Coming up next on NewsDepth... A big winter storm covered much of the United States.

Margaret explains why we get lake effect snow.

We interview a nurse on this week's Career Callout.

Are you feeling the winter blues?

We have some tips that could improve our mental health.

NewsDepth is now.

Welcome back from fall break.

It is still fall, but it already looks and feels like winter.

I'm Gabriel Kramer, thank you for joining us.

Let's start today's show off with a joke.

What did the snowman call his dog?

Frost!

Because Frost bites.

Not my best punchline.

I was just trying to break the ice.

All the ice that last week's winter storm brought.

The first widespread storm of the winter season hit the northeast over last month's holiday weekend.

Parts of the Midwest had to shovel several inches of snow and dealt with dangerous road conditions.

Marybel Gonzalez reports on the low, low temperatures.

If you don't need to be out, don't.

This message from the Ohio Department of Transportation on Facebook as crews work to clear snow covered roads on Tuesday, the third winter storm in a week, dumped several inches of snow across parts of the Midwest and slow travel to a crawl.

In Missouri on Monday, road conditions turned hazardous with reports of hundreds of crashes and stranded drivers.

One driver in Saint Louis pleading people to drive cautiously.

Just get in line.

Today is not the day.

Just get in line.

Cause you're going to squeeze in You're going to hit something.

You're going to slide, hit another car.

It's just not worth it.

Tuesday morning, crews de-ice planes in Rochester, New York.

Yet some staying safe at home see the snow as an opportunity.

One man sculpts it into art in Wisconsin.

Everyone is my favorite one that I made.

This is my favorite now.

Thank you, Marybel.

School districts across the Kansas City metro area are running out of snow days.

After back-to-back winter storms, many have already used most of their allotted inclement weather days.

If more winter weather hits, districts will need to find ways to make up lost classroom time, whether that means extending the school year or asking for waivers.

Dorissa White digs in.

districts on both the Kansas and Missouri side have days for the inclement weather.

But with the weather that we've seen for the past two months, they're running out of days.

After using seven of its eight inclement weather days.

Shawnee Mission School District is trying to figure out their plan moving forward.

So if we include yesterday's, inclement weather day, we have used seven out of our eight days, so we have one day remaining.

For many schools across the metro, they're in that same boat.

If more inclement weather comes, they'll need to figure out how to make up the time in the classroom.

There are lots of options.

None of them are great.

But if we need to, we'll we'll try to figure out at this point, we're just hoping that we don't have any more.

We're trying to encourage parents.

We know that kids have their the things that they do on snow days to try to make it happen.

The Lees Summit School District met with the Missouri Board of Education last night.

They asked for one of their four snow days to be waived.

The board agreed, but to make up the remaining days, they moved the last day of school from May 23rd to Friday, May 30th.

Now, many school districts like Olathe and Park Hill are considering all of their options too.

They're reviewing where they can get those extra days from.

Thank you, Dorissa.

And that brings us to our poll for the week.

How do you think schools should deal with snow days?

Slide over to our poll page to vote.

You can choose between cancel class, virtual learning or make up the day later in the year.

Last month was Native American Heritage Month.

On our last episode, we learned that Ohio has a rich Native American history.

You can even see it in our name, Ohio.

For our poll last week, we wanted to know if you have noticed other Native American words where you live.

Almost 63% of you reported noticing Native American words in your neighborhood.

And another 37% of you said you haven't seen any yet.

Now back to winter weather.

Ohio is, of course, no stranger to snow.

We experience a we call lake effect snow.

Lake effect snow is a meteorological phenomenon that occurs when cold air moves over a warm body of water, causing snow.

Margaret has this week's Spot On Science explaining exactly how that happens.

Ever wonder why some schools in Ohio seem to get more snow days than others?

Turns out, Old Man Winter serves a bigger helping of the frosty flakes to areas in the northeast corner of the state.

We call it lake effect snow.

And its recipe was just two ingredients a warm lake and cold air.

The lake needs to be somewhere over 35 degrees, and the air needs to be around ten degrees or cooler.

