Oskaloosa News Recap For January 19th, 2021
Local News
Gov. Reynolds Delivers 2021 Condition of the State
Rozenboom Opens Senate Session With Prayer
Health Care Update Starts Eggs And Issues For 2021
Former Post Office Future Comes Into Focus
Gov. Reynolds signs new proclamation modifying public health measures
Iowa Congressional Delegation Speaks About Unrest At Capitol
Supervisors establish operating procedures for 2021
City Council prepares for 2021
Congresswoman Miller-Meeks’ Statement Upon Being Sworn Into Congress
Mahaska County Preparing Budget For 2021-2022
Emergency Radio System Looks For 2021 Activation Date
Plans Are Getting Hammered Out To Help Make A Southeast Connector A Reality
Ecumenical Cupboard Helping Individuals Impacted By Pandemic
Iowa hospitals’ financial losses mount amid COVID-19
United Way Of Mahaska County Playing Role In COVID-19 Help
2021 Eggs And Issues Set
Oskaloosa Fire Chief Talks Fire Safety
Local Sports
Indians Network
Statesmen Sports Network
North Mahaska Warhawks
William Penn Splits Pair of Heart Duals
Men’s Wrestling 50th Anniversary Team: Honorable Mentions
Statesmen Rebound with Win at Peru State
William Penn Claims Season Sweep of Mount Mercy
Statesmen Rise to #2
WPU Wins Sloppy Game in OT
Big Runs Push WPU to Big Win Over Park
Health Practices and Restrictions at Little Hawkeye Conference Athletic Events
Statesmen Garner 11 All-Heart Honors
Oskaloosa News Links
Obituaries
Radar and Road Conditions
Local Traffic Cameras
National and World News
Drones may be replacing cowboys.
Researchers at the University of Kentucky are testing the use of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) to help ranchers remotely monitor herds of cattle over a larger territory.
Professor of mechanical engineer, Jesse Hoagg and his team received a $900k grant from the USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture in 2018 to work on the drone herding project.
The research is set to be completed within the next two years, but high costs and current government regulations on drones may delay the timeline.
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Los Angeles is the first county in the US to report 1 million coronavirus cases.
According to the New York Times, there have been almost 3 million cases and 34,000 deaths in the state of California.
The next two states with the highest number of cases are: Texas with 2 million and Florida with 1.5 million.
As of Monday morning, over 12 million doses of the COVID vaccine have been administered in the US. Over 1.6 million have reached immunity with two doses of the vaccine, while 10.6 million have received their first dose.
Worldwide, the coronavirus has infected over 94.7 million people, with at least 2 million deaths attributed to the virus.
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A family in Iowa is going viral after creating a 15-foot-tall snowman in their front yard.
Karen Peters told CBS affiliate KCCI that the idea for the giant snow sculpture came from her son, who enlisted the help of his friends.
Together, the group used an 8-foot ladder and worked piece by piece until they had the snowy statue — complete with a pair of eyes, mouth, a carrot nose, red scarf and buttons — standing tall.
Last year, Peters’ son sculpted an 11-foot snowman in Ames, where he goes to college.
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Health officials in Norway say there’s “no evidence that the COVID-19 vaccine was directly responsible for a series of deaths” among elderly people.
The Norwegian Medicines Agency said that all of the people over the age of 75 who died after receiving the vaccine had serious underlying illnesses. Medical director Steiner Madsen told Bloomberg that while they “can’t say that people die from the vaccine,” they can say “that it may be coincidental.” Adding, “it is difficult to prove that the vaccine is the direct cause.”
So far, Norway has only been administering Pfizer’s vaccine, Moderna’s will get rolled out starting Friday.
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A band of female vigilantes are taking it upon themselves to protect their family and friends from the violent Jalisco drug cartel.
The women carry assault rifles and post roadblocks, sometimes while pregnant or with their small children in tow, to help combat the growing homicide levels in the Michoacan area of Mexico.
The majority of the women have lost family members to the cartel and believe they have to protect themselves as “the government and police fail to do so,” according to the Associated Press.
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Tonight’s Mega Millions drawing has entered “rarified territory” as the pot grows to the second-largest grand prize in the game’s history.
The $850 million jackpot also marks the third-largest prize in American lottery history.
The Mega Millions record sits at $1.537 billion, which was claimed in Oct. 2018.
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Multiple experts at the personal finance website WalletHub have created their “Best & Worst States to Raise a Family” report for 2021.
The report analyzed the 50 states across five categories, which were broken down into “52 key indicators of family-friendliness.” The indicators — which were graded on a 100 point scale — included: family fun, health and safety, education and child care, affordability and socio-economics.
