Oskaloosa News Recap For January 4th, 2021
Local News
Plans Are Getting Hammered Out To Help Make A Southeast Connector A Reality
Ecumenical Cupboard Helping Individuals Impacted By Pandemic
Oskaloosa Elementary And Emergency Services Continue Training For Worst Case
Iowa hospitals’ financial losses mount amid COVID-19
United Way Of Mahaska County Playing Role In COVID-19 Help
Big Brothers And Big Sisters Closes Door In Mahaska County
2021 Eggs And Issues Set
Staff At Mahaska Health “We’re Doing Well”
Oskaloosa Fire Chief Talks Fire Safety
Local Sports
Indians Network
Statesmen Sports Network
North Mahaska Warhawks
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
Defense Stands Out in Second Win Over MMU
Huge Run Helps Statesmen to Road Win
Oskaloosa News Links
Obituaries
Radar and Road Conditions
Local Traffic Cameras
National and World News
A mom-to-be revealed that she has conceived a third child a little over a week after learning she is expecting twins.
The phenomenon is called superfetation, which occurs when a separate egg is fertilized by sperm in the womb days or weeks after a pregnancy has already occurred.
The mom — known only by her TikTok user name @TheBlondeBunny1 — is 17 weeks along with triplets. The twins are approximately 10 days older than the third baby according to her bi-weekly ultrasounds.
All three babies will likely still have the same due date despite different gestational ages.
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Lake Superior State University in Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan has released its annual “Banished Words List.”
More than 1,450 words and phrases were nominated from around the world, with more than 250 related to the coronavirus.
Here is the list:
COVID-19 (COVID, coronavirus, Rona)
Social Distancing
We’re all in this together…
In an abundance of caution…
In these uncertain times…
Pivot
Unprecedented
Karen
Sus (slang for suspect or suspicious)
I know, right?
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The first NYC baby of 2021 was born at the stroke of midnight in Brooklyn.
Jaxel Rodriguez came into the world weighing 6 lbs. 11 oz. and measuring 19 inches long.
His parents called him “the best gift of the new year.”
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A California nurse tested positive for COVID a week after getting the vaccine.
The 45-year-old received his first dose of the vaccine on Dec. 18, then about 6 days later started to feel sick. Two days later, he got tested and the results came back positive.
Dr. Christian Ramers, an infectious disease specialist, said that the nurse possibly contracted the virus before getting the shot, as it takes about two weeks for the first dose to kick in. It is only after the second dose that recipients get up to 95% of protection from the virus.
Ramers added that the situation is a prime example of why “people shouldn’t let their guard down even if they’ve gotten vaccinated.”
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An employee at the Aurora Medical Center in Grafton, WI has been fired after intentionally leaving out 57 vials of the Moderna COVID vaccine.
Advocate Aurora Health released a statement on the incident saying that initially it was believed to have been an accident, but after speaking to the individual, it became clear “they intentionally removed the vaccine from refrigeration.”
The vaccine can last for up to 12 hours without refrigeration, but in this instance “most of it had to be discarded.”
No motive was shared.
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New York City saw nearly 2,000 shooting incidents in 2020 — matching the totals of both 2018 AND 2019.
Last year’s spark in violence comes after the five boroughs saw a dip in gun-related crimes between 2017 and 2019. The resurgence can likely be attributed to “lockdown restrictions, the BLM movement and the state bail reform law which saw clusters of suspects remain free without bail,” according to NYPD sources.
WORTH NOTING: In June, the NYPD disbanded its Street Crimes Unit due to cutbacks.
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Call me Celine!
A 30-year-old Celine Dion superfan from the UK reportedly got so drunk that he legally changed his name to hers and then forgot about it.
Celine — formerly Thomas Dodd — told The Post that he came up with the idea while enjoying a few cocktails and watching a TV concert featuring the singer on Christmas Eve. While thoroughly enjoying the show, he coughed up 89 pounds ($122) and officially changed his name via an online application.
Days later the official paperwork arrived, and while he didn’t remember making the change, he told the outlet that once the reality of it all sunk in, he “signed it straightaway” because he “bloody loves her!”
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A Massachusetts police officer decided not to arrest two women who were accused of shoplifting and instead paid for their holiday meal.
Officer Matt Lima responded to a call about two women with two young children who were allegedly putting groceries into bags without scanning them at a self-checkout kiosk.
The women explained that they had fallen on hard times and were trying to provide a Christmas meal for their family. Lima told the Associated Press that he was reminded of his own children and spent $250 of his own money to buy the women grocery gift cards.
Chief George McNeil shared the incident on the department’s website writing, “His actions exemplify what it means to protect and serve the members of our community.”
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Multiple witnesses say they saw a “blue, glowing oblong” UFO hovering in the sky over Oahu last week before it nosedived into the ocean.
