CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa – Sept 1, 2011 – Interstate Power and Light Co. (IPL), an Alliant Energy company announced today that it will cycle air conditioners for all participating Iowa customers. Weather conditions are such that from 1-7 p.m. today customers enrolled in the Appliance Cycling Program will have their air conditioner cycled in 15 minute intervals to reduce overall energy usage. Today, Alliant Energy will be sending a signal to the switch for the 48,000 participating customers throughout the state. This cycling event is expected to reduce overall electricity demand by 33 megawatts. 

Participating customers have a small control switch placed on or near their central air conditioner. The control switch will cycle the outdoor cooling unit off and on every 15 minutes. The furnace fan will continue to circulate the cooler, drier air already in the home. Alliant Energy pays each participating customer $8 per month from June through September – whether the air conditioner is cycled or not. A similar program for electric water heaters is also included in today’s event.  Customers enrolled in that program receive a $2 per month discount during the same June through September time period. Appliance Cycling events typically occur between May 15 and September 15 on weekdays from 1-7 p.m. They are not initiated on weekends or holidays. Participation in the program is limited.

This marks a record tenth time Alliant Energy has cycled residential customers this year.

(Press Release)

The Iowa Department of Public Health (IDPH) urges Iowa women to educate and empower themselves and their families about the seven symptoms of a heart attack most commonly seen in women. According to the American Heart Association, only half of U.S. women recognize chest pain and pain in the arm, neck and shoulders as the typical symptoms of a heart attack. The “Make the Call. Don’t Miss a Beat” campaign, led by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Office on Women’s Health, seeks to increase women’s knowledge of the symptoms of a heart attack. 

“A woman suffers a heart attack every 90 seconds in the United States,” said Terry Meek, IDPH Heart Disease and Stroke Prevention Program project coordinator. “Yet according to a 2009 American Heart Association survey, only half of women indicated they would call 9-1-1 if they thought they were having a heart attack and few were aware of the most common heart attack symptoms.” 

IDPH urges women to make the call to 9-1-1 immediately if they experience any one or more of the following symptoms:

• Chest pain, discomfort, pressure or squeezing
• Shortness of breath
• Nausea
• Light-headedness or sudden dizziness
• Unusual upper body pain, or discomfort in one or both arms, back, shoulder, neck, jaw, or upper part of the stomach
• Unusual fatigue
• Breaking out in a cold sweat 

For more information about the “Make the Call. Don’t Miss a Beat” campaign, visit www.womenshealth.gov/heartattack. For information on the IDPH Heart Disease and Stroke Prevention program, visit www.idph.state.ia.us/hpcdp/hdsp_home.asp.

A traffic stop on Interstate 80 northeast of Council Bluffs Wednesday evening resulted in the arrest of two New Jersey women on drug charges. Pottawattamie County Sheriff’s Department Investigator, Sgt. Dwayne Riche told KJAN News Deputy Brian Miller pulled a 2005 BMW X-3 over for speeding, on eastbound I-80 near the nine mile-marker, just after 5-p.m.

The deputy requested permission to search the vehicle, but was denied. Riche says Miller deployed his K-9 partner “Francisco,” who alerted to the presence of drugs in a rooftop car carrier on the vehicle. A search of the carrier resulted in the recovery of approximately 21-pounds of hydroponically grown marijuana, 2.2-pounds of cocaine and 28-grams of hallucinogenic mushrooms.

The driver of the vehicle, 27-year old Justine Magno, and her passenger, 26-year old Allison Wolfe, both of Teaneck, New Jersey, were arrested on charges of Possession of Drugs with the Intent to Deliver, Possession of Controlled Substances, and other, drug-related charges.

The women were being held in the Pott County Jail on $100,000 bond, each.

Nine of out every 10 car seats in Iowa are used incorrectly. Could yours be one of them? Find out, at a free car seat check-up being offered Thursday, Sept. 22nd, at Cass County Home Care, in Atlantic. The event, which takes place from 5-7pm at 1500 East 10th Street, offers car seat inspections and free information on traveling safely. For more information, call 712-243-8006.

The Regional Service Director for the Iowa Department of Human Services (DHS) spoke with the Cass County Board of Supervisors, during their meeting Wednesday, in Atlantic. Tom Bouska, said there are some changes being implemented to DHS programs people should be aware of. One of the changes affects eligibility for food assistance. Bouska says the eligibility limits have increased to 160-percent of the poverty level. He says the DHS no longer counts resources for food assistance, so more households are potentially eligible to apply for assistance.

He says the DHS is not directly “advertising” the new eligibility standards, but is has spread by “word of mouth.” The local DHS office sees spikes in requests for food assistance during the Winter, because of seasonal layoffs in construction, and late in the Summer, as families prepare for the coming school year, and have less to spend on food.

Bouska says about one of out every six-persons in Cass County receives some type of assistance from the DHS. Over the past year, 787 households in the County have received food assistance through the DHS’ food stamp, or snack program. That means 1,826 individuals were served by the program, which brings in $200,000 per month, or nearly $2.5-million dollars to Cass County.

The Family Investment Program (FIP), which is the DHS’ smallest program, and offers cash assistance to families with children who meet certain income guidelines, averages 81 families, 199 recipients, and equates to $26,000 per month, or $300,000 for the past 12 months. Bouska says 2,480 persons in Cass County, are eligible for Medicaid, which brought in about $21.5-million dollars. All together, approximately $24-million dollars is being spent on households in the County. Bouska says that’s a fair amount of money coming in to the County, which has a ripple affect on the economy. For example, for every One-dollar in food assistance generates almost two-dollars worth of financial activity.

Bouska says last year’s cutbacks and restructuring in the Department of Human Services mean there are less people available to handle the increasing caseload’s they’re seeing. He says their regional staff now covers nearly double the amount of counties they did last year in western Iowa. He says they hope to maintain the staff they have until 2013, with any additional cutbacks.

The number of DHS offices in the region were also trimmed, from 18 to 12. Bouska says by the year 2013, there will be a new eligibility system that will replace the current, nearly 40-year old system, in anticipation of the “Affordable Care Act,” which could mean anywhere from 80-to 100,000- more individuals will be eligible for Medicaid.