The Des Moines Register from Des Moines, Iowa • Page 13

Cards Spark Dinner Talk Page 6B EH Whim 5B ST Thursday February 8, 2001 On The Web Look for restaurant and movie reviews at DesMoinesRegister.com entertainment JEANNE ABBOTT, Features Editor 515-284-8029 e-mail: abbottjnews.dmreg.com Tops on TV Iowansglad AIDS office to stay open By SUSAN KREIMER REGISTER STAFF WRITER AIDS activists in Iowa were relieved when the White House announced Wednesday that President Bush will keep offices on the illness and race relations. The decision reversed an earlier one to close two offices created by former Ed Wilson 1 meteorologist I i-y DES 0 I SVJW ON THE AIR: "WHO-TV 13 News Primetime at 9," 9 p.m. on Pax channel 39 in Des Moines, which is channel 10 on cable. Kathryn Pritchard news anchor AIDS hot line Call (800) 445-2437. President Bill Clinton the Office of National AIDS Policy and the Office on the President's Initia Keith Murphy sports anchor 'Three 7 p.m.

on Cinemax In the waning days of Desert Storm, three soldiers find a map pointing the way to a stash of gold. George Clooney (above) stars. ThisLooksFun Sample wine and food The 2001 Wine and Food Odyssey from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. Feb. 23 shares food by numerous Des Moines restaurants and caterers and a large selection of wines, champagnes and microbrew beers by area distributers for unlimited tasting.

Silent auction offers gifts and gift packages to choose from. The event is at the Des Moines Marriott, 700 Grand Ave. Proceeds go to the Des Moines Metro Opera. WHO-TV 13 and Fox 17 compete for viewers with 9 p.m. newscasts make our mark before our friends at said Mike Bock, president and general manager of WHO-TV.

The newscast is being taped at 7:30 p.m. until the station works out technical details. The WHO-TV 30-minute newscast airs on KFPX, or Pax channel 39 in Des Moines and channel 10 on cable systems. When NBC became a part owner of Pax, its stations nationwide began rebroadcasting news from the local NBC newscast. be based in Des Moines, said news director Suzy Robinette.

"The news content will all be in Des Moines unless a really big story happens in eastern Iowa," she said. "We'll also have some medical stories out of the University of Iowa" The trend for early news has hit nationwide because viewership has dropped dramatically for local news, said Deborah Potter of NewsLab, a Washington, D.C., non-profit agency that researches television news. A recent NewsLab national survey showed that a third of respondents weren't home or didn't have time to watch local news. As a result, Potter said, expanded morning shows and added evening time slots have popped up nationwide. In bigger cities, 7 p.m.

newscasts are offering a product for those See NEWS, Page 8B WHO-TV opted to produce an original newscast. News director Liz Combs said the earlier newscast meets the needs of people who go to bed before 10 p.m., which research shows is common in the Des Moines market. The WHO-produced newscast includes the familiar faces of anchor Kathryn Pritchard, sports anchor Keith Murphy and meteorologist Ed Wilsoa Bock said the station will add "two or three" positions to produce the extra product. KDSM-TV, Fox 17, is using the studio and some staff from its sister station in Cedar Rapids, KGAN-TV. Both are owned by Sinclair Broadcasting Group.

The team of KGAN's Tiffany O'Donnell, Chris Miller and Dave Towne will read the news, sports and weather from the Cedar Rapids studio. A 10-person team of photographers and reporters will By MIKE KILEN REGISTER STAFF WHITER Two new 9 p.m. newscasts are launching in Des Moines, promising early-to-bed viewers another option for local news. Critics say it may be too much air time in a city that is short on breaking news and wed to a 10 p.m. traditioa "WHO-TV 13 News Primetime at 91 debuted last week, beating the March 4 launch at KDSM-TV, the local Fox affiliate.

"We've been talking about this for a couple months. But, yeah, we did say, We can do this now and tive for One America. Advocates said such a move would have spelled bad news for the public. "There's an erroneous perception in our community that AIDS is no longer a threat because people are living longer on the new medications," said Peggy Sandeen, executive director of the AIDS Project of Central Iowa. "If we send the message that this is over, that gives people an excuse to ignore prevention messages or to participate in behaviors that put them at risk." People heighten their risks by having sex without a condom and sharing needles while injecting drugs.

Once a person catches a strain of HIV that has become immune to treatment, chances are medications wont be effective. "Recent reports are recommending that physicians wait to start the drugs. Eventually, the drugs won't work for anyone, said Lynn Laws, coordinator of the Iowa Statewide HTV-AIDS Network. The number of known AIDS cases in Iowa has leveled off in recent years, but the comfort level has contributed to careless behaviors, said Karen Hyatt-Smith, director of the AIDS Hotline. From February 1983 to December 2000, a total of 1,313 cases and 729 deaths were reported to the Iowa Department of Public Health.

AIDS peaked in 1993, with 191 cases. Last year, 94 AIDS cases and 23 deaths were reported, compared with 85 cases and 21 deaths in 1999. There's a false sense of security," Hyatt-Smith said. Reporter Susan Kreimer can be reached at (515) 284-8194 or kreimersnews.dmreg.com Family Tip Lava lamp soothes children Instead of tossing out our old lava lamp, which we had kept for ages, I recycled it into my young son's room to serve as a night light. To my delight, its real value was in soothing my son to sleep each evening.

