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)

Most drivers say they’d support laws banning the use of cell phones while behind the wheel, but an insurance company survey finds, those drivers don’t practice what they preach. Ann Avery, spokeswoman for State Farm in Iowa, says the company just wrapped up its 6th annual survey on cell phone use by motorists. “There has been a steady reduction in the number of drivers talking on a hand-held cell phone, which is great,” Avery says, “and the number of people who report texting while driving has remained stable over six years.” If you didn’t have a smart phone a few years ago, the odds are, you have one now.

“In 2011, 52% of drivers reported owning a smart phone,” Avery says. “By 2014, that number has grown to 80%. We see the greatest increases in smart phone ownership to be among adults age 40 and older.” While devices like iPhones and Androids put a wealth of information, navigation and convenience at our fingertips, Avery says there’s also a big problem with them. “The interesting things about smart phones is, those do create new distractions,” Avery says. “There’s a significant increase over six years in drivers who use their phones for such things as accessing the internet, reading email, responding to email, reading social media.”

The survey found road conditions have a lot to do with whether drivers have one hand on the wheel and the other on the phone.”There are some things that drivers say make them more likely to use their cell phones, such as stopping at a red light or being on an open highway,” Avery says. “On the other hand, drivers say there are some circumstances under which they’re less likely to use their cell phones, such as weather conditions, it’s dark outside, it’s foggy, snowy, icy, they’re in heavy traffic or in a school zone.”

Only nine states prohibit all drivers from using hand-held phones while driving, and Iowa is not one of the nine. Iowa is among 35 states that prohibit texting while driving. A spokeswoman for the Iowa Governor’s Traffic Safety Bureau says a cell phone ban for motorists would greatly improve driving conditions on highways and interstates.

(Radio Iowa)

ARDEN HILLS, Minn. (AP) — Pudding maker Kozy Shack Enterprises is recalling some of its puddings because they are not labeled as containing milk. The voluntary recall involves 4-ounce cups of Foodservice Kozy Shack Simply Well Chocolate Pudding. The recalled pudding was distributed through foodservice distribution channels and not sold in retail stores.

The product was distributed to 20 states — Connecticut, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Virginia, West Virginia and Wisconsin.

Minnesota-based cooperative Land O’Lakes owns Kozy Shack Enterprises.

Here is the latest Iowa news from The Associated Press

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — The economic outlook for rural areas of Iowa, Nebraska and other Plains states improved in November. But the monthly survey of bankers doesn’t suggest much growth. Creighton University economist Ernie Goss in Omaha says low grain and energy prices continue to limit the economy in rural areas.

URBANDALE, Iowa (AP) — Iowa Board of Regents member Nicole Carroll says she has resigned from the group that governs the state’s three public universities. Carroll says in a news release that the resignation is due to her family’s move out of Iowa. She says the decision was effective yesterday. Carroll says she wanted to make the announcement ahead of the board’s next meeting.

WILTON, Iowa (AP) — Officials are assessing damage to a warehouse for an electric service provider in eastern Iowa following a small vehicle fire. The Muscatine Journal reports the Eastern Iowa Light and Power Cooperative says a vehicle fire inside the warehouse in Wilton was reported Wednesday morning. The fire was extinguished in 45 minutes and no one was hurt.

CHEROKEE, Iowa (AP) — A Cherokee man has pleaded not guilty to several charges in connection to a lengthy standoff with police on October 30th. The Sioux City Journal reports 35-year-old Joshua Allender entered his written plea Wednesday in Cherokee County District Court.