HOPEFULLY YOUR SNOWBLOWER WILL BE THERE WHEN YOU NEED IT. WITH MUCH OF IOWA UNDER A WINTER STORM WARNING THROUGH TOMORROW, MANY HOMEOWNERS WILL BE FIRING UP THEIR WINTER EQUIPMENT FOR THE FIRST TIME THIS SEASON. MICHAEL BOWER OF MIDWAY OUTDOOR EQUIPMENT IN HIAWATHA TOLD OUR COVERAGE PARTNERS AT TV-9 THAT SALES TRENDS SUGGEST THAT MANY PEOPLE WILL FIND OLD SNOWBLOWERS AREN’T READY FOR THE TASK AHEAD. THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SAYS THIS WINTER STORM COULD BRING FOUR TO EIGHT INCHES OF SNOW TO CENTRAL AND EASTERN IOWA.
SOME MEDIA OUTLETS HAVE SUGGESTED A CONNECTION BETWEEN CONVICTED KILLER JERRY BURNS AND THE UNSOLVED 1995 DISAPPEARANCE OF MASON CITY TV ANCHOR JODI HUISENTRUIT. INDEPENDENT JOURNALIST STEVE RIDGE HAS BEEN LOOKING FOR ANSWERS IN THE HUISENTRUIT MYSTERY, BUT DURING KXEL LIVE AND LOCAL, RIDGE SAID HE THINKS BURNS IS AN UNLIKELY SUSPECT. RIDGE TOLD KXEL THAT HE INTERVIEWED BURNS EARLIER THIS MONTH.
A WATERLOO MAN WILL GO TO FEDERAL PRISON FOR COCAINE SALES IN DUBUQUE. DERRICK WHITE’S PRISON SENTENCE WILL LAST FOUR-AND-A-HALF YEARS. WHITE HAD BEEN ON SUPERVISED RELEASE FOR PREVIOUS DRUG CRIMES AT THE TIME HE WAS TAKEN INTO CUSTODY.
THE OWNERS OF THE DUANE ARNOLD ENERGY CENTER IN PALO SAY THEY ARE TAKING THEIR TIME AS THE FACILITY GOES OUT OF SERVICE. PETER ROBBINS IS SPOKESMAN FOR NEXT-ERA ENERGY RESOURCES AND TALKED ABOUT THE PROCESS WITH OUR COVERAGE PARTNERS AT TV-9. THE DUANE ARNOLD ENERGY CENTER WAS RETIRED AFTER BEING DAMAGED BY THE AUGUST DERECHO STORM. THAT ACCELERATED A 2018 PLAN TO TAKE THE NUCLEAR FACILITY OFFLINE. ROBBINS TOLD TV-9 THAT DECOMMISSIONING DUANE ARNOLD COULD CONTINUE IN PART THROUGH YEAR 2080.
TENS OF THOUSANDS OF IOWANS HAVE RECOVERED FROM COVID-19. MORE THAN 37-HUNDRED PEOPLE IN THE STATE HAVE DIED AFTER CONTRACTING THE VIRUS. THE VERY FIRST IOWAN TO BE ADMITTED TO A HOSPITAL FOR THE CORONAVIRUS IS STILL TRYING TO GET BACK TO FULL HEALTH. NEIL BENNETT OF IOWA CITY WAS FIRST TREATED IN EARLY MARCH. HE STILL USES A CANE AND WALKER AND REMAINS IN REHABILITATION TO BUILD BACK BODY AND LUNG STRENGTH. BENNETT IS ADVOCATING CDC COVID RECOMMENDATIONS, INCLUDING MASKS, SOCIAL DISTANCING, AND HAND WASHING.
WHEN IOWA AND NORTHWESTERN MEET ON THE FOOTBALL FIELD, THE GAMES ARE USUALLY MEANINGFUL. TONIGHT IN IOWA CITY, THE 7-2 HAWKEYES AND 6-1 WILDCATS GET TOGETHER FOR A SIGNIFICANT MEN’S BASKETBALL GAME DURING THE EARLY PORTION OF THE BIG TEN SCHEDULE. IOWA IS #10 IN THIS WEEK’S AP RANKINGS WITH NORTHWESTERN AT #19. TONIGHT’S GAME TIPS OFF SHORTLY AFTER 8 O’CLOCK.
APPROXIMATELY 20 PERCENT OF WORKERS IN THE UNIVERSITY OF IOWA HEALTH CARE SYSTEM HAVE BEEN GIVEN A COVID-19 VACCINATION. SHOTS HAVE BEEN DELIVERED TO OVER 32-HUNDERD EMPLOYEES IN LESS THAN TWO WEEKS. THE PFIZER INNOCULATIONS WILL REQUIRE A SECOND DOSE IN EARLY 2021. U-I-H-C HAS OVER 15 THOUSAND EMPLOYEES. HOSPITAL OFFICIALS NOTE THAT OVER 13 HUNDRED UNIVERSITY OF IOWA HEALTH WORKERS HAVE BEEN INFECTED BY THE CORONAVIRUS SINCE MARCH.
INDEPENDENT JOURNALIST STEVE RIDGE IS SKEPTICAL OF A NEW THEORY IN THE 1995 DISAPPEARANCE OF MASON CITY TV ANCHOR JODI HUISENTRUIT [WHO-ZEN-TRU’T]. A NATIONAL TELEVISION PROGRAM HAS SPECULATED THAT CONVICTED MURDER JERRY BURNS MAY HAVE BEEN INVOLVED, BUT RIDGE TOLD KXEL LIVE AND LOCAL LISTENERS: HE DOESN’T THINK SO. RIDGE SAYS HE SPOKE WITH BURNS ABOUT THE HUISENTRUIT CASE LAST WEEK. EARLIER THIS YEAR, BURNS WAS CONVICTED FOR THE 1979 MURDER OF CEDAR RAPIDS TEENAGER MICHELLE MARTINKO.
SOME WINTER ACTIVITIES COULD RESUME AT THE ICE RINK IN CEDER RAPIDS EARLY IN 2021. IMON ICE ARENA – FORMERLY KNOWN AS CEDAR RAPIDS ICE ARENA – WAS DAMAGED SIGNIFICANTLY BY THE AUGUST DERECHO STORM. REPAIR WORK ON THE SMALLER OF THE TWO RINKS AT THE FACILITY COULD ALLOW ICE EVENTS TO BEGIN IN FEBRUARY.
