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Iowa COVID-19 update for 1/20/21: 62 additional COVID deaths statewide, 3 in southwest Iowa

News

January 20th, 2021 by Ric Hanson

The Iowa Department of Public Health reported 1,336 new positive COVID-19 cases and 62 additional deaths Wednesday. Three deaths occurred in southwest Iowa: One in each of Cass, Montgomery and Pottawattamie Counties.

As of 10 a.m., the health department reported 307,569 total cases, 270,556 total recoveries and 4,394 total deaths since the pandemic began. Positivity rates continue to decline in Iowa. The 14-day rate declined from 12% to 11.6% in the last 24 hours. The 7-day positivity rate increased slightly from 8.4% to 8.5%. State data shows 1,430,371 Iowans have been tested for COVID-19, while 3,421,017 tests have been administered.

COVID-19 hospitalizations are once again at the lowest since mid-October. There are 474 Iowans hospitalized with the virus, down from 490 the previous day. There were 85 patients admitted in the last 24 hours, up from 56 the previous day. The state reports 86 patients in intensive care and 36 patients on ventilators. In RMCC Region 4 (western/southwest Iowa hospitals), 38 are hospitalized with COVID symptoms, 12 are in an ICU, seven people were admitted, and four are currently on a ventilator.

The number of long-term care facilities reporting COVID-19 outbreaks declined from 72 to 71. The state reports 1,880 positive cases and 1,030 recoveries among residents and staff within those facilities. There have been 1,786 deaths reported in Iowa’s care facilities.

In the KJAN listening area, here are the current number positive cases by County; The # of new cases since yesterday {+} – if any; and the total number of deaths in each county to date:

  • Cass, 1,133 cases; {+6}; 42 deaths
  • Adair, 688; {+0}; 20
  • Adams, 296; {+1}; 3
  • Audubon, 416; {+0}; 8
  • Guthrie, 1,030 {+0}; 24
  • Harrison County, 1,553; {+6}; 62
  • Madison County, 1,202; {+3}; 9
  • Mills County, 1,364; {+2}; 16
  • Montgomery, 859; {+11}; 23
  • Pottawattamie County, 8,992; {+33}; 113
  • Shelby County, 1032; {+12}; 26
  • Union County,  1,088; {+6}; 22

2 arrested in Red Oak, Tuesday

News

January 20th, 2021 by Ric Hanson

Two men were arrested on separate charges, Tuesday, in Red Oak. Authorities say 66-year old Harold Arthur Hart, of Red Oak, was arrested at around 2:30-p.m. on a Fremont County warrant for Theft in the 4th degree. Hart was being held in the Montgomery County Jail on behalf of the Fremont County Sheriff’s Office. And, at around 4-p.m., 33-year old Charles Randall Brown, III, of Red Oak, was arrested on a warrant for Violation of Probation. Brown was being held in the Montgomery County Jail on $2,000 bond.

Bill Northey, heading back to Iowa, reflects on 3 years in USDA

Ag/Outdoor, News

January 20th, 2021 by Ric Hanson

(Radio Iowa) – An Iowan who served nearly three years in the Trump Administration is heading home. Bill Northey resigned as Iowa Ag Secretary in March of 2018 to become Under Secretary for Farm Production and Conservation in the U.S. Department of Agriculture. “It’ll be different waking up now every day not thinking about all the things we need to do at USDA,” Northey says. “There’s other folks that’ll work on that. Now I can start thinking about what I might do next.”

Northey helped draft the agency’s rules for implementing the 2018 Farm Bill and he helped set up the payments to farmers impacted by trade disputes and the pandemic. “Those were all in addition to the Farm Bill programs and the disaster programs that are there to respond in case of weather programs,” Northey says. Northey oversaw a division of the U-S-D-A with 21-thousand employees, operating out of about three-thousand locations and Northey traveled extensively. He visited U-S-D-A offices in Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands as well as in 48 of the 50 states — he didn’t make it to Hawaii or Alaska.

Northey says he got to see massive cattle ranches, blackberry farms and other types agriculture he wasn’t familiar with before. “It was very interesting to realize the breadth of agriculture in this country,” Northey says. The biggest surprise for Northey was the intensity of internal agency activity to implement and support U-S-D-A programs. Northey cites the pandemic relief fund as an example.

As the former state ag secretary exits the U-S-D-A, a former Iowa governor is returning. Tom Vilsack served as President Obama’s Secretary of Agriculture for eight years. “It’s really nice to have somebody who knows how the place works and probably has had a little bit of time to think about what he might want to do the next time around, if there was a next time around,” Northey says, “so he’ll hit the ground running.” Northey says he has no idea if his service in the Trump Administration will impact his future prospects.

