712 Digital Group - top

KJAN News

KJAN News can be heard at five minutes after every hour right after Fox News 24 hours a day!
Keep up-to-date with Fox News Radio, Radio Iowa,  Brownfield & the Iowa Agribusiness Networks!

3 arrests in Creston

News

October 29th, 2020 by Ric Hanson

The Creston Police Department reports the arrest at around 2:20-a.m. today (Thursday), of 27-year-old Dustin Michael Boyd. Boyd, who is from Creston, was arrested for OWI/1st offense.  He was taken to Union County Jail and released after posting bail. There were two separate arrests on Wednesday, in Creston. Wednesday afternoon, 27-year-old Mariah Kay Bernita Swanson, of Creston, on a warrant for Failure to Appear. She was taken into custody and transferred to Adams County Jail. And, Wednesday night, 25-year-old Indra Bahadur Guragai, of Creston, was arrested at his residence for Public Intoxication. Guragai was taken to Union County Jail, where his cash or surety bond was set at $300.

 

(Podcast) KJAN Morning News & Funeral report, 10/29/20

News, Podcasts

October 29th, 2020 by Ric Hanson

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

Play

Iowa grocery chain is first in US to install shopping cart sterilization system

News

October 29th, 2020 by Ric Hanson

(Radio Iowa) – Iowa’s largest supermarket chain claims it’s the first in the nation to install an automated grocery cart cleansing system, an effort to calm fears about COVID-19. Hy-Vee spokeswoman Dawn Buzynski says the Sterile Cart system is like a mini car wash for shopping carts. “Customers don’t have to do anything,” Buzynski says. “They grab their cart and it’s fully sanitized by the system, then they return the cart and employees put it through the Sterile Cart system after every use.”

The system has a very small footprint — about four-by-six feet — and it cleans several carts quickly and consistently. She says it eliminates the need for store employees to manually wipe down every cart throughout the day. “Each shopping cart is fully sanitized, not just the high-touch areas, but from top to bottom with a hospital-grade disinfectant,” Buzynski says. “It is 99.9% effective at killing the germs and viruses that cause illnesses, including coronavirus.”

The makers of the system say it can cleanse one to two carts per second. “We want to put our customers’ mind at ease with making sure that we are using the most innovative and effective sanitization measures that are out there,” Buzynski says, “because people shop where they feel safe.”

West Des Moines-based Hy-Vee plans to have the Sterile Cart system installed in about 200 of its stores in eight states by the end of November.

Iowa Covid-19 update: Over 2.4k new cases; 11 more deaths (1 more in Pott. County)

News

October 29th, 2020 by Ric Hanson

New, positive cases of COVID-19 have spiked since 10-a.m. Wednesday, the number of deaths is once again in the double digits, and another record for hospitalizations has been set. The Iowa Department of Public Health (IDPH) today (Thursday) reports (as of 10-a.m.) 2,469 new cases of the virus, 11 more deaths and 605 hospitalized since yesterday. Pre-existing medical conditions account for 1,108 of the deaths. Positive cases of COVID-19 since the beginning of the pandemic stand at 121,913. Deaths number 1,691. Persons who have recovered from the virus number 91,401.

In the KJAN listening area, Pottawattamie County has recorded one more COVID-related death, for a total of 45, and has 74 more positive cases. Positive cases in Cass County are up 13, to 418. Adair County has 14 new cases, Harrison County has 18 more. Mills County reports 12 new cases, Madison County has 11 additional cases and Guthrie County has 10 more cases.  (See the list below)

The IDPH reports 956,844 Iowans have been tested so far. Negative test results number 833,269 to date. The Individual positivity rate as of today is 12.7% (compared to 12.6% previously), and the 14-day rolling average is 11.8 (compared to 11.2% previously). Among those hospitalized, 135 are in an ICU, 113 have been admitted since Wednesday, and 56 are on a ventilator, (up from 51 Wednesday). In western/southwest Iowa: hospitalizations stand at 43 (two less than previously mentioned); nine people are in an ICU (compared to 13 yesterday); nine were admitted (there were eight admitted Wed.), and three are on a ventilator, compared to two previously.

