Latest news with #Midwest
Yahoo
2 hours ago
- Health
- Yahoo
The FDA Announces Recall on Bread Sold at Walmart and Kroger in These States
Lewis Bake Shop is recalling their Artisan Style 1/2 Loaf over the presence of hazelnuts, which were not declared on the product packaging. This recall affects more than 880 loaves, with distribution spanning 12 states. The recalled bread was sold at Walmart and Kroger, among other retailers. From sandwiches to toast to croutons and more, bread is a year-round pantry staple. But before you dive into your cupboard to pull out a few slices of store-bought bread, make sure to check your loaf's packaging information. In collaboration with the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), Lewis Bake Shop recently on one of their loaves over allergen concerns. What product has been recalled? On July 10, 2025, Lewis Bake Shop issued a recall of their Artisan Style 1/2 Loaf, which is confirmed to have been distributed across 12 states through distributors such as Walmart and Kroger. The recall encompasses roughly 880 loaves from six different production lots. The recall primarily affects states in the eastern Midwest and South, where the loaves were sold. Thankfully, "there have been no major reports of injury or illness to date," according to the FDA. To identify if you have one of the recalled loaves, check the packaging for the below information: Universal Product Code (UPC): 24126018152 Lot Codes: T10 174010206, T10 174010306, T10 174010406, T10 174020206, T10 174020306, T10 174020406 Expiration Date: 07/13/2025 What states are affected? Alabama Arkansas Georgia Illinois Indiana Kentucky Michigan Mississippi Missouri Ohio Tennessee Wisconsin What is the exact reason for the recall? The voluntary recall was issued after the brand realized the loaves were mislabelled. While the bread contains visible hazelnuts, the allergen was not explicitly disclosed on the packaging. There was a general allergen advisory that the product is produced on bakery equipment that may inadvertently lead to the bread containing milk or tree nuts, but hazelnuts are not specifically listed on the label. Instead of stating, "Contains Hazelnuts," the packaging read "May Contain Tree Nuts." The company received complaints from people who saw the nuts before consuming the product. This mislabeling could result in a severe or life-threatening allergic reaction for anyone with a hazelnut allergy. Because of this, the Lewis Bake Shop decided to issue a recall out of an abundance of caution. What to do if you have the recalled product First, you'll want to confirm if you have one of the recalled loaves. To do this, you'll want to check the UPC, lot code and expiration date, which are located on the front and bottom of the plastic packaging. If the numbers match those detailed above, the FDA is urging customers to return the loaf to where it was purchased for a full refund. For questions about the recall, customers can contact Hartford Bakery at 1-812-425-4642. You Might Also Like 67 Best Gifts for Women That'll Make Her Smile The Best Pillows for Every Type of Sleeper Solve the daily Crossword
Forbes
5 hours ago
- Business
- Forbes
How A Family In Ohio & A French Pot Became America's Oldest Family-Owned & Operated Ice Cream Maker
Selection Of Ice Cream From Graeter's While most of the Midwest region (and the United States in general) was grappling with industrialization and the evolving social dynamics of the Reconstruction Era, in 1870, a young Louis Greater dared to do something that many would call revolutionary and bold. He took to the streets of Cincinnati with two carts in tow, to sell handcrafted ice cream churned just two gallons at a time with a now-antiquated French pot. Snapshot Of The Graeter's Factory Circa 1960 Today, 155 years later, the Graeter name still resonates in the ice-cream industry, a testament to the enduring legacy of the family. The business is now in the capable hands of fourth- and fifth-generation relatives, who continue to uphold the traditions and values set by Louis and Regina Graeter. First Comes Ice Cream, Then Comes Love As the old saying goes, 'behind every great man is a great woman.' However, in the case of Louis Graeter, his