An Iowa State University study finds a simple yet powerful way to improve your mood in just minutes. I-S-U Psychology Professor Douglas Gentile says they sent about 400 students out to walk around campus following one of three instructions: when encountering others, consider either how you’re better off than them, think of things you may have in common, or simply wish them well. Gentile says, “We found that the simple technique of walking around, wishing other people well in the world, worked for pretty much anyone who did it.”

The strategy isn’t complicated in the least and Gentile says it’s something we could all incorporate into our daily activities. While the researchers figured the least promising technique would be the downward social comparison, they had higher hopes for the interconnected option as students strolled around campus. “When they went around practicing what’s called a ‘loving kindness’ contemplation, wishing other people well, that improved their happiness, that decreased their anxiety, that increased their empathy, that increased their sense of social connection,” Gentile says, “and all of this in just about 12 minutes.”

The technique of wishing others well should work everyone, he says, where we’re in a long line at customer service, in clogged jam of traffic, or in a crowded elevator. If you do something selfish, Gentile says it might bring you short-term satisfaction but likely won’t help you in the long-term. “When we do things that are kind for others, that has both a short-term benefit and — other studies have shown — long-term benefits,” Gentile says. “So, I think that would work, whenever you’re in a frustrating situation, to recognize that these other people are just as frustrated as you and to wish them well.”

The students who had the best results from the study were instructed to look at the people they see and think to themselves, “I wish for this person to be happy,” and they were encouraged to really mean it as they were thinking it. The ISU study was published in the Journal of Happiness Studies.

https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10902-019-00100-2

Creston Police report one person was arrested following a traffic stop Wednesday evening. Authorities say 40-year old Dustin James Seley, of Creston, was arrested for Driving While Suspended. He was released from custody on a promise to appear in court.

DUBUQUE, Iowa (AP) — Authorities say a DNA sample taken from a man arrested on federal drug charges has matched those taken after four Dubuque women were raped years ago. The Telegraph Herald reports that 29-year-old Martel Fountain Sr. is charged with four counts of sexual abuse and four of burglary. Court documents say Fountain assaulted three women in 2011 after forcing his way into their homes. The documents say another was raped in 2014 after Fountain forced her into her garage.

Prosecutors say a DNA sample taken from Fountain in March 2018 after his arrest in the federal drug case linked him to the four Dubuque assaults. DNA information from those four cases had been filed in an FBI database. Fountain has since been sentenced to more than 12 years in federal prison after pleading guilty to conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine.

Officials with the Atlantic High School report an educational mock collision will take place this (Thursday) afternoon, at the High School. The general public is asked to avoid the area along E. 14th Street between the hours of 2-to 3:15-p.m., so as to not interfere with participating Emergency vehicles. No parking is allowed in the area, and the activity is NOT FOR PUBLIC VIEWING.

SIOUX CITY, Iowa (AP) — A Nebraska woman has pleaded not guilty to stealing from a now-closed Sears store in western Iowa. Woodbury County court records show 39-year-old Sandra Martinez, of South Sioux City, Nebraska, entered a written plea last week to the theft charge. The records don’t show that a trial has been scheduled. The records say Martinez stole $400 on the first day she worked at the Sioux City store and stole $1,000 on the last day she worked there. The store closed earlier this month — one of 80 closings the troubled retailer announced in late December.