Headlines & features

Snow-covered roads are being blamed for serious crashes in storm-impacted areas. In Springfield, OH, theAssociated Press reported:

Beijing has pressed 300,000 citizens into duty to shovel snow from the streets of China's capital and temperatures plunged to the lowest level in a half century, China Daily reports. Snows have closed roads and airports and global warming is not front page news in North China.

NY Times columnist Nicholas Kristof asks "What’s the most scrumptious, wholesome, exquisite, healthful, gratifying food in the world?" and answers that it's food fortified with vital micronutrients. He highlights folic acid-fortified flour and iodized salt:

Roads & Bridges reports an Iowa radio story that Iowa Gov. Chet Culver has declared a state of emergency in four western Iowa counties and ordered the Iowa DOT to help local snowfighters open impassable roadways. The DOT spokesperson explained that "fire trucks and other emergency vehicles would not be able to get to residents in areas where the roads are blocked."

The City of Ottawa is working on an interactive website that will let residents know when the snowplow will clear each street. Plows will be equipped with GPS units and the results mapped online. Thus, residents and private contractors can plan their complementary snow-clearing efforts more effectively, reports Josh Pringle on CFRA radio .

It seems every time it snows in Portland, OR, local public works officials are surprised and drivers are outraged. That was the case again this week. Local officials blamed drivers for not using chains or staying home, reports The Oregonian .

Big snows equal big snowfighting bills, reports the Wall Street Journal . Several cash-strapped states have already over-spent their annual snowfighting budgets -- and it's only December!

"Storm scares" are good for supermarket sales in that pre-storm burst to lay in bread, milk and bananas, but post-storm empty shelves mean lost sales when inadequate snowfighting leaves roads impassable to delivery trucks, reports Chris Zavadil in suburban Omaha, Nebraska's Fremont Tribune .

The Des Moines Register reported that

Clearing roads of snow and ice to restore safe driving is a necessity, but all parties have long recognized the potential for environmental harm. New techniques like anti-icing offer increased environmental protection, reports USA Today . The story by Larry Copeland explains: