(Radio Iowa) – This year’s “Celebrate Iowa Gala” will be held online December 11th and organizers plan to showcase performances staged at some Iowa landmarks.  “We thought it was really important to go ahead and host the gala this year because Iowans this year, more than ever, really need something to celebrate.” That’s Iowa Department of Cultural Affairs director Chris Kramer. A band called “The Holy Rocka Rollaz” will perform from the Surf Ballroom in Clear Lake. This is their rockabilly sound.

The Brazilian 2wins — touring brothers who’ve made Des Moines their home base for a decade — will perform with their violin and ukulele at the American Gothic House in Eldon. The Malvern Art Church will be the backdrop for a performance by guitarist Taylor Peek. There will be a video tour of the Haitian art collection at Waterloo’s Center for the Arts and Iowa native Tom Arnold will lead a tour of the “Hollywood in the Heartland” exhibit at the State Historical Museum.

“We’re going to really take people on a fun and celebratory trip across the state with lots of live performances and live interviews,” Kramer says, “just give them an evening to forget about everything that’s going on, relax and just enjoy learning about the state.” The Donna Reed Center for the Performing Arts in Denison will be another stop on the video tour. Reed is the late actress, an Academy Award winner for her role in “From Here to Eternity” who starred with Jimmy Stewart in “It’s a Wonderful Life.”

Her daughter Mary Ellen will be featured in the opening hour of next month’s Gala. Mary Ellen Reed be joined by a Broadway star who particpated in one of the annual workshops for writers, directors and performers that used to be held in Denison. Kramer says the 2020 Gala will give Iowans a virtual tour of the state’s cultural scene. “People can relax in the comfort of their home and being safe at home this year is so important,” Kramer says.

This will be the 9th annual Celebrate Iowa Gala, with ticket sales going to the State Historical Society. The program December 11th will start at 6 p.m., with some live performances from Denison. At 7 p.m., there will be what Kramer describes as a “showcase of Iowa culture.” At 8 p.m., there will be more live entertainment. An all-access pass for all hours of the Gala is $250. Tickets for hour-long segments of the evening range from 25 to one-hundred dollars each.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Authorities are looking for the vehicle that hit a man and fled the scene in Des Moines, Iowa. Emergency responders found the pedestrian with critical injuries when they arrived at the scene at about 9:12 p.m. Thursday. The Des Moines Police Department said in a news release that he was transported to a local hospital where he later died of those injuries.

Witnesses described the vehicle as a dark- colored, SUV-style vehicle. Evidence indicates it will have front-end damage, including a broken headlamp.

(Radio Iowa) – A computer security expert suggests Iowans abandon using passwords in favor of pass phrases. Jesse La Grew says the old way of creating short, cryptic passwords that you change frequently is no longer practical for most of us.  “If we have to change our passwords every 30 days, what are we likely to do? We’re likely to write it down,” La Grew says. “We’re going to be putting them on Post-it notes or putting them under keyboards.” The longer a password, the more secure it should be from hackers.

Some computer systems require passwords that need to be between 16 and 20 characters, which is where using a pass phrase is handy. “So how do you get that length of password while still maintaining the complexity required so that a computer can’t easily break into it?” La Grew says. “That’s where the passphrase comes in, where we’re using multiple words strung together.” You can creating a pass phrase out of a series of words that are easy for you to remember — but hard to guess. It will make your account more secure from most attempts by hackers to force their way in.

“You can have a very long password with a series of five words that can be very difficult to guess and can take a computer an extremely long time to break into, based on the technology that we have today,” he says. La Grew says don’t reuse passwords on any service where you might have credit card or banking information saved.

(Radio Iowa) – A recreational vehicle rolled off a northwest Iowa highway near Remsen on Thanksgiving evening, killing one person and injuring several others. Preliminary information indicates that a 1998 motorhome was traveling north on county road L-12 when the driver failed to negotiate a curve, causing the vehicle to leave the roadway and rolled several times before coming to rest. Several individuals were taken to Floyd Valley Healthcare in Le Mars, and one was airlifted to MercyOne in Sioux City.

