FROM KCCI: See the strongest wind gusts across the state. A powerful cold front brought another round of high winds to the state Thursday afternoon with gusts topping 50 mph for most of central Iowa. The strongest gusts were in the northwest corner of the state where Sioux City saw a peak wind gust of 63 mph. ... READ MORE

FROM WHO-TV: Confirmed measles case in Polk County, infant affected. Health officials have announced a confirmed case of measles has been identified in Polk County. The Polk County Health Department announced Thursday that the case was confirmed in an infant who had recently traveled to an area where measles was spreading. The child was too young to be vaccinated. PCHD, along with Iowa Health and Human Services, confirmed there were no known public exposure locations associated with the case. No other cases in Polk County have been identified at this time. ... READ MORE

FROM WOI: City of Des Moines names fire marshal Jonathan Lund new fire chief. The Des Moines Fire Department officially has a new leader.
City leaders named Jonathan Lund as the new chief of the Des Moines Fire Department at a press conference Thursday. ... READ MORE

FROM AROUND THE WORLD: Putin tells his annual news conference that the Kremlin’s military goals will be achieved in Ukraine. Russian President Vladimir Putin emphasized Friday that Moscow’s troops were advancing across the battlefield in Ukraine and voiced confidence that the Kremlin would achieve its goals militarily if Kyiv fails to agree to Russia’s conditions in peace talks. ... READ MORE

FROM AROUND THE NATION: Man suspected in Brown University shooting and MIT professor’s killing is found dead, officials say. A frantic search for the suspect in last weekend’s mass shooting at Brown University ended at a New Hampshire storage facility where authorities discovered the man dead inside and then revealed he also was suspected of killing a Massachusetts Institute of Technology professor. ... READ MORE

FROM AROUND THE STATE: Northwest Iowa students held at school amid whiteout conditions. Students at one northwest Iowa school district spent much of their Thursday evening at school, waiting for powerful wind gusts causing whiteout conditions to die down. Pocahontas Area Community School District alerted parents and posted on social media around 2:30 p.m. Thursday that it would be holding students in place until further notice. An update about 30 minutes later informed parents that they could come pick up their children at their own risk, but that due to the unsafe road conditions, the district would be keeping bus-riding students at school. The district also noted that students who drive their own vehicles would not be allowed to leave at that time. ... READ MORE

Clear Mortgage meteorology

Sunny today with cooler highs in the mid-30s. Mild weather sticks around through at least Christmas eve.

For help with pre-approvals or refinancing, get in touch with Originating Branch Manager Carrie Hansen at carrie.mortgage.

World food news
Japan's new, first-ever female prime minister has poked China so hard that the Chinese are not allowing their citizens to visit Japan. Since China accounts for nearly half of all tourists, expect another year of great deals for Americans visiting the land of the rising sun. China is also trying to cut the Japanese off from eel exports. Japan consumes by far the most eel in the world.

Argentina has increased pistachio acreage fives times in five years. U.S., Iran and Turkey still lead in pistachio production but demand is increasing exponentially. Dubai chocolate is the main reason for that. 

Laos is all-in in developing hydrogen roasted coffee. The idea is that adds value because it doesn’t have a carbon footprint like coffees roasted with natural gas. Hydrogen is expensive though, but Laos is rich in hydro-electric power and thinks it can reduce the price of hydrogen by using hydroelectric power in hydrogen production.

Weekend deals
• Machine Shed (11151 Hickman, Urbandale) offers smoked prime rib on Saturday only. Whatcha Smokin? (Luther) offers smoked Dino beef ribs on Saturday only. 

• Saturday is wine sampling day at Graziano Brothers.

• ShortE's BBQ (8805 Chambery Blvd., Johnston) offers 20% discounts to first responders and military personnel on Friday and Saturday. They have a Friday special pulled pork sandwich, fries and fountain drink for $12.


• Amruth (9974 Swanson Blvd., Clive) has 20 dishes on their Saturday and Sunday buffet, noon to 4 p.m. Of course, there will be dosas.

• Waterfront stores' Saturday special includes cocktail shrimp or raw oysters on the half shell for half price until 4 p.m.



• Gilroy's (1238 Eighth St., West Des Moines) does Saturday and Sunday brunch buffets for $24.99 for adults. Kids 6 and younger eat free.

• Rube's steakhouses offer a prime sirloin special on Sundays only, $29.

• Beaver Tap (4050 Urbandale Ave., Des Moines) offers $9 Philly cheesesteaks or hot honey chicken plus $8 biscuit and gravy breakfasts on Fridays.

• Smoking Goat Pub (3015 Merle Hay Road, Des Moines) offers walleye or steak dinner specials tonight and karaoke after 9 p.m. They have a 10 for $10 wings deal on Sundays. 

