😁 Happy Friday! How are we doing, holiday procrastinators? Be honest — are the gifts wrapped, still in bags, or not even purchased yet? No judgement here… it is officially the week before Christmas. 🎄😅

Weekend Weather:
Today ☀ Hi 38, Sat ☀ Hi 39, Sun ☀ Hi 38, Mon ⛅ Hi 46

B&A Club:
🎂 Happy Birthday
Travis Drees -- Breda
Lily Hoffman -- Dedham (14 yrs)
Gracelynn Pinney -- Manning (8 yrs)
🥂 Happy Anniversary
none reported

64% of Americans are planning on watching one this year.

Tom Jones

Whether you’re into so-bad-they’re-good Christmas movies, anti-Christmas Christmas movies, or even semi-horrifying Christmas movies, there seems to be something out there for even the least festive film fans once the holiday season rolls around. Perhaps that’s part of the reason that a full 64% of US adults say they plan on sitting down to watch one this year, per a new YouGov survey.

However, as anyone who’s managed to get halfway through a particularly bad (which is really saying something) Hallmark holiday movie can attest, not all Christmas flicks are created equal, with the same YouGov poll revealing America’s favorites.

“Home Alone,” the 1990 home invasion comedy classic starring a 9-year-old Macaulay Culkin, sits atop the tree, with some 56% of respondents who’d seen the movie saying they loved it. The film hauled a mightily impressive ~$286 million when it was released some 35 years ago, meaning it’s not only the most loved American Christmas film, but also the top-grossing, per Box Office Mojo figures.

“A Charlie Brown Christmas” from 1965, with its soft-jazzy soundtrack, which has become a favorite among vinyl-hoarding music aficionados the world over, sits in second place, while other decades-old movies like “White Christmas” (1954) and, maybe controversially, “Die Hard” (1988) round out much of America’s list of favorites.

Indeed, you have to get down as far as “The Holdovers” from 2023 in 10th place to find the first holiday movie made in the last 20 years, suggesting that it takes quite an effort to break into America’s Christmas movie royalty.

CLICK HIGHLIGHTED FOR AUDIO: The City of Carroll is in the midst of budget preparations for Fiscal Year (FY) 2027, and local organizations are beginning to submit their funding requests. Monday’s meeting featured local economic development staff from the Carroll Chamber of Commerce and Carroll County Growth Partnership (CCGP). CCGP Executive Director Kimberly Tiefenthaler, who has announced her retirement, effective at the beginning of April, presented her final funding request to the city council. Rather than look at just the last year, Tiefenthaler instead reviewed her four-year tenure with CCGP. She took over the county’s economic development at a difficult time, following the closure of several downtown Carroll businesses. Tiefenthaler says it was a wake-up call for many in the community. More than half of the county’s residents and jobs are in Carroll, so much of CCGP’s attention is on Carroll. However, Tiefenthaler stresses that CCGP was created to operate countywide, and she says they leaned on community leaders in smaller communities while addressing challenges in the region’s economic center. CCGP brought in the Iowa Economic Development Authority’s (IEDA) Downtown Resource Center to take a close look. They found Carroll was positioned well compared to many similarly sized cities, but there was still room for improvement. She cites the award of a $100,000 IEDA Emergency Catalyst Grant to facilitate the conversion of the former JCPenney building to a dance studio and tens of thousands of dollars in smaller grants to downtown businesses for façade improvements. Tiefenthaler says the city’s continued support of CCGP has been critical for the central business district and beyond. According to Tiefenthaler, the city has invested $380,000 into downtown, leveraging $1.1 million in private investment. That is nearly a 3:1 return. She adds Carroll County has seen taxable sales increase year after year recently, which suggests CCGP’s efforts, while not always obvious, are having a positive impact. Tiefenthaler says the momentum has shifted, and now is not the time to lay off the gas. About a third of CCGP’s funding comes from the City of Carroll. Another third comes from Carroll County, and the remaining third is sourced through private investment. The council did not make any decisions on the request at Monday’s meeting, as that will be made further along in the budgeting process.

 More Local Headlines

Finally serious about weight loss? Join 500,000 weight loss patients & lose pounds of fat every week. MedVi provides highly effective GLP-1 treatments, personalized guidance, and everything you need to see real, consistent fat-loss results.

There are no membership fees, nothing confusing, and no insurance required. Just one simple, science-backed program that helps you get healthier each week.

Start today for only $179 and get free shipping.

Start Your Journey

_{Read all warnings before using GLP-ls. Side-effects may include a risk of thyroid c-cell tumors. Do not use GLP-1s if you or your family have a history of thyroid cancer. In certain situations, where clinically appropriate, a provider may prescribe compounded medication, which is prepared by a state-licensed sterile compounding pharmacy partner. Although compounded drugs are permitted to be prescribed under federal law, they are not FDA-approved and do not undergo FDA review for safety, effectiveness, or manufacturing quality.}