Long-Term Care (LTC) facility outbreaks are up to 75 (from 71 yesterday), 2,180 patients/staff at LTC’s have tested positive, and 907 have recovered. Deaths at LTC’s are up to 831 (from 828 yesterday).

In the KJAN listening area, here are the current number positive cases in each county, along with the 24-hour change in case numbers {+#}; the number of persons recovered, and the total number of [deaths] (if any), since the pandemic began,

  • Cass, 418 cases {+13}; 286 recovered; 3 deaths
  • Adair, 195 {+14}; 74; 1
  • Adams, 84 {+1}; 47; 0
  • Audubon, 157 {+3}; 97; 1
  • Guthrie, 418 {+10); 265; 15
  • Harrison County, 695 {+18}; 318; 15
  • Madison County, 373 {+11}; 267; 3
  • Mills County, 420 {+12}; 212; 3
  • Montgomery, 187 {+3}; 153; 7
  • Pottawattamie County, 3,366 {+74]; 2,458; 45
  • Shelby County, 396 {+7}; 337; 2
  • Union County,  264 {+4}; 222; 4

City of Red Oak pickup and fire truck damaged Wednesday afternoon

News

October 29th, 2020 by Ric Hanson

An accident involving two, City of Red Oak-owned vehicles, caused $105,000 damage altogether. According to the Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office, at around 3:07-p.m., a 2020 Dodge 3500 pickup driven by 59-year old Richard E. Allen, of Corning, was being backed up 4th Street. The left rear of the pickup made contact with the left rear of a 2009 Pierce Arrow Fire Truck that was legally parked on 4th Street. There were no injuries reported. The accident remains under investigation. Authorities say the issuance of citations is anticipated.

The collision caused an estimated $5,000 damage to the pickup truck utility bed, and about $100,000 to the cargo bed of the fire truck.

2 arrested on Theft charges in Red Oak Wednesday night

News

October 29th, 2020 by Ric Hanson

Police in Red Oak report two people were arrested on 5th Degree Theft charges, Wednesday night. 35-year old Randon Daniel Phelps, and 31-year old Madison Marie Bowling, both of Red Oak, were arrested at around 8-p.m. in the 400 block of E. Reed Street, in Red Oak. The pair were transported to the Montgomery County Jail and held on $300 bond, each.

Ernst to rally with Pence today

News

October 29th, 2020 by Ric Hanson

(Radio Iowa) – Incumbent Republican Senator Joni Ernst — locked in a tight battle with Democratic challenger Theresa Greenfield – kicked off her final push to reach voters with a rally on her home turf in Red Oak. “My gut is saying really good things about this election cycle here in Iowa,” Ernst says. “It’s been a rough haul, no doubt about it…but I feel good and I’m asking for their support for the next six years.”

Ernst attended, but did not speak at President Trump’s rally Tuesday night in Omaha. Ernst says the thousands there — and at other G-O-P events this fall — show her Republicans are energized about the election. “They’re masked up, they’re enthusiastic,” Ernst says. “They know that it’s different with Covid, but they’re still coming out and being supportive and that’s what I’ve felt all across the state of Iowa, which tells me we’re going to have a good outcome Tuesday evening.”

Ernst will join Vice President Mike Pence at his rally in Des Moines early this (Thursday) afternoon.Her RV tour made stops in Red Oak, Council Bluffs and Atlantic, Wednesday. Ernst’s challenger Theresa Greenfield suspended her own R-V tour yesterday (Wednesday) after some of her campaign staff were around a person who later tested positive for Covid. Greenfield is regularly tested and recently tested negative, according to her campaign spokesman, but has taken a test again to be safe. The campaign had no results to share late Wednesday evening.

Cabinet secretary uses Iowa backdrop to announce veterans to get free admission to National Parks

Ag/Outdoor, News

October 29th, 2020 by Ric Hanson

(Radio Iowa) – The U.S. Secretary of the Interior used the Iowa Gold Star Military Museum as the backdrop to announce veterans and Gold Star families will be eligible for free admission to National Parks and Monuments, starting on November 11th — Veterans Day. David Bernhardt, the U.S. Secretary of the Interior, says his great uncle was killed when the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor, so his grandfather was part of a Gold Star family.

“So many American families have been impacted throughout our history in defending freedom,” he said. Disabled veterans have been eligible for free admission to National Parks. Bernhardt’s new order extends that to all veterans, as well as the immediate family members of soldiers who die in the line of duty. Key members of congress have indicated a bill will be passed to make this new administrative policy a federal law.

“We looked at it from an economic perspective. We think the economics are very, very manageable based on current utilization, ” Bernhardt says, “but it realy depends on how many people come to our parks on an annual basis and that visitation this year is very, very high, so we hope people get out and utilitize it.”

There are no National Parks in Iowa, but there’s a national monument and a wildlife area in Iowa under federal control, however neither charges entrance fees. The Effigy Mounds National Monument is in northeast Iowa, near Harpers Ferry. The Union Slough (SLEW) National Wildlife Refuge is in north central Iowa, near Titonka.

Escalation continues: 605 Covid patients in Iowa hospitals overnight

News

October 29th, 2020 by Ric Hanson

(Radio Iowa) – This week’s White House Coronavirus Task Force report on Iowa concludes nearly all of Iowa’s counties have moderate to high transmission of Covid. Last (Wednesday) night, the state set another record for hospitalizations, with 605 Covid patients reported in Iowa hospitals. Eli Perencevich is a professor of internal medicine and epidemiology at the University of Iowa.

“The biggest concern is we’re going to see more deaths as hospitals get overwhelmed,” he says. And Perencevich says health care workers are burning out. “There’s evidence that there is a tipping point where hospital staff get overwhelmed,” he says. “Even if you have beds, but you don’t have enough staff, staff start getting sick, too, as we just let the virus spread.”

Last (Wednesday) night, there were Covid outbreaks at 74 Iowa nursing homes according to the state’s coronavirus tracker. At 10 p.m., the website indicated 21-hundred-66 nursing home residents had the virus, 88 more confirmed cases than had been listed at noon yesterday (Wednesday).

Governor Reynolds said last week that Iowa hospital administrators had assured her they can handle the increasing number of Covid patients. The state website indicates 33 percent of inpatient beds were available last (Wednesday) night.

Iowa early News Headlines: Thursday, Oct. 29, 2020

News

October 29th, 2020 by Ric Hanson

Here is the latest Iowa news from The Associated Press

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Iowa’s number of coronavirus cases, deaths and hospitalizations continue to surge higher as medical professionals begin to worry that hospitals could be overwhelmed with patients if no action is taken to slow the virus spread. Iowa hospitals had 596 coronavirus patients on Thursday, by far the highest number so far in Iowa and the 113 patients admitted in the past 24 hours also was the highest seen since the virus surfaced in Iowa in March. Doctors and hospital officials in Iowa are preparing for a system overrun by COVID patients by talking about how to transfer patients between hospitals and enacting surge plans that could turn non-hospital facilities into overflow bed capacity.

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Sixty people are charged in a widespread magazine telemarketing scam that authorities say netted $300 million from more than 150,000 elderly and vulnerable people nationwide. Minnesota U.S. Attorney Erica MacDonald announced the charges Wednesday. She called it the largest elder fraud scheme in the country. The defendants are from 14 states and two Canadian provinces. Court documents say that over the last 20 years, they used a network of fake magazine sales companies and telemarketing call centers to trick people into making large or repeat payments. Prosecutors say the companies operated in Minnesota, Florida, Georgia, Mississippi, California, Iowa, Kansas, Missouri, Illinois, Colorado, Arizona, New Mexico, North Carolina, and Arkansas.

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — An Iowa man has been convicted of murder in the 2018 stