text: Every four years, Des Moines, Iowa, is guaranteed a place in the national sun. The state&apos;s political caucuses attract the keen eye of publicity to this bucolic area—and dump a ton of ad money into the market.
  "We have had some very good political revenue, starting way back in August and September," says Jim Boyer, vice president and general manager at New York Times Co.-owned WHO.
  In the economy overall, an agriculture base has morphed into financial-services, education, and health-care industries. The state&apos;s largest employer, Iowa State University, lies within the market. Des Moines is home to more than 50 insurance companies and two of the country&apos;s biggest mortgage firms.
  On the local-news front, Hearst-Argyle&apos;s KCCI has dominated ratings for most of the past decade and is consistently one of the highest-rated CBS affiliates in the country. Its late newscast pulled a Super Bowl-like 19 rating/38 share (total households) in November.
  "This station has a history of aggressive, hard-hitting news coverage from a staff that puts roots down in this community," says KCCI News Director Dave Busiek, a 25-year veteran of the station.
  Trailing both KCCI and WHO is Citadel-owned WOI, traditionally a distant third in both total-week and news ratings. Pappas&apos;s KPWB and Sinclair&apos;s KDSM have tussled for fourth in total week for two years.
  KPWB signed on in 2001 and has steadily gained ground, thanks to a solid lineup of syndicated shows like Friends, Will & Grace, and That &apos;70s Show. DirecTV last month added KPWB to its package of local channels. The station is still negotiating with Dish Network.
  "We are glad to have cleared one hurdle," says KPWB Vice President and General Manager Debra Corson.
  Cable penetration in the market is slightly over 55%, one of the lowest levels among top-75 markets. Satellite penetration, on the other hand, is extraordinarily high, about 23%.
  The new Byfleet, Surrey base (pictured) is on the site of the old Brooklands motor racing circuit and is five miles from the company’s former location.
  “We now have 12,000 sq ft which is nearly double the space we had before and can accommodate 16 staff and a huge inventory of equipment,” said Camera Corps founder and managing director Laurie Frost.
  Frost said Camera Corps is expanding its manufacturing facility to meet “very high demand” for its Q-Ball remote pan, tilt and zoom heads.
  Today, multi-platinum artist AWOLNATION shared a brand new track entitled 'Miracle Man' off the band's third studio album Here Come The Runts due out February 2, 2018. Fans can preorder the album today at awolnationmusic.com and receive an instant download of 'Miracle Man,' and in the meantime can stream it here.
  Serving as a follow up to the platinum-certified debut album Megalithic Symphony, and 2015's Run, which included No. 1 hit "Hollow Moon (Bad Wolf)" as well as Top 5 tracks "I Am" and "Woman Woman," AWOLNATION's third undertaking sees Aaron Bruno once again at the helm producing, writing and recording. "With this record I really wanted to make a rock n' roll/pop album." says Bruno. "And I say 'pop' how I grew up listening to it, in the sense of Dire Straits or Born In The U.S.A or The Cars or Tom Petty."
  In case you missed it, AWOLNATION released the official music video for the album track 'Seven Sticks of Dynamite' just last week. Directed by Riley Harper (Hollywood stunt-double for titles such as Little Miss Sunshine, Straight Outta Compton, Sons of Anarchy etc) alongside front-man Aaron Bruno, the video was filmed at The Old Place in Agoura Hills CA and features legendary tattoo artist Dr. Woo, Rick Rubin, and Duff McKagan. Watch it here.
  In support of Here Come The Runts, AWOLNATION will be embarking on a headlining tour with support from Nothing But Thieves on February 11th in Toronto, and touring the States until mid-March before crossing the pond for a European/UK run throughout the month of April. A full list of dates can be found below and at awolnationmusic.com.
  Every online ticket order includes one (1) physical copy of AWOLNATION's forthcoming album Here Come The Runts, scheduled to be released February 2, 2018.
  Stage 32 (http://www.stage32.com), the world's largest social network and educational site for film, television, and theater creatives, today announced it has signed a definitive agreement to acquire The Happy Writers, the leader in online pitching and coverage for screenwriters. The new entity will be called the Stage 32 Happy Writers.
  The agreement combines the strengths of both companies by leveraging Stage 32's online educational resources and global network of over 250,000 film, television and theater creatives with The Happy Writers expertise in offering an online experience of connecting screenwriters directly with, and providing coverage from Hollywood executives.
  Since launching in 2011, The Happy Writers has helped over 100 writers secure representation, sell or option their screenplays, or land industry writing jobs. In September of 2013, Stage 32 launched their Online Pitchfests in association with The Happy Writers. Those sessions have led to over 30 more stories of success from screenwriters all over the world.
  "I have never met anyone who cares more about helping screenwriters realize their dreams like (The Happy Writers Founder), Joey Tuccio," said Stage 32 Founder and CEO, Richard Botto. As a screenwriter myself, I understand how tough it is to navigate your way in what is a very difficult and competitive business. Joey's honesty, enthusiasm, and unbridled passion for helping screenwriters is unparalleled and his track record of getting screenwriters represented, signed, optioned, or placed speaks for itself."
  "What Rich Botto and his team have accomplished with Stage 32 in a few short years is beyond remarkable," said Stage 32 Happy Writers President, Joey Tuccio. "To be able to combine our strengths and offer even more opportunities to screenwriters around the WORLD is a dream come true."
  Stage 32 Happy Writers will continue to offer Online Pitchfests and pitch sessions, along with expanding it's services to include screenwriting coverage, classes and labs all written and hosted by name executives.
  The show is written by Bertolt Brecht and directed by Graig Russell. There will be a director talk following the 1 p.m. show on Saturday.