The top five were:
1. Massachusetts – score: 60.88
2. Minnesota – score: 60.57
3. North Dakota – score: 60.10
4. New York – score: 59.80
5. Vermont – score: 59.16
The bottom five were:
46. Oklahoma – score: 34.49
47. Lousiana – score: 33.83
48. West Virginia – score: 33.83
49. Mississippi – score: 29.70
50. New Mexico – score: 28.95
*Wisconsin was #14 on the list with a score of 54.44.
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Disneyland Paris will delay its reopening until at least April 2.
The park, which closed for a second time in October, had planned to reopen on Feb. 13, but with the increase in coronavirus cases that is now unable to happen.
Other Disney parks that remain closed include: Hong Kong Disneyland and the original Disneyland in Anaheim.
Walt Disney World in Orlando is open with COVID-related precautions in place, as well as Shanghai Disneyland.
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“Cocaine hippos” are taking over Columbian marshlands.
The hippos were illegally imported to the country by the notorious drug lord Pablo Escobar, who was shot dead by authorities in 1993.
Following his death, authorities took control of his 7,000-acre estate, including his personal zoo. While most of the animals were relocated to other zoos, four of the hippos escaped. Those four are believed to be responsible for 80 to 100 descendants, which are terrorizing the country’s lake and rivers, according to the Telegraph.
Global environmentalists are now rushing to castrate the animals as they pose a threat to the natural wildlife since their urine and feces are toxic.
Scientists have projected that the population could surge to 1,500 by 2024.
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United States stock and bond markets were closed on Monday in observance of Martin Luther King Jr. Day.
For the trading week ending January 15th, major averages were down more than one percent.
Bond yields have been moving higher in recent sessions. This is largely due to anticipated inflation increases to be realized during the coming year.
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Tube Talk
Here’s what’s new on TV tonight:
NCIS / CBS / 7:00 pm
Cinderella / ABC / 7:00 pm
Zoey’s Extraordinary Playlist / NBC / 7:00 pm
The Resident / FOX / 7:00 pm
NCIS / CBS / 8:00 pm
This Is Us / NBC / 8:00 pm
Prodigal Son / FOX / 8:00 pm
FBI: Most Wanted / CBS / 9:00 pm
Nurses / NBC / 9:00 pm
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Showbiz News
Spike Lee was honored with the 34th Cinematheque Award during a virtual ceremony.
Angela Bassett, Ryan Coogler, Jodie Foster and Rosie Perez told stories about working with the award wining filmmaker over the years.
The cast of Lee’s “Da 5 Bloods” presented him with the award.
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Justin Timberlake has finally confirmed that he and his wife Jessica Biel welcomed their second child, a son named Phineas, last summer.
The 39-year-old opened up about being a dad of two during a virtual appearance on “The Ellen DeGeneres Show.”
Last July reports surfaced that Biel and Timberlake had added to their family.
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Just a day after being released from the hospital, Dr. Dre is already back to recording music.
The 55-year-old posted a photo of himself and others in the studio, letting his fans know that he is doing well.
The music mogul was hospitalized earlier this month following a brain aneurysm. He will continue to receive medical care at his home in Los Angeles. Doctors are unsure what caused the bleeding, but are pleased with the fact that the is “stable and lucid,” according to TMZ.
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Emma Thompson has joined the cast of Netflix’s “Matilda the Musical.”
The Oscar winning actress will play the tyrannical headteacher Miss Trunchbull.
Alisha Weir will play the lead role of Matilda, while Lashana Lynch will play the kind and inspirational teacher Miss Honey.
A release date has not been set.
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The Critics Choice Awards unveiled its series nominees yesterday.
Leading the pack with six noms are Netflix’s “Ozark” and “The Crown” — in total, the streaming giant earned 26 nominations.
HBO and HBO Max have 24 nominations, with “Lovecraft Country” and FX’s “Miss America” earning the most at five noms each.
Film nominees will be announced on Feb. 7.
The Critics Choice Awards is set to air on March 7.
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The “Peaky Blinders” will conclude with the upcoming sixth season.
After a long production delay due to COVID, the cast and crew have returned to film the sixth and final season of the hit UK series.
Starring Cillian Murphy, the beloved drama first aired on BBC Two eight years ago before making the move to BBC One in 2019 with audiences of over 7 million.
Fans in the US can watch the series on Netflix.
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Netflix announced that “Selena: The Series” will return for Part 2 on May 14, after revealing that over 25 million households tuned in to watch Part 1.
“Selena: The Series” tells the story of singer Selena Quintanilla and her journey to stardom, rather than focusing on the story around her tragic death.
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Two Bear Grylls interactive specials are heading to Netflix.
