Q: Did Alec Baldwin ever serve in the military? If so, what branch?
A: No, he did not.
Q: Was Fred Grandy of "Love Boat" fame and from Sioux City, Iowa, ever involved in politics?
A: Fred Grandy, who played Burl “Gopher” Smith on "Love Boat," served in Iowa's former 5th and 6th Congressional Districts from 1987 to 1995. He ran against former Gov. Terry Branstad in the Republican primary for governor in 1994.
Q: What are the honorable flags that you can fly on a state flag pole? I grew up learning it was the American flag, the state flag and the Prisoners of War flag. Others are being flown and I find it disrespectful.
A: The U.S. Flag Code states if other flags are flown on the same pole as the American flag, the American flag should be on top and be larger than the other flags. This includes state flags, local flags or society flags, which represent groups, communities or movements.
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Q: What organization was responsible for the photo of Trump dressed as the Pope?
A: President Donald Trump posted an artificial intelligence, or AI, generated photo of himself as the pope on his Truth Social page after the death of Pope Francis in May. The photo also was reposted by official White House pages on other social media sites. AI-generated images are made by computers and are not created by specific people.
Q: I heard more people are killed while they are on the phone rather than drunk driving. Is this true?
A: According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, 3,275 fatal crashes in 2023 involved distracted driving. This statistic includes cellphone use, but also things like adjusting a radio or GPS, eating or applying makeup. The same organization said 12,429 people died from drunk driving in 2023.
Q: Does Ted Danson wear a toupee? He seems to have more hair than he did a while ago.
A: Yes. While he uses hairpieces, most of his actual hair is real but thin in certain areas. There was even a scene in “Cheers” where Danson, portraying Sam Malone, took off his hairpiece, revealing his baldness to the other characters and the audience.
Q: Is it true that an “America’s Most Wanted” cameraman was shot and killed?
A: We can’t find any sources confirming this. But something similar happened in Omaha, Nebraska, in 2014 on the scene of "COPS," a show where television crews follow around police officers on calls. An Omaha TV station reported Bryce Dion, a sound technician for the show, went with police to a robbery where police and crew members became separated during the incident. The robbery suspect pulled out a weapon and Omaha officers fired at him, killing both Dion and the suspect.
Q: Who do I talk to to put up bird houses in George Wyth and Big Woods?
A: You can call Black Hawk County Conservation at (319) 433-7275.
Call (319) 291-1550 to leave a voicemail or email newsroom@wcfcourier.com with your question.
