What We’re Talking About

Dog days … BARK did a survey to determine the most popular dog names of 2019. Here are the Top 10:

1. Bella
2. Charlie
3. Luna
4. Lucy
5. Max
6. Bailey
7. Cooper
8. Daisy
9. Sadie
10. Molly

How did you come up with your dog’s name?

Winter is coming, and the Farmers’ Almanac says it’s going to be a “teeth-chattering” cold one, with plenty of snow. They predict that January and February will be the coldest and wettest months and that it’ll be a long, cold winter, with little relief in sight until April. However, those in the Southwest and Southeast will escape the worst of the cold. The Almanac notes that they accurately predicted the many storms last winter, as well as this summer’s steamy, hot conditions.

Former ‘Dukes of Hazzard’ star JOHN SCHNEIDER has finally settled his divorce after nearly five years and it’s going to cost him big time. The judge came down hard on Schneider after he sold one of their properties in Louisiana without sharing the cash with his ex and emptied one of their IRA accounts. The judge awarded Elvira Schneider sole ownership of their California home and another IRA worth $60,000. Schneider was also ordered to pay her $279,000 lawyer bill and $25,000 per month in spousal support, plus a cut of his Screen Actors Guild pension.

Kathy and Myself had a chance to talk to John when he was on Dancing With The Stars last year, he was a really fun interview. He actually made a comment about his ongoing divorce in the interview…..take a listen below. -EK

The Cedar Rapids Gazette has come out with the first preseason Iowa High School Football poll.  A few area teams have been ranked in the top ten!

Class 2A: Waukon is at #1, Crestwood is at #7.

Class A:  Wapsie Valley is at #3, Edgewood-Colesburg is at #5

8 Player:  Turkey Valley is at # 5.

Source:  Cedar Rapids Gazette.

Check out the full rankings here:  2019 Iowa Football

If you like friendly people, you should go to Minnesota. According to a new survey, Minnesota is the friendliest state in America. The travel survey considered such things as first impression at port of entry, locals’ attitudes toward tourists, neighborly feel, stranger openness and general friendliness. Tennessee was the second friendliest state, followed by South Carolina, Texas and Wyoming. On the other end of the spectrum, New York was found to be the least friendly state in America. The other top five unfriendly states were Arkansas, Delaware, Massachusetts and New Jersey.

Carrie Underwood and Joan Jett are teaming up to record NBC’s Sunday Night Football theme. They performed together at CMA Fest in June, and really got along well. Carrie suggested they do this project.

The country-rock collaborators will bring back “Waiting All Day for Sunday Night,” which is based on Joan’s “I Hate Myself for Loving You.”

A preview of the clip will air on this week’s edition of Sunday Night Football.

The Country Music Association announced that Carrie Underwood will host the 53rd CMA Awards with special guest co-hosts Reba McEntrie and Dolly Parton on Nov. 13 at Nashville’s Bridgestone Arena.

Carrie and Brad Paisley co-hosted the CMA Awards for the past 11 years.

Dolly hosted the CMA Awards in 1988, while Reba hosted the show in 1991 and co-hosted the show in 1990 and 1992.

Carrie, Dolly and Reba earned a combined 124 CMA Awards nominations and 22 total wins, 11 for Female Vocalist of the Year. In addition, the three superstars hold a combined 14 nominations in the Entertainer of the Year category, with Dolly receiving the award in 1978 and Reba winning in 1986.

Final nominees for the 53rd CMA Awards will be announced on Aug. 28 during ABC?s Good Morning America and via stream following the broadcast.

With her crown on, Iowa Pork Queen Gracie Greiner comes to help a sow in labor at the Iowa State Fair. Take a look at the post below!

MIRANDA LAMBERT’S big news was that her new album will be out on November 1st and it’ll be called ‘Wildcard.’ As a preview for fans, Miranda also released a new song called from it called “Bluebird.”

It’s been joked about in the past, but now Pumpkin Spice Spam is a real thing. It goes on sale on September 23rd. You won’t see it in stores, only available online.

A group of employees at a Trader Joe’s store in Winter Park, Florida have gone viral on Facebook for cheering up a toddler having a temper tantrum. Employee Tori Alexander began singing and dancing to cheer up the toddler and was soon joined by other crew members. The impromptu floor show worked and Tori shared the clip with the caption, “if there is a crying child call 1-800 Tori the cry stopper.”

If you’re a Iowa Hawkeye fan, you’ll like what Bud Lite has done! They have released collegiate themed beer cans. They could only use the Hawkeye colors only, using the logo would have to be approved by the university. Take a look below!

Check out this cool video from Hudl highlighting the Caledonia Warrior Football program!  Who’s ready for the boys of fall?!?!

Is there pipe on Mars? The latest odd image sent back by NASA’s Curiosity Rover shows what appears to be a large sewer pipe partially sticking out from the surface of the planet. Of course, the conspiracy theorists say it proves there was once life on Mars, while others say it’s just an odd rock formation. NASA has yet to weigh in.