“It’s kind of interesting in my time in Washington, D.C., sometimes I almost felt farther from politics than I did when I was secretary of ag in Iowa,” Northey says. “There I need to keep track of it when I was out and around. When I got out and around as Under Secretary of USDA, they just asked me about programs.” Northey says he paid less attention to politics — and to Twitter — than he had during his 11 year tenure as state agriculture secretary and he had no comment on Trump’s actions on January 6th.

“I’m probably not the best person to understand either the pieces that happened or the consequences of those,” Northey says. “We’ll see what time brings.” Northey was in the U.S.D.A’s D.C. office building when rioters breached the U.S. Capitol. Northey says the building is at the opposite end of the National Mall from the Capitol and he never felt threatened. Northey’s sister and brother-in-law took over his farming operation near Spirit Lake when Northey left for D.C. in 2018. Northey and his wife are moving back to a townhouse in the Des Moines area with a U-Haul this weekend. Northey says he’s not coming back to retire.

“Not ready to rock on a front porch some place,” Northey says. “Certainly interested in being able to do some other things and we’ll figure those out.” Northey, who is 61, graduated from Iowa State University with an agri-business degree and earned an M-B-A from Southwest Minnesota State. Northey served as president of the National Corn Growers Association in the mid-1990s and won his first term as Iowa Secretary of Agriculture in 2006.

Gun Rights amendment to Iowa Constitution revived

News

January 20th, 2021 by Ric Hanson

(Radio Iowa) – A proposal to add a gun rights amendment to the state constitution is retracing its path through the Iowa legislature. The proposal has been approved twice before, but a paperwork error in the secretary of state’s office is forcing Republican legislators to pass it a third time before it can be presented to voters in 2022. Richard Rogers of the Iowa Firearms Coalition says the amendment is needed because opponents of gun rights are trying to — in his words “weaponize” the FEDERAL courts.

“At this very moment, serious attempts are being made to shamelessly back the court, turning it into a political tool,” Rogers says. “Should this ever success, the need for state-level protections of the right to keep and bear arms will be critical.” Critics say the proposed amendment goes further than the Second Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. Tom Chapman of the Iowa Catholic Conference says it could lead to the repeal of background checks and gun permit requirements.

“We think this ‘strict scrutiny’ language put current regulation in jeopardy,” Chapman says. The Republican-led Iowa Senate overwhelmingly advanced the proposed gun rights amendment last year, but cleared the Iowa House by a narrower margin. Republicans have a larger majority in the Iowa House this year, raising the prospects for easier passage of the proposal.

Iowa early News Headlines: Wed., Jan. 20, 2021: No Megamillions winner again!

News

January 20th, 2021 by Ric Hanson

Here is the latest Iowa news from The Associated Press at 3:38 a.m. CST

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Lottery players are getting another shot at the third-largest jackpot in U.S. history. The Mega Millions top prize has hit an estimated $970 million without a winner Tuesday. The drawing was the biggest in more than two years. The winning numbers are: 10-19-26-28-50 and a Mega Ball of 16. Powerball, the other lottery game offered in most of the U.S., isn’t far behind at $730 million for a drawing Wednesday night. It’s the first time both lottery jackpots have topped $700 million. No one has won the Mega Millions jackpot since Sept. 15. The last Powerball jackpot winner was a day later, on Sept. 16.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — A right-wing conspiracy theorist from Iowa who was among the first to break into the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6 remained in custody Tuesday after a court hearing where his attorneys asked a federal magistrate judge to let him go home until his trial. Douglas A. Jensen, 41, appeared in court for a detention hearing via video from jail in Des Moines on Tuesday. An FBI agent says Jensen said in an interview two days after the riot that he want to DC to receive big news from Donald Trump and that would include the arrests of Vice President Mike Pence and certain members of Congress. A judge says she will issue a ruling on Wednesday. A second Iowa man, Leo Kelly, 35, of Cedar Rapids, arrested for his involvement in the Capitol riot was released Tuesday afternoon.

IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) — Prosecutors have added five felony weapons and assault counts against a white man already charged with attempted murder for shooting into a car carrying four Black girls during a rally for President Trump in Iowa. The Polk County Attorney’s Office has filed a formal charging document against 25-year-old Michael McKinney who has been jailed since his arrest hours after the Dec. 6 shooting near the Iowa Capitol in Des Moines. In addition to attempted murder, the document charges McKinney with intimidation with a dangerous weapon, willful injury, assault while participating in a felony, reckless use of a firearm and going armed with intent. He has said he fired in self-defense.

CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa (AP) — Police in Cedar Rapids have announced an arrest in the December shooting death of an 18-year-old woman at an apartment complex. Police say in a news release that 20-year-old Larenzo Laroy Burnett was arrested Tuesday on suspicion of involuntary manslaughter and witness tampering in the fatal shooting of Marisa Doolin. Authorities found Doolin in the apartment Dec. 22 with a gunshot wound, and she died four days later. Police believe Burnett pointed a gun at Doolin, but that it accidentally discharged. Investigators say Burnett also warned a witness not to talk to police about the shooting. Police say Burnett was already in the Linn County Jail on unrelated charges when he was arrested Tuesday morning.