wife, Regina, was not just a supportive figure in the background. After their marriage in 1900, the couple relocated their ice cream business to a storefront location, where they both played active roles: manufacturing the ice cream in the back and selling it from the front. Regina Graeter and Children In 1920, after a few decades of marriage and co-running a business with her husband, Regina found herself a widow with two children and an ice cream shop to run. With the odds stacked against them, Regina persevered despite the barriers and struggles set before her. She faced difficulties, gender discrimination, societal expectations, and the loss of her husband. Yet, she managed to expand the empire, opening another location and setting the precedent for what Graeter's has become today. Over the years, they continued to grow, sharing a small joy and luxury with people during tragic times in our nation's history, such as the Great Depression and even during World War II. Remarkably, despite the sugar shortage that followed World War II, they were able to maintain production. Ice Cream That Was Perfect From The Start, Crafted in Small-Batch French Pots Inside The Graeter's Factory Circa 1970 In any business, it's easy to get caught up in what competitors are doing to wipe them out or stay relevant. Despite ongoing changes in the industry, such as factories becoming more modern or cutting costs, Regina and her children were firm that there was only one way to stay ahead: continuing to make ice cream in small-batch French Pots. This old-world method, long forgotten, produces 2 ½ gallons at a time, making it the industry's smallest batch size. Over the course of 155 years, the process has remained largely unchanged. Celebrate National Ice Cream Month (And Day) With Graeter's They may be producing in small batches, but there's big flavor in every scoop. There are 34 flavors available (16 of which use decadent chocolate chips), ranging from Oregon Strawberry to S'mores, Madagascar Vanilla Bean, and Dark Chocolate Brownie. There's also a range of seasonal flavors like Key Lime Pie, Pineapple Passion Fruit, and Peach. If you love sorbet, treat yourself to a delightful scoop of mango, lemon, or raspberry! Graeter's Bourbon Ball Ice Cream Since July is celebrated as National Ice Cream Month, and Sunday, July 20, marks National Ice Cream Day, Graeter's is excited to offer a special sweet deal for everyone to enjoy! They are offering 10% off online orders from now through July 20 with code ICTREAT10. Plus, they are also offering an in-store promo of $1.55 single-dip sugar cones for Graeter's Sweet Rewards Loyalty members from July 18-20. Scoop Of Graeter's Ice Cream Currently, Graeter's has 56 locations and is available in many grocery stores across Ohio, Kentucky, Indiana, and Pennsylvania. But fret not. If you're not in the region, the delicious small-batch ice cream can be shipped directly to your doorstep via their website or Goldbelly.
Daily Mail
9 hours ago
- Daily Mail
Eerie 'serial killer' link that could finally solve the mystery of beloved news anchor who vanished into thin air
Investigators are continuing to probe a suspected serial killer in connection with the disappearance of news anchor Jodi Huisentruit, as they work to establish whether a compelling lead is a vital clue or just an incredible coincidence. Huisentruit, 27, was running late to her shift at KIMT-TV in Mason City, Iowa, on June 27, 1995, when she was abducted from the parking lot of her apartment complex sometime after 4am. Where Huisentruit was taken next - and by whom - remains a mystery three decades on. She was declared legally dead in 2001, but no arrests have ever been made and her body has never been found. For years, police closely guarded evidence and leads, leaving her loved ones in the dark - fearful her disappearance would never be solved. However, a new documentary, Her Last Broadcast: The Abduction of Jodi Huisentruit, has pulled back the curtain on the case for the first time, offering an unprecedented glimpse into the investigation and revealing never-before-heard evidence. One potential suspect profiled in the documentary is Christopher Revak, an accused killer first linked to the case in 2009. Revak took his own life in jail the same year while awaiting trial for the 2007 abduction and murder of Rene Marie Williams, 36, in Missouri. He was also suspected of murdering Deidre Harm in 2006 after meeting her at a bar in Wisconsin. In the years since, investigators have probed whether Revak could be tied to other deaths across the Midwest. To date, he's been tentatively linked to five homicides spanning 14 years, including Huisentruit. Christopher Revak, who killed himself in a jail cell in 2009 after being booked on homicide charges, is being re-examined by cops In December last year, Mason City Sergeant Terrance Prochaska traveled to Wisconsin to meet with investigators overseeing the Harm case and compare notes on Revak - a meeting captured in Her Last Broadcast. The most compelling thread tying Revak to Huisentruit is the fact that Revak's first wife - identified only as 'Jennifer' - was living in Mason City in 1995, when the news anchor disappeared. Stranger still is the fact that Jennifer lived in the same duplex as Huisentruit's close friend, John Vansice, who is believed to have been the last known person to see her alive and is a leading person of interest. 'This is one of the biggest coincidences in this case,' Prochaska said in the documentary. According to Prochaska, Jennifer moved to Mason City from Wisconsin Dells after breaking up with Revak, who stayed behind in Wisconsin. Jennifer moved out of Vansice's building three months before Huisentruit disappeared. She told police that Revak, then 23, never visited her while she was living there. However, law enforcement's working theory is that Revak may have traveled to Mason City to come looking for Jennifer and began surveilling the address, unaware she'd moved out. The night before Huisentruit disappeared, Vansice claimed she came to his apartment to watch a recording of a surprise party he'd thrown her weeks earlier. 'If Revak was looking for [Jennifer] or found her and was stalking her to see if she was living here, the chances of him running into Jodi are very gives me chills,' said Prochaska. Like Jodi, the remains of Revak's only confirmed victim, Rene Williams, were never found - but traces of her blood discovered in his car pointed to his guilt. In the documentary, investigators say Revak's method was to target women he'd just met, often approaching them late at night in parking lots, in Midwest towns where he had connections - akin to how Huisentruit was abducted. Douglas County Sheriff Chris Degase, who investigated Williams' murder, said the coincidence of Revak's ex living next to Vancise is too great to overlook. 'I've been in law enforcement for 32 years, and I do not believe in coincidences,' said Degase. 'I believe in my gut that he killed Jodi. What are the chances of his girlfriend living next door?' Prochaska is trying to put Revak in Mason City on or around June 27, 1995 - the day Huisentruit's trail went cold. Records place Revak in Wisconsin on June 17 and on July 9, 1995, but his whereabouts between those two dates are unknown. The investigation into Revak remains ongoing. In a statement to last year, Wisconsin Rapids Lt. Scott Goldberg said his department and MCPD 'wouldn't be doing Jodi justice' without reexamining Revak. John Vansice is also extensively investigated in Her Last Broadcast. Vansice, Huisentruit's closest male friend in Mason City, was more than 20 years her senior. He had a boat he often took Huisentruit out on, which he'd christened 'The Jodi' in tribute to her. He quickly became a person of interest after turning up outside her apartment, telling police he was likely the last known person to have seen her. According to Vansice, then 49, she stopped by his home on the evening of June 26 to watch a video of a surprise birthday party he'd thrown for her weeks before. The last person to speak with Huisentruit was her producer at KIMT-TV, Amy Kuns, who called her at 4am the following morning to let her know she'd overslept for work. Husientruit apologized and said she'd be at the station within 15 minutes. She was due on air at 6am. However, Huisentruit never showed. Somewhere between leaving her apartment and trying to get into her car, she was attacked by an unknown assailant. In the documentary, it's revealed that Vansice called KIMT-TV early on the morning of Huisentruit's disappearance, and asked her producer, Amy Kuns: 'Hi, is Jodi there? It's John.' Kuns, who was about to go on air in Huisentruit's place, said she informed him she wasn't, to which Vansice responded: 'Well, where is she? Why isn't she at work?' According to Kuns, that call came in before she was aware that anything grave had happened to Huisentruit, and before police came to KIMT to report her abduction. 'That stood out in my memory as very odd,' Kuns said, 'because I don't remember him calling on any other day.' Later that morning, Vansice drove to Huisentruit's apartment with two others to speak with police. One of those two people appeared in the documentary anonymously and claimed Vansice's first words that morning were 'Jodi's gone' - before the news had broken about her suspected abduction. Sergeant Prochaska said that in the immediate aftermath, Vansice made himself almost too available to investigators. He was incredibly forthcoming but suddenly stopped cooperating when certain, unspecified details stopped adding up, Prochaska said. Fellow anchor Amy Johnson, who worked for KGAN-TV at the time, claimed that Vansice would call her station religiously asking for the latest 'scoop' on the investigation. 'He did all the things the perpetrator of a crime would do,' said Johnson. Vansice also allegedly called KIMT after undergoing a polygraph test to tell them he'd passed and would be 'popping champagne' in celebration, which those who knew Huisentruit found odd. Prochaska declined to comment on whether or not Vansice passed his polygraph, adding only that he's never been ruled out conclusively. Vansice quickly left Mason City for Arizona, where he died in December 2024 from Alzheimer's. He maintained his innocence until his death. Her Last Broadcast reveals that MCPD is taking a close look at another person of interest, Brad Millerbernd, the ex-husband of one of Huisentruit's closest friends, Patty Niemeyer. In the series, Niemeyer describes how, after watching an ABC 20/20 special on the case three years ago, she got a gut feeling that her ex-husband may have been involved. Niemeyer claimed Millerbernd always had an odd preoccupation with Huisentruit. Millerbernd has not been accused of any crimes related to Huisentruit and has denied any wrongdoing in his conversations with law enforcement. He declined to speak in the latest ABC documentary, and the Daily Mail's attempts to reach him have been unsuccessful. At the time Huisentruit vanished, Millerbernd was living three hours from Mason City in Winstead, Minnesota, property records show. He often commuted to Iowa for work, driving a white Ford Ecoline van. Millerbernd's van stood out to Mason City detectives. Several witnesses reported seeing a mysterious white Ford van parked outside Huisentruit's apartment moments before she was abducted. Identifying the owner of that vehicle has long been seen as the key to cracking the case. According to Prochaska, Millerbernd also matches the description of a man who was spotted lurking around Huisentruit's apartment building two days before she disappeared. In 2022, Prochaska quizzed Millerbernd over the phone about his memories and interactions with Huisentruit. According to the detective, Millerbernd admitted to taking Huisentruit out to dinner in the fall of 1994, picking her up in his white van. Niemeyer also claimed Huisentruit reached out to her on June 5, 1995, to inform her that Millerbernd had 'tried to contact her.' Millerbernd was interviewed by Prochaska again in October 2024. He agreed to submit DNA voluntarily and undergo a polygraph, but the results of those tests have not yet been released.
Yahoo
10 hours ago
- Climate
- Yahoo
Flash flooding and severe thunderstorms to span from the Plains to the East Coast
Along the periphery of an expansive heat dome across the southern United States that is set to bring stifling heat to millions, a weather pattern conducive for drenching thunderstorms has set up across a zone spanning from the Plains and Midwest to the Appalachians and mid-Atlantic states in the days to come. Fueled in part by a former tropical rainstorm that brought flooding rainfall to portions of Louisiana this past week, the thunderstorm activity through the weekend and into early next week will tap into an ample amount of moisture that is available. This risk had already come to fruition Saturday morning as a powerful complex of thunderstorms brought damaging wind gusts and flash flooding to portions of Iowa and Illinois. The risk for severe thunderstorm activity on Saturday will continue to focus across the Midwest, targeting the major metropolitan areas of Chicago, Indianapolis and Detroit. In addition to the risk for damaging wind gusts and hail, thunderstorm activity within this zone can produce prolific rainfall rates around 1-2 inches per hour. In addition to the severe risk across the Midwest on Saturday, two additional zones of severe weather are expected; one across the Plains and another focusing across the mid-Atlantic states. Similar to the risks across the Midwest, communities across the mid-Atlantic should be prepared for damaging wind gusts and the potential for flash flooding. Across the Plains, thunderstorm activity will also feature the risk for damaging wind gusts, but they can also pose a risk for large hail and even a few tornadoes. Into the day on Sunday, a broad zone of thunderstorm activity along the periphery of the heat dome is expected to continue. Within the zone spanning from the Plains to the East Coast, AccuWeather meteorologists are highlighting multiple areas that can feature a risk for severe thunderstorms. Again, similar risks are expected from Sunday's thunderstorm activity, with damaging winds and flash flooding being the primary concern in the East. Across the Plains, thunderstorm activity can also feature risks for hail Sunday afternoon into Sunday night. Within the zone spanning from southern Nebraska to south-central Canada, thunderstorm wind gusts will be capable of approaching the AccuWeather Local StormMax™ of 85 miles per hour. From Sunday night into Monday, the potential for rounds of thunderstorm activity is expected to evolve across the Midwest and Ohio Valley as well. From central and southern Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, Kentucky and West Virginia, conditions will be closely monitored for possible flash flooding. Tallying up the expected rainfall from this weekend into early next week, a wide swath of 2 inches or more of rainfall is expected across the Midwest, Appalachians and mid-Atlantic. Within this zone, the potential for 4-8 inches of rain is possible in places like Peoria, Illinois and Charleston, West Virginia. In the hardest-hit zones, rainfall totals can approach the AccuWeather Local StormMax™ of 13 inches. "Much of West Virginia is experiencing its top 35 wettest July so far. As the front slips south Sunday into Monday, repetitive thunderstorms producing torrential rainfall will line up in narrow stripes of real estate across central and western West Virginia. These thunderstorms, when combined with a moist ground from recent rain and the varying topography, can unleash significant flooding," AccuWeather Senior Meteorologist Chad Merrill explained. Rainfall of this magnitude can lead to widespread high water and flooding issues across the aforementioned regions in the coming days, some of which may even become life-threatening. As always, it is important to have a plan of action in the event of flooding and to have the means of receiving warnings, especially at night. The risk for severe weather is not expected to ease heading into next week either, as the heat dome remains in place, providing an endless supply of fuel for thunderstorm activity. On Monday, the Plains will once again be the focal point for severe activity, then the risk can shift into the Midwest by Tuesday. Within this time frame and through a majority of the upcoming week, the potential for high-end complexes of thunderstorms that can feature damaging wind gusts, hail and flooding downpours remains possible. Want next-level safety, ad-free? Unlock advanced, hyperlocal severe weather alerts when you subscribe to Premium+ on the AccuWeather app. AccuWeather Alerts™ are prompted by our expert meteorologists who monitor and analyze dangerous weather risks 24/7 to keep you and your family safer.
The Verge
15 hours ago
- Climate
- The Verge
How to design an actually good flash flood alert system
Flash floods have wrought more havoc in the US this week, from the Northeast to the Midwest, just weeks after swollen rivers took more than 130 lives across central Texas earlier this month. Frustrations have grown in the aftermath of that catastrophe over why more wasn't done to warn people in advance. Local officials face mounting questions over whether they sent too many or sent too few mobile phone alerts to people. Some Texans have accused the state of sending out too many alerts for injured police officers in the months leading up to the floods, which may have led to residents opting out of receiving warnings. And hard-hit Kerr County, where more than 100 people died, lacked sirens along riverbanks to warn people of rising waters. These are all important questions to answer that can help keep history from repeating itself in another disaster. Failing to translate flood forecasts into timely messages that tell people what they need to do to stay safe can have tragic consequences. In Texas and elsewhere, the solution is more wide-ranging than fixing any single channel of communication. The Verge spoke with experts about what it would take to design an ideal disaster warning system. The solution is more wide-ranging than fixing any single channel of communication When you have a matter of hours or maybe even minutes to send a lifesaving message, you need to use every tool at your disposal. That communication needs to start long before the storm rolls in, and involves everyone from forecasters to disaster managers and local officials. Even community members will need to reach out to each other when no one else may be able to get to them. By definition, flash floods are difficult to forecast with specificity or much lead time. But forecasts are only one part of the process. There are more hurdles when it comes to getting those forecasts out to people, an issue experts describe as getting past 'the last mile.' Doing so starts with a shift in thinking from ''what will the weather be' to 'what will the weather do,'' explains Olufemi Osidele, CEO of Hydrologic Research Center (HRC), which oversees a global flash flood guidance program. The technical term is 'impact-based forecasting,' and the goal is to relay messages that help people understand what actions to take to keep themselves safe. In the hours leading up to devastating floods in central Texas, the National Weather Service sent out escalating alerts about the growing risk of flash floods. But not everyone received alerts on their phones with safety instructions from Kerr County officials during crucial hours, according to records obtained by NBC News. While meteorologists can say there's a life-threatening storm approaching, it typically falls to local authorities to determine what guidance to give to specific communities on how and when to evacuate or take shelter. 'Emergency responders need to know what are the appropriate actions to take or what's needed in the case of a flash flood before an event happens so that they can react quickly, because the time to respond to that event is likely very short,' says Theresa Modrick Hansen, chief operating officer at HRC. 'Time is really the critical issue for disaster managers.' Without prior planning, local alerting authorities might be stuck staring at a blank screen when deciding what warning to send to people in the heat of the moment. Many alerting platforms don't include instructions on how to write that message, according to Jeannette Sutton, an associate professor in the College of Emergency Preparedness, Homeland Security and Cybersecurity at the University at Albany, SUNY. Sutton is also the founder of The Warn Room and consults with local organizations on how to improve their warning systems. 'When you sit down at the keyboard, you have a blank box that you have to fill in with the information that's going to be useful to the public,' Sutton says. 'And when you are in a highly volatile, emotional, chaotic situation, and you all of a sudden have to create [a] message very quickly that is really clear and complete and directed to the right people at the right time, it's really hard to think of all of that in the moment.' There aren't national standards for how a flood alert system should work in the US, so practices vary from place to place. Sutton recommends an end-to-end warning system that connects each step of the process and the people along the way. It includes forecasters and hydrologists who collect data and run it through predictive models to understand the potential impact on communities — identifying which specific populations or infrastructure are most vulnerable. They need to get that information quickly to disaster managers who can then reach people most at risk with safety instructions using channels of communication they've thought through in advance. Ideally, those alerts are tailored to specific locations and give people clear instructions — telling them who should evacuate, when, and where, for instance. A strong message should include five things, according to Sutton: who the message is from, what the hazard is doing, the location and timing of the threat, and what actions to take to protect yourself. 'If you are receiving a warning that's statewide or county wide, it can be difficult for some people to understand if they should act or evacuate,' says Juliette Murphy, CEO and co-founder of the flood forecasting company FloodMapp. 