Major League Baseball is coming to Iowa! That was the big announcement yesterday. The Yankees and White Sox will play in a temporary 8,000 seat ballpark at the Field of Dreams site next August. If you were like me, I was wondering what the temporary stadium will look like?? The answer is in the pic below..

El Paso sixth-grader Ruben Martinez has created a new Internet challenge. The El Paso Challenge calls on people to do 22 good deeds – one for each of the victims killed in the mass shooting. Ruben even offered suggestions such as mowing someone’s lawn, visiting a nursing home, paying for someone’s meal, donating to families in need, writing someone a letter to tell them how great they are, holding the door for everyone, taking flowers to someone in the hospital or leaving a dollar on the vending machine for the next person. As for Ruben, his first act of kindness was to deliver dinner to first responders.

A Port Charlotte, Florida, family’s toilet exploded after lightning struck the home’s septic tank during a storm on Sunday (8/4) morning.

Marylou Ward, co-owner of the home, said her home was damaged in a millisecond after what she recalls as the loudest sound she has ever heard.

“It used to be our toilet,” Ward told WINK-TV. “We have nothing now.”

Along with the explosion that left Ward’s toilet in hundreds of pieces, the plumbing inside the home and the family’s septic tank and master bedroom window were destroyed as well.

“We come in here and the toilet was laying on the floor,” Ward said. “There’s all pieces everywhere. Pieces everywhere.”

The plumber of the family said that the lightning struck the methane gases from the fecal matter that was built up in the pipes.

No injuries were reported from the lightning strike in the Port Charlotte home.

“I’m just glad none of us were on the toilet,” Ward said. “That’s the main thing.”

What is your favorite sandwich? If you said grilled cheese, you’re not alone. A YouGov poll asked people to name their favorite sandwich, and 79% said grilled cheese. Here are the Top 5:

1. Grilled cheese – 79%
2. (tie) Turkey – 75%
   (tie) Grilled chicken — 75%
3. Roast beef – 71%
4. (tie) Ham – 69%
   (tie) BLT – 69%
5. Club sandwich – 68%

A photographer named Julie Carrow snapped a photo of a deer that is being shared like crazy on social media.  She captured a shot of a deer covered in warts or tumors in Southwest Minnesota.  Find out more here: Minnesota Deer

Although many of us won’t be celebrating National Mustard Day, French‘s has teamed up with Coolhaus on a mustard flavored ice cream.

Teaming up, the duo looked to create an unforgettable thoughtfully-crafted frozen treat that honors the all-American taste of yellow mustard. The sweet and savory ice cream will be available for a limited time only New York City and Los Angeles.

Coolhaus Ice Cream Trucks in New York will be serving the item at the Rockefeller Center and Hearst Tower/Columbus Circle August 1. Brooklyn Heights and Madison Square Park August 2 and the beach at Main Street Hamptons and East Hampton Main Beach August 3. For those in Los Angeles, Coolhaus’ Culver City location will serve the ice cream August 2-4 and August 9-11.

For those who aren’t fortunate enough to live near one of the Coolhaus locations participating in the National Mustard Day celebrations, French’s has also created an at-home recipe.

A new South Dakota law that mandates the display of the national motto “In God We Trust” in public schools is now in effect.

According to the law, state public schools must display the motto in a manner that is approved by school principals and is at least 12 inches by 12 inches in size.

Retired NASCAR driver TONY STEWART punched a fan who heckled him at a sprint car race in Jackson, Minnesota a couple nights ago. According to police, no charges have been filed ….not yet anyway.

You may have heard about all those grasshoppers invading Las Vegas. The city’s Evel Pie pizzeria is making lemonade out of the situation by introducing The Canyon Hopper pizza. It’s topped with chorizo, goat cheese, caramelized onions, arugula and, yes, grasshoppers! In a Facebook post they said, “Sure it sounds nasty but this pizza is damn good!”

You may have heard about that online petition to move Halloween to the last Saturday in October. The idea is that it would give everyone a chance to have fun and not have to drag themselves into work or school the next day. Candy maker Mars has just upped the ante by offering to give away one million Snickers bars if they make this happen. In a press release they said, “Snickers is all in on celebration Halloween to the fullest. If the federal government makes this thing official, we’re offering up to one million free Snickers to America. No tricks, only treats.” As of Monday, the petition had 102,000 supporters.

A petition to change Halloween’s date from October 31 has been gaining traction online.

Originally started last year by the “Halloween and Costume Association,” the Change.org petition states that Halloween should be moved to the last Saturday in October to give everyone a “Safer, Longer, Stress-Free Celebration.”

Most of the reasons listed for the date change focus on child safety and issues like parents not accompanying their children trick-or-treating.

More than 80,000 people have already signed the group’s petition, which they hope to send to President Donald Trump.

