(Radio Iowa) – With Thanksgiving behind us now, some Iowans started decorating their houses for Christmas this afternoon, though others may wait until December to start decking the halls. Andrea Vaspis, public education director for the National Fire Protection Association, says those colorful lights can be a beautiful accent to your house, but they can also pose a serious fire hazard. “When you’re going to be decorating outside, make sure the lights that you use are approved by a testing laboratory and that they’re rated for outdoor use,” Vaspis says. “That is really critical.”

Putting lights outside that are supposed to be for indoor use only could quickly lead to an electrical short — and a fire. If you’re trying to obtain a Clark Griswold-level of outdoor decoration perfection, she warns, it can be easy to overdo it. “A general rule of thumb is to not plug in more than three strands at a time, follow the manufacturer’s recommendations on the box,” Vaspis says. “If you’re opening your tub of old lights and trying to pull them out and see what you have and if anything is frayed or old, it’s time to get rid of it.”

For many Iowans, it’s simply not the holidays if the fragrance of fresh pine isn’t wafting throughout the house, but if you have a “real” tree, it’s important that your electric lights are safe. “For the indoor lighting, make sure that what you’re using is not overloaded in a circuit with a number of other items,” Vaspis says. “Make sure that if you’re putting those lights on a Christmas tree, that the Christmas tree is in good shape, that it’s watered so that the lighting doesn’t cause a fire.”

An association study finds electrical distribution or lighting equipment was involved in more than two of every five (44%) home Christmas tree fires.

(Radio Iowa) – If it’s been a while since you’ve seen an older relative, Iowans may be noticing certain signs over the long holiday weekend in how they’re acting that might indicate the start of a problem. Megan Benzing, program manager for the Iowa Chapter of the Alzheimer’s Association, says it’s supposed to be a joyful time of thanksgiving, but it’s also an opportunity to take note of potential warning signs which may warrant further action.

“This is the time of year where families start gathering around the dinner table for Thanksgiving and gathering for Christmas,” Benzing says. “It’s a very difficult time because this is going to be the time where all the family members may start to notice that their loved ones are experiencing changes in their memory, their thinking and their behaviors.”

Some of the most common signs of Alzheimer’s, especially early on, include forgetting recently-learned information, challenges planning or solving problems, and difficulty completing familiar tasks. It can be troublesome to watch a loved one struggle with what should be a simple chore.

“That might be confusing for a lot of people. They may not know what’s going on with their loved one but they should know that the Alzheimer’s Association is available around the clock 365 days a year,” Benzing says. “If you need to reach out and talk to somebody, we are available through our 24/7 helpline.”

That number is 800-272-3900. There are also a variety of resources available online.

(Radio Iowa) – The Board of Regents is trying to solve the puzzle on what’s causing the drop in student enrollment at the three state universities. The Board’s Jason Pontious discussed the issue at their meeting earlier this month. He says one mystery is why the number of students going to college after graduating high school started to drop before the pandemic. “The the population here that has the lowest college going rate are white males who qualify for free and reduced price lunch,” he says. Pontious says they reached out to schools looking for answers.

“We talked to school counselors, some of the things we’ll hear is ‘well, they’re going into apprenticeships’. While there is a growing number of students going into apprenticeships, and we have only been tracking that for up until recently, that’s only one percent of the population in 2020-2021,” Pontious says.”You also hear folks saying ‘they’re probably going into the military’, but the intent data for military has been going down over time as well.” He says the job market appears to be more of a factor.

“Wages are up there, it’s easy to find a 15-dollar an hour job. And that’s generally seen as being the explanation for why this is happening,” Pontious says. “And in fact, you look at the intent data, and that has been going up over time. We’ve gotten a preview from our folks over at the Department of Ed, who they collect this data. And they said for this year, that number has jumped to 17 percent of students saying they’re going to enter employment.” He says it has been a nationwide issues and some surveys –like one from Gallup asked people how important is a college education today.

“So in 2013, 70 percent said very important, and has dropped a 51 percent in 2019 pre pandemic,” he says. Pontious says there appears to be a discconect when you look at Iowa Workforce Development’s list of the top 50 Hot jobs — and the current list shows 96 percent of the top 50 require a bachelor’s degree or higher. “At a time where we probably need more people to be giving some kind of education — and I’m not just talking four-year degrees, but some education beyond high school — we are seeing less trust in higher ed, we are seeing a belief that it’s less important,” according to Pontious.

