From the daily archives:

Saturday, December 26, 2009

Five northwest Iowans are homeless after a fire destroyed their home early on Christmas morning.  

The Sioux County Sheriff’s Office reports that shortly after 6 AM, a call came in of a house fire on Elm Street in Hull.  The Hull Fire Department, Sioux Center Fire Department, Hull Ambulance and Sioux County Sheriff’s Office responded to the call. A deputy from the sheriff’s office was the first to arrive and he found the house to be engulfed in flames.

The five occupants of the home, 62-year-old Florencia Sandoval — the owner of the home; her daughter — 33-year-old Claudia Carabajal; and Carabajal’s three children 11-year-old Alex, 9-year-old Sergio and 4-year-old Jaime, all got out of the house uninjured.

The fire is believed to have started in the laundry room of the house. The family said they had been sleeping at the time but were awakened by smoke detectors, which helped them get out of the house in time.

The house received major damage and officials say it may be considered a total loss.

(Reporting by Scott Van Aartsen, KIWA, Sheldon)

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Man dies after leaving stuck truck in blizzard

by Radio Iowa Contributor 12/26/09 9:48 AM

A northwest Iowa man has died of exposure after leaving his pickup in the middle of a blizzard. 
On Christmas morning at 9:15 a.m., the Sioux County Sheriff’s Office received a call from a rural Rock Valley resident reporting that he found a pickup truck stuck on a gravel road, four miles northwest of Rock Valley. [...]

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Two SW IA highways “impassable”

by O. Kay Henderson 12/26/09 9:35 AM

Travel is not advised in a wide swath of western Iowa this morning.
The Iowa Department of Transportation has declared two highways in southwestern Iowa “impassable” as blowing and drifting snow makes clearing the roadways difficult.  According to the National Weather Service, another dusting of light snow could fall tonight across the state. 
There’s also a flood [...]

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Dentist recommends caution when bleaching teeth

by Matt Kelley 12/26/09 4:00 AM

Flashing a big smile is easy. Getting teeth to be bright and white can be a challenge. Many Iowans are experimenting with home remedies and store-bought whiteners in order to get pearly whites. Dr. Ed Schooley, dental director of Delta Dental of Iowa, says to steer clear of anything that’s not directly recommended by your [...]

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State emergency management division administrator elected to national post

by Dar Danielson 12/26/09 2:37 AM

The leader of the state’s emergency management division recently became president-elect of a national group of his fellow administrators. David Miller will take over as the president of the National Emergency Management Association (NEMA) in October of 2010.
Miller says the president right now is David Maxwell of Arkansas and says he looks forward to working [...]

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Culver: state primarily exists to “incarcerate, educate & medicate”

by O. Kay Henderson 12/26/09 1:00 AM

Iowa’s governor is using three cryptic words to describe the core functions of state government. Governor Chet Culver says the state is primarily in the business to “incarcerate, educate and medicate.”
About 60 percent of the state budget is spent on education, with the state providing support to K-through-12 public schools and the three public universities in [...]

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