On this date 36 years ago….one of the greatest movies came out, Vacation!!  I have always loved this movie, and every family can relate, lol.  Take a look at some of the memorable quotes here:  https://www.quotes.net/movies/national_lampoon%27s_vacation_13698

A new viral video shows why you should always cook your food thoroughly. The video was apparently taken at an Asian restaurant and shows a piece of raw chicken begin to move as it crawls off the plate and falls on the floor. Commenters noted that sometimes when meat is so fresh the muscles can still move.

Exile is coming to the Clayton County Fair Thursday August 1st!  We had a chance to talk to Marlon from the group.  Fun guy with a lot of cool stories about Exile!  Listen to the audio below, and for details on the show click the link:

The Lifetime channel has released their first trailer for the PATSY CLINE and LORETTA LYNN biopic. ‘Patsy & Loretta’ follows the story of how they became friends and Cline took Lynn under her wing and helped her rise to stardom. ‘Patsy & Loretta’ will premiere this fall.

There will be three quilt presentation ceremonies during the Nordic Fest Weekend, THIS weekend in Decorah!!
On Friday July 26th at 11am and 2pm and then on Saturday July 27th at 2pm at the Decorah Middle School Gymnasium
There will be 41 Veterans receiving quilts, their names are listed below.
*****************
Veterans being Honored at the Friday July 26th 11am Service:

• Diane Bulman
• Arlin Roney
• Clifford Sweet
• Aleesa Baakko
• Dale Bodensteiner
• Jerry Thompson
• Gary Goettelman
• Judson Shrick
• Gerald Einck
  Derald Tieskoetter
• Janice Brom
• John Budweg

Veterans being honored at the Friday July 26th 2pm Service:

• Bruce Kroshus
• Ron Akre
  Jame Lage
• Linus “Sam” Sabelka
• Rich Amundson
• Pat O’Regan
• Alert Folkedahl
• Don Iliff
• Tom Webb
• Terry Ollendieck
• Robert Thomas
• Richard Hadley
• Gerad Voltmer
• Amy Skillings
• Steve Poshusta

Veterans being honored at the Saturday July 27th 2pm Service:

• Barry Timp
• Brian Timp
• Dave Hageman
• Brian Hageman
• Charles Berg
• David Berg
• Orvin Melaas
• Kirsten Olson
• Charlie Vobr
• Lee Tangen
• Justin Tangen
• Mark Balik
• Dan Lundvedt
• Dwayne Karr
• Roger Halvorson

Oscar Mayer marked yesterday’s National Hot Dog Day by listing the Wienermobile on AirBnB. One of the six 27-foot-long Wienermobiles will be parked in Chicago and will be available for three individual overnight stays on August 1st, 2nd and 3rd. If you’re wondering, the rate was listed at $136 per night. Of course, it’ll have a mini-fridge stocked with all of your hot dog needs, Wienermobile-inspired art and more.

Belgium’s Jimmy De Frenne recently spent 116 consecutive hours sitting on a toilet in a local bar. However, it had nothing to do with greasy bar food, but a bid to set a new Guinness World Record for sitting on the commode. De Frenne was allowed five-minute breaks every hour to stretch and use a real toilet since the one used was only on display in the bar.

If you thought this weekend was steamy, remember 24 years ago? I was only nine at the time, but I kinda remember staying indoors for most part during this heatwave. Take a look some of the highs and stats from that heatwave. -EK

A couple in Michigan had a “Make America Great Again” themed wedding over the 4th of July holiday.  The bride Audra Johnson said, “It looked like America threw up all over my wedding and I’m not sorry”!

Here’s another reason to work out in the morning … you’ll make more money. A new survey found that people with a strict morning routine — whether it’s working out, meditating, doing yoga, or writing in a journal or earn more money than those who don’t have a regular a.m. routine. According to the survey, by The Sleep Judge, people with a consistent morning routine earn $12,500 more per year than those with a lazier approach to mornings. And those who exercised in the mornings had the highest salaries of the survey respondents. (Best Life)

A woman in Georgia asked Dairy Queen to make a birthday cake for her 25-year-old daughter, who loves the Disney movie “Moana.” But the people at the Dairy Queen thought she said marijuana. So the cake had a big pot leaf on it, and a My Little Pony smoking a joint. Fortunately they thought it was funny. The daughter thinks it happened because her mom has a thick southern accent.

UPDATE: It turns out that it wasn’t so much their name that got CONFEDERATE RAILROAD booted from the DuQuoin State Fair in Illinois. They were to perform with SHENANDOAH and RESTLESS HEART and officials now say they were axed because of the Confederate flag in their logo. Shenandoah says it will still play but that “this ‘political correctness’ has to stop. It’s tearing our country apart.”

CONFEDERATE RAILROAD has been dropped from the lineup at the Du Quoin State Fair in Illinois and it’s all because of their name. A rep for the fair said, “While every artist has a right to expression, we believe this decision is in the best interest of serving all of the people in our state.” They were to have joined SHENANDOAH and RESTLESS HEART, as part of “’90s Country ReLoaded Day” at the fair.