Atlantic, IA — As we get closer to receiving a COVID-19 vaccine in our county, Cass County Public Health reminds all residents the initial doses of vaccine will be limited and will be available to individuals prioritized according to guidance received from our state and federal partners. According to Cass County Public Health Director Beth Olsen, “The Iowa Department of Public Health (IDPH) has preemptively suggested the initial doses of vaccine go to health care providers and those in long term care facilities. As more vaccine becomes available, we will be able to offer the vaccine to more people.”

Moderna Vaccine Expected Soon: In Cass County, the first doses of the Moderna vaccine are expected to arrive by the end of the month. The vaccine will be prioritized for:

• Healthcare Personnel: paid and unpaid people serving in health care settings who have the potential for direct or indirect exposure to patients or infectious materials and are unable to work remotely.
• Long Term Care Facility (LTCF) residents. Adults who reside in a residential care facility, nursing facility, skilled nursing facility, assisted living program, or elder group home.

The Moderna vaccine can be refrigerated for 30 days, but the multi-dose vials present a logistical challenge for the staff who will administer it.  Olsen says “The Moderna vaccine comes in a multi-dose vial, which means that each vial has 10 doses inside of it. Once we open that vial, we only have 6 hours to use all 10 doses. I think we can all recognize that this vaccine is a valuable commodity, and we have to do our part to eliminate any waste.”  She adds, “We will be setting up appointments in blocks of 10 so that we know we’re going to use up every dose that is available to us. This could result in some additional waiting times, or it could result in having stand-by appointments.”

Administering the Vaccine to the Public: Cass County Public Health will be administering all COVID-19 vaccines for the public. More information about public vaccinations will be announced once the plans and locations are finalized. It may be several weeks or months before the vaccine is readily available for the public. There is currently no waiting list or sign-up for the public. More information will become available when we more details are known.

Beth Olsen says “We are working with local partners to come up with an easy-to-access location for the vaccinations, and we’re also finalizing our strategy on which populations to target first.” All patients who receive the vaccine will also need to be monitored for 15 minutes afterwards. Beth says also, “There will be no exceptions made to this, so we need everyone to plan accordingly.”

Preventive Measures Still In Place: veryone should continue taking measures to limit the spread of COVID-19, even after they receive the vaccine:

•  Stay home if you’re sick
• Wash your hands often
• Stay six feet away from others at all times
• Wear a mask when you can’t properly social distance from others

Recognize also, that older people and those with chronic health conditions like diabetes, obesity, heart issues, and organ transplants have a much higher risk of serious complications from COVID-19. More information is available at our web page at casshealth.org/COVID-19. You can also visit the IDPH Coronavirus page at https://idph.iowa.gov/emerging-health-issues/novel-coronavirus; and the state COVID-19 dashboard at https://coronavirus.iowa.gov/.

The Union County Sheriff’s Office reports a hit-and-run property damage accident occurred Thursday afternoon. Authorities say a 1993 Geo Tracker driven by 26-year old Dillon Ray Winemiller, of Creston, was traveling north on Highway 169 at around 4:25-p.m., when he went to pass. A black Chevy Impala driven by a person unknown (License plates unknown), also went to pass and came out before Winemiller’s car could pass. The Impala struck the Tracker, causing it to spin out of control into the south ditch.

The Impala did not stop. No injuries were reported.

One person reportedly suffered a broken rib during an accident this morning on eastbound Interstate 80 near exit 75 (west of Adair). Anita Rescue responded to the scene a little after 7-a.m.  No other details are currently available.

DAVENPORT, Iowa (AP) — A 24-year-old Davenport woman charged with fatally shooting a woman at a Chuck E. Cheese restaurant pleaded not guilty to second-degree murder. Threshonda Pollion entered the plea in writing Thursday through her attorney. She was originally charged with first-degree murder in the death of 29-year-old Elosie Chairs, a mother of five, in late October. The charge was reduced after the Scott County Attorney’s office determined the shooting was not premeditated.

Police say the shooting occurred after a fight broke out between Chairs and others over a game card, which led to a confrontation between Chairs and Pollion.

(8-a.m. News) – The Creston Police Dept. reports 18-year old Duane Earl Cole, of Creston, was arrested Wednesday night for Theft in the 1st Degree. He was taken into custody at a residence in the 600 block of N. Birch Street and transported to the Union County Jail, where his cash/surety bond was set at $10,000.  A Creston man reported to the Police Dept. Thursday afternoon, that someone broke into his vehicle on or about Dec. 15th. A pre-paid debit card, business cards and a work box were said to be missing from the vehicle.

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

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (5.5MB)

Subscribe: RSS

The area’s latest and/or top news stories at 7:06-a.m. From KJAN News Director Ric Hanson.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (5.6MB)

Subscribe: RSS

FOREST CITY, Iowa (AP) _ Winnebago Industries Inc. (WGO) on Friday reported fiscal first-quarter net income of $57.4 million. The Forest City, Iowa-based company said it had profit of $1.70 per share. Earnings, adjusted for non-recurring gains, came to $1.69 per share. The results topped Wall Street expectations. The average estimate of seven analysts surveyed by Zacks Investment Research was for earnings of $1.03 per share.

The recreational vehicle maker posted revenue of $793.1 million in the period, also exceeding Street forecasts. Seven analysts surveyed by Zacks expected $742.2 million. Winnebago shares have increased 12% since the beginning of the year. The stock has risen 24% in the last 12 months.

Red Oak Police, late Thursday night, arrested a man for Domestic Assault/1st offense. 44-year old Jason Richard Berendes, of Red Oak, was taken into custody at around 11:15-p.m., in the 1000 block of E. Corning Street, in Red Oak. He was being held in the Montgomery County Jail, pending an appearance before the Magistrate.

(Radio Iowa) – The president of the Iowa Association of Business and Industry says he’s excited by what he sees in a survey of members on what they expect in the first quarter of the new year. A-B-I President Mike Ralston says the survey results are positive in almost every area. “The manufacturers who responded to the survey expect pretty good things in the first quarter of 2021,” Ralston says. Around half of the 15-hundred member businesses are in manufacturing and they expect increased sales, and employment. Ralston says the expectations are based on two things.”First is that they are trying to keep up with all their inventory issues, because of supply chain issues and other things they haven’t been able to maintain the kind of inventory they would like, so they have to produce more,” according to Ralston. “Second, they just expect orders to be up, they expect business to be up — and so that means that they’ll have a better quarter — so we are looking forward to it.”

More than 90 percent expect sales to increase or stay the same, and less than ten percent expect them to drop. The COVID-19 vaccine is not being delivered — but Ralston says that was an unknown when the businesses took the survey. “When the survey was conducted, clearly the news was that it was likely that vaccine would be coming in the next 30 to 60 days — but that was not known for sure — so that’s just gravy.”  Ralston is especially excited about the capital investment question on the survey. “I think one of the most amazing things that came out of that survey is that almost 70 percent of those responding say that they intend to make a capital expenditure in the first quarter of 2021,” according to Ralston. “Pandemic notwithstanding, that’s a major new piece of equipment, that’s a plant expansion, that’s good for those companies, that’s good for the communities that they are in, it’s great for their employees. That’s a big number — it’s exciting to see that.”

He says it really shows the confidence businesses have. “They don’t make a capital expenditure lightly. That’s something they really believe is going to lead to a stronger business and good things for their company and their community. So that’s a big deal for Iowa,” Ralston says. He says the only negative continues to remain a lack of workers to fill jobs. Ralston says it’s interesting that so many parts of the country have huge numbers of unemployed people and he says they should come to Iowa. “It doesn’t matter how big the company is — where it is located in the state or what they make — they are looking for people. There are great jobs available in Iowa and I am not talking a dozen — we are talking hundreds if not thousands — so I hope people come here,” Ralston says.

The survey found 52 percent of businesses expect the number of employees in their business to grow in the first quarter.