When the cold air from the north and west moves across the lake.

It catches water vapor rising off the lake and turns it into clouds, piles of snow and maybe a snow day or two for some lucky kids.

Sometimes the lake effect snow is so powerful and sudden it can look like a wall of clouds moving in.

So yeah, the lake makes those of us living nearby keep our shovels close.

These areas of Ohio that are snowier and others have a unique name, the snowbelt.

Ohio has a primary and secondary snowbelt centered around the northeastern part of the state.

What's impressive about lake effect snow is that one part of a county can get pummeled with snow, while a neighboring community only a few miles away gets barely a snowflake.

Here in Cleveland, we see it all the time.

The southeast side of the city is a winter wonderland, while the northwest side gets only a dusting.

Lake effect snow is also responsible for some of the most fantastic winter weather nightmares, like this house disguised as a snow mound, or this house turned into an igloo encased by ice on the shores of Lake Ontario.

So if you get a hefty helping of Old Man Winter's lake effect entree, be sure to add lots of salt... Rock salt that is.

Brr, thank you, Margaret.

Cripple Creek, Colorado is known for its mining history.

But for the past few winters, an extraordinary scene draws even more people to town.

Builders are working hard to rebuild its ice castles tradition.

Peter Choi takes us behind the scenes to see how the project is taking shape.

I come across something shiny where I could hear shoes crunching on ice.

I met assistant build manager Adam here.

You see up there, those are the freshly placed icicles.

This is his third year building the ice castles.

Gimme some slush!

All right, here's what's happening here.

We're putting ice cool right here.

Just going to put a little bit of ice Oh, that's cold!

Just like that, like this.

Well, it takes weeks to complete the whole ice castle here.

Well it all depends on Mother Nature.

It is a long process, you know, like, right now we're working 10 to 12 hour days to build this thing.

There are many small towns in southern Colorado.

But why Cripple Creek?

Look around.

It's beautiful.

No, we really like it up here.

It's cold.

We're high up in elevation.

We really like that elevation.

I asked business owners why they like having ice castles here.

It helps a lot of the local businesses in terms of, obviously revenue through the winter.

Which is something that Cripple Creek hasn't had in the past.

There's a lot of work left to do, but slowly but surely, the ice castles are coming back.

It's kind of a beautiful, experience where you start out, you create this completely from scratch.

You know, you show up with an empty field and then you create a castle.

Thanks, Peter.

The dropping temperatures and bitter cold aren't only uncomfortable, the winter weather can also be dangerous.

In today's Health Minute, Mandy Gaither has simple reminders on how to stay safe in cold conditions.

When the temperature falls, the danger rises.

And in the months ahead, experts are urging everyone to stay safe.

Winter weather can be extremely dangerous in so many ways.

The American Red cross says if you do go out in extremely cold weather, wear layers of loose clothing and a coat, hat, mittens and water resistant boots.

Using a scarf to cover your face and mouth can also help.

And inside, if you use a space heater or fireplace, keep anything that could catch fire at least three feet away from the heat.

And to prevent carbon monoxide poisoning, don't use an oven to warm your home.

And only use generators outdoors.

You should also know signs of hypothermia, including shivering, exhaustion, confusion, fumbling hands, memory loss, slurred speech, and drowsiness.

When it comes to frostbite, symptoms can include a white or grayish yellow skin area, skin that feels unusually firm or waxy, and numbness.

Make sure to get out of the cold immediately and to seek medical attention urgently.

Great tips for staying healthy this season.

Thank you, Mandy.

Let's turn to health care.

Minnesota, like much of the U.S., is facing a growing physician shortage.

According to the Minnesota Medical Association, 20% of doctors may leave the profession within five years, while the state will need 1200 more primary care physicians by 2030.

And as Jonah Kaplan reports, it's an in-demand career field, especially in pediatrics and in rural areas.

Doctor Robert Karasov was a pediatrician at Park Nicolet for nearly 40 years.

He retired last year, even though he said he probably could have gone a few more.

The last several years, I keep saying to them, like you, let me know if you think that I'm staying too long.