The sight prompted many phone calls to the Federal Aviation Administration and 911 — both of which told Hawaii News Now that there were “no aircraft incidents or accidents in the area at the time.”
One eyewitness told the outlet that she followed the flying object, which she described as silent and “larger than a telephone pole,” for a mile until it dropped into the ocean. After officers arrived on the scene, she noted a second, much smaller, white light coming from the same direction as the first unidentified object.
The sighting comes after a Harvard professor recently stated that aliens visited Earth in 2017 and warned that they will be returning.
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The US has reported over 20 million cases of COVID, with almost 350k deaths attributed to the virus.
As of this past weekend, over 4 million people have received their first dose of the vaccine.
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Weekend Box Office
10. Freaky: $55k (up from 12)
9. Alien: $75k (re-release)
8. The War with Grandpa: $115k (up from 10)
7. Pinocchio: $284k (stayed at 7)
6. Promising Young Woman: $660k (down from 5)
5. Fatale: $700k (up from 6)
4. Monster Hunter: $1.3 million (stayed at 4)
3. News of the World: $1.7 million (down from 2)
2. The Croods: A New Age: $2.2 million (up from 3)
1. Wonder Woman 1984: $5.5 million (stayed at 1)
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Tube Talk
Here’s what’s new on TV tonight:
The Neighborhood / CBS / 7:00 pm
The Bachelor / ABC / 7:00 pm
Ellen’s Game of Games / NBC / 7:00 pm
L.A.’s Finest / FOX / 7:00 pm
Bob (Hearts) Abishola / CBS / 7:30 pm
All Rise / CBS / 8:00 pm
Ellen’s Game of Games / NBC / 8:00 pm
Bull / CBS / 9: 00 pm
The Hustler / ABC / 9:00 pm
The Wall / NBC / 9:00 pm
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Showbiz News
Harry Styles dropped a surprise music video on New Year’s Day.
The new song, which featured himself and “Fleabag” star Phoebe Waller-Bridge, had a simple message for 2021: “Treat People With Kindness.”
Styles announced the new song would be coming just two hours before it was dropped.
Justin Bieber also released a new song and video, titled “Anyone,” featuring him tattoo-less and smooching actress Zoey Deutch.
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Now that her mom is out of the slammer, Olivia Jade is contemplating a return to her YouTube channel.
The 21-year-old daughter of Lori Loughlin and Mossimo Giannulli teased her comeback in a recent TikTok video, in which she showed off some of her “glam.”
As previously reported, Loughlin finished her 2-month prison sentence just before the New Year, while Giannulli is currently serving his 5-month sentence for their roles in the college admissions scandal.
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Tim Allen opened up about his comedy series, “Last Man Standing” coming to an end.
The 67-year-old, who plays Mike Baxtor, told Fox News that while he is proud the show lasted so long, going to set every day knowing they were one day closer to the end was “horrible.”
The hit series began its run in 2011 on ABC before the network cancelled the show and FOX picked it up, giving it a 7th, 8th and 9th season.
The premiere episode of the final season aired last night.
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Chrissy Teigen is sober.
The model revealed the news after a fan commented, “I need whatever drugs you’re on” on a video of her dancing and laughing. Teigen responded, “4 weeks sober.”
While she did not detail the circumstances surrounding her sobriety, other followers praised her for her “honesty” and “bravery.”
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Gal Gadot teased her new women-focused docuseries, “Impact,” for National Geographic last week with a sneak peek on Instagram.
The brief clip showcases various global landscapes and features the young women at the center of the series.
Gadot told her followers that she cannot “wait to share the stories of [these] exceptional women [who are] making a true impact in their communities.”
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James Corden misses his native England.
“The Late Late Show” host told The Sun that he is so “homesick” that he has been contemplating a move back to the UK when his contract expires in 2022.
Corden and his wife Julia, who live in L.A. with their three kids, moved to the States when he nabbed the hosting gig after a successful career across the pond.
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Tom Kane, known for his work on the “Star Wars” franchise, suffered a stroke two months ago, leaving him largely unable to speak.
According to a Facebook post written by his daughter, the voice actor is now unable to work as he “cannot efficiently communicate verbally, nor read or spell.”
Kane has delivered lines for numerous “Star Wars” characters including Yoda and Admiral Ackbar. He also lent his voice to Cartoon Network series “The Powerpuff Girls” and FX’s “Archer.”
There is hope on the horizon as Kane has made progress in bringing back his speech, thanks in part to therapy and “his extreme stubbornness,” the post adds.
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Brad Paisley gifted a guitar to a fellow musician who lost everything in the explosion that rocked Nashville on Christmas morning.
Buck McCoy was able to escape his apartment during the blast, but lost all of his belongings, including his “clothes, musical instruments, car and more,” according to a GoFundMe set up in his name.
After hearing about the loss, Paisley reached out to McCoy via Instagram and said he wanted to send him a brand new guitar.
