(Radio Iowa) – A dog named Chari attracted a bid of 17-thousand dollars during a weekend charity auction in Sioux City. The mini Australian shepherd was the star feature of the 85th annual Little Yellow Dog Auction to raise money for the community’s children’s toy fund. Mike Wells, president and CEO of Wells Enterprises in Le Mars, called during the event to make a pledge in honor of his late father, Fred Wells, a big supporter of the Little Yellow Dog effort.

“As you know, he personally bought the dog twice, but that’s not what he’s most famous for,” Wells says. “He was famous for standing in the back of the room and running the bid up, then quietly finding you when the auction was over and handing you a sizeable check and telling you he didn’t want any recognition.”

In honor of their father, the Wells family offered to double the winning 17-thousand dollar bid. The bids were kept anonymous. The auction was moved to the Warrior Hotel this year and held virtually because of the pandemic. The auction provides holiday gifts to some eight-thousand kids in Siouxland.

(Radio Iowa) – Some Iowans started decorating their houses for Christmas back before Halloween this pandemic year, but many others are just getting around to 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 fragrence 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) – As Iowans battle cold temperatures, snow, ice and oh, the isolation of the pandemic, it’s little wonder some people say they’re depressed or have the winter blues, even if it’s not even officially winter yet. Jonathan Sikorski, a licensed mental health practitioner in Omaha/Council Bluffs, says Seasonal Affective Disorder or SAD is a very real condition.  “A big misconception about Seasonal Affective Disorder is that it’s just something in your head,” Sikorski says. “It’s actually a diagnosable subset of major depression and it affects a lot of people nationally.”

Typically, a contributing factor to SAD is a lack of sunlight. “As a species, we’re solar-powered,” Sikorski says. “We like the sun and when we’re out in the sunlight we get Vitamin D, we get Vitamin D-12 from some of the foods that we eat, but also as we decrease activity, our moods just generally drop.” Sikorski, director of wellness education at the University of Nebraska Medical Center in Omaha, says there are things you can do to boost your mood, including buying a special light that’s very bright and sitting under it.  “Light therapy, you want to find something that has around 10,000 lux or lumens in the light,” he says. “For a lot of people, it’s a real godsend this time of year.”

He also suggests adding foods to your diet that are rich in Vitamin B-12, like beef and other protein-rich foods, and increase your intake of food with Omega-3 fatty acids, like fish, and raise your Vitamin D-3 intake. He says supplements are okay if you first check with your doctor. One other easy potential solution — get more sunlight.

The Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office says a traffic stop at around 10-p.m. Monday at Boxelder Avenue and Highway 34, resulted in the arrest of two men. Tawakal Noor and Kalid Mahamed, both of Omaha, were taken into custody on charges that include Possession of a Controlled Substance 1st offense/Marijuana, and Unlawful Possession of Prescription Drugs. Red Oak Police assisted in the arrests.