(Radio Iowa) – The forecast calls for unseasonable warmth today (Thursday) in the 50s and possible low 60s, so many Iowans will get outside to polish off their holiday decorating duties. While adorning our homes with blinking L-E-Ds is a tradition for many, decking the halls isn’t without its risks. 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 only for indoor use 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.” The newer L-E-Ds draw much less power and sometimes a few dozen strands can be linked and plugged into one outlet, but she cautions, read the directions carefully.

For many Iowans, it’s simply not the holidays if the fragrance of fresh pine isn’t wafting throughout the house. If you have a “real” tree, she says 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) – An extra in the movie Norman Lear filmed in Iowa 54 years ago says it was a surreal experience. Lear — who wrote, directed and produced the movie “Cold Turkey” — died this week at the age of 101. Dan Dickinson was a teenager when Lear picked Greenfield to be the fictitious “Eagle Rock, Iowa.”

“The story is that Norman came to our town and he really liked our square,” Dickinson says. “It’s a quaint little square. It’s on the National Historic Register and it’s a Lancaster Square, which means it has openings in the middle of the block as well as the corners, so it’s pretty rare.” Some of the stars of “Cold Turkey” went on to have roles in Lear’s T-V sitcoms. Jean Stapleton, who starred as Edith Bunker in “All in the Family,” played a woman in the movie who ate pickles rather than smoke. “It was kind of a surreal experience because you might be walking around the square and you might be walking into a shot,” Dickinson says.

Norman Lear

While “Cold Turkey” was filmed in 1969, it was released in 1971 — the same year Lear’s “All in the Family” premiered on T-V. Dickinson was in the Greenfield high school band and the band was featured in “Cold Turkey.” The plan was to be done shooting by the time school started. “And that did not happen. Our scenes were night scenes and we would go to work at seven and get off at seven in the morning,” Dickinson says. “…Finally they allowed kids that were in the movie to come to school at noon.”

Dickinson, who was 14 at the time, earned 15 dollars for each of the 11 nights when his band was being filmed. “Big money back in 1969 for a kid (in his) freshman year in high school,” Dickinson says. Lear spent eight weeks in the summer of 1969 filming Cold Turkey in Iowa. He was named an honorary Iowan 30 years later.

(Red Oak, Iowa) – Police in Red Oak report two men were arrested on separate charges, Wednesday afternoon. 25-year-old Dawson Allen Squires, of Red Oak, was arrested at around 4:17-p.m.,  on a valid Page County warrant for Willful Contempt of Court. His cash-only bond was set at $1,500, pending transfer to Page County. And, at around 3-p.m., Wednesday, Red Oak Police arrested 25-year-old Logan Thomas Wright, of Red Oak, for Domestic Abuse/Simple Assault. Wright was being held without bond in the Montgomery County Jail, pending a court appearance.

(Atlantic, Iowa) – A Splash Park Project in Atlantic is much closer to having fundraising to make the project possible, thanks to a boost from the Atlantic City Council.  The Council, Wednesday evening agreed to have Snyder and Associates Engineers proceed with the design and bidding process for the project, and, the Council agreed to transfer a $45,000 surplus from the Atlantic Parks Inclusive Playground fund, to the Splash Park project.

Jeremy Butler, Splash Park Fundraising Committee Chairman, said prior to the City’s latest contribution, the project’s fundraising team had raised $352,903.85 toward the estimated $600,000 cost of the SplashPad/Park. The City’s transfer of the $45,000 from the Inclusive Playground Fund, brings the total amount raised $2,100 shy of $400,000.

He said as an example of how individuals, businesses and organizations have come together in support of the SplashPad Project, “The kids as Washington Elementary got one of those spiral funnels you drop your change in (where people drop in their pocket change).” He said “I saw in a Facebook post they were a couple of hundreds of dollars away from their goal of $1,000.” He made some phone calls and received matching funds so they could donate $2,000.

“Well then, a local neighborhood group (that he held off on identifying until they make a check presentation), is also going to match it, so these K-through Third-graders made a $3,000 impact on this project bringing pocket change.” He said it’s been an amazing effort from so many people “from the day we kicked-off the fundraising until now.” Butler commended the community, the fundraising committee, and the City Council for what they have contributed to this project thus far since efforts began in April, 2023. The current proposed project has a surface area of a little more than 4,000 square feet. It will feature somewhere between 25 and 30 features.