And they'd say, no, no, no, no, no, we want you to stay.

That wasn't just lip service.

Doctor Karasov is part of a growing list of physicians leaving their positions.

Positions that are proving very hard for health systems and hospitals to fill.

According to the Minnesota Medical Association, 20% of all doctors are expected to exit the profession in the next five years.

At the same time, the Association's president, Doctor Edwin Bogonko projects Minnesota will need an additional 1200 primary care doctors by 2030, a nearly 30% increase of the working ranks now.

The pace at which our population is growing, our health care needs are growing has far outpaced keeping up in terms of training physicians and health care workers.

We're we're behind the eight ball.

It's it's a national crisis if you look at it.

This isn't about looking ahead either.

It's an issue right now.

Check out this data from the Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development.

The vacancy rate for pediatricians is more than 30%.

For family medicine - its 8.5%.

ObGyn - 7.6%.

One has to be worried because we were facing an unprecedented sort of workforce shortage.

Pediatrics and labor and delivery have been hit the hardest, especially in rural areas.

Doctor Bogonko thinks medical students are choosing other fields because they pay more, and that's a big deal considering the cost of medical school.

How we pay for services of our physicians is very heavy on how much technology used.

So people who, for example, have procedure based, specialties tend to get paid way, way more.

Doctor Bogonko admits that dynamic is unlikely to change, but he says what can be done is to create different incentives, like leveraging student loans with working at family medicine in a rural community.

We do better as a community and as a society when we have good primary care.

Those are the doctors that keep us healthy.

Thank you for the report, Jonah.

The nursing profession plays a crucial role in promoting health, providing care and supporting patients in communities worldwide.

Nurses are highly trained professionals who work in diverse and often demanding environments where compassion, critical thinking, and technical skill are essential.

They must be proficient in patient needs, medication administration, safety protocols, and collaboration with other health care team members.

Nurses have to follow strict procedures to deliver quality care and maintain safety in their high stress job.

To become a nurse, a person needs a high school diploma or GED, followed by formal education through a nursing program or a registered nursing degree, and must pass a licensing exam to practice.

The average salary for a registered nurse in the United States is around $93,000 a year.

For our first Career Callout of the season, we're meeting Maricar Gomez, a nurse at Cleveland Clinic.

She's here to answer some of your questions about her job.

Hi, my name is Maricar Gomez.

I'm a nurse practitioner at the Cleveland Clinic.

First question is Clarice from Berea Midpark Middle School in Middleburg Heights.

And she wants to know, why did you become a nurse?

Well, my mom was a nurse for 46 years.

I also had, a lot of cousins, that were nurses, as well.

And I always saw them come home from work.

They did look tired.

But at the end of the day, they always said that they always came home and helped a lot of people that were sick and helped them get better.

Coming from a mom who's so nurturing and, you know, already very giving and wanting to make people feel better, you know, I thought that being a nurse, equated, to being almost like what a mom was.

And so I liked that idea, taking care of people and making a whole job out of it.

So, things that I like to do, I'm able to do it every single day and get paid for it.

Now Cashton from Hillsdale Local Schools in Jeromesville asked How do nurses stay brave, calm and focused during scary situations?

It takes a lot of preparation in order to be able to handle those extreme, and challenging situations.

So, that means going to school, getting a license.

Even after graduation, we still have to take continuing education classes just to make sure we keep our information up to date.

We're never really alone in the hospital, too.

And so there's a lot of people that we can call on for help.

So there's a lot of doctors around.

There's pharmacists around too to help us answer questions.

And, you know, it's not just a one man job.

It takes a whole team.

Bianca from John P Parker Elementary School in Cincinnati wrote.

If you were not a nurse, what would you be?

I would probably say a background dancer for Lady Gaga or Janet Jackson.

However, I'm not the best dancer, so I'm still very happy with my choice in staying in nursing.

She also asked, what is my favorite part about my job?

My favorite part about my job is definitely the patients.

And, it's a very rewarding... It feels so good when you can help somebody, you know, if they're in pain or if they're sick.

