We have been bombarded by so much saddening news lately that we are led to believe there is little in this world about which to be happy.

Des Moines Mayor Arthur Davis recently announced his resignation because of his recurring colon cancer. The mass suicide of the Heaven’s Gate cult has left many questioning why and how people can follow. The trial of Oklahoma City bombing suspect Timothy McVeigh has drawn families of victims to find justice in a nightmare for which they want closure.

But in the midst of all this comes a light at the end of the tunnel. Last week, when Iowa’s 1,000th March report on AIDS was announced, people found something to cheer about.

The report, from the Iowa Department of Public Health, showed declines in both the number of reported cases of AIDS in Iowa and the number of deaths due to AIDS.

After a peaking number of 169 cases in 1992, the number of cases has decreased, bringing it down to 65 cases in 1996. This is the lowest number reported since 1988, although the classification of AIDS changed between 1992 and 1993. The report indicated that as more people learned more about the disease and how it is transferred, more reports arose.

While other studies show the possibility of AIDS could be spreading like wildfire by the next century, more realistic studies are showing the positive aspects of stopping the disease. New drug combinations are playing a big part in this decline as well as people’s attitudes about safe sex.

People are taking better care of themselves and are becoming more educated about AIDS, sexual lifestyles, sacrifices and choices that come with living with the disease. News about AIDS has — to this point, at least — never been all that good. But with a decline in the numbers, more people are fighting and living successfully with the disease than are dying with it.