Shawn Moore Family Fundraiser

There is a golf Fundraiser Thursday, September 30th... 9:30 AM shotgun start... at Toad Valley in Pleasant Hill. This $50.00 a person golf event is to help the family of Shawn Moore.

Here is their story....

Shawn lost both arms below the elbow and both knees below the knees because of a heart ailment. The fundraiser was set-up to raise money for Shawn's medical bills and rehab with prosthesis.

Shawn made it through the surgery and was doing well. In July, three days before his 35th birthday Shawn died.

The charity event is going on to help his children...including 12 year old Cierra who wrote this entry about why her Dad should be considered for the Play It Foreward fundraiser at Toad Valley.

Hi! I'm Cierra Moore and I'm 12 years old. On June 4th 2010, my dad Shawn Moore became a quadruple amputee due to a heart infection. The heart doctors told us that he only had a 1% chance of surviving and if he did..he certainly wouldn't survive the quadruple amputation surgery..well my dad exceeded their expectations and survived...thanks to the doctors and my dad's will to survive. The amputation consisted of amputating his arms (right below the elbow) and legs (below the knee), and it's pretty devastating... as my dad is only 34 years old. My dad also had a tricuspid valve replacement along with a pace maker implanted into his heart. I've been helping take care of my dad by feeding him, giving him medication and just supporting my dad anyway I can. A couple of weeks ago , my friends and I made cookies on a stick and raised about $478 in a few days. We would like to raise more money and have the proceeds go towards prosthetics , medication or anything else my dad might need. My dad has supported me by taking me fishing and just always taking the time to support me..and now it's my turn to be there for him! Thank you for considering my application.

Cierra Moore
(moore love)
(moore faith)
(moore life)

Cierra is only 12, a 7th grader at S.E. Polk. She is amazingly mature...and will be at the course through the day.

She told one of the people helping with the fundraiser that there is a business class offered at S.E. Polk for fundraising...but only geeks enrolled. She says now she is in the class and understands how important it is to give back to the people in our communities.

You can walk up and get in on the event. Take time to enjoy the great weather and do something amazing for this family.

You can also donate to the family by visiting the Toad Valley web site; www.toadvalley.com/playitforeward

therealedwilson....a Twitter Fake

I had a couple friends tell me there was person on Twitter that was calling himself/herself "therealedwilson". Both of these friends were sort of shocked that I was not "therealedwilson" because the person on Twitter was using my picture from the www.whotv.com web site and was talking like a weather person.

Tonight Keith Murphy came to the news desk and told me he started laughing when "therealedwilson" Twittered it was going to be MOIST tonight. Keith said he then realized this person was not Ed Wilson of Channel 13. We laughed and then I said..."Well it was moist this morning." There was quite a bit of fog.

So to the person who is trying to be "therealedwilson" get real and stop using my name and picture on Twitter. To those 87 folks who are following this person on Twitter...sorry you were fooled by this Twitter twit.

So now what am I going to call myself when I start to tweet? The "reallyrealedwilson"?

Autumn!

For every season....turn...turn...turn. We are on our way to fall.
The season of Autumn hits tonight at 10:09. The days start to get shorter..the nights longer.

The NOAA graph shows the tilt of the sun is really the culprit to the cooler days and leaves turning to brighter hues of orange and red.

The temperature really has very little to do with the color of leaves. Interestingly, the lack of sunlight...or chlorophyll makes the leaves change from greens to yellows, orange, red and brown.

Winter solstice is just around the corner. Yahoo!

Flash Flooding Again...

Heavy rainfall continues this early afternoon. Right over central Iowa we have a Flash Flood Warning that includes 8 counties north of Interstate 80 between Carroll and Marshalltown. The warning goes until 4:30.

This is a picture from our backyard in Waukee this noon. Heavy downpours created a river through our yard to the neighbors to the creek behind our homes.

The cold front that was expected to move all the way through the state stalled out over central Iowa.

Make sure you watch out for flooded areas...or areas that commonly flood. Make sure to call those who might be driving and not know about the flooding to make sure they watch for the roads that might be covered by flood waters.

More storms are expected tonight and again tomorrow night into Thursday. More flooding is certainly possible.

Send us your pictures of flooding to:
http://www.whotv.com/weather/who-weather-photolink,0,6687110.framedurl

The fog this morning was thick. We had a dense fog advisory through 9 AM. The low clouds allowed the streets to remain very wet and the visibilities were near zero an many areas.

