(Radio Iowa) – A spokesman for the Iowa State Patrol says now is the time to put together a game plan if you are going to attending or hosting a party this Super Bowl weekend. Trooper Paul Gardner says there’s one key thing any party plan needs. “Their best game plan is going to have a sober designated driver on hand, and that designated driver is going to be your most valuable player in this game,” he says. Sergeant Gardner says the State Patrol’s game plan is to be out on the roadways looking for four things.

“Seat belts, impaired driving, distracted driving, and excessive speed. So those are four areas that we typically emphasize to keep our crashes down this weekend,” he says. “Impaired driving will be the focus due to the higher presence of alcoholic beverages that will be served at many of the Super Bowl parties.” He says planning ahead so you or your friends are not leaving the party impaired is a winning strategy for everyone. “Drunk driving is a contributing factor in about one third of our traffic fatalities statewide on our roadways. And last year we experienced a record 100-year low in traffic deaths,” Gardner says. “So we want to continue that downward trend in fatality crashes. So whether you’re rooting for the Seahawks or the Patriots this year, please celebrate responsibly.”

Trooper Gardner says any driver caught over the legal limit will likely face jail time and have their driver’s license revoked.

(Radio Iowa) – A reality T-V show star and entrepreneur will make two appearances in Iowa next week. Craig Conover is a founding cast member on “Southern Charm,” which launched on Bravo in 2013, following the lives of several young professionals in Charleston, South Carolina. Conover says he’s thrilled to be making his first trip to Iowa for the Des Moines Home and Garden Show.  “We’ll have a nice fireside chat on the stage where I’ll tell you a little bit more about my life and whatever the moderator wants to ask me, and how I was able to start my business and some tips for small businesses and entrepreneurship, and some fun behind-the-scenes stuff for the show,” Conover says. “Then we always do a question-and-answer session with the audience and they can ask me whatever they want. I’m an open book.”

Sewing is an atypical avocation for most men, but Conover loves it. It’s why he launched Sewing Down South in 2019, which features Southern-inspired pillows, home décor, lifestyle, and apparel collections — all of which he designs. “I grew up with home ec class still in schools, which was awesome, so I learned to cook and garden and sew, and I just found it incredibly therapeutic,” Conover says. “So as I started to make throw pillows, our business grew into other areas of the home. Eight small family businesses go into each one of our pillows that are made, and we sew everything in the Carolinas.” Conover is one of only two original cast members who’s still on “Southern Charm,” which is now in its 11th season with more than 160 episodes. He attributes the program’s longevity to the South Carolina community where it’s based.

“I think the city of Charleston is its own character and one of our biggest cast members,” Conover says. “People who have visited Charleston love to watch it on their television screens, or who have lived there or who want to visit one day, so I think Charleston itself and all the history. It’s just a beautiful city.” Conover’s birthday is next week and he’s accomplished much in his 38 years. When asked about his goals for the -next- 38 years, he says philanthropy is what makes him the happiest. “I’ve traveled a lot all over the world and seen a lot of different levels of living,” Conover says. “I was talking to an actor friend last night, actually, and he said, ‘Maybe one day we’ll feed a million people together.’ So it’s really just trying to figure out a way to most efficiently turn my personal success into that where I can help as many people as possible.”

Conover is to appear next Friday and Saturday (Feb 13 and 14) at the Des Moines Home and Garden Show at the Iowa Events Center. The show runs February 12th through the 15th.

DesMoinesHomeAndGardenShow.com
https://www.sewingdownsouth.com/

(Creston, IA) – The Creston Police Department reports a woman was arrested on drug charges, Thursday afternoon. 56-year-old Donna Jean Kimball, of Creston, was arrested at N. Cherry and Irving Streets, at around 1:30-p.m. Kimball was charged with Possession of Drug Paraphernalia and Possession of Controlled Substance Methamphetamine. She was taken to Union County Jail and later released after posting $1,300 cash or surety bond.

And, at around 7:20-p.m., Thursday, Creston Police arrested 18-year-old Adrian Michael Lillie, of Creston. He was charged with Driving While Barred. Officers cited Lillie and released him from the scene on a Promise to Appear in court.

(Radio Iowa) – Several Iowa communities are holding what are billed as training sessions designed to teach people how to respond to ICE activity. A recent meeting in Cedar Rapids drew nearly 600 people. Reverend Jonathan Heifner at St. Paul’s Methodist Church, where the event was held, says it was about building relationships, and making sure people know their rights. “We don’t want anybody to get hurt,” Heifner says. “We didn’t want anybody to be in a situation they didn’t want to be in, and so the education of this is about knowing what we can do and knowing what the limits are.”

The training comes after weeks of protests across the country and the fatal shootings of two Minnesota residents. Heifner says people told him they felt more informed about their rights after the training. “I think the biggest learning was in the debrief after the first simulation,” Heifner says. “We asked, ‘Pay attention to your behavior. What is it that you did in these moments, and then consider who you want to be in these moments, and let’s live into that the second time.’”

Republican Congresswoman Ashley Hinson says the training encourages interference with law enforcement operations and she questions whether the non-profit that led the training should retain its tax-exempt status. The training session in Cedar Rapids was hosted by the immigrants’ rights group Escucha Mi Voz, or “hear my voice.” Reverend Heifner says there was nothing in the training that would lead to the church losing its tax-exempt status.