'Or if a warning states that a river will reach 30 feet, that might not mean much to some people if they don't have a hydrology understanding.' Murphy's company is now using its mapping tools to help state and federal agencies find dozens of people still missing since the July 4th floods. FloodMapp hadn't worked with counties affected by the floods prior to this disaster, but Murphy says she'd like to work with local agencies in the future that want to improve their warning systems. Kerr County is under scrutiny for lacking flood sirens, even though county commissioners had been talking about the need to upgrade its flood systems — including adding sirens — since at least 2016. The county sits in an area known as 'flash flood alley' because of the way the hilly topography of the area heightens flood risk during storms. Sirens in neighboring communities have been credited with saving lives. 'If I were to envision a really good, robust warning system in flash flood alley, I would say that there would be sirens in these very rural, remote areas,' Sutton says. Sirens can be critical for reaching people outdoors who may not have cell service and are hard to reach. Even so, it's no silver bullet. The sound doesn't necessarily reach people indoors who are further from the riverbanks but still in harm's way. And it doesn't provide clear instructions on what actions people need to take. Along with sirens, Sutton says she'd recommend making sure communities are prepared with 'call trees' in advance. That means people are physically picking up the phone; each person is responsible for calling three more people, and so on. 'It's the human touch,' Sutton says. In worst-case scenarios, that might include going out to pound on neighbors' doors. And that human touch can be especially important for reaching someone who might be skeptical of a government agency sending an alert but might trust a friend or fellow church member, for example, or for those who speak a different language than what officials use. Wireless emergency alerts are also critical; Sutton considers them the most powerful alerting system across the US because it does not require people to opt in to get a message. But there are also warning systems that people can opt in to for alerts, including CodeRed weather warnings. Kerr County used CodeRed to send out warnings to people subscribed to that system, and audio recordings from disaster responders on July 4th have raised more questions about whether those messages were too delayed to keep people out of danger. In an email to The Verge, a Kerr County spokesperson said the county is committed to 'transparency' and a 'full review' of the disaster response. State lawmakers start a special session next week and are expected to consider legislation to bolster flood warning systems and emergency communications. One Senate bill would let municipalities gather residents' contact information to enroll them in text alerts that they could opt out of if they don't want to receive them. People opting out of notifications has also been a concern — particularly after a deluge of 'Blue alerts' sent after a law enforcement officer has been injured or killed. Frustrations have flared up on social media this month over a statewide Blue alert issued for someone suspected of being involved in the 'serious injury' of a police officer at an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detention facility in Alvarado, Texas. 'Texas can't adequately warn people about deadly floods, but it can immediately let me know that a cop got hurt 250 miles away from me,' one post with more than 20,000 likes on Bluesky says. The FCC has received thousands complaints about the Blue alert system in Texas, CBS News reported in October of last year. 'Alert fatigue' is a concern if it pushes people to ignore warnings or opt out of receiving them altogether. That can be an issue during extreme weather if authorities include Blue alerts and extreme weather warnings in the same 'imminent threat' category of wireless emergency alerts. Again, this can vary from locality to locality. 'It's really frustrating when they choose to send a Blue alert through an imminent threat channel,' Sutton says. To stop getting those pings about police officers, someone might opt out of the imminent threat category of wireless emergency alerts — but that means they would also stop getting other alerts in the same channel for weather emergencies. 'This is exactly what we don't want to have happen, because when you turn it off you're not going to get the message for that flash flood. So it's really dangerous,' Sutton says. 'This is exactly what we don't want to have happen' Even so, we still don't have data on who might have missed a lifesaving alert because of frustration with Blue alerts. Nor do we know the extent to which people are just ignoring notifications, or why. The number of public safety alerts sent in Texas has doubled since 2018 for a wide range of warnings, including Blue alerts, Silver alerts for missing elderly adults, Amber alerts for missing children, and more, the Houston Chronicle reports. And when it comes to warning people about flash floods in particular, experts still stress the need to get warnings to people via every means possible. If someone misses a wireless emergency alert, there should be another way to reach them. There are likely going to be gaps when it comes to any single strategy for alerting people, as well as other complications that can impede the message getting out. (On July 4th, floodwaters rose in the dead of night — making it even harder to notify people as they slept.) That's why a 'Swiss cheese' approach to warning people can be most effective in overcoming that last mile, Chris Vagasky, a meteorologist and manager of the Wisconsin Environmental Mesonet at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, explains. (And it's similar to an ideology used to prevent the spread of disease.) 'You know you got slices of Swiss cheese and they've got holes in them. Nothing is ever perfect. But if you layer enough pieces of cheese, it reduces the risk because something might go through one hole, but then it gets blocked,' Vagasky says. 'We always want people to have multiple ways of receiving warnings.'