This afternoon the warm front to the south will lift and the south wind will be gusty at times. I do not think there is going to be a ton of sun over the northern 1/2 of Iowa. Temperatures will remain cooler because the stratus cloud-cover will hold on through the afternoon.

From Des Moines to Missouri....the sunshine will boost our temperatures to the middle 80s. The south wind will also kick in the higher temperatures. We could see a 30 mph gust today.

The week is still looking wet. More storms are expected tomorrow through Thursday. We could see heavy rainfall over much of the state.

Wet...Windy...Warm and Active Week

So I had the opportunity to be at the Iowa State/Kansas State game Saturday. It was a warm day...the game was not as hot.

You will see by the picture that I was on the Kansas State side. One of my best friends had the tickets and he happens to be a K-State graduate. It just so happens he also played football at Kansas State and lettered four years as a Wildcat.

I did proudly weather the crowd and the heat in my Iowa State colors. It was like being in the mouth of the giant purple people eater. Good game...and very nice K-State fans. Wonder if they would have been so kind if ISU won the game. I also threw in a little video of the Iowa State marching band before the game.

The weather between Kansas City and Des Moines is often much different on any given Saturday. This weekend was no exception. We left K.C. today and it was 91 degrees. The sun was bright and the humidity was high. We ran into the fog and drizzle around Osceola. Dense fog was around the car until Warren County. By the time we hit Waukee...it was 56 degrees and we had light drizzle.

There will be a strong south wind along the front to the south of Des Moines tonight. The warm front will lift to the north and the gusty south wind will help warm us to the middle 80s tomorrow.

Then a strong cold front will slide through the state Tuesday and Wednesday. Storms are expected through Tuesday night and Wednesday morning.

It will be cooler Wednesday...but another warm front will lift from the south and kick in the 80s for Thursday. Gusty south wind will whip up another chance for storms Wednesday night and Thursday.

Like Iowa State...we might all get ready for the roller coaster of ups and downs. Good luck and good game to everyone.

Indianola Bike Night...Tomorrow Night

Tomorrow night the city of Indianola is going to be hopping and rolling with thunder as they host the Bike Down to I-Town Bike night.

During the summer every third Friday of the month you will find one of the region's largest motorcycle gatherings.

The city square is the target and it is full of people showing off their rides and lots of great food, entertainment and family fun. The event starts at 6 and goes until 10. On the average night there are 3000 to 5000 bikes. Admission is free and tomorrow night's band is Cruise Control.

Tomorrow night there will be some clouds overhead, but the threat of storms will move in well after the thunder on the ground moves out of Indianola.

http://www.bikedowntoitown.com/events.html

Plug for Brew Pub

I had the chance to hang out in Ottumwa last weekend during the Hogs 4 Dogs Heartland Animal Rescue League and we were treated to a great dinner at a new restaurant/brew pub.

It's the Appanoose Rapids Brewing Company. You can find it right on Main Street. The place is in a very cool renovated area of Ottumwa's downtown.

You are looking at the back of the restaurant. It is right on the Des Moines River.

Through the street-side entrance you will see a huge bar that has the company's own micro brews. The three original beers include a west coast pale, a raspberry wheat and a brown ale. They will also have a seasonal beer on tap.

To the owner...Tim Ware...way to go! This is a great addition to the Ottumwa downtown area. This is the kind of place that is going to be the lifeblood of Main Street. Our towns need people who will take the risk and put together classic places to gather. This will help keep the lights on in the storefronts of the hearts of our Iowa communities.

Busy Year...Bigger Than Texas!

This graph is courtesy of of the Iowa Environmental Mesonet at the Iowa State University Department of Agronomy. It shows just how active 2010 has been.

For the first time since 1997 we have had more watches than the state of Texas. The bottom graph shows the percentage of watches issued for Iowa. This year has seen the highest percentage.

No wonder I've seen more of the weather office than my wife and kids this year.

You have to check out the EMI site. They do a great job with interesting facts about Iowa weather you won't find anywhere else.

A must for all weather geeks. Check out their web site:

http://mesonet.agron.iastate.edu/

Forecast Time!

The clouds are going to clear later this afternoon...but we will only see the upper 60s for highs. Friday is looking nice with highs in the middle 70s. It will be sunny in the morning with more clouds moving in by the afternoon. There is a chance for showers and thunderstorms late Friday night and early Saturday.

Saturday night and Sunday morning will also be active with a chance for showers and thunderstorms. It will not be a complete wash-out for the weekend... but it will be more active than we thought earlier this week. Highs will stay in the upper 60s Saturday and 70s on Sunday.
More active weather is on the way this weekend.

