Knipe, of Tabor was arrested on the Mills County warrant. His initial bond was set at $5,000.  While in custody, Knipe was also charged with Theft in the 1st degree and Theft in the 2nd degree. A$15,000 bond was added to the latest charges and current bond amount.

A Red Oak man wanted on a warrant out of Ray County, Missouri, was arrested Thursday night by Red Oak Police. 37-year old Christopher Michael McDonald, of Red Oak, was taken into custody at around 11-p.m., on a warrant charging him with Child Neglect. McDonald was arrested in the 1100 block of Eastern Avenue and brought to the Montgomery County Jail, where he was being held on a $5,000 cash bond.

A call to authorities in Montgomery County early this (Friday) morning about a suspicious subject lead to the arrest of a man wanted in Fremont County. Sheriff’s officials say a resident on 180th Street, northeast of Stanton, called at around 1:45-a.m., and reported a man on their porch had tried the doorknob several times.

When deputies arrived, they located 44-year old Joshua N. Fuller, who was still standing on the porch. Fuller was secured in the deputies’ patrol car after a brief discussion. During an investigation, it was determined Fuller was wanted on a warrant issued on Aug. 21st, that charged him with Obstructing Police (Originally charged as Driving Under Suspension) and Interference with Official Acts.

Fuller was transported to the Montgomery County Jail and held on a $600 cash bond while awaiting transportation to Fremont County.

Authorities in Montgomery County arrested a Red Oak woman Thursday afternoon. 28-year old Sarah Lea Aherns was taken into custody on a valid Pottawattamie County warrant for Probation Violation. Aherns was arrested in Red Oak and brought to the Montgomery County Jail, where she was being held on $5,000 bond.

Police in Council Bluffs area asking for the public’s help in finding a suspect involved in the armed robbery of a credit union. Officials say at around 2:37-p.m., Thursday, a white man wearing a light blue denim jacket with a blue hooded sweatshirt underneath, walked into the Centris Federal Credit Union at 2825 Avenue G, and display what appeared to be a long barreled pistol to a teller.

The suspect then began to wave the handgun at several tellers, and demanded currency in large bills. The man ordered the teller to put all of the money into a bag that the suspect brought with him. Police say the man became agitated and grabbed the money from the tellers himself before taking time to pick up some of the money he had dropped on the floor. During the encounter, the suspect did not make any verbal threats. After robbing the credit union, he fled in southbound direction with an undetermined amount of money.

The man was further described as being just over 6-feet tall, and weighing around 220-pounds. He had a green scarf over the bottom half of his face, was wearing sun glasses and a fleece, trapper-style hat. He also wore mismatched gloves – one yellow, the other gray –  and carried a blue, backpack-style bag.

Anyone with information about the suspect or the crime should call Crime Stoppers at 712-328-7867.

A southwest Iowa man said he was confident that he won a big lottery prize, but he waited until his ticket was validated by the lottery before he started to celebrate. Phillip Currin Sr., of Villisca claimed the third of 11 top prizes of $30,000 available in the Iowa Lottery’s “Holiday Word Bank” scratch game. According to the Daily NonPareil, Currin claimed his prize last Friday at the lottery’s regional office in Council Bluffs.

President Barack Obama has unveiled expansive executive actions on immigration. Obama says immigrants who’ve lived illegally in the U.S. for more than five years can avoid being deported if their children are citizens or lawful permanent residents, and they pass background checks and pay fees. They also can get work permits. Obama says he wants immigration enforcement efforts to focus on “felons, not families.”

The reaction from Iowa’s congressional delegation to President Obama’s immigration order includes one suggestion that congress vote to publicly and formally reprimand Obama for his actions. Democratic Senator Tom Harkin says Obama has taken “common sense steps” and “is doing the right thing.” Republican Senator Chuck Grassley says Obama has taken “the wrong way forward” and is “poisoning the well for future action” om immigration reform.

Democratic Congressman Dave Loebsack of Iowa City says he has “concerns about the president acting without congressional approval,” but Loebsack says he hopes the president’s executive order now spurs House Republicans to vote on an immigration reform bill. Republican Congressman Steve King of Kiron is a leading critic of “amnesty” for any illegal immigrant.

King says no one in congress wants to throw the country in turmoil and impeach the president, but King suggested during an appearance last night on CNN that congress might vote to censure Obama instead.

(A-P/Radio Iowa)

The American Farm Bureau Federation’s annual survey on the cost of serving a traditional Thanksgiving meal is out. Iowa Farm Bureau director of research, Dave Miller, says you won’t have to find much more cash than you did last year to buy all the food to feed 10 people. “The Thanksgiving feast is basically stable in cost at about 49 dollars, 41 cents according to the American Farm Bureau study. We’ve been within about a 20-cent range on the cost of that meal for the last four years,” Miller says. He says the increase is less than the cost of a postage stamp.

“It’s up 37 cents from a year ago, it’s still actually cheaper than 2012,” Miller says. The AFB checks the price of turkey, bread stuffing, sweet potatoes, rolls with butter, peas, cranberries, a relish tray of celery and carrots, pumpkin pie with whipped cream, and beverages of coffee and milk. “The biggest ingredient is the turkey, and it was actually down 11 cents from a year ago,” Miller says. “The biggest upside was probably the sweet potatoes that were up 20 cents for three pounds of sweet potatoes, so up about three cents a pound.” Commodity prices have dropped dramatically last year, and Miller says there was some impact.

“It doesn’t show up a lot, although the pie shells were actually down seven cents, the rolls were down a penny, the stuffing was down 13 cents. So, those things that were grain-related were all down in price. The things that tended to be up in price were the things that tended to be more dairy and livestock related,” according to Miller. The turkey averaged 21-dollars, 65 cents or one dollar, 35 cents per pound.

“Turkey production took a hit when corn prices were high coming out of the 2012 drought when corn prices were high, but turkey production is up on a national basis, and that’s part of the reflection of turkey prices, slightly lower this year,” Miller says. At around 49 dollars for 10 people, the cost of the meal is five dollars per plate. But Miller says this is a nationwide average cost and you may be able to find some local bargains.

“One of the things that shoppers report are there are places that if you spend 50 bucks or 100 bucks that the turkey may be free,” Miller explains. “So there are some real good promotions to get you in the store and with the use of coupons and some other things, the price of your Thanksgiving feast could be substantially less than five dollars per person.” This was the Farm Bureau’s 29th annual study of the cost of the Thanksgiving meal.

(Radio Iowa)