(Radio Iowa) — A heart ailment that kills hundreds of Iowans every year isn’t one most people know about. When people hear about heart disease, it usually brings to mind heart attacks or congestive heart disease, but not heart -valve- disease. Sue Peschin, president and C-E-O of the Alliance for Aging Research, says there’s very little public awareness about the potential health threat. “Heart valve disease involves damage to one or more of the heart’s four valves,” Peschin says. “While some types are not serious, others can lead to major complications, including death.”

The older you get, the more your odds increase for having trouble with a heart valve, and Iowa’s population is one of the nation’s oldest, as nearly 17-percent of Iowans are now over age 65. “In 2017, which is the last year the data were available, 348 Iowans died from heart valve disease,” Peschin says. “That’s a rate of about 36.9 per 100,000 and that’s really reflective of the aging of the population in Iowa.” Friday was National Heart Valve Disease Awareness Day and a campaign is underway to increase recognition of the risks and symptoms, improve detection and treatment, and ultimately save lives.

“Heart valve disease can be there at birth or you can develop it from damage later in life, just from wear and tear to getting older,” Peschin says. “Age is the greatest risk factor for heart valve disease, especially if you’ve had a heart attack, or you have diabetes or hypertension. Those all put you at higher risk.”  The best ways to avoid heart valve disease are familiar, maintaining a good diet and getting routine exercise. Still, the symptoms of heart valve disease are varied and sometimes don’t show up at all. “You could have shortness of breath or dizziness or tightness or discomfort in the chest,” Peschin says. “You might feel exceptionally tired or get a swollen belly, ankles or feet, but a lot of people with heart valve disease don’t have symptoms, even if their disease is severe.”

Just by listening to your heart, a physician should be able to detect a heart murmur, which is often the most important clue. She says heart valve disease can usually be successfully treated with valve repair or valve replacement in patients of all ages and ethnicity. A recent study found about 40-percent of people have never heard of heart valve disease and only one in four know even some details about this serious disease.

More on the web at www.valvediseaseday.org or www.agingresearch.org

The Audubon County Secondary Roads Department reports County roads are completely ice covered this morning, state highways are partially covered. Plows will be heading out before 7 am to get some material on the hard surface county roads. There are a lot of vehicles sitting on the shoulders due to adverse driving conditions overnight. If you have a vehicle sitting on the shoulder please try to move it later this morning to aid us in the upcoming snow removal process. Stay safe and please do not travel unless it is absolutely necessary this weekend.

(Radio Iowa) — Former Iowa Governor Tom Vilsack has decided against running for the U.S. Senate. For the past couple of months, Vilsack had been meeting with privately with influential Democrats and supporters of his previous statewide campaigns in 1998 and 2002 — discussing a potential challenge to Republican Joni Ernst’s bid for reelection next year. Vilsack hinted at a run in December, suggesting Ernst’s record might be vulnerable. “Make ’em squeal, I don’t know. Have we made even these folks squirm at all? I haven’t see it,” Vilsack told reporters. “But I think a ‘Happy Warrior’ — I think we’re ready for that.”

Iowa Democratic Party chairman Troy Price issued a written statement Friday afternoon, saying Democrats appreciate Vilsack’s thoughtful and deliberate consideration of making a run for the seat. Price added there will be a “spirited primary” to select the Democrat who’ll challenge Ernst in 2020. A recent Des Moines Register Iowa Poll found Ernst’s public approval rate at 57 percent with Iowans.

Vilsack got his start in politics as mayor of Mount Pleasant. He won election to the state senate in 1992. In 1998, Vilsack was the first Democrat elected governor in more than three decades. Vilsack briefly ran for president after serving two terms as Iowa’s governor. He served eight years as U.S. Secretary of Agriculture during the entire Obama Administration. Vilsack is currently the president and C-E-O of the US. Dairy Export Council.

(Radio Iowa) — Final figures from the Iowa Association of Realtors show home sales in 2018 were pretty close to 2017. Association president, John Goede, says the sales numbers were steady with a slight increase in the average sale price. “The difference between listings, pendings, and closed sales from last year to this year is under one percent either way — which is phenomenal,” Goede says. The median sales price was 161-thousand dollars. Homes were on the market an average of 64 days –which Goede says is around 17-percent lower than last year. He says the time on the market is down to almost two months instead of three.

Goede says a continued tight supply is part of that drop in the time on the market. “Having the homes available and affordable is always the magician’s trick,” he says.  Buyers move quickly when a home becomes available. Goede says the only concern ahead is the potential impact of interest rates. “This rise from three-and-a-half percent to four-and-a-half percent for interest rates has caused some concern,” according to Goede. “We don’t know how that is going to work here. So far we haven’t seen that dampening affect of the higher interest rates make a difference yet — but that’s something to look for.”