Rainbow...Good Sign

Rainbow pictures came into the photolink last night and I even had a chance to run out and get a shot of the very light colored rainbow between our NBC dish and tower downtown.
The storms yesterday dropped over 2 inches of rain in Cass County over in western Iowa...and then dumped about the same amount in Appanoose County in southeastern Iowa.

The Waukee/Ottumwa football game had to be called early because of lightning. (Waukee won 31 to 7) They were playing in Ottumwa last night after the Friday night game was called because of severe weather.

More showers are expected later today and heavy rainfall again tomorrow night. The stationary front that is parked over the Midwest is the headache maker for all our forecasts this week. Once it finally kicks out...giving us the heavy rain tomorrow... we will see drier weather Thursday and Friday.

Have a great day and keep the promise of the rainbow with you through the next couple days.

More pictures from the Hogs 4 Dogs benefit over the weekend. You can see the dog "patch" on his motorcycle. Patch was so happy to be riding on the trip. He would look behind and see the riders coming up on the road and actually smile! It was amazing. So cool.

you can also see there were plenty of hugs from the Hogs 4 Dogs riders. No complaints from me.

The Heartland Animal Rescue League was fabulous to host Aaron Brilbeck and me.

Hogs 4 Dogs...Event of the Weekend

We are so honored to be involved with so many great charities each year.

This weekend Aaron Brilbeck and I participated in the Hogs 4 Dogs bike rally in Ottumwa.

It was fantastic!

287 bikers took over the Ottumwa Knights of Columbus hall Sunday morning. The run started in Ottumwa and went south to Bloomfield...Pulaski...Farmington...Keosauqua...Douds...Eldon...Agency and back to Ottumwa.

All the money goes to the Heartland Animal Rescue League. The couple in the picture at the top of the blog are John and Tammy Hartley. These great people are ones who put this whole thing together seven years ago. The thousands of dollars raised come from the passion of motorcycles and love of animals.

Here is a letter from one of great folks who rode today and who know John and Tammy.

Mr. Wilson,

Thank you so much for coming to support our Hogs 4 Dogs ride. John and Tammie Hartley are such a great couple to take there passion for motorcycles and use it to help Heartland Humane Society. They don't get enough recognition in Ottumwa but they do the work of so many. We do hope you come back next year and we do hope you bring as many friends as you can. What you have found here is a community passionate about doing what they can to save as many animals as possible and we will take all the help we can get. My husband, Joe, and I were supposed to join everyone at the brewpub the other night but couldn't because of his work. We have three rescued dogs, one of which is special needs or at least "special" so we understand how much money and work it takes to shelter animals. My husband made and donated the Bad Dog Brewery Treats that were for sale. The grain came from the Brewpub where you ate the other night. So you might say that everyone in the community has a level of involvement but the Hartley's far outshine anyone else with their organization of Hogs 4 Dogs. Again, thank you for your support and we'll see you next year.
Thank you again!
Mindy Beekman

Mindy said it well. The event was one of the best I've attended in the 22 years I've worked at Channel 13. Ottumwa...you should be so proud of the organization and effort of your town and the communities along this year's ride.

Next year I am blocking out the second weekend in September for the Hogs 4 Dogs ride. If you ride a Harley, Honda, Kawasaki, Victory, Buel or custom chopper...you need to be on the ride next September...the weekend after Labor Day.

(((There is plenty to do...even if you don't drive a motorcycle. The celebrity bar night on Friday was a huge success. )))

www.hogs4dogs.net will keep you updated and give you a ton of pictures from the great ride over the past weekend. It would be so cool to have 500 bikes next year. Come along for the rumble, the ride and the Heartland Rescue League.

Summer Rainfall Totals...More Again Tonight

Here we go again. There is a good chance for strong storms to move through the southwestern counties of Iowa into Central Iowa by tomorrow morning. I expect the largest storms to move through the metro between 2 AM and 5 AM.

Last night 4 inches of rain fell in Ames. Here in Des Moines we had 1.41" of rain. That brought our total rainfall for the summer 29.60". That was just .07" behind the record summer rainfall of 1993.

We are still in the running for record rainfall for the year. We are going to see more rain tonight and again next week.

Hurricane Earl is going to slow down the movement of all other storms over the next few days. Earl will slide along the eastern coast of the U.S. It will be strong enough to put a hold on the storms to the west. For us that will mean sunny conditions through the weekend....including a warm and sunny Labor Day.