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.

WASHINGTON (AP) – Ten companies are recalling 2 million bottles and jugs of the gel fuel used in outdoor decorations known as firepots because of the risk of serious burns. The Consumer Product Safety Commission says the gel fuel has been linked to several dozen injuries when users could not tell whether the flame was extinguished. Pouring more gel on a burning pot can lead to dangerous flares or burns.

The companies recalling gel fuel are: Bird Brain Inc. of Ypsilanti, Mich.; Bond Manufacturing of Antioch, Calif.; Sunjel Company of Milwaukee; Fuel Barons Inc. of Lake Tahoe, Nev.; Lamplight Farms Inc, of Menomonee Falls, Wis.; Luminosities Inc. of St. Paul, Minn.; Marshall Group of Elkhart, Ind.; Pacific Decor Ltd. of Woodinville, Wash.; Real Flame of Racine, Wis.; Smart Solar USA of Oldsmar, Fla.

w/ Ric Hanson

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The average High for the month was 84.5-degrees. The hottest day was on the 23rd, when we topped out at 97, during a “heat burst” late in the evening. The average Low was 59.9-degrees. The coolest reading was 50-degrees, on the 24th. Normals for Atlantic: High – 84.2; Low – 59.7.

Rainfall for the month amounted to 6.9-inches. The greatest amount of rainfall occurred on thr 15th (3″).  Normal average rainfall in August, is 3.88″.

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.

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) – An economist says an August economic survey in nine Midwest and Plains states suggests slow to no growth in the region, but not a return to recession. The survey report released today (Thursday), says the Business Conditions Index (BCI) dropped to 52 in August from 54.1 in July. Creighton University economist Ernie Goss oversees the report.

He says that despite healthy economic growth tied to agriculture, the region is being harmed by cuts in business, consumer and local governmental spending. The survey of supply managers and executives uses a collection of indexes ranging from zero to 100. Any score above 50 suggests growth while a score below 50 suggests decline for that factor. The states are Arkansas, Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, Oklahoma and South Dakota.

A busy travel holiday is just ahead, but industry experts say the number of travelers will be down about two-and-a-half percent across the state and nation compared to Labor Day weekend last year. Gene LaDoucer, spokesman for Triple-A-Iowa, says several factors play into the estimate. LaDoucer says, “Largely, it’s a mixed economic outlook, consumer uncertainty and recent downturns that are effecting discretionary income and are forcing people, particularly in the lower-income levels, to stay closer to home or at home.”

A survey finds airfares are up 13-percent compared to last year. Gasoline prices in Iowa are now averaging three-61 a gallon. He says on Labor Day weekend of 2010, gas prices were exactly one dollar cheaper. “Gas prices are up about 30% from where they were at this time last year,” LaDoucer says. “People are telling us that the higher prices aren’t necessarily going to keep them from traveling. What it is going to do, however, it’s going to keep them closer to home. They’re going to find different ways to cut back to make up that increased expense.”

He says hotels, restaurants and attractions in Iowa may actually benefit from the reduced travel prediction. “If you can cater to the audience that’s in your particular area, you could do quite well,” LaDoucer says. “Because of the outdoor activities that are prevalent in the Midwest, there’s a lot of things people can go out and enjoy for one last hurrah for the end of the summer travel season.” He notes, travel nationwide may be down even more than forecast as communities on the East Coast recover from damage caused by Hurricane Irene.

(Radio Iowa)

The last summer holiday has once again put camping spots at state parks at a premium. Department of Natural Resources Parks Bureau Chief, Kevin Sczdronski, says the on-line reserved spots always go quickly. But he says a visit to Rock Creek State Park east of Grinnell Tuesday showed how quickly the other spots go too.

He says the park staff already declared the campground full as all the “walk-in” sites already have people there and they are booked up for the weekend. “So there’s just one example that’s probably pretty indicative of what we are looking at across the state of the demand,” Szcodronski says. He says the numbers have been good for the parks throughout the summer. Szcodronski says extreme heat hurt attendance at some parks, but it helped others.

Szcodronski says the parks with beaches and lakes see even more people when it is hot. He says most of the campgrounds have been full almost every weekend. The D-N-R received some more money for maintenance of the parks when the new budget year began July first and Szcodronski says people should notice some improvement this weekend.

He says a lot of parks were able to hire some people and one of their first priorities is to get into day use areas and mow where they hadn’t mowed in awhile. You can find out more about the state parks on the D-N-R’s website at: IowaDNR.gov.

(Radio Iowa)