(Radio Iowa) — Do you get grouchy when you don’t get enough sleep? An Iowa State University study finds losing a few hours of sleep makes you angrier, especially in frustrating situations. I-S-U psychology professor Zlatan Krizan had test subjects maintain or reduce their sleep patterns, then come to the lab to perform mundane tasks while listening to various levels of distracting noises. Those who changed their patterns lost about five hours of sleep over two nights.

“Individuals who followed their regular sleep routine experienced less anger and in general, less distress the second time than the first time,” Krizan says. “It makes sense. We tend to get used to annoying things over time, but those individuals who lost sleep, they did not show anything of the kind. As a matter of fact, they showed an opposite trend.”

The researchers found anger was substantially higher for those who were sleep-restricted. Although the results may seem relatively obvious, the study is one of the first to provide evidence that sleep loss causes anger. Krizan says we should all take note of the results. “If we’re getting in conflicts and we’re aware that we’re sleepy or the other person is sleepy, we should remind ourselves that the anger may not be as bad or due to personal disagreements per se, but may be amplified by these kinds of physiological factors,” Krizan says.

The study concludes that people who are sleep-restricted showed a trend toward increased anger and distress, reversing their ability to adapt to frustrating conditions over time. Krizan says no one has shown this before. “That really points to you being sleepy as a cue to you being prone to anger or potentially getting angered more easily,” Krizan says. “That’s something that we should recognize in ourselves and in others.”

Most adults need seven-to-eight hours of sleep nightly for adequate rest, but Krizan notes, studies find many of us — for whatever reason — often don’t get that much shut-eye. The research is being published in the Journal of Experimental Psychology.

(Radio Iowa) — The director of the Iowa Department of Transportation says in the past 11 years, the number of “structurally deficient” bridges on state-maintained highways in Iowa has been reduced by 80 percent. “From 2006 to 2017, we’ve driven that number down from 256 to 51.”

And Iowa D-O-T director Mark Lowe expects just 46 state-owned bridges to be classified as “structurally deficient” when the state budgeting year ends on June 30th.  “It just reflects a continued focus on bringing up the condition of the system, so of the 24,000 bridges in our state, 4000 are on our primary system. That means that less than one percent of the bridges on our primary system right now are structurally deficient,” Lowe says.

The Iowa D-O-T’s website has an “Iowa Bridge Condition Index” which indicates whether a state-maintained bridge is in good, fair or poor condition. The D-O-T notes that if a bridge is rated in good condition, that means it is “adequate for today’s traffic and vehicle loads.” Bridges rated in poor condition are “NOT unsafe,” according to the D-O-T, but should be considered for repair, replacement and additional monitoring — or perhaps limits on the weight of vehicles that may travel over the bridge.

The vast majority of Iowa bridges — 24-thousand — are on highways, roads and streets maintained by cities and counties.

Here is the latest Iowa news from The Associated Press at 3:40 a.m. CST

FORT DODGE, Iowa (AP) — Trial for a woman charged in the death of a Fort Dodge woman has been moved from Webster County to Story County. The Des Moines Register reports that the move of 27-year-old Mackenzie Knigge’s trial was ordered Tuesday by a judge to counter pretrial publicity. The charge against her was also amended to aiding and abetting first-degree murder in the 2017 death of 26-year-old Jessica Gomez. Her trial is now set for June.

MASON CITY, Iowa (AP) — A northern Iowa hospital has notified around 1,900 patients about what may have been an inappropriate access of their medical records. Mercy Medical Center _ North Iowa in Mason City says in letters sent Monday that the records were accessed by an employee between July 2017 and this past July, but officials have been unable to determine whether the records were viewed for job-related purposes. A hospital spokeswoman says the now-former employee did not have access to financial information.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Federal investigators have issued their final report on a fiery 2017 derailment in northwest Iowa that was caused by a broken rail. The National Transportation Safety Board issued its final report Tuesday on the Union Pacific derailment that released 322,000 gallons of ethanol near Graettinger, Iowa.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — American farmers still working to get out their remaining soybeans after a weather-plagued harvest season are struggling to figure out what to do with a record crop now their traditionally dominant export market is largely closed. China, a leading soybean consumer, has all but stopped buying American soybeans in response to President Donald Trump’s trade tariffs, and economists are warning some famers could be forced out of business by the export crisis.

Officials with Atlantic Municipal Utilities say a report from the American Public Power Association on electric rates states AMU ranks as the 6th lowest Iowa cost provider in the State, out of 182 utilities operating in Iowa. AMU General Manager Steve Tjepkes says the report shows there are only three electric utilities in Iowa with lower Residential Rates than AMU, only two with lower Commercial Rates, and only one utility in Iowa with lower Industrial Rates, than AMU.

Tjepkes said in a statement, “We were very pleased to see the results of the latest rate comparisons among electric utilities. While keeping rates low is important to everyone in our community,” Tjepkes said “we believe it is the customer service our employees provide every day that we are most proud of and strive to maintain at AMU.”

AMU provides electrical service to nearly 4-thousand residential and commercial customers within the City of Atlantic, and another 675 residential and commercial customers in the surrounding rural area.

For more on the comparisons and related data, see the PDF here: Atlantic Municipal_20181127_171545

LA CROSSE, Wis. (AP) — Wisconsin-based Kwik Trip Inc. is recalling some parfaits because they may contain undeclared traces of cashews or almonds. Kwik Trip said Tuesday the convenience store chain is recalling Kitchen Cravings Strawberry and Mixed Berry Parfaits in an 8.25-ounce cup. The La Crosse-based company says consumers who are allergic to cashews or almonds may risk allergic reactions if they eat the product.

Kwik Trip says it recalled the product after a chocolate-covered cashew or almond was discovered in granola mix from an outside supplier. Kwik Trip says it has removed the parfaits from its stores due to the undeclared allergen.

No illnesses have been reported. The product was sold at Kwik Trip convenience stores in Minnesota, Wisconsin and Iowa (Kwik Star) with a sell-by date on or before Dec. 6, 2018.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Federal investigators have issued their final report on a fiery 2017 derailment in northwest Iowa that was caused by a broken rail. The National Transportation Safety Board issued its final report Tuesday on the Union Pacific derailment that released 322,000 gallons of ethanol near Graettinger.

The agency said last month that Union Pacific’s maintenance was inadequate before the March 2017 derailment, and Federal Railroad Administration inspectors didn’t do enough to identify flaws in the track.

The FRA is still reviewing the agency’s recommendation to improve training for its inspectors.
No injuries were reported in connection with the derailment in a rural area about 160 miles (257 kilometers) northwest of Des Moines. Five of the 20 derailed tankers plunged into Jack Creek.

Bleeding from a traumatic injury can lead to death in just a few minutes, well before medical help can arrive. Cass County Public Health is offering a free class for the public to learn about bleeding control as part of the Stop the Bleed campaign. The class is on Tuesday, December 11th at 6:30 pm at the Outdoor Classroom. Reservations are required and seating is limited; please call Linda Edelman at Cass County Public Health at 712-243-7551 to sign up or if you have any questions.

Beth Olsen, Director of Cass County Public Health, says “Stop the Bleed teaches someone how to safely and immediately take action, potentially saving a life. Everyone should know how to recognize life-threatening bleeding and take appropriate steps to control bleeding until help arrives.”

The Stop the Bleed campaign is a national initiative originating from the Department of Defense, Homeland Security, the White House, and other governmental and private agencies. The program is currently being championed by the American College of Surgeons-Committee on Trauma. The program is based on recommendations identified in the Hartford Consensus, which was a review of mass casualty and active shooter events.

The program is designed to teach civilian bystanders basic hemorrhage control techniques.

The Atlantic School District’s Board of Education will hold a Work Session 5:30-p.m. Wednesday, in the High School Media Center. On their agenda, is discussion with regard to Facility Planning. And, action on Contract Recommendations for Shannon DeArment (Nurse/1:1 Health Associate), and Ernie Hawthorne (Bus Driver).

Immediately following the Work Session, the Atlantic School Board will adjourn and move into a Closed Session, to conduct Superintendent Steve Barber’s annual evaluation.

MASON CITY, Iowa (AP) — A northern Iowa hospital has notified around 1,900 patients about what may have been an inappropriate access of their medical records. Mercy Medical Center — North Iowa in Mason City says in letters sent Monday that the records were accessed by an employee between July 2017 and this past July, but officials have been unable to determine whether the records were viewed for job-related purposes.

Hospital spokeswoman Stephanie Duckert said Tuesday that the employee would not have been able to access financial information such as Social Security numbers. Duckert also said the employee resigned his or her job before the hospital learned of the problematical access. She would not provide his or her name.

Mercy says hospital officials are reviewing privacy practices and are conferring with law enforcement.

A traffic stop last week in Orient, resulted in a woman being cited for two offenses. Adair County Sheriff Jeff Vandewater reports 38-year old Donna Marie Ott, of Orient, was cited for Driving While License Revoked/OWI-related, after her SUV was pulled over at around 9:30-p.m. on Nov. 21st. Ott was also cited for Possession of Drug Paraphernalia, after a pipe used for smoking marijuana was found in the vehicle. Ott admitted to smoking marijuana on a regular basis, but denied the pipe was hers. She was cited at the scene, and released.