He says more people joining the workforce is a good thing — but he says that provides some headwind as the universities look at making decisions about how to grow going forward.

(Ames, Iowa/Iowa Dept. of Transportation) – The holiday season can bring on a whole new level of stress. The joy of the season can sometimes be overcome by the pressure. If you’re rushing around to complete your holiday “to-do” list, don’t try to save time by driving aggressively.

Don’t think you’re an aggressive driver?

Do you:

1. Regularly drive over the speed limit or try to beat red lights?
2. Honk your horn often?
3. Yell or use obscene gestures at other drivers?
4. Not yield the right of way to another driver?
5. Weave in and out of traffic?
6. Fail to signal a turn or lane change?
7. Tailgate other vehicles?
8. Deliberately block lanes so another driver can’t change lanes?

If you can answer “yes” to any of these questions, take some time to calm down. Recognizing the behavior is the first step to changing it. Here are some other tips:

1. Try to avoid driving when you’re upset.
2. Listen to soothing music
3. Plan ahead to avoid the need to hurry.
4. Don’t take the actions of other drivers personally.

It’s not always going to be easy but staying calm behind the wheel will keep our friends and family members safer.

Here are 22 ways to calm yourself down, both in and out of your vehicle – https://www.healthline.com/health/how-to-calm-down

In Iowa in 2022, there have been 303 deaths in traffic crashes. That’s an increase of one since last Friday. To see statistics published daily by the Office of Driver Services, go to the daily fatality report at https://www.iowadot.gov/mvd/stats/daily.pdf

(Radio Iowa) – While retailers nationwide are bracing for a shopping extravaganza on this Black Friday, locally-owned merchants across Iowa are hoping for a bigger boost tomorrow. Jayne Armstrong, director of the U.S. Small Business Administration’s Iowa District Office, says Small Business Saturday is a crucial day for the state’s consumers to “Be Loyal, Buy Local.”  “It’s just a special day where we get to put the spotlight on small business and say we recognize how important you are,” Armstrong says. “We really want to encourage people to get out and support you this holiday season but really every day is Small Business Saturday.”

Armstrong says 97-percent of Iowa’s businesses are small businesses and embracing them improves the backbone of our state. Armstrong says, “If we really want to get out there and support our economy, we need to be supporting small businesses 24/7, 365 days of the year.” If you’d like to support Iowa’s wealth of merchants who are outside of your immediate area, dozens of businesses are now offering their wares at www.shopiowa.com, which Armstrong says makes it easy to patronize even more hometown heroes in -other- Iowa towns. “ShopIowa has become very popular,” Armstrong says. “A lot of retailers have really put themselves out there online through ShopIowa.com. With the excellent customer service and everything that they provide, we see a lot of people going through that to buy Iowa-made products.”

The website covers a wide array of goods, including artwork, furniture, food, toys, t-shirts, beauty care products, jewelry and more, all crafted in the Hawkeye State.

(Radio Iowa) – The Iowa Racing and Gaming Commission is reviewing two proposals to conduct a study of the horse racing industry in the state. Racing and Gaming administrator, Brian Ohorilkoh says they hope to make a selection in January. “That study will last will be conducted throughout the rest of the winter in spring, and be presented in the summer of 2023,” he says. Ohorilkoh says the study has a simple goal.

“Trying to identify and answer certain questions related to horse racing and in to give the commission and really all stakeholders, an idea of what may help the industry improve,” Ohorilkoh says. He says a lot has changed in the industry and they want to stay on top of that.

“We hope that we’ll get a lot of good information from this. And the timing is really important too, as we’re facing some new federal regulation,” he says. The new federal law essentially turns over the regulation for drug testing of thoroughbred animals over to the federal government. Ohorilkoh says they hope the study will help the state answer some of the questions it will face with this new regulation.

(Radio Iowa) – After a nearly year-long vacancy, the state medical director has been on the job for 49 days. Dr. Robert Kruse is not a native Iowan, but Kruse says he established strong roots here as a young adult. “I did start kind of my career path in undergrad at the University of Iowa in biomedical engineers and went on to pursue my masters in public health with a focus on environmental and occupational health and my medical degree at St. Georges University,” Kruse says.

“From there I actually trained as a family physician at Rutgers’ Robert Wood Johnson Medical School and joined as a full time kind of core teaching faculty…teaching new doctors to be family physicians.” Kruse, who is 37, was medical director of occupational health at MercyOne in Des Moines when he interviewed for the job of state medical director. Kruse says his background gives him a vision of how primary patient care and public health interact.