Me watches its gentle movements from his bed, and in no time he nods off to sleep. I recommend placing it in a safe place and out of reach of little hands. Christina Harder, Livermore, Calif. 2001 Tom McMahon E-mail your parenting tip to kidtipsaol.com, tax it to (925) 461-6080, or mail it to Kid Tip, Des Moines Register, 715 Locust Des Moines, IA 50309. COMING UP: KDSM-TV, Fox 17, will debut its 9 p.m.

news show on March 4. Tiffany O'Donnell news Chris MiNO 4-SA sports I 1 tm Related chart, 8B Snowshoes get a firm grip on winter sports, activities CqolWebSites www.sleepfoundation.org Log on to to learn more about the wide range of sleep disorders (more than 100 sleeping and waking disorders have been identified). Start by visiting the site's Publications section. The documents are downloadable to your desktop, covering the intricacies of sleep and addressing many of the most commonly asked questions on this topic. Questions covered include whether naps help, when to try a sleeping pill and what sleep apnea is.

-y-- Where to buy or rent snowshoes Active Endeavors, 138 S. Clinton St. Iowa City, la. 337-9444. Active Endeavors, 9761 University Clive, (515) 226-9345.

Back Country Outfitters, 2702 Beaver Des Moines, (515) 255-0031. Fin Feather, 125 Highway 1 West, Iowa City 52246. Iowa City Scheels, 1461 Corral Ridge Coralville IA. Tips for buying snowshoes Recommended load refers to your weight plus the weight of the gear you'll be carrying. Make sure to consider this along with snow conditions common in your area, and go for the smallest snowshoes that will support your weight.

These will be the easiest to maneuver. Back Country Outfitters in Des Moines and Active Endeavors of Clive can order Denali Hikers. MSR Denali Classic or Ascent model snowshoes are usually in stock for $129.95 and $159.95 respectively. These models ill accept add-ons, called tails," to increase flotation. Rwrt lot Mo4trtoh tn kt fticM tt (S1S) tr fflotffwMiAfe dntvi fniftf cm putting a dent in the market.

Take the new MSR Denali Hikers. They're small, nimble and compact enough at 25 inches for easy walking. They have enough surface area to support a 180-pound man. The Hikers are sneakers among snowshoes. Active Endeavors sold 10 pairs to Urbandale High School earlier this season.

In a foot of the powdery stuff, a 150-pound snowshoer reported the Hikers sank a mere 4 or 5 inches. They'll sink more or less depending on user's size. Charcoal gray molded plastic construction makes the Hikers tough as nails. A steel crampon that pivots on a hinge keeps the foot in constant contact with the snow. Built-in front and rear brakes grip, especially on hills, giving them excellent tractioa An attractive $100 price tag is at the low end of a market where snowshoes can cost $250 or more.

They give "great performance per dollar Kummer said. MSR Hikers are quite practical for this area, where snowfall is moderate. Longer, more buoyant snowshoes can reach 4-feet in length, but they're more difficult to use than the Hiker shorties. The Hikers best feature. Iowa's heavy snows in December spurred interest in this classic winter recreation.

By BOB M0DERS0HN REGISTER STAFF WRITER Looking for pristine wilderness to snowshoe through this winter? Sasquatch-size footprints may mean someone beat you to it. The last three years, snowshoeing has been the fastest growing winter 50011," despite those milder winters, said Thorn Kummer of the REI store in Bloom-ington, Minn. "It took off again this year." Heavy December snows in the Midwest boosted interest in all winter sports, snow-shoeing among them. At Active Endeavors in Clive, manager Larry Ritter-house and his crew sold 55 pairs of Atlas aluminum frame snowshoes to Goodrell Middle School "We've had a complete sell-through" of snowshoes this season, said Ritter house. "We sold through two reorders and are halfway through a third.

Although the biggest sellers "by far" are the aluminum-frame and synthetic-decked snowshoes, molded plastic models are I) BOB MODE RSOHN THE REGISTER Snow busters: MSR's compact Denali Hiker snowshoes, with quick-operating bindings and high-impact plastic design, can be ordered for less than $100. Guess who's going to be dinner A second helping of Hannibal Lecter's adventures isn't quite as appetizing as the first. INDEX by North American tribes. In the arctic regions of Labrador and Quebec snowshoes were effective for hunting and transportation. The MSR Denali Hiker snowshoe is a far cry from the bent-wood, animal-skin predecessor.

It's somewhat like comparing today's cell phone with Alexander Graham Bell's original telephone, in appearance anyway. Serrated outer edges of the shoe give the MSR snow-shoes traction on slick traverses. It's inevitable that any snowshoes will occasionally knock against each other, but these Hikers send out zzzzzzzzip sounds from their toothy edges. The first winter walking aid may have been used in central Asia around 4000 EC Snowshoes were devekiped though, is their bindings. They go on and of in a flash.

Four hole-lined "noodley" straps three across the instep, one across the heel thread through buckles that cinch into fixed holding pins. One size fits all. To release, pull on the strap so the pin slips back out of the hole. A problem with snowshoes is backing up. Avoid falls by slowly taking bury steps.

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