In addition to the guitar, McCoy was reunited with his beloved cat, Molly, after being unable to grab her as he escaped his apartment.
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Blake Shelton is facing backlash after debuting a song titled “Minimum Wage.”
The country crooner debuted the single on NBC’s New Year’s Eve special singing about his fiancé Gwen Stefani, “Girl, your love can make a man feel rich on minimum wage.”
Many felt the song was “tone deaf” as so many are struggling financially due to the coronavirus crisis. One Twitter user wrote that Shelton should issue an apology.
Shelton has not responded to the criticism.
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A Rubik’s Cube movie is in the works.
Hyde Park Entertainment Group and Endeavor Content are teaming up on the big feature and also have plans to create a game show based on the global-selling toy.
The combination puzzle was invented by Hungarian sculptor and professor of architecture, Erno Rubik in 1974. The puzzle was licensed by Rubik to be sold by Ideal Toy Corp. in 1980.
To date, the Rubik’s Cube has sold over 45 million cubes worldwide.
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Sports
The Cleveland Browns beat the Pittsburgh Steelers on Sunday 24-22, ending the NFL’s longest playoff drought.
The two teams will face off again next weekend during Super Wild Card Weekend.
The playoff appearance will be the first for the Browns’ franchise since 2002.
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The Collective Bargaining Agreement reached between the NFL and its Players Association last year allows for the expansion to a 17-game season and fewer pre-season during its term, which is slated to kick in in March.
Having lost million of dollars in revenue due to COVID restrictions, the NFL and its clubs are reportedly working hard to institute the extra game effective next season. A formal announcement is expected to come with the 2021 season’s schedules.
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Day of the Year
National Missouri Day
National Spaghetti Day
National Trivia Day
National Thank God It’s Monday Day
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On This Date
1796 – The US Congress recognizes the new republic that formed in France.
The French revolution is considered by some the second republican overthrow of government, modeled after the American Revolution.
Instead of the Bill of Rights and Declaration of Independence, the French people had the Declaration of the Rights of Man. The Americans also managed to avoid public executions by lopping off transgressors’ heads.
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1847 – Samuel Colt wins a contract to provide guns to the U.S. government.
He would provide 1,000 .44 caliber revolvers to the nation.
With the capital coming from the government, Colt was able to build facilities that allowed him to mass-produce his weapons, and make them cheap for cowboys, gamblers, and other gunslingers.
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1896 – Utah becomes the 45th state.
In July 1847, 148 Mormon pioneers reached Utah’s Valley of the Great Salt Lake. Leader Brigham Young determined the perfect place to begin settling for him and other Mormons, and the pioneers prepared for the thousands of Mormons they expected to have follow them.
Later Young was appointed governor of the Utah territory.
Today the Mormon population is still influential in Utah.
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1965 – President Johnson gives his state of the union address, in which he outlines plans for a “Great Society.”
Among the programs were Medicare and Medicaid, Head Start, the Voting Rights Act, the Civil Rights Act, the Department of Housing and Urban Development and the White House Conference on Natural Beauty.
Johnson’s plans for regulating air and water standards helped give birth to the EPA shortly after.
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1965 – Poet T.S. Eliot dies of emphysema in London at age 76. Eliot’s “The Waste Land,” published in 1922, is considered the single most influential work of poetry of the twentieth century.
In 1948 he was bestowed the Order of Merit by King George VI and in the same year was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature.
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1999 – The Euro is unveiled for use across 11 European nations.
It was designed to help integrate and unite the continent, and build a currency more powerful than the American dollar. In its first day it was successful, closing with a worth of $1.17.
Three years later, it went into circulation in the 11 countries. Some other smaller territories, who aren’t members of the EU, also adopted the currency, like Monaco and the Vatican City.
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2004 – NASA Rover, Spirit, successfully lands on Mars.
The rover would survey the Red Planet for the next seven years in what is considered one of the longest and most successful missions in NASA history.
Its twin, Opportunity, arrives 21 days later.
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Birthdays
Colin Sexton – NBA player – 22
Derrick Henry – NFL player – 27
Kris Bryant – MLB player – 29
Charles Melton – actor, “Riverdale” – 30
Jeannie Mai – TV personality – 42
Till Lindeman – heavy metal rocker – 58
Tina Knowles – mom of Beyonce – 67
Born On This Date
Issac Newton – physicist – 1643 (d. 1727)
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Deaths
Dawn Wells has died.
The actress, best known for her role as Mary Ann Summers (the movie star) on “Gilligan’s Island,” passed away on Wednesday after contacting COVID.
She was 82.
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Mike Fenton has died.
The legendary casting director, who worked on “Back to the Future,” “E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial” and scores of other classic movies and TV shows, passed away from natural causes at his Los Angeles home.
He was 85.
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