Emmetsburg, Iowa —The former owner of a shuttered Emmetsburg funeral home will stay out of prison. According to KCCI, Andrew Joyce pleaded guilty to misusing thousands of dollars meant to pre-pay for funeral services. Investigators say Joyce spent the money on operational expenses and for his own personal gain.

By law, Joyce was supposed to put the payments in a trust or use it to buy funeral insurance. Court records show those funds disappeared when the business closed in 2019. Joyce was given a 10-year suspended prison sentence and ordered to two years probation.

(Ringgold County, Iowa) – A single-vehicle, rollover accident Friday evening in Ringgold County, claimed the life of a teenager. The Iowa State Patrol reports a 2009 Chevy Trailblazer driven by 15-year-old Abbi Overholser, from Benton, was traveling south on Ringgold County Road P-33, south of Diagonal at around 7-p.m., when the teen swerved to avoid a deer on the road.

When she over-corrected, the SUV went out of control and entered the west ditch, where it rolled over. Overholser was not wearing a seat belt. She was partially ejected and was found partially pinned under the vehicle as it came rest. She died from her injuries at the Ringgold County Hospital. Two juvenile passengers in the vehicle were not injured.

The Patrol was assisted at the scene by the Ringgold County Sheriff’s Office.

(Radio Iowa) – A fundraiser will be held December 4th to support restoration work at a site in northwest Iowa that’s on the National Register of Historic Places. The Brugjeld Peterson Point Historic Farmstead has a house, barn and other buildings that date back to the 19th century. It’s located east of Wallingford.

Stacie Berg Nelson is a member of the Peterson Point Preservation Foundation, which just signed a three year agreement to manage the farmstead. The group is primarily made up of descendants of the couple who built and moved into the house in 1870. “The generations that branch out from Peder and Gjertrud Brugjeld,” she says. “We are starting from nothing. We’re trying to raise funds so that we can make improvements. There’s a lot of restoration that needs to be done.”

Peterson homestead (Foundation photo)

The historic farmstead will be open from 1 to 1:45 p.m. on the December 4th, then a Scandinavian Christmas Concert will start at 2 p.m. at the nearby Ingham Lake Bible Camp. “We’re going to be offering a silent auction and Scandinavian treats,” Berg Nelson says. Another fundraiser is planned on the afternoon of December 10th.

“We’re going to be offering sleigh rides, Scandanavian treats, folk art demonstrations and offering a little concert with Christmas songs in the parlor and tours of the farm,” she says. “I believe we are going to have the blacksmith shop open as well and we’re going to have the forge up and running and so people can walk by and check it out.” Organizers are hoping to host a snowman competition — if there’s enough snow.

The Brugjeld-Peterson family was among the first Norwegian settlers in Emmet County. Descents owned the farmstead until 1996, when Maynard Peterson donated the site to Emmet County.

(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.