IT HAS BEEN WINDY, COLD, WINTERY ... BUT THANKS FOR GOOD SHARE OF SUNSHINE. OVER THE WEEKEND, ICY CONDITIONS FOR MOTORISTS AND AROUND 3 INCHES OF SNOW IN MAQUOKETA. LAST N IGHT, HAD A LOW OF 3 BELOW. A LITTLE WARMER WEATHER PREDICTED FOR THE REST OF THE WEEK AND WEEKEND.

HAD A GOOD TIME IN "THE VILLAGES", FLORIDA, VISITING DEAN AND KAREN TILTON. THEY HAVE BEEN FRIENDS SINCE THE MID 60'S AND DEAN AND I WERE PARTNERS IN THE KFC RESTAURANT FOR 20 YEARS, UNTIL WE SOLD IT. KAREN WAS LONGTIME TEACHER AT MCHS. BOTH RETIRED A COUPLE YEARS GO, CHECKED OUT THE VILLAGES AND MOVED THERE IN AUGUST OF 2005. DEAN WAS WITH A NATIONWIDE CORPORATE COOKBOOK COMPANY IN SALES FOR MANY YEARS AND STILL
WORKS A FEW DAYS A MONTH FOR THEM, AT THEIR HEADQUARTERS IN
NASHVILLE. THE VILLAGES (THAT'S NAME OF CITY, THE VILLAGES)
ARE LOCATED ABOUT 40 MILES NORTH OF ORLANDA, A PLANNED RETIREMENT CITY THAT HAS HAD TREMENDOUS GROWTH THE PAST 5 YEARS AND NOW HAS A POPULATION OF ABOUT 60,000 AND WILL GO TO 100,000 IN A FEW YEARS, AND THEN DEVELOPMENT WILL STOP.
NO ON UNDER 55 CAN LIVE THEIR .. 30 GOLF COURSES...THE COUNTY IS THE FASTED GROWING IN FLORIDA. FIRST CLASS PLACE FOR SENIORS.
MIGHT WANT TO CHECK OUT THEIR WEB SITE. IT WAS NEAR 80 EVERYDAY I WAS THERE, WHILE ICE AND SNOW WAS HAPPENING HERE. GOOD TIME TO BE GONE.

A SPORTS SUMMARY: THE WRESTLERS WENT 1 AND 2 IN THEIR OWN DUAL TOURNAMENT, BEATING DAVENPORT NORTH AND LOOSING TO BOTH MOUNT VERNON AND WESTERN DUBUQUE. THEY WRESTLE MIDLAND WYOMING TOMORROW NIGHT (WE'LL BROADCAST THE MATCHES) AND ARE NOW 4 AND 7 IN DUAL MEETS.
THE BOYS BASKETBALL TEAM DEFEATED DYERSVILLE BECKMAN FRIDAY NIGHT AND LAST NIGHT, HERE, BEAT MARION IN DOUBLE OVERTIME, 60 TO 57. MATT GERLACH WAS HIGH WITH 22 POINTS AND BRAD COOK GOT A 3-POINT BASKET IN THE LAST COUPLE SECONDS TO GIVE THE CARDS THE WIN. MEANWHILE, ALSO LAST N IGHT, THE GIRLS LOST AT MARION BY A FEW POINTS. LAST FRIDAY NIGHT THEY LOST TO DYERSVILLE 42 TO 40. THEY HAVE BEEN HAVING SOME BAD LUCK, LOOSING BY CLOSE MARGINS AND ARE NOW 3 AND 8 IN THE WAMAC.
ADAM HEPKER'S COLLEGE TEAM LOST THEIR FIRST GAME LAST NIGHT.

A 13-YEAR OLD TEENAGER WAS BEEN CHARGED IN CONNECTION WITH A THREATENING GRAFFITI FOUND AT THE HIGH SCHOOL IN DEWITT BEFORE CHRISTMAS.

A SABULA MAN HAS ASKED THE JACKSON COUNTY SUPERVISORS TO AGAIN PUT ON THREE MUSIC AND MOTORCYCLE RALLIES THIS SUMMER.
LAST YEAR, THE MAN PUT ON 2 OR 3 AND THEY WERE NOT POPULAR WITH
SOME OF THE RESIDENTS IN THE AREA, SO THE SUPERVISORS WILL TALK IT OVER IN A WORK SESSION JANUARY 30TH.

NOT A LOT OF NEWS THE PAST FEW DAYS....JUST LOTS OF WEATHER TALK FOR THE FIRST BAD WEATHER OF THE WINTER.
HERE AT KMAQ, WE GOT RADIO BINGO UNDERWAY MONDAY AND HAVE A LOT TO DO GETTING READY FOR THE 10TH ANNUAL FARM AND HOME SHOW IN EARLY FEBRUARY.

MY DAUGHTER, LONNA, GOT A FIRST-LOOK AT THE NEW WAL MART STORE THIS WEEK, THE SUPER WAL MART THEY CALL IT....AND SAID ITS NICE...AND BIG. SHE WORKS FOR MAQUOKETA STATE BANK, AND THEY WILL CONTINUE TO HAVE THE ATM MACHINE FOR THE STORE. RIBBON CUTTING CERMONY IS THIS FRIDAY NIGHT, AND THE NEW STORE OPENS EARLY SATURDAY MORNING. IT WILL HAVE A FULL GROCERY STORE AND WILL , WITH NEW EMPLOYEES, HAVE A TOTAL WORKFORCE OF WELL OVER 200. AND OPEN 24 HOURS A DAY (OLD STORE CLOSES AT 10P.M) AND IS ABOUT TWICE THE SIZE OF THE OLD STORE. KMAQ WILL BE DOING REMOTE BROADCASTS FROM THE NEW STORE SATURDAY MORNING.
THEISEN'S (FARM STORE) WILL MOVE TO THE OLD BUILDING, BUT NOT FOR A FEW MONTHS. THEY ARE NOW ON EAST PLATT.

BACK TO THE VILLAGES, FLORIDA. SUNDAY, WE WENT TO THE HOPE LUTHERAN CHURCH THERE. LARGE BEAUTIFUL CHURCH. TALKED TO A MEMBER AND 5 YEARS AGO, IT HAD 150 MEMBERS AND NOW HAS 12-HUNDRED. FIVE WEEKEND SERVICES, TWO PASTORS, A FULLTIME MUSIC DIRECTOR AND (I HOPE PASTOR GJERDE READS THIS) THE SERMON WAS 8 MINUTES LONG AND THE 8 A.M. SERVICE GOT OUT AT 8:46 A.M.

OH YES....I WAS INTERVIEWED BRIEFLY ON THEIR RADIO STATION (PLAYS 40'S AND 50'S MUSIC 24 HOURS A DAY) AND OF COURSE, THE FIRST THING I HAD TO DO WAS TELL THE ANNOUNCER HOW TO PRONOUNCE MAQUOKETA.

HOW MANY TIMES HAVE YOU DONE THAT IN YOUR LIFETIME?

LET ME KNOW IF YOU WOULD LIKE DEAN AND KAREN'S EMAIL ADDRESS,
IN CASE YOU WANT TO KNOW MORE ABOUT SUNNY FLORIDA.

THANKS FOR CHECKING IN TODAY. BET YOU MISSED ME A LITTLE WHILE I WAS GONE. YOU KNOW WHAT? I MIGHT DO SOME MORE TRIPS LIKE THAT....

DENNIS VOY