It’s a busy time of the year for everyone, especially the medical experts working the phones at the Iowa Statewide Poison Control Center. Registered nurse Joan McVoy says the number of accidental poisonings involving children typically rises during the holiday season. “When you have your holiday visitors come in, make sure they’re storing their medications up, out of reach, out of sight, so small children don’t get into them, teenagers don’t get into them,” McVoy says. “That’s the thing that we get, most of our calls are going to be medications.”

Another potential problem at this time of year is those tiny, button-sized disc batteries. “You’ll find them in remotes, the Christmas greeting cards that play music, watches, toys and games,” McVoy says. “Amazingly, even though we talk about this every year, last year, over 2,000 kids swallowed disc batteries and that was a 14-percent increase nationally.”

There will be celebrating the season with alcohol in many Iowa households, especially for New Year’s Eve, which can also pose a threat. “After the party, what happens is a lot of times we get calls here, the parents were tired in the evening and just go to bed and when the kids come down in the morning, they’re hungry and they’re looking at all of the empty drink glasses sitting around and they’ll get into the drinks,” McVoy says, “and then we’ll get a call from a parent.”

Should you need to make the call to the Sioux City-based hotline, it’s staffed around-the-clock at 800-222-1222.

(Radio Iowa, w/Thanks to Karla James, Omaha)

Ambassador Terry Branstad is back home in Iowa for the first time since assuming his post in China. The former Iowa governor attended his brother’s funeral in Leland on Monday and plans to spend the holidays here. On Wednesday, Branstad worked from a desk in the governor’s office, catching up on ambassador business. An aide stopped him from discussing embassy affairs, but Branstad did reveal that in recent weeks he has traveled to the Chinese border with North Korea.

“I’ve been to Tuman which is on the river that separates Jilin province of China with Korea,” Branstad said. “I was there three days after they had the nuclear test and I met with the party secretary who’s the top person up there and, you know, they felt it.”

Branstad says North Korea is one of the top issues he’s addressing as ambassador. “I think we’re getting gotten more cooperation from China than we’ve ever gotten, but there’s still more that needs to be done to try to convince North Korea that this course they’re on, I mean, this is the most dangerous thing to humankind right now this nuclear and ballistic missile program they are embarked on,” Branstad says.

Branstad’s wife, Chris, his daughter, son-in-law and granddaughters who’ve been living in China since this summer accompanied him back to Iowa. Branstad’s oldest son, Eric, has been working in Washington, D.C. in the U.S. Commerce Department since January, while his wife and kids remained in Des Moines. Branstad’s other son, Marcus, has remained with his family in central Iowa. The Branstads plan to attend Christmas Mass in Des Moines and celebrate Christmas together. Ambassador Branstad plans to head back to China January 3rd.

(Radio Iowa)

DAVENPORT, Iowa (AP) — A longtime Davenport charity is closing after losing funding and struggling to resolve questions about mismanaging funds. The Quad-City Times reports that United Neighbors Inc.’s board announced Wednesday that the social service agency would close. United Neighbors has been struggling for more than a year since it fired its former executive director and three staff members.

Questions about spending prompted the Iowa Finance Authority to suspend funding and demand repayment of $235,600 in grants for rental assistance. United Neighbors traces its roots back to a related organization that started in Davenport in 1911.

FORT MADISON, Iowa (AP) — An Iowa man who spent 48 years in prison for killing a 10-year-old girl has died in custody. The Iowa Department of Corrections says Robert Anthony Williams died Wednesday of natural causes at the State Penitentiary in Fort Madison. He was 73. Williams was convicted of killing Pamela Kay Powers, of Urbandale, Iowa, on Dec. 24, 1968.

The girl was abducted from the downtown Des Moines YMCA while attending her older brother’s wrestling tournament with her family. Williams led police to the girl’s frozen body along a gravel road near Mitchellville two days after she was killed.

While incarcerated, Williams filed several of his own appeals and his case went to the U.S. Supreme Court twice. But he failed to regain his freedom.