You know what it feels like when you're not feeling well.

And if you can do something to make them feel better, that's the best feeling in a world.

It's, just knowing that you can make a difference and, you know, be a part of that process.

It's very rewarding.

So volunteering at a local hospital is a nice way to get yourself into the, onto the clinical setting to see, what happens inside the hospital, to see if you like intensive care or if you like, working with cancer.

Or if you like to work in with, with babies, or pediatrics.

And, other things that you can do, you can also when you become of age where you can start working, you can get a job, as a nursing assistant, that way you can, get paid for working, inside, you know, the hospital or an outpatient clinic, or, but you can get yourself into, the medical field, and understand starting to see what patients are like, understanding how to talk to patients because some of that, doesn't come normal and how to talk to patients, isn't what you learn when you're in school.

It's kind of like an art or what your personality is.

And so, if you learn how to talk to patients, then, you can get a better idea.

They'll they'll feel more comfortable with you.

They'll tell you what's wrong, easier and be able to explain all the things that's going on so that you can figure out what's wrong and take care of it.

Special thanks to my friend Maricar for answering our questions.

You know, it's important to take care of our mental health as much as our physical health.

The gloomy winter can cause some people to feel a little blue.

Seasonal affective disorder is a type of depression that occurs at a specific time of the year, usually in the winter when daylight hours are shorter.

People experiencing winter blues may feel a decline in energy, mood swings, or even irritability during the colder and darker months.

Natalie Garcia has five signs of this disorder and how you can cope.

weather is changing.

The days feel shorter.

It's colder and more dreary and getting darker earlier.

These can all be triggers for seasonal affective disorder.

It occurs in 1 to 10% of Americans.

It's more common amongst females and people who live in colder climates.

Psychologist Susan Albers with the Cleveland Clinic says this disorder is caused by a shift in the seasons, which can disrupt our internal clock with less sun exposure.

This, in turn, interrupts our natural internal clock.

As a result, there is a drop in serotonin, which is a neurotransmitter that regulates our mood, as well as melatonin, which regulates sleep.

Albers says to watch out for these signs.

Feeling down or unmotivated.

Loss of interest in things you used to enjoy.

Shifts in appetite like eating more or craving carbohydrates.

Changes and sleep.

Usually sleeping too much and loss of energy.

The symptoms are similar to depression, but they are much milder and they pass when the spring arrives.

Spending more time outside during daylight hours has shown to improve seasonal affective disorder, but since you're not getting as much vitamin D from the sun, Albers says you can eat foods rich in it, such as salmon, mushrooms, eggs, fortified bread and milk.

And you can also try talk therapy or journaling.

This will help to change some of the negative thoughts you're having during the winter months, as well as establish healthy routines around sleeping and eating.

Thank you, Natalia.

Taking care of mental health is a priority.

For our write-in question this week, we want to know: How do you take care of your mental health during the winter?

And catch next week's episode to hear some of your tips to cope with the winter blues.

I think animals can help our mental health.

Pets can provide companionship and help reduce stress.

So how about a little animal break?

And yes, this Petting Zoo story is about little animals.

Let's kick it over to Lalo, our NewsDepth lizard.

Hey, Lalo, you look tired.

It looks like Lalo is brumating for the winter.

Brumating is a state of inactivity exhibited by reptiles during the winter months.

This means that he is sleeping a lot and only waking up every couple of days to eat and take a bath.

And sometimes when he's awake, he'll help NewsHound find a story.

What the Lalo find for us this week?

Nice.

It's a story about a mini cow farm in Michigan that has been helping visitors with mental health.

To see the whole story, moooove over to the Petting Zoo page.

Awesome story.

Thank you, Lalo.

You can get back to your nap now.

When I need a mental health break, I like to take some time for my hobbies.

This stress relieving trick comes from crochet artist Nicole Nikolich.

Nicole's colorful crochet creations are taking over Philadelphia.

Creations like her viral 6-foot-tall Philly Phanatic or her giant sunny side up egg.

Her crochet art doesn't just brighten up public spaces, it also has helped her deal with depression and anxiety.

