Water cooler talk around the office has likely been focused on the big Powerball jackpot over the last few weeks. With the NFL playoffs underway, there will soon be discussions and friendly bets about which team will advance to the big game. The Iowa Department of Public Health (IDPH) reminds Iowans that for the vast majority, playing the lottery and other forms of gambling are a harmless pastime, but for others, it’s a dangerous obsession that results in big losses, not big winnings.

“Although we generally do not draw a connection between gambling and the workplace, it is important to recognize the workplace is often the site of office wagers for sports and other events, purchasing lottery tickets, and can even be the place for fantasy sport play,” said IDPH Gambling Treatment Program Manager Eric Preuss.

Fortune magazine reported last year that fantasy football might be costing businesses $13.4 billion dollars every single season. An estimated 18.3 million people play fantasy football for two hours a week while on the clock at work, resulting in $895 million paid every week to workers who aren’t working. That’s $13.4 billion over a regular 15-week season.

With funding from IDPH, Employee and Family Resources in Des Moines and Heartland Family Service in Council Bluffs have created the Gambling in the Workplace Toolkit to address this concern. The toolkit includes a comprehensive policy template for businesses to use, staff training materials to explain the impact of gambling on the workplace, posters and other informational materials.

To obtain the free Gambling in the Workplace Toolkit, contact Katie Bee, CPS, Prevention Manger with Employee & Family Resources at kbee@efr.org or by calling (515) 471-2327. For more information about the IDPH Gambling Treatment Program, visit http://idph.iowa.gov/igtp.

Officials with the Cass County Health System invite you to attend the next “Healthy U” session, on Thursday, January 21st, to learn about “Fitness at All Ages ” as presented by Jordan McPheron, Doctor of Physical Therapy (DPT).

Dr. McPheron says “There are a number of simple things you can do to improve your overall fitness level. We’ll go over different ways that you can improve strength, balance, and fitness.” McPheron received his Doctor of Physical Therapy degree from Azusa Pacific University in 2013 and has been working at CCHS for two years.

Jordan McPheron, DPT

McPheron says “As we age it becomes increasingly difficult to maintain a level of health that allows us to participate in an active lifestyle.. Fitness and exercise can take on many shapes and forms in order to meet your needs and goals. By participating in an exercise routine regularly, you can reduce the risk of injury and disease in order to increase your longevity and good quality of life.”

The session will be on Thursday, January 21st at noon in Conference Room 2 at Cass County Memorial Hospital. Healthy U is a free educational series offered by Cass County Health System that focuses on a different health topic each month. Attendees receive a healthy sack lunch in addition to an educational program presented by medical professionals.

For more information, or to make a reservation for Healthy U, call 712-243-7479.

School officials in Sioux City say a 12-year-old boy brought a handgun to school this week. Superintendent Paul Gausman credits a tip, which allowed police to be present and meet the 6th grade student before classes started Monday morning. “If there’s one message I’d like to share it’s how thankful we are that someone who saw or heard something, shared something with us so we could take some action,” Gausman said. The unidentified student at Sioux City’s North Middle School is charged with carrying a concealed weapon on school property.

“We detained that student, searched that student, and did find an unloaded weapon with no ammunition,” Gausman said. The student had a preliminary hearing in juvenile court Tuesday and is suspended from school. Classes went on as normal Monday and Gausman says there was never a threat to any individual student or staff member.

Parents were notified of the incident just before 6 p.m. on Monday. Gausman says although the school district took the incident very seriously, since there was no threat, he waited until after the school day was over before releasing information.

(Radio Iowa)

While Iowans typically don’t worry about getting a sunburn during the bitter cold of winter, prom season is approaching and many high school students will be hitting tanning beds, hoping for a perfect tan. A pre-prom event in Cedar Rapids this weekend will feature Krista Barnell, of Walford, a 37-year-old skin cancer survivor who will share her story, starting with her diagnosis in 2009.

“My dermatologist noticed a mole on my back that looked a little funny,” Barnell says. “She removed it and the test came back with melanoma. It was just at the beginning stages of melanoma so I didn’t have to do any treatment. They did have to go back and remove a good-sized chunk from my back.”

Skin cancer is the most common form of cancer, while melanoma accounted for more than 73,000 new cases nationwide in 2015 and about 10,000 skin cancer deaths a year. A federal study finds people who begin tanning during adolescence or early adulthood have a higher risk of melanoma. Barnell’s grandfather died of melanoma at age 56. Being a survivor herself now, she’s very passionate about spreading the message to young people who may be making the same mistakes she did.

“I loved to be in the tanning beds, ever since I was 14,” Barnell says. “You could never be tan enough back at that age. I loved to lay out and used baby oil and tanning oil and if you got sunburned, you knew you were going to get a really nice tan.” Barnell has two younger nieces who she’s been striving to educate about the potential dangers of using a tanning bed.

“There’s self-tanners, there’s the spray tan,” Barnell says. “They have followed that, for the most part, but I know they had a big celebration, a homecoming or prom, and one of them went to a tanning bed and it just makes me cringe.” Sunday’s pre-prom event at Mercy Medical Center features a fashion show and tips on hair, makeup and sunless tanning from industry experts. The event is aimed at keeping young people out of the sun and away from tanning booths, especially as prom season nears.

(Radio Iowa)

A lottery official says the estimated Powerball jackpot remains at $1.5 billion, still the largest lottery jackpot in the world. Kelly Cripe of the Texas Lottery says 85.8 percent of possible number combinations have been selected ahead of the drawing scheduled for Wednesday evening. The odds of matching all six numbers to win the jackpot are 1 in 292.2 million.

The $1.5 billion prize would be paid in annual payments over 29 years or the winner could opt for a lump-sum payment of $930 million. Cripe says if no one wins the jackpot Wednesday, the estimated jackpot for Saturday’s drawing will increase to $2 billion, with a cash value of $1.24 billion.