GOP-led House Rules Committee rejects mask mandate

News

January 19th, 2021 by Ric Hanson

(Radio Iowa) – Republicans on an Iowa House Committee have approved 82 rules for how the House operates, but they’ve rejected a rule requiring face masks be worn during the pandemic. Representative Brian Meyers, a Democrat from Des Moines, says wearing masks inside the Capitol is common sense. “This should not be controversial. I’m not sure why this is controversial,” Meyers says. “A lot of businesses require it. A lot of state government requires it.”

Republicans on the House Rules Committee rejected a mask mandate for the Capitol, but 69-year-old Representative Cecil Dolecheck, a Republican from Mount Ayr, said he thinks face coverings are appropriate and he’ll be wearing one in the Capitol.  “It seems to be a part of contention that really shouldn’t be,” Dolecheck said. “I hope everyone during this pandemic wears a mask and does their part to mitigate the spread.”

Dolecheck is from Ringgold County, the state’s second-smallest, population wise. It currently has the highest 14-day Covid positivity rate of any county in the state and, according to the state’s coronavirus tracking website, nine residents of Ringgold County have died of Covid.

New charge proposed for fatal wrecks involving excessive speed

News

January 19th, 2021 by Ric Hanson

(Radio Iowa) – A bill under consideration in the Iowa House creates a new charge for driving at an “excessive” speed and causing someone else’s death. According to the State Patrol, there’s been a dramatic increase in the number of tickets issued to drivers caught going more than 100 miles an hour. Last year, 69 people died in speed-related crashes in Iowa. A lobbyist for the Iowa State Sheriffs and Deputies Association says under current law, it’s difficult to appropriately charge a speeding driver involved in a fatal crash if they weren’t intoxicated or intentionally targeting someone.

If this bill becomes law, a driver could be sentenced to a decade in prison if their vehicle was going 25 miles per hour or more above the speed limit and it directly or indirectly caused the death of someone else. A member of the Iowa Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers says excessive speed is grounds for a conviction on already existing charges of vehicular homicide or involuntary manslaughter.

The bill, which was introduced, but never passed in the 2020 Iowa legislature, has cleared a House subcommittee.

NOTICE: Nodaway Valley School District Voters

News

January 19th, 2021 by Ric Hanson

Election officials in Adair County have posted a timeline for voter registration and absentee voting deadlines, ahead of the March 2, 2021 Nodaway Valley CSD Special Election. The purpose of the Special Election is to adopt a Revenue Purpose Statement specifying the use of revenues the school district will receive from the State of Iowa Secure an Advanced Vision for Education Fund.

The timeline is as follows:

  • February 15th – Worry-Free Postmark Date: Mailed voter registration forms which are postmarked on or before today are considered on time to be pre-registered for the Special Election even if received after pre-registration deadline.
  • February 19th – Pre-registration deadline: The deadline to pre-register to vote for this election is 5 p.m. This applies to registration in person (including registration at driver’s license stations or agencies) or by mail. Voters may register online until 11:59 p.m.
  • February 19th – Last day to mail absentee ballots: Deadline to request an absentee ballot to be mailed is 5 p.m.
  • March 1st – Absentee ballots postmark. All absentee ballots returned by mail must be postmarked no later than March 1 and received by March 8. Deadline is 12 noon on March 8.
  • March 2nd – Last day to return absentee ballots to Auditor’s Office Last day to return absentee ballots to the Auditor’s office before the polls close at 8:00 p.m.

Red Oak man arrested on Fremont County warrant

News

January 19th, 2021 by admin

The Red Oak Police Department reports the arrest of 66-year-old Harold Arthur Hart of Red Oak on a Fremont County Warrant for Theft 4th Degree. Hart was arrested at 2:30 p.m. on Tuesday at 211 S. 8th Street in Red Oak. He was taken to the Montgomery County Jail and held until transport to Fremont County.

Police make arrest in shooting death of Cedar Rapids woman

News

January 19th, 2021 by Ric Hanson

CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa (AP) — Police in Cedar Rapids have announced an arrest in the December shooting death of an 18-year-old woman at an apartment complex. Police say in a news release that 20-year-old Larenzo Laroy Burnett was arrested Tuesday on suspicion of involuntary manslaughter and witness tampering in the fatal shooting of Marisa Doolin. Authorities found Doolin in the apartment Dec. 22 with a gunshot wound, and she died four days later.

Police believe Burnett pointed a gun at Doolin, but that it accidentally discharged. Investigators say Burnett also warned a witness not to talk to police about the shooting. Police say Burnett was already in the Linn County Jail on unrelated charges when he was arrested Tuesday morning.