The number of homes sold in 2018 was 41-thousand 387 — 368 less than in 2017.

Here is the latest Iowa news from The Associated Press…

AMES, Iowa (AP) — Police in central Iowa have announced charges against four men in the 2017 shooting death of a 21-year-old man in his Ames apartment. Ames police say in a news release Friday that 24-year-old Albrea Winfrey, 25-year-old Jordan Bryant, 28-year-old Anthony English and 25-year-old Demario Woods, all of Des Moines, have been charged with first-degree murder in the November 2017 death of Xavier Shepley.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Iowa Labor Commissioner Michael Mauro says he will retire amid controversy, following a long career in public service. The announcement comes amid allegations that Mauro and top aides oversaw a hostile work environment and retaliated against whistleblowers. Mauro says he’ll retire April 1, with four years left in his second six-year term as commissioner following his 2011 appointment by Gov. Terry Branstad

LE MARS, Iowa (AP) — A man convicted of killing his sister in northwest Iowa has been sentenced to 50 years in prison. The Sioux City Journal reports that District Judge Jeffrey Neary handed down the sentence Friday in the case against 36-year-old Thomas Bibler. Neary presided over Bibler’s nonjury trial last month, finding Bibler guilty of second-degree murder in the June 11, 2016, stabbing death of 27-year-old Shannon Bogh, of Le Mars.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Former Iowa Sen. Jeff Danielson says he has taken a job as a regional state policy director for the American Wind Energy Association, a national trade group for the wind energy industry. Danielson, who unexpectedly resigned Feb. 14 after 15 years in the Senate, says in a statement released Friday he will work to help expand wind power in the organization’s 12-state central region. By state law, however, he is prohibited from lobbying Iowa lawmakers for two years.

DES MOINES – Iowa Governo Kim Reynolds, Friday, announced several additional cabinet appointments. Those cabinet secretaries will serve as important agents as Gov. Reynolds carries out her work to serve Iowans. Among the appointees, was Rod Roberts, who will serve as the next labor commissioner. Roberts previously served as the director of the Iowa Department of Inspections and Appeals for eight years.  He also served in the Iowa House of Representatives for 10 years.

A native Iowan, he was born in Waverly and raised in Zearing.  Roberts currently resides in Carroll. He will be replacing current labor commissioner Michael Mauro who is retiring. Roberts said “It’s an honor to be named Iowa’s labor commissioner and I appreciate Governor Reynolds’ confidence in my abilities. In this new role, my focus will be on ensuring Iowans are able to work in safe and healthy environments.”

Officials with Cass County Public Health say registrations are currently being accepted for the next session of “A Matter of Balance.” The award-winning program helps older adults learn to manage their concerns about falling, make changes to reduce the risk of falling, and increase their physical activity, flexibility, strength, and balance. Participants meet for two hours each week for eight weeks total, and the program is offered for free.

The upcoming session will be held from 1- to 3-pm on Wednesdays, beginning on March 13th. Registration is required as class size is limited. To register, or for more information, please contact Victoria Means at Cass County Public Health at 712-243-7543.

Police in Glenwood report two arrests took place late this past week. On Friday, 20-year old Hunter Green, of Glenwood, was arrested on a Mills County warrant. His cash or surety bond was set at $1,000. And, on Thursday, 30-year old Andrew West, of Malvern, was arrested for OWI/1st offense. His cash or surety bond was set at $1,000.

The Guthrie County Sheriff’s Office, Friday, released a report on arrests and incidents for the week of Feb. 15th through the 22nd. Authorities say on Wednesday:

• Jacob Graham, of Des Moines, was arrested by the Iowa State Patrol following a traffic stop on HWY 141 east of Bayard for Driving While Barred. Graham was transported to the Guthrie County Jail and posted bond.
• Allan Miller, of Stuart, was arrested on a Guthrie County warrant for Operating While Intoxicated 1st Offense. Mr. Miller was transported to the Guthrie County Jail and posted bond.
• Rene Atkins, of Yale, was cited and released on a Driving While Revoked charge following a traffic stop in Yale.

And, on Monday, Patrick Beardsley, of Guthrie Center, turned himself into the Guthrie County Jail to serve a ten-day mittimus for probation violation.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — The Iowa Board of Medicine has selected a new executive director to replace the man who said he’d been forced out of the job. A news release on the board’s website says Kent Nebel been given the position. He’s been the board’s legal director for nearly 20 years and the interim executive director since July.

Nebel had taken over the duties of Mark Bowden, who announced his resignation July 30. Bowden had been placed on administrative leave for reasons that state officials would not publicly detail. He complained that he’d been forced out of the post and that his work had been hindered by “substantial deficiencies in service and a lack of adequate support” from the Department of Public Health and Department of Administrative Services.

The board licenses physicians and also has the authority to fine or suspend them for poor care or violating ethics rules.