📆 Glidden-Ralston (G-R) Community School District Administrators held a town hall meeting Wednesday evening discussing the district potentially transitioning into a four-day week in the upcoming school year. Superintendent Tom Ridder says administration and the school board started exploring the idea in September, with the main reason being to attract students to the district after losing three students in Fiscal Year (FY) 2024 and 13 students in FY25. Adding declining enrollment, open-enrolled students and losing students to private schools equates to a 37-pupil loss over a two-year period for G-R, with the district losing around $300,000 in funding over the same timeframe from the state. A proposed tentative schedule would be instruction days Tuesday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 3:45 p.m., for an approximate 153 days or 1,109 hours. Teachers would utilize one Monday per month for professional development, meetings, and prep work for their academics, which High School Principal Tony Napierala says would be extremely beneficial for staff. In parents’ surveys that were sent out prior to the meeting, a question of concern came up about academics and how it would be affected with losing a day of instruction. Former administrator at Martensdale-St. Mary’s Beth Happe says that district saw grade level improvement of over 40 percent for testing in English-Language Arts, around 88 percent for math, and approximately 66 percent for science, as there was more time throughout the day to implement instruction. The next major concern that was address was daycare, which Ridder says the district is looking into opening the building up to the Lil’ Wildcat Education Center to be able to accommodate additional children. Both Happe and Exira-Elk Horn-Kimbalton (Exira-EHK) Superintendent Trevor Miller says before transitioning they had a plan to offer additional child care opportunities, but it was not needed. Other concerns were for support staff pay, which Miller says Exira-EHK raised hourly staff wages so they would make similar to what they do only working four days instead of all five days, and food insecurity, with a food pantry now available for all district families in need at Exira-EHK. Ridder says while no definite plan is being proposed, G-R will explore all ideas to address those same concerns. G-R Administration and the school board plan to review data received from surveys, and have a few more town hall meetings before a recommended action will be voted on during the Feb. 11, 2026 meeting. Anyone with additional questions or concerns are asked to reach out to any of G-R admin team, contact points have been included below.

🚧 Scheduled wind turbine work in northern Audubon County will disrupt traffic on Mockingbird Avenue for the next several weeks. Contractors will be active in the area near 130^th and 140^th Streets through Friday, Jan. 9, as they complete repairs on the structures. Due to the nature of the equipment being used. Mockingbird Avenue will be closed intermittently, so a detour route has been established around the work area that will have motorists travel a mile east to Nighthawk Avenue to circumvent the work area. Residents with questions or concerns can contact the Audubon County Road Department by calling 712-563-4286 or use the contact points included below.

_____

[email protected]
[email protected]
[email protected]
[email protected]Share on FacebookShare on Twi

Join us for the last episode of Must Know People, as John Ryan, a legendary voice in community radio, bids farewell to the microphone. Discover the humorous and unexpected turns that characterized John's career, including sleepless nights and memorable mishaps on air. Listen to John's insights on how radio has evolved and what it means for the future as he opens up about his storied past and his plans moving forward. LISTEN NOW

At the start of each week the Carroll Broadcasting Sports Network Crew catches up with area high school coaches to recap their previous weeks events and preview the match ups that are happening for the week ahead. Listen here and subscribe.

More Sports:

If you want the latest local sports anytime when you want it, download our APP to read, listen, and watch everything our local sports department has to offer!

Two highly anticipated condo or townhome projects along Fleur Drive are facing indefinite delays as rising interest rates and economic uncertainty slow down the area's previously swift expansion, their developers tell Axios.

Why it matters: The slowdown indicates a reset in Des Moines' upper-tier housing market, which has been strong in recent years as part of the fastest-growing metro in the Midwest.

Case in point: Pinnacle on Fleur, a high-end development on the former AIB campus, has sold only one of 15 units listed since June 2024.

Zoom in: Less than a block south of the Pinnacle, developer Adam Sieren has indefinitely paused his planned Oaks on Fleur project.

The intrigue: Sieren is moving forward with Westwood Estates, a separate luxury condominium project at 5702 Grand Ave., targeting cash-ready downsizing buyers.

State of play: Hubbell Realty, one of Des Moines' largest development companies, also recognizes a slowdown in the high-end market and is shifting focus to offer more affordable townhomes starting around $240,000 in places like Gray's Station, CEO Rick Tollakson tells Axios.

Reality check: New condos and townhomes make up a small portion of metro sales, Les Sulgrove, a local Realtor and former president of the DSM Area Association of Realtors, tells Axios.

Stunning stat: DSM's building permit values exceeded $1 billion in the fiscal year that ended in June — a record even after adjusting for inflation.

What we're watching: The Des Moines City Council is reviewing changes to its tax abatement program and recently delayed action on the matter to consult more with developers.

More News:

✅LAST MINUTE: Don’t forget to check these off your to-do list…
✅A BUSY TIME: Last minute Holiday Hosting hacks that will actually save your sanity.
✅LISTEN: A festive playlist to make wrapping gifts feel way more fun.
✅DRIVE: Check out the best route for local Christmas light displays.
✅FOR THE MOMS: Quick and easy Elf on the Shelf ideas.
✅WATCH: Add these to your Christmas movie watch list this year!
✅TONIGHT: 3rd Annual Christmas Scavenger Hunt event by Grit in Willey!
✅SATURDAY: ASA 2025 Christmas Concert at the Carroll Recreation Center!

Mini-Crossword: For those of you that wake up each morning wanting a challenge - how fast can you complete this mini-crossword. Ready, set, go.

Share this Newsletter with your friends, coworkers, and acquire free Carroll Broadcasting swag! You never know you might make new friends as a result!

Or copy & paste your referral link to Share The Love to others:

{{ rp_refer_url }}

Reminder: you have {{ rp_num_referrals }} referrals!
What you need: {{ rp_num_referrals_until_next_milestone }} more!

*Please do not use use fake email addresses - they will not qualify as referrals. Thank you!