Siouxland’s News Channel is ecstatic to welcome severalnew members to the KTIV family this week! Angela DeHarty, Mark Victoria, Rebecca Varilek, Jacob Peklo, Kaitlin Stevens and Steve Long are all new additions to our Emmy award winning news team.

Angela is a former intern at News 4 and recent graduate from the University of Northern Iowa. She’ll be taking charge of producing News 4 at six and News 4 at ten. Mark Victoria is product of the Windy City and a former chef! You’ll see him out and about in Siouxland reporting as one of our many talented Multi-Media Journalists. Rebecca Varilek could best be described a Jill of all trades. She’s spent the last four year covering KSU sports after serveral ventures in news.

Steve Long & Kaitlin Stevens are two of the newer additions to our team. As content manager, Steve will help keep the news gears greased by tracking down stories and working directly with our viewers. We are excited to have him aboard! Kaitlin will be taking over as producer of News 4 Today. After a few weeks with Al Joens,Christy Batien and Riley O’Connor she may be having too much fun at work! Last but not least, our most recent addition is Jacob Peklo. Jacob has several journalism degrees and has even interned for ESPN-1000 inChicago.

We’d like to welcome all of our new team members and we’re excited to have you aboard as we move in 2012!

Posted under Newsroom Notebook

NASA said it’s nothing to worry about, but Tuesday evening an asteroid a quarter-mile wide zipped by Earth barely 200,000 miles away. That’s closer than the moon. Scientists had been watching it for six years, but said you’ll need at least a six-inch telescope and a good sky chart to spot it.

That was an excerpt from a larger article published by the Associated Press Tuesday.  Looking at the image NASA released, it’s easy to see why many folks weren’t worried about the projectile.

 Another picture sent in by a newspotter paints a much differnt scenario of what could have happened.

Picture taken from a Dish Network satellite.

 I’m glad the rock sailed on by but it definitely got me thinking!

Posted under Newsroom Notebook

Tuesday was an interesting night in Siouxland. Most folks were sitting at home, going about their evening routines, seemingly unaware a major scam was already underway. Around 8:00 p.m. last night, News 4 received an email from local police about a potential financial scam. Just how far the scam had reached was something we’d soon find out. You may be asking yourself, how could you fall for something like that?

Well, the automated call says your account will be deactivated “for security reasons”. The call then prompts you to enter your credit card number. So, if one were to volunteer information, it wouldn’t seem farfetched. But as we near 2012, we know that scams have become as regular as the seasons. Individuals will use any means necessary to acquire personal info, and like it or not, it’s your job to protect yourself. Police say these scammers were looking for sensitive information, like social security numbers or credit card numbers, which they can use, or sell. If you’ve gotten a call, you don’t need to contact police. But, check your credit card statements, and report suspicious activity to police. That number in 279-6440. To learn more click here to watch our story from Tuesday night.

One way to combat scams in the digital age is to fight fire with fire. Our evening team posted news of the scam to our facebook wall and in no time at all, over 50 people were sharing their encounters and spreading the news to their friends. Below are some of the posts we saw on our page.

                                                                    Our station saw nearly 70 comments from users after news of the scam broke.

Coming up tonight at six we’ll look at the timeline of Tuesday’s events as well as speak with representatives from Wells Fargo about the scam. If you have stories about how you received a call or have been a victim of a scam in the past, leave us your thoughts!

Posted under Newsroom, Newsroom Notebook, Weblogs

It’s hard to believe that Sunday it will have been a decade. Ten years since four planes were sucessfully hijacked and used as weapons in a coordinated attack against the United States. Roughly 3,560 days since thousands lost their lives and families were left with only memories.  85,440 hours since our men and women were sent overseas to wage war on terrorism. Looking back at the death, destruction and disorder that ensued since that tragic day, we here at KTIV wondered, where are we now?  Needless to say, countless lives were impacted across the nation if not the globe, but what about here in Siouxland? During the next several days we’ll look at how 9/11/01 helped transform the lives of people right here in Siouxland. Clicking the above banner will take you to our website . There you can find out more about the stories we’ll be covering Friday, Saturday and Sunday. While you are here, share your thoughts us with us. Where were you that September morning? How has your life changed? Lastly, where do we go from here? We may feature your comments on an upcoming newscast.

Here is a schedule of the stories we’ll be covering on the anniversary of 9/11.

Friday: Betty Nielsen and the Freedom Quilters update us on their mission of providing comfort to victims and fallen soldiers.