•  Jethro's Sunday special is burger baskets with fries for $9.95. Fridays they have open faced turkey sandwiches with mashed potatoes and gravy for $12. 

• G Mig's has Friday prime rib dinners with chipotle mashed potatoes and asparagus for $32 or crab stuffed shrimp for $28.95. Saturday's special is chicken pot pie dinner for $18.50.

• Heavenly Asian (225 Fifth St., Valley Junction) has an all-day Friday sale on orange chicken served with soup, crab Rangoon, egg roll and rice, $14, available for dine-in and phone carry-out.

• Destination Grille (2491 E. First St., Grimes) has a $40 prime rib dinner special Friday and Saturday. 

• Court Avenue Brewing Company (309 Court Ave., Des Moines) hosts Saturday and Sunday breakfast buffets for $23.99.

• Fareways have specials through Saturday on bone-in rib roast at $17.99/pound, sweet potatoes at 58 cents/pound and mandarins at $3.88/3-pound bag.

• Whole Foods (4100 University Ave., West Des Moines) offers $1 oysters on Fridays with good selection and free shucking. 

• Hy-Vee offers $7 take-n-bake Mia Italian pizza pies for $7 through December. 

• Aldi stores haves sales through Tuesday on spiral hams at $1.49/pound, navel oranges at $2.99/4-pound bag and red grapes at $1.49/pound.

• Fresh Thyme (2800 University Ave., West Des Moines) is running a sale on pork loin roasts for $1.99/pound, limit of two, boneless legs of lamb for $8.99/pound and jumbo dry sea scallop pieces for $10.99/pound through Tuesday.

• Price Chopper stores have sales through Dec. 29 on russet potatoes at $2.99 cents/10-pound bag, Sugardale bone-in half hams at $1.99/pound, and mandarin oranges at $2.99/3-pound bag.

• Hy-Vee stores have sales through Jan. 4 on Dungeness crab clusters at $16.99/ pound, whole American lobsters at $13.99 each, golden king crab legs at 49.98/pound, and, through Monday, on standard East Coast oysters at $19.99/pound. 

Music


El Toreado Mexican Bar & Grill on EP True has live music from The Juan and Only on Friday from 6 p.m... Willie James Shay plays Sonny’s Pizza Bistro Friday at 5:30 p.m... Jake & TK plays Kelly's Little Nipper at 7 p.m. Friday… Fred Gazzo Quintet plays Anna Dolce Ristorante, WDM, at 6 p.m. Saturday... Ducharme-Jones Band plays Middlebrook Mercantile, Cumming, at 5 p.m. Saturday... Willie Shay plays Simon’s at 7 p.m. Friday... Aviana Gedler / Carson Parker Duo plays Louie’s Wine Dive at 5 p.m. Sunday... Redemption plays Mickey's Irish Pub, Waukee, at 8:30 p.m. Saturday.

— Jim Duncan, jd91446@aol.com

"How the Grinch Stole Christmas" - national tour. Des Moines Performing Arts. Through Dec. 21. 

"Disney's Frozen." Des Moines Playhouse. Through Dec. 27. 

"A Christmas Carol." Iowa Stage Theatre Company. Through Dec. 21.  

Holiday Tours at Hoyt Sherman Place. Monday through Friday through Dec. 23.

Tonic Sol Fa "Wrap It Up" - The Final Holiday Tour. Dec. 20. 

1843: “A Christmas Carol” is published. On Dec. 19, 1843, Charles Dickens’ classic story “A Christmas Carol” is published. Dickens was born in 1812 and attended school in Portsmouth. His father, a clerk in the navy pay office, was thrown into debtors’ prison in 1824, and 12-year-old Charles was sent to work in a factory. The miserable treatment of children and the institution of the debtors’ jail became topics of several of Dickens’ novels. ... READ MORE

1972: Last lunar-landing mission ends. The Apollo lunar-landing program ends on Dec. 19, 1972, when the last three astronauts to travel to the moon splash down safely in the Pacific Ocean. Apollo 17 had lifted off from Cape Canaveral, Florida, 10 days before. ... READ MORE

1997: “Titanic” sails into theaters. Director James Cameron’s epic drama Titanic, the story of the real-life luxury ocean liner that struck an iceberg and sank on its maiden voyage in 1912, resulting in the deaths of more than 1,500 passengers and crew, opens in theaters. Titanic catapulted its young stars Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet to international fame and won 11 Academy Awards, including Best Picture, Best Director and Best Music (for the song “My Heart Will Go On,” sung by Celine Dion). The film also immortalized the line “I’m the king of the world!”—which Cameron famously repeated during the Oscar ceremony, as he picked up his gold statuette for Best Director. ... READ MORE

 www.history.com