The first, “Animals on the Loose: A You Vs. Wild Movie” will premiere on Feb. 16. It features Grylls on a mission to return various animals to their fenced-in wildlife sanctuary after part of the fence is ripped open. Viewers will have the ability to engage with the special and “might even stumble upon a secret mission,” according to Variety.
The name and date of the second project will be announced later this year.
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Chrissy Teigen needs to see a man about a horse — specifically the horse she showed off on Twitter over the weekend.
She shared a snap of a horse, that included the caption, “Today begins my journey into the horse world.” She said her therapist encouraged her to do something just for her, so Teigen dove head-first into the horse world, later sharing videos of her trying to get into tight riding boots.
It was all in good fun, until an army of joyless Twitter scolds denounced her for flaunting her wealth while the country is in a pandemic and people are out of work.
To her credit, the model and actress swatted away her trolls. To one, she quipped back, “What do you want from me, an essay about me, thinking about you? It’s my Twitter. I’m talking about me?”
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Garth Brooks will perform at Joe Biden and Kamala Harris’ swearing-in ceremony tomorrow, joining Jennifer Lopez and Lady Gaga.
Brooks, a Republican, commented on the performance saying, “In our household, this is not a political statement, this is a statement of unity.”
According to Deadline, incoming First Lady Jill Biden asked him over the weekend if he would perform.
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Sports
The Los Angeles Chargers have hired Brandon Staley as their new head coach.
Staley served as the Denver Broncos’ outside linebackers coach in 2019, before leaving to join the Los Angeles Rams as their defensive coordinator in 2020.
He coached college football for 10 years before landing his first NFL job with the Chicago Bears in 2017.
Staley is replacing Anthony Lynn who was fired earlier this month.
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The Detroit Lions are expected to hire Dan Campbell as their new head coach.
The New Orleans Saints’ tight end/assistant head coach has been a reported favorite to land the position.
Now that the Saints have been eliminated from the playoffs, the Lions and Campbell can take the next steps to make that happen.
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Day of the Year
Archery Day
Artist as Outlaw Day
Brew a Potion Day
Confederate Memorial Day – (Texas)
Good Memory Day
National Gun Appreciation Day
National Popcorn Day
New Friends Day
Printing Ink Day
Rid the World of Fad Diets & Gimmicks Day
Robert E. Lee’s Birthday – (State of Florida)
Tenderness Toward Existence Day
Tin Can Day
World Day of Migrants and Refugees
World Quark Day
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On This Date
1810 – The temperature in Portsmouth, New Hampshire drops from 54 degrees to minus 12 degrees in one day.
Many froze to death.
It is known as Cold Friday.
1840 – Captain Charles Wilkes claims Easter Antarctica for the United States.
Wilkes and his crew set out in 1838, sailing around South America to the South Pacific, then to Antarctica. There, they explored the eastern coast — and Wilkes said it belonged to the U.S.
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1883 – The first electric lighting system employing overhead wires begins service at Roselle, New Jersey.
It was built by Thomas Edison.
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1955 – Scrabble debuts on the board game market.
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1977 – President Ford pardons Tokyo Rose.
Though several Japanese women voiced the seductive radio personality whose propaganda made American sailors long for home, the woman in question was Iva Toguri, who was Japanese-American.
She was an American who was in Japan at the time the country bombed Pearl Harbor, and was forced to participate in the program.
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1993 – Fleetwood Mac reunites to play for an inauguration party for president-elect Bill Clinton.
Their hit song “Don’t Stop” was a theme song used throughout Clinton’s campaign.
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2001 – Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman escapes from Puente Grande maximum-security prison near Guadalajara.
He was rolled out of the prison in a laundry cart by prison guards, who he had bribed.
He would be captured 7 years later only to escape again.
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2013 – During an interview with Oprah, Lance Armstrong admits to doping in all seven of his Tour de France victories.
Following the admission, he is stripped of his seven Tour de France titles.
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Birthdays
Natalia Bryant – daughter of the late Kobe Bryant – 18
Shawn Johnson – former Olympic gymnast – 29
JaVale McGee – NBA player – 33
Lil Scrappy – rapper – 37
Jodie Sweetin – actress, “Full House” – 39
Pete Buttigieg – politician – 39
Shawn Wayans – actor, “Scary Movie” franchise – 50
Paula Dean – chef – 74
Dolly Parton – singer, actress – 75
Born On This Date
Mac Miller – rapper – 1992 (d. 2018)
Janis Joplin – singer – 1943 (d. 1970)
Edgar Allan Poe – poet – 1809 (d. 1849)
Robert E. Lee -leader of the Confederate Army – 1807 (d. 1870)
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