Saturday: Sioux City’s Orpheum Theatre re-opens drawing a standing ovation from a inspired crowd.
How the loss of a loved one changed the lives a  family with roots in small Elgin, Nebraska.

Sunday: The only Siouxlander to be inside the Pentagon when it was hit talks about how his life and his families’ have changed.

Posted under Newsroom Notebook

The man behind Apple’s iPhone, iPad and numerous other devices has resigned.

CEO Steve Jobs, who has had health issues, wrote a letter to Apple’s board and the “Apple community.” The letter says he “always said if there ever came a day when I could no longer meet my duties and expectations as Apple’s CEO, I would be the first to let you know. Unfortunately, that day has come.”

Jobs had been on indefinite leave since January with an unspecified medical condition — his third medical leave in several years. He had previously had treatment for pancreatic cancer and received a liver transplant.

Apple’s chief operating officer, Tim Cook, replaces Jobs as CEO, but Apple says Jobs, who’s been elected board chairman, will continue to provide “his unique insights, creativity and inspiration.”

So what’s next for Apple and the innovative products it creates? We asked some our facebook fans to share their thoughts with us. Here are their responses.

Posted under Newsroom Notebook

Bystander looks on as releases were from the dam were increased to 160,000 cubic feet per second

 Siouxland’s flood fight has been long and ardous to say the least. Many folks were forced to pack up their homes and move to new locales. Many others however, were forced to abandon everything. While releases begin their gradual decrease the question arises; could this have been prevented? Siouxlander’s have overwhelmingly directed fault to the Army Corps of Engineers. Should the question be not who is at fault, rather how can similar disasters be prevented? Tomorrow governors and representatives from eight states will sit down with the Army Corps of Engineers to talk about historic flooding that’s hit their states this summer.  News 4′s Matt Breen sat down with Governor Branstad to talk about what issues he would raise at the meeting Friday. You can watch that story coming up Thursday on News 4 at six (or read about it here). While the majority of us won’t have the opportunity to voice our concerns directly to the Army Corps that doesn’t mean we can’t express our opinion. We’d like to know what you’d say if you had the chance to speak with those officials? Yell, scream… maybe say thanks for doing the best they could? News 4 conversed with some officials with the Corps and they’ve agreed to responsd to some of your questions directly! All you need to do is respond to this post with your thoughts or concerns and we’ll get them passed along.

Posted under Newsroom Notebook

It’s news that spread like wildfire across the globe. Sunday night, President Obama told the nation that American Special Forces killed the leader of Al Qaeda leader in a raid in Pakistan.

The nearly decade long manhunt ended in a dramatic raid that was months in the making. Interestingly enough, the mastermind behind 9/11 wasn’t found secluded in cave, but in suburban mansion.

While Americans across the world celebrate, questions are starting to surface. Is Bin Laden really dead? Where does our country go from here? Will his death stop the movement he inspired? Is the U.S. safer now that he is gone? Will his death mean more or fewer attacks on the our nation and our allies? Will his death help bring our service members home faster?

The road that lies ahead will not be an easy one, much like the road that’s behind us. With a presidential election on the horizon and a country aiming to turn the page, the terrorist ring leader’s death could mean more than just an end to the war on terror, it could be a focal point in our nation’s history.Knowing what you now, please share any of your thoughts on the President’s announcement.

Posted under Newsroom Notebook

It’s been nearly a week since an earthquake triggered a tsunami that has left Japan devastated.

Click here to view an NBC report on recovery efforts.

To make matters worse, workers are still struggling to cool the nuclear power plant Fukushima Dai-ichi.

Aerial photograph outlining different reactors

With no end in sight, and speculations about how catrosphic a meltdown would be for millions, we want to know what you think.

Should the U.S. Government make changes to its current nuclear policies?

Should we focus our efforts on renewable energy, shut down nuclear reactors all together, or perhaps do nothing at all?

Please feel free to leave your opinions!

Posted under Newsroom Notebook

Tuesday, we told you on News Channel Four at Six about a bill in the Nebraska Legislature that if passed, would allow certain school staff to carry concealed weapons at school, as long as it is approved by the school board. Read more about it by clicking here.

Click here to read the actual text of the bill.

Click here to follow that bill as it goes through the legislature.

News Channel Four’s Katie Gannon spoke with school officials in South Sioux City and Ponca; Watch at six to see what they had to say about the possibility of guns at school.

Tell us what you think!  Is this a good or bad idea?

Posted under Newsroom Notebook