“Having kind of those diverse experiences whether it’s engineering or whether it’s a family physician delivering care in various capacities, whether it’s in-patient, out-patient, taking care of newborns, end of life care,” he says. Kruse started with the state on October 7th, shortly after the Department of Public Health and Human Services merged. He says under the new alignment, there may be more ways to address the health of Iowans at risk for chronic disease.

“Working together to look at some of these opportunities to address some of those needs and address them as we see them,” he says. Kruse replaces Dr. Caitlin Pedati as state medical director. Pedati was hired in 2018 and became a central figure in the state’s early response to COVID-19. She resigned in late October of last year and is now director of the Virginia Beach Department of Public Health.

(Red Oak, Iowa) – Red Oak Police report the arrest at around 3:48-p.m. Thursday, of 32-year-old Kiley Brian Caron, of Red Oak. He was arrested on a valid Montgomery County warrant for Failure to Appear on an original charge of Driving Under Suspension. Caron was being held in the Montgomery County Jail on a $1,000 cash-only bond.

(Radio Iowa) – Carroll County Attorney John Werden is urging congress to approve spending on youth programs designed to support at-risk kids and, hopefully, keep them out of the criminal justice system when they’re adults. Werden is on the executive board of a non-partisan group representing sheriffs, chiefs of police and prosecutors from all 50 states.  “We work for legislation in Washington that we believe, long term, reduces or prevents crime,” Werden says.

The group “Fight Crime: Invest in Kids” was formed in 1996. Werden and other leaders of the group were recently in Washington, D.C. to lobby for increased funding of a federal program that provides home visits for new parents in high-risk areas. “It’s a voluntary visiting program where we get nurse level professionals going into homes — mainly single parent homes — to emphasize good things that you and I were raised with, which is go to school, study hard,” Werden says, “all things that we know will lead to success later in life.”

Under current funding levels, Werden says only three percent of the households that qualify for the program are getting at home visits. The group is also asking congress to reauthorize another program that provides federal funding for state facilities that house juveniles who’ve been arrested and charged with a crime. At the local level, members of the group focus on combating truancy. Werden says research clearly shows keeping kids in school is critical to fighting crime.

“If I want to know who’s going to be in prison, show me the kids in the 4th grade who can’t read,” Werden says. “These are going to be our future prisoners, so keeping people in school, keeping them involved and engaged is very, very important.”

According to the National Assessment of Adult Literacy, 70 percent of the adults in U.S. prisons cannot read at a 4th grade level.

(Sidney, Iowa) – Officials with the Fremont County Sheriff’s Office say because of the higher-than-normal car fatalities in the last couple years, and a lower percentage of seatbelt usage, the County has been asked to participate in the High Five Project to lower the number of major accidents and increase the percentage of seatbelt usage. That will be done through special projects involving the state patrol and deputies with a focus on seatbelt enforcement. The cost of not wearing or wearing improper is $175.50.

Statewide, in 2021,72% of fatal crashes in Iowa occurred on secondary rural roads. Approximately 79% of Iowa’s total roadways are considered secondary in nature. Due to these alarming statistics rural safety has become a major concern.

Beginning December 1, 2022, a new initiative identified as “High Five Rural Traffic Safety Project” will be launched to focus on traffic safety on Iowa’s rural roadways. After reviewing 5 years of crash data and looking at counties with low seat belt compliance rates, the Governor’s Traffic Safety Bureau along with a multi-disciplinary team of traffic safety professionals selected five rural counties to participate in this project.

The counties participating in the project include Appanoose, Fremont, Humboldt, Keokuk and Mitchell. The High Five project will involve a three-tier approach to include enforcement, engineering, and education with the ultimate goal to build a safer community. Through enforcement, media, and community outreach, participating agencies will work to educate drivers on the benefits of complying with traffic laws with an emphasis on Iowa’s seat belt law. From an engineering aspect, the focus will be to identify low cost safety improvements throughout the county.

Law enforcement and county engineers within the High Five counties are conscientious safety advocates who understand rural roads are unique because they are shared by a variety of vehicle types from passenger vehicles to large machinery and other farm implements traveling at slower speeds. The road surface types and speeds also vary. Enforcement efforts on roadways with higher volumes are common but with Iowa’s percentage of rural fatalities above the national average the need to have a special program focusing coordinated efforts on rural safety has become apparent.

The High Five project will begin December 1, 2022 and will conclude on September 30, 2023.