This is the first day of winter and Iowans are reminded there are some relatively easy fixes if they find they’re being hit by a case of the winter blues. Dr. Patty Quinlisk, medical director of the Iowa Department of Public Health, says Seasonal Affective Disorder, or SAD, is brought on by a lack of exposure to sunlight and it can make people feel moody and lethargic.

“Certainly, there are going to be some people who might be more prone to getting this than others,” Dr. Quinlisk says. “For example, people who already struggle with depression might be more susceptible.” This is the shortest day of the year and while the days will be getting longer for the next several months, Quinlisk says Iowans are more at risk for SAD than people living in Florida.

Quinlisk says, “It can hit you anywhere, but the farther north you go, the less and less sunlight you have during the day in the wintertime, the more likely you are to have people get this.” Some SAD sufferers may be helped by counseling while others might benefit from prescribed medication. For many though, special full-spectrum lamps or “light boxes” can literally brighten the day through what’s called light therapy or phototherapy. Quinlisk says other possible solutions focus on lifestyle.

“Things as simple as during the day, going out and taking a walk at lunchtime, sitting closer to a window during the day at work or when you’re at home,” she says. “Exercise helps us, and eating a good diet.” State health officials don’t track SAD case numbers within Iowa, but studies find it impacts between 10 and 20-percent of all Americans. While she doesn’t suffer from SAD, Quinlisk says she uses a clock equipped with a full-spectrum light at her bedside as she prefers not to be startled awake every morning by an alarm clock.

“I like it because you set the light so it gradually comes on and you wake up naturally, as if the sun were rising, rather than, all of the sudden at 6 o’clock, ‘Beep! Beep! Beep!'” she says. “I find that irritating. You can find those lamps all over the place. There’s different kinds and I’ve used them for years.” As an added benefit, when she reads by the lamp’s light at night, it provides plenty of artificial sunshine.

(Radio Iowa)

IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) – Three friends involved in buying tickets and claiming jackpots that were allegedly fixed by a lottery insider have something else unusual in common. They allegedly hunt for Bigfoot in their spare time. In a legal motion that is as strange as the elusive humanoid, Iowa prosecutor Rob Sand asked a judge Monday to bar any discussion of Bigfoot hunting at the upcoming trial of Eddie Tipton. He says the “prejudicial effect could potentially be as strong as Sasquatch itself.”

Tipton is the former Multi-State Lottery Association security director who’s accused of rigging jackpots in Iowa, Colorado, Wisconsin, Kansas and Oklahoma to enrich himself and his friends. Tipton’s attorney, Dean Stowers, says the state’s “whole case is a Bigfoot hunt,” saying there is no evidence he tampered with lottery equipment.

In an update to our earlier report, the Pottawattamie County Sheriff’s Office reports what’s believed to be an isolated road rage incident involving shots-fired occurred early this (Tuesday) morning, on Interstate 80, about four-miles west of the Neola exit. According to Lt. Rob Ambrose with the Pott. County Sheriff’s Office, the Pottawattamie County Communications Center received a 911 call at around 5:19-a.m. with regard to shots being fired on Interstate 80 near the 24 mile marker eastbound.

Deputies made contact with the reporting party, 20-year old Tyler Carfora, of Colorado, who was driving a 2010 Audi.  The woman said a white male, in his 20’s, driving a gray car with Wisconsin plates had pulled beside her and fired a handgun toward her vehicle, striking the passenger side rear tire.

The suspect vehicle had stickers on the rear of the vehicle and blankets in the rear window. Carfora’s tire did have damage consistent with being shot with a firearm. Neither the male subject or his vehicle was located.

The incident remains under investigation.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) – Iowa’s population grew at a modest rate to 3.12 million this year, but the growth rate trailed behind the national rate. The U.S. Census Bureau released new estimates Tuesday showing state and national populations as of July 1. Iowa’s population grew by 14,418, or 0.5 percent, over last year’s total of 3.11 million.

The national population grew 0.8 percent to 321.4 million between last year and this year. Iowa remains 30th in population among the states. Iowa lost a U.S. House seat after the 2010 Census because the state’s population grew more slowly than other states. So the state’s current four House seats are likely safe even with Iowa’s continued slow growth.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) – Lawmakers say a delay in privatization of Iowa’s Medicaid program means that most of the 37,000 children enrolled in a special health care program must transition to a new insurance carrier by the new year. The Des Moines Register reports that Iowa terminated its contract with two companies that managed the hawk-i program, anticipating that the state’s Medicaid program would be almost completely privatized by Jan. 1.

Last week, the federal government rejected that target date, saying Iowa was not ready for the transition. Iowa asked UnitedHealthcare and Wellmark to extend their contracts, but Wellmark declined. Iowa Medicaid Director Mikki Stier said Monday about 75 percent of the program’s children are currently insured through Wellmark.

Board members for hawk-i said they would help Iowa persuade Wellmark to extend its contract.