New research from Iowa State University may help people who are struggling to make exercise a fun habit rather than an unpleasant chore. Alison Phillips, an assistant professor of psychology at ISU, says people are more likely to stick with exercise if they choose an activity they might eventually enjoy.  “That won’t happen right off the bat, but the good news is the more you do a behavior – any type of exercise – the more you’ll like it. But, I think it’s important for people to start out choosing something that they like relatively more than other activities,” Phillips says.

Previous studies have found, for many people, exercise becomes easier when it’s part of a regular schedule. Phillips says it’s also helpful for people to notice physical or “external” benefits of exercise. “Those are very important because the more you are rewarded with those external goals – if you lose weight or you become more fit – that will make you like the exercise activity itself more,” Phillips says. “That’s what I would refer to as an internal reward, something internal to exercise…so, liking the activity itself, not just what it brings to you.”

Phillips’ study involved monitoring the activity levels for people just starting to work out along with those who had been exercising regularly for at least three months. The results are published in the journal Sport, Exercise and Performance Psychology.

(Radio Iowa)

OTTUMWA, Iowa (AP) – Wapello County has become the third Iowa county to approve a proposal for a higher minimum wage.  On Tuesday the county supervisors voted for a third and final time to raise the wage. Under the plan, on Jan. 1 the county’s minimum wage will rise to $8.20 an hour from the current national minimum of $7.25. On Jan. 1, 2018, the county minimum wage will increase to $9.15 and on Jan. 1, 2019, it will increase to $10.10.

The ordinance will apply to businesses in the unincorporated areas of Wapello County and within any Wapello County municipality that has not opted out of the county plan.     On Monday Linn County supervisors voted to raise its minimum wage. Johnson County supervisors voted a year ago to raise the wage.

More area and State news from KJAN News Director Ric Hanson.

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DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) – The Iowa Supreme Court will formally hear details of a lawsuit against Gov. Terry Branstad that challenges his decision last year to close two state mental health institutes. The court is set to hear arguments today (Wednesday), to determine if Branstad’s veto of funding for the facilities in Clarinda and Mount Pleasant was proper and constitutional.

The president of Iowa’s largest public employees union and several Democratic lawmakers filed the lawsuit in July 2015, shortly after Branstad vetoed funding for the facilities. Branstad has argued patients at the institutes are able to access care through other services.

The lawsuit claims Iowa law requires the institutes to be open alongside institutes in Cherokee and Independence. A district court judge ruled in favor of Branstad.

The Creston Police Department reports two people were arrested Tuesday and one person was arrested early this (Wednesday) morning. 24-year old Richie Rodriguez, of Creston, was arrested at around 1:45-a.m. today (Wed.), for Possession of Drug Paraphernalia. Rodriguez was being held in the Union County Jail on $300 bond.

On Tuesday, Creston Police arrested 29-year old Kenneth Williams, of Creston, and 22-year old Michael Bergman, of Mt. Ayr. Williams was taken into custody on a Dept. of Corrections warrant charging him with a Parole Violation. Williams was being held without bond, in the Union County Jail. Michael Bergman was arrested on a charge of Theft in the 3rd Degree. He was later released on a $2,000 bond.

Creston Police said also, a woman who resides in the 1100 block of N. Walnut Street, in Creston, reported Tuesday that sometime between 7-p.m. Monday and 6:30-p.m. Tuesday, someone stole an industrial door with an iron frame, along with some metal rods. The items were taken from the backyard of the woman’s home. The loss was estimated at $200.

The area’s top news at 7:06-a.m., w/KJAN News Director Ric Hanson

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A traffic stop early this (Wednesday) morning, in Red Oak, resulted in the driver of the vehicle being arrested for Driving Under Suspension. Red Oak Police say 25-year old Tiffany Nicole Studey, of Red Oak, was taken into custody at around 6-a.m. at the intersection of N. 6th and E. Market Streets. Studey was brought to the Montgomery County Law Enforcement Center and held on a $300 cash bond.

WASHINGTON (AP) – Republicans have gained ground on Democrats in registering voters in three battleground states and kept their razor-thin advantage in Iowa. That’s encouraging news for Donald Trump eight weeks before Election Day. Data compiled by The Associated Press show that Republicans added hundreds of thousands of voters to the rolls since 2012 in states including Florida and Arizona, and narrowed the gap in North Carolina. In Iowa, Republicans prevented Democrats from surpassing them, aided by a court ruling upholding a ban on voting by ex-felons, who often register as Democrats.

As Election Day approaches, voter registration drives are in full swing. The latest registration numbers aren’t an assurance of new voters for Trump. But the figures, when available, offer important clues as to how each party stands.

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

CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa (AP) — Officers responding to a domestic disturbance at a Cedar Rapids apartment shot and killed a 25-year-old man suspected of stabbing his children’s mother. The Division of Criminal Investigation says both officers responding to Monday night’s call fired their service weapons at Markell Bivins, who died of his injuries. Bivins is suspected of stabbing 25-year-old Raelynn Finn multiple times. Finn has undergone surgery for her injuries and is expected to live.

MAXWELL, Iowa (AP) — The men and women who grew what’s expected to be the biggest corn crop the United States has ever seen won’t benefit from the milestone. Prices are so low that for the third consecutive year, most corn farmers will spend more than they earn. It’s a similar story for soybean producers. That’s left farmers across the country cutting costs, dipping into savings or going further into debt to make it through the year.

CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa (AP) — A woman accused of stealing money from a Mason City dental office where she’d worked for years has pleaded guilty to federal wire fraud in the case. Federal prosecutors say 58-year-old Pamela Harris, of Mason City, was the office manager of the dental practice of Drs. Blake Barnes and Michael Louscher, and had been an employee for 21 years. Prosecutors say that from 2005 through May 2014, she stole nearly $500,000 from the practice.

ASTON, Pa. (AP) — Donald Trump is rolling out a plan aimed at making child care more affordable, guaranteeing new mothers six weeks of paid maternity leave and suggesting new incentives for employees to provide their workers childcare. Spurred on by his daughter, Ivanka, Trump waded into topics more often discussed by Democrats.

A tip from authorities in Denver, Colorado, Tuesday, resulted in the arrest in Red Oak, of a man wanted on sexual assault charges. According to Red Oak Police, their department was notified by Denver Police, that 23-year old Jacoby Tyrell Tubbs, was residing in Red Oak.

Tubbs was found in the 1600 block of E. Summit Street and taken into custody on a Fugitive from Justice Charge, in Iowa. He was being held at the Montgomery County Law Enforcement Center without bond, pending a hearing and extradition to Colorado, where Tubbs was wanted on two felony warrants for Sexual Assault with Force, and Sexual Assault Aiding and Abetting by another.