DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Several inches of snow are expected in parts of Nebraska and Iowa on Christmas Eve. The National Weather Service says snow will fall this (Thursday) afternoon in eastern Nebraska and western and central Iowa. Up to 6 inches is expected in Lincoln and Omaha as well as neighboring Council Bluffs. Additional snow is expected Friday in parts of northwest Nebraska.

Officials warn drivers that freezing rain will create slippery roads and worsen travel visibility. The weather is a stark contrast to other parts of the country. In the South, spring-like storms mixed with unseasonably warm weather have been linked to at least seven deaths. From Alabama to New York, much of the country had unusually warm temperatures in the 70s on Christmas Eve.

It may be the “season of giving,” but the days left in December are dwindling and Iowans who need to make charitable contributions before the new year arrives to help their tax picture need to get moving. I-R-S spokesman Christopher Miller says if you plan to make a year-end gift to charity, several important tax laws have changed in recent years. First, you need proof you made the donation.

“Get a written record of the transaction,” Miller says. “That can be a cancelled check, a bank or credit card statement, or a letter or reciept from the organization. That receipt or bank record allows you to prove the donation if a question ever does arise with the IRS.” Many Iowans will make an effort during December to sort through some of the things that have collected in their houses and closets during the past year, from linens to electronics to furniture.

“If you’re making a donation of clothing or items from around the house, which a lot of us do,” Miller says, “that needs to be in good used condition or better in order to qualify for a deduction.” Donors need written acknowledgement from the charity for all gifts worth $250 or more. It must include, among other things, a description of the items contributed. Some Iowans will decide they have an extra vehicle in the garage or perhaps a watercraft in storage that they just don’t use or need anymore.

“Special rules apply for donating a car or a boat,” Miller says. “You’re generally going to be limited in the deduction for how much that item sells for. The organizations that accept cars or boats are aware of these new rules and they’ll be ready to give you this information.” For payroll deductions, the taxpayer needs to keep a pay stub, a Form W-2 wage statement or other proof from the employer showing the total amount withheld for charity, along with the pledge card showing the charity’s name.

Contributions are deductible in the year they’re made, so, donations charged to a credit card before the end of 2015 count for 2015, even if the credit card bill isn’t paid until 2016. Also, checks count for 2015 as long as they are mailed in 2015. Only taxpayers who itemize their deductions on Form 1040 Schedule A can claim deductions for charitable contributions. That deduction is not available to Iowans who choose the standard deduction, including anyone who uses the short form, like Form 1040-A or 1040-E-Z.

Find more tips at www.irs.gov.

(Radio Iowa)

COUNCIL BLUFFS, Iowa (AP) – A Council Bluffs emergency family shelter has been given a makeover to provide additional learning opportunities and activities to engage children and teenagers. The Daily Nonpareil reports that a ribbon-cutting ceremony was held Tuesday to dedicate the children’s library at MICAH House, which includes a new hand-painted mural. The shelter’s executive director, Jaymes Sime, said the mural was painted by Allison Dethlefs during the summer.

One room at the shelter is now an educational room featuring a miniature bank, engineering lab, hospital and grocery store where children can play and learn how such facilities function. A third room has been transformed into a Teen Center outfitted with computers, where teenagers can relax, do homework, watch movies and play games.

The Cass County Sheriff’s Office reports three, recent arrests. On Monday, deputies arrested 26-year old Marshall Brandon Fischer, of Atlantic, on a District Court warrant for Probation Violation. Fischer was taken to the Cass County Jail where he remains held on $10,000 bond.  That same day, deputies arrested 26-year old Mykel Allen Thoren, of Atlantic, on a District Court warrant for Failure to Appear and an Atlantic Police Department warrant for Theft 5th Degree. Thoren was taken to the Cass County Jail where he remains held on $10,000 bond.

And on Tuesday, Cass County deputies arrested 42-year old John Stratton Eichelberger, of Atlantic, after he turned himself in at the Cass County Sheriff’s Office on an Atlantic Police Department warrant for Simple Assault. Eichelberger was subsequently released on $300 bond.

In an update to our report Monday morning, the Cass County Sheriff’s Office today (Thursday) said a 12-year old female was injured during a rollover accident last weekend, southwest of Atlantic. The accident occurred at around 12:05-a.m. Sunday, at the curve on 582nd and White Pole Road (the AT&T curve) near Lewis. A 2001 Dodge Grand Caravan driven by 39-year old Alejandrina Lopez, of Atlantic, went out of control due to the slippery road surface. The van entered the north ditch and tipped over onto its passenger side. The juvenile female in the vehicle was transported to CCMH via Medivac.

IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) – An appeals court says Iowa’s largest health insurer improperly refused to pay claims for expensive life-saving drugs for patients with a rare blood disease. The court ruled Tuesday that Wellmark Blue Cross and Blue Shield searched for reasons to deny millions of dollars in claims for drugs used to treat hemophilia, an inherited condition in which patients suffer excessive bleeding.

The medicine at issue, so-called factor drugs, is injected by patients at home so they don’t bleed to death. The ruling means a judge will calculate how much Wellmark owes Iowa City pharmacist Michael Stein. Wellmark is pledging an appeal.

Stein, a provider in Wellmark’s network, dispensed the drugs to 24 patients around the country. He sued Wellmark after the company refused to reimburse him for $7 million in claims.

The recent report on the health of the state showed an issue when it comes to vaccines for older children. The Iowa Department of Public Health’s Don Callahan oversees the immunization program. “In the health ranking, the adolescent immunization rate was low in Iowa, and that’s true. We definitely have more children, more adolescents in Iowa who could be receiving vaccines,” Callahan says.

He says Iowa ranked 44th in the report that looked at three types of vaccines. He says the T-dapp vaccination for whooping cough was one, the menigicocal vaccine that prevents meningitis, and the human papillomavirus virus which can help prevent to different types of cancer. Callahan says as students move toward their teen years, they require different types of vaccinations.

“Children are required to receive vaccines when they enroll in school but these vaccines are different, these are vaccines that are recommended for adolescents,” Callahan says.”So we do pretty good in the state of Iowa regarding childhood immunizations, but we really need to focus on our efforts for immunizations for adolescents.” He says they have been trying to improve the adolescent vaccination rates.

“…A couple of years ago we implemented a T-Dap, the whooping cough vaccine for entering into secondary school. So that is providing a platform four our adolescents to receive that vaccine as well as menigicocal and the H-P-V vaccine,” according to Callahan. You can learn more about Iowa and the 2015 America’s Health Rankings report at: www.americashealthrankings.org.

(Radio Iowa)