A 23-year old male subject was killed in the accident. Names of the injured and the deceased will be released later on Friday, pending notification of family and friends. Both the Plymouth County Sheriff’s Office and the Le Mars Police Department Traffic Incident team are investigating the roll-over accident, as well as the Iowa State Patrol, and the Plymouth County Medical Examiner.

CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa (AP) — Thousands of streetlights still need to be repaired in the Cedar Rapids area months after they were broken when a derecho tore through Iowa. The Gazette reports that Mayuri Farlinger, the director of operations for Alliant Energy in the region, did not have an estimate as to how long it’ll take to repair the lights. The utility prioritized restoring power to homes and businesses after the Aug. 10 derecho.

Streetlight repairs began at the end of October and crews have been out in “full force” to repair them, he said. The company’s crews and contractors have fixed hundreds of streetlights. Alliant says it has 12 two-person crews dedicated for streetlight repairs in every quadrant of the city.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Iowa reported that 37 people died of the coronavirus in the past day. The state Department of Public Health said Friday the additional deaths bring the total who have died of COVID-19 in Iowa to 2,349. In the past 24 hours as of Friday morning, there were 1,266 new confirmed cases. Iowa has long had some of the nation’s highest coronavirus infection rates, but in the past week its numbers have improved slightly.

The state now has the nation’s fourth-highest number of new cases per capita in the last 14 days. In the last week, one in every 145 people in Iowa was diagnosed with COVID-19.

The Atlantic Area Chamber of Commerce has announced Atlantic has been recognized as a Neighborhood Champion for the seventh year in a row by American Express. Atlantic will participate in the 10th Annual Small Business Saturday to support small businesses. Bailey Smith, Executive Director at the Atlantic Area Chamber of Commerce said. “We’re excited to partner with Atlantic Area businesses to create safe shopping incentives to celebrate Small Business Saturday.”

Founded by American Express in 2010, Small Business Saturday® is a day to celebrate the small businesses that help support our community. American Express created the Neighborhood Champion Program to help rally communities around Small Business Saturday and is working alongside numerous business organizations to support local Small Business Saturday celebrations throughout the country. American Express recognizes communities that have strong participation. The on-going Shop Local Initiative, presented by First Whitney Bank & Trust, and overall community support has helped Atlantic achieve this national recognition.

November 28th marks the 10th annual Small Business Saturday, a day dedicated to supporting the local businesses that create jobs, boost the economy and preserve neighborhoods around the country. On Black Friday & Small Business Saturday this weekend, shop these participating retailers and receive additional savings:

• Aunt B’s & Bonnesens is offering 25% off all wines, 50% off fall décor (excluding silks), and 50% off all purses and wallets.
• Brown’s Shoe Fit is offering 20% off storewide, some exclusions may apply.
• Brymons Interiors is offering 25% off holiday décor, free pillows, and deliveries with qualifying purchases.
• Cappel’s Ace Hardware has all Christmas décor on sale.
• Farmhouse & Flowers is now open 9 AM – 5 PM.
• Hanson’s Fine Jewelry is offering 20% off items storewide.
• Jazzercise is offering unlimited in-studio or online classes for the remainder of the year for just $20.20.
• Something For You is offering 20% off fabric, buy one get one free on all Pillow Pets, and an extra 10% off all clearance items.
• Soul Sister’s Boutique is offering 20% off items storewide.
• The Franklin Market/The Picker’s Parlor is offering 20% off all apparel, 10% off CoffeeGirl, and other discounts storewide up to 50% off.

SHIFT ATL will be offering gift wrapping services Saturday, November 28th from 9 AM – 1 PM at the Rock Island Depot. Visit their Facebook page to learn more. To accommodate COVID-19, all businesses have implemented curbside pickup. Contact the business beforehand to set up this option. Per the State of Iowa mandate, masks are required when in public spaces, including restaurants and businesses.

Pick up your Christmas Brochure from area retail businesses, like the Chamber on Facebook or follow on Instagram to find dates and details to celebrate Christmas in Atlantic. You can find a complete list of activities at www.atlanticiowa.com. Capture the Christmas magic with #MyAtlanticIA and post to the Atlantic Area Chamber’s Facebook page or Instagram (AtlanticIowaFan). Contact the Atlantic Area Chamber with any questions at chamber@atlanticiowa.com or call 712.243.3017.