Reporter Chandler Lutz spoke to Nicole about how she's improving her mental health one stitch at a time.

This is my inch tattoo.

Meet Nicole Nikolich.

It says, "stitch by stitch."

The viral Philadelphia based artist behind Lace in the Moon.

I'm someone who works really good at night.

You know, two, three in the morning.

So I just though Lace in the Moon - I'm working at night.

I just thought it sounded really nice.

You might have seen her six foot replica of the Philly Phanatic and Jason Kelsey in South Philly And I put it on the corner of Passyunk and Wharton, across from Pat's and Geno's.

People are loving it.

Or her giant sunny side up on Walnut Street.

It was my first viral, you know, over a million views online.

Putting that piece up actually, you know, allowed me to quit my day job and become a full time artist.

Nicole story didn't start with fame.

It started with healing.

Back in 2017 when I was struggling with my mental health, with my depression and anxiety, and I was in the hospital for a little bit.

A nurse suggested crocheting.

She had heard that crocheting was really good for calming your mind.

Nicole decided to try it.

She picked up a hook, went on YouTube and taught herself how to crochet.

Nicole started to contribute to the Philly art scene with yarn bombing, installing colorful crochet pieces in public spaces.

You're going to somewhere and you're beautifying a place that has been abandoned or could use a little extra love.

Her work grew organically.

People saw her pieces in the wild and wanted it for their homes.

People were really asking me like, how can I get a crocheted egg or these crocheted food pieces?

Her commissions now range from framed crocheted foods to pixelated pet portraits.

Oh well, that is a dog.

A piece like this will take her around 15 hours to complete, stitching her soul back together and turning yarn into unforgettable art.

This is Frazier.

Thank you, Chandler.

Did you know that here at NewsDepth headquarters, we get about 20,000 emails and about 200 written letters every year from our NewsDepth viewers.

We love getting mail.

Like this one from Evelyn from Hudson.

She wrote, whenever I'm bored, I watch your show.

It's the best.

I love hearing that.

Thank you so much for your letter, Evelyn.

Recently, we had the chance to talk to a group of high school students in the Computer Business Applications class at Bay High in Bay Village who are using their creativity and new computer skills to exchange letters with a group of second graders at Maplewood Elementary in Sylvania.

For using their new skills to make new friends, they are this week's A+ Award winners!

Bay High teacher Mrs.

Bender told us the second graders sent her students autobiographies.

An autobiography is your life story written by yourself.

Nick, a 10th grader, told us that his writing partner, Harrison, likes baseball and California, so he wrote a story about them visiting California and playing baseball.

Addie, who was also in 10th grade, is writing an acrostic poem using the first name of her partner, Penelope.

An acrostic poem is a fun type of poem where the first letter of each line spells out a specific word, name or phrase when you read through them top to bottom.

After reading the poems, we learned that both Addie and Penelope enjoy art and they both have dogs.

We were even able to visit the students in Ms.

Breen's second grade class, who are writing to the Bay students.

Dean told us how exciting it was to get letters from his partner, Lennon said that he loves this project because writing is one of his favorite things to do in class.

Ishmail said that this is a really cool experience because he loves to meet new people.

Macie and Blake are really looking forward to getting Elyse's acrostic poems that she wrote for them.

This week's A+ Award goes to students at Bay High and Maplewood Elementary for making new friends and exchanging letters.

That's all the time we have for today's show, but we will be back next week with more news and more stories.

Until then, you can keep the conversation going because we always like to hear from you, and there are plenty of ways for you to stay in touch with us.

You can write to us at 1375 Euclid Avenue, Cleveland, Ohio.

Our zip code here is 44115.

You can email us at newsdepth@ideastream.org Plus you can catch all of our special segments on YouTube.

Hit subscribe if you're old enough so you don't miss out on any of our new videos.

Thank you for joining us.

I'm Gabriel Kramer.

See you next week.

NewsDepth is made possible by a grant from the Martha Holden Jennings Foundation.

Career Callouts featured in NewsDepth are funded by the Ohio Broadcast Media Commission.