FROM KCCI: There are fewer radon mitigation specialists than counties in Iowa. The price of a $15 movie ticket could be the first step in Iowans protecting themselves from a real villain: radon. It's a radioactive gas that kills 400 Iowans a year and is a known cause of lung cancer. "Radon testing is cheap," says Rep. Austin Baeth, D-Des Moines. Most Iowans do not test their homes, Baeth, a physician, tells KCCI Investigates. ... READ MORE

FROM WHO-TV: Catholic school enrollment rises in Iowa as ESA eligibility expands statewide. It has been nearly three years since a law was passed allowing families to use education savings accounts, or ESAs, to help pay for private school expenses. The 2025-26 school year marked the first time families of any income level were eligible to apply. Since then, private school enrollment has increased while public school enrollment has declined. ... READ MORE

FROM WOI: Former Iowa Secretary of Agriculture posthumously honored with national award. A farm truck in Washington D.C. is how Iowa Farm Bureau President Brent Johnson remembers former Iowa Secretary of Agriculture Bill Northey. Northey was honored posthumously with the American Farm Bureau Federation's 2026 Distinguished Service to Agriculture Award during the annual convention last week. He passed away in 2024. ... READ MORE

FROM AROUND THE WORLD: Trump arrives in Switzerland, where his quest to own Greenland could overshadow his other goals. President Donald Trump has landed in Switzerland following hours of delay after a minor electrical issue aboard Air Force forced a return to Washington to switch aircraft. Trump on Wednesday is set to address the World Economic Forum in the Swiss Alps, where his ambitions to wrest control of Greenland from NATO ally Denmark could tear relations with European allies and overshadow his original plan to use his appearance at the gathering of global elites to address affordability issues back home. ... READ MORE

FROM AROUND THE NATION: Justice Department subpoenas Walz and others in immigration enforcement obstruction investigation. Federal prosecutors served six grand jury subpoenas Tuesday to Minnesota officials as part of an investigation into whether they obstructed or impeded federal law enforcement during a sweeping immigration operation in Minneapolis-St. Paul area, a person familiar with the matter said. ... READ MORE

FROM AROUND THE STATE: Dozens of sick animals rescued from northeast Iowa property. The Animal Rescue League of Iowa said it rescued dozens of sick animals from a northeast Iowa property. The ARL said on Tuesday that it was called to assist with a rescue of dozens of animals, including dogs, cats, and chickens. When crews from the ARL arrived at the property, they found the animals living in unhealthy conditions, with many animals suffering from different illnesses and stages of malnourishment. ... READ MORE

Clear Mortgage meteorology

A tiny bit of light snow this afternoon. Dry Thursday, then frigid air comes pouring in Friday and Saturday. Light snow is possible in southern Iowa Sunday.

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

Woebegone Wednesday
Prices for soda and hot dogs increased 400% between Indiana's semi final NCAA football game in Atlanta and the final in Miami.
 
Tailgating used to be an outlet for sports fans who couldn't afford expensive tickets and concessions to show up and have fun supporting their team on a budget. Not anymore for big games like Monday's national championship in college football. The cheapest parking spot that Fox Business could find was $750, and prices as high as $12,000 were not rare. For parking.

Alex Banasik, longtime owner of the Down Under Bar & Grill and a respected figure in Iowa’s hospitality and live music communities, passed. RIP, Alex.

Deals today
• Chicago Speakeasy's (1320 E. Euclid Ave., Des Moines) Wednesday lunch special is hot beef sandwich. Those are made with pan drippings gravy and include their ice chilled salad bar.

• Today is fried chicken with mashed potatoes day at Sale Barn Cafe (Lamoni).

• Wednesdays are Chicago Italian beef sandwich day at Graziano Brothers (1601 S. Union St., Des Moines).

• Eight pieces of bone-in fried chicken are $9.99 on Wednesdays at Kwik Star.

• Chicken tetrazzini is today's special at Crouse Cafe (115 E. Salem, Indianola).

•  AJ's (Prairie Meadows) has a new early bird menu on Wednesday and Thursday from 4-6 p.m. Half-pound burgers with frites $15, pasta and chicken dinners, $20-22, seafood and steak dinners $27-30. Prime rib dinners for $30 all night. 

• Hy-Vees offer chicken and noodles dinners for $5 on Wednesdays.

• Guesthouse Tavern and Oyster (9500 University, West Des Moine) offers Walleye Wednesday with dinners $21.

• Jack’s Place (6112 S.W. Ninth, Des Moines) has 10 wings for $10 Wednesdays.

• Mitzi's (125 Fifth, Valley Junction) offers $7 cheeseburger and fries deals on Wednesday. 

• Kids eat free on Wednesday at Short E's BBQ (8805 Chambery Blvd., Johnston).

• Fareway is offering $5 rotisserie chicken on Wednesdays. Other days they cost about $9.

• Whatcha Smokin? (Highway 17, Luther) has a brisket burnt ends special on Wednesdays.

• Kelly's Little Nipper (1701 E. Grand Ave., Des Moines) offers any burger with a side for $10 on Wednesdays. 

• Exile (1514 Walnut St., Des Moines) offers a $12 burger basket with fries and a beer on Wednesdays. 

• Beaver Tap (4050 Urbandale Ave., Des Moines) offers $8 French toast or pancake breakfasts and $2 tacos, $9 wraps and $10 half pounds of wings on Wednesdays. 

• Johnny's Italian Steakhouses have a chicken Madeira special on Wednesdays before 4 p.m., $15 including beverage.

• Club 2000 (422 Indianola Road, Des Moines) offers 10 wings for $10 on Wednesdays and steak night, too.

• Smoking Goat Pub (3015 Merle Hay Road, Des Moines) has a $10 classic burger and beer all day. 

• Paula's (524 Elm, Valley Junction) has a Wednesday special beef stew with biscuit, $13.50.

• Gilroy's (1238 Eighth St., West Des Moines) has all you can eat fried chicken dinners on Wednesdays, $23.99 after 5 p.m. 

• Wednesdays bring steak night to Club 2000 (422 Indianola Road, Des Moines). Steaks are cooked to order with salad, potato and bread, $14.99.

• Angry Goldfish (2301 S.W. Ninth St., Des Moines) offers hot beef sandwiches with mashed potatoes and gravy for $11.50 on Wednesday. It's also hot beef sandwich day at Chicago Speakeasy (1520 Euclid Ave.) where the gravy is made with pan drippings.

• Curbin' Cuisine (1325 S.W. Oralabor Road, Ankeny) offers traditional gyros for $7 Wednesdays. 

• Wine bottles are half price on Wednesdays at Trostel's Greenbriar (5910 Merle Hay Road, Johnston), Table 128 (220 S.W. Ninth, Des Moines) and The Continental (407 E. Fifth St., Des Moines). 

• G Mig's (128 Fifth St., Valley Junction) offers a Wednesday special lasagna dinner plus salad and garlic bread for $19.25.

• Barntown's (9500 S.E. University Ave., West Des Moines) Wednesday specials are a  pound of chicken tenders with fries and two sauces for $11.99, plus $13 core pitchers of beer.

• Wednesday is Biryani Festival at Chowrastha (5910 Ashworth Road, West Des Moines). Buy two and a third is free.

• Tacos Mariana's (1305 University Ave., Des Moines) and The Station (3124 Ingersoll, Des Moines) have specials on tacos today. 

• Village Inns offer free pie with entrees on Wednesdays. 

• It's lasagna day at Maxie's Supper Club (1311 Grand Ave., West Des Moines) and breaded pork tenderloin day at Eastside Eddie's (3517 E. 26th St., Des Moines).

• Panka Peruvian (2708 Ingersoll Ave., Des Moines) has live jazz Wednesday. 

• Chuck's (3610 Sixth Ave., Des Moines) offers $5 off pizza on Wednesdays.

• On Wednesdays, flatbreads are $10 at Tito's Lounge (3916 N.W. Urbandale Drive, Urbandale). 

• Jethro's have $9.95 breaded pork tenderloin sandwiches, including a side of choice, on Wednesdays.  

• Price Chopper stores have sales through Monday on frozen spareribs at $1.99/pound, red or gold potatoes at $2.99/5-pound bag and Boston Market frozen dinners at $2.99 each.

• Fresh Thyme (2800 University Ave., West Des Moines) is running a sale through Tuesday on fresh Atlantic salmon filets at $10.99/pound, rainbow trout filets at $5.99/pound and BOGOs on 400 items. 

— Jim Duncan, jd91446@aol.com

1910: U.S. immigration station Angel Island opens in San Francisco Bay. Referred to as the "Ellis Island of the West," Angel Island in California's San Francisco Bay opens Jan. 21, 1910, as America's major port of entry for Asian immigrants. Over the next 30 years, an estimated 100,000 Chinese and 70,000 Japanese are processed through the station. … READ MORE

1977: President Carter pardons draft dodgers. On Jan. 21, 1977, U.S. President Jimmy Carter grants an unconditional pardon to hundreds of thousands of men who evaded the draft during the Vietnam War. … READ MORE

2017: Women’s March. On the first full day of Donald Trump’s presidency, hundreds of thousands of people crowd into the U.S. capital for the Women’s March on Washington, a massive protest in the nation’s capital aimed largely at the Trump administration and the threat it represented to reproductive, civil and human rights. … READ MORE

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