Brandon Lewis
January 30, 2026
Sunday 1st February 2026
Iowa’s Best Country, KIX 101.1, Central Office Supply, A division of Minuteman, along with generous employees at Lennox Industries in Marshalltown bring you the Holiday Edition of Pack the Backpack. Six area teachers will be awarded $101 dollars in December.
Winners will be announced on December 3rd, 4th, 10th, 11th, 17
th, 18th at 8:30a on the Morning Kix Start.
Our fifth winner for the Holiday Edition of Pack the Backpack is 1st grade teacher at Blakesburg Elementary, Michelle Erbs. She was nominated by her boyfriend, Ryan Smithart. Here is the nomination letter:
Good Afternoon KIX Country,I’m emailing today on behalf of my girlfriend, Michelle Erbs. Michelle is a 1st Grade teacher at Blakesburg Elementary in the EBF school district. Some of many items that she has to buy for her classroom are listed below. I wanted to reach out to you guys because I heard about it on the radio and I see first-hand from her the struggle she has buying materials for her classroom on top of living expenses and paying off student loans for her Early Childhood Development degree. She does it though without a second thought as she enjoys teaching and the growth of her students.
Books
Sit-spots
Decorations
Writing materials
Thanks,
Ryan Smithart
Listen below to my interview with Michelle.
To nominate an area classroom, email backpack@kixweb.com.
Pack the Backpack, Holiday Edition! Presented by employees of Lennox, central Office Supply and Iowa’s Best Country, KIX 101.1.
AT THE MOVIES -
Join us Thursday during the Drive at Five for ‘At The Movies” brought to you by North Grand Cinema in Ames..
In Theaters this weekend: “Send Help”
Two colleagues become stranded on a deserted island, the only survivors of a plane crash. On the island, they must overcome past grievances and work together to survive, but ultimately, it's an unsettling, darkly humorous battle of wills and wits to make it out alive.
https://youtu.be/FXzz-LBbKp8?si=ygNobonneIjx9BUX
“Send Help” is rated: R
Stars: Rachel McAdams, Dylan O'Brien
AT THE MOVIES...Thursday’s at 5:40, brought to you by North Grand Cinema in Ames and IBC KIX 101.1….
Welcome to The List,
Hudson Westbrook is finding out real fast what it feels like when a song stops being yours and starts being everybody’s. He says every time he plays “House Again,” the crowd is already singing it back to him like it’s been around for 20 years. The song’s all about leaving something familiar, a place, a person, or that phase of life where you thought gas would never hit four bucks. Congrats, Hudson. You wrote a feelings song and now strangers are screaming it at you.
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The regret meter might be flashing red in Keith Urban land, at least according to the rumor mill. Sources are whispering that Nicole Kidman still loves him, misses him, and that her friends are basically standing guard yelling, “Do not text him after midnight.” Nostalgia is powerful, folks. It’s the same thing that convinces you bangs were a good idea in 2004.
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Bruce Willis’ wife Emma Heming is opening up about his dementia, sharing that Bruce doesn’t fully realize what’s happening and that she’s grateful he isn’t suffering with that awareness. It’s a heavy reminder that sometimes love looks like strength, patience, and showing up every single day even when life rewrites the script.
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Lainey Wilson is having herself a moment and then putting it on Netflix. Her new documentary, “Lainey Wilson: Keepin’ Country Cool,” hits this spring and follows her journey from tough breaks to big wins. And because Lainey never does just one thing at a time, she also teamed up with Wrangler for cowboy-inspired tracksuits, complete with studs and flared legs. Country music, but make it comfy.
You can catch The List, weekday afternoons at 4:20 with Jonathan Knight. Only on Iowa’s BEST Country KIX 101.1
sponsored by Paglia"s Pizza Grinnell