WATERLOO - Area residents pledged more than $356,700 for the Muscular Dystrophy Association's 43rd Jerry Lewis Labor Day Telethon on Monday.

That was an increase from last year's pledge of $353,393, according to officials with television station KGAN in Cedar Rapids, which has hosted the eastern Iowa telethon for 38 years.

The local telethon was held at Sam's Club in Waterloo, in addition to KGAN studios in Cedar Rapids. Numbers were not immediately available for the other Iowa regional telethons.

Nationally, officials with the telethon say contributions and pledges from this year's Labor Day event totaled nearly $60.5 million.

Officials say the funds will allow the Muscular Dystrophy Association to continue funding worldwide research to find treatments and cures for muscular dystrophy and related diseases.

Jerry Lewis, the Tucson-based MDA's national chairman, thanked the American people for their generosity Monday. He said that even though the total was down from last year's record $65 million, it was an amazing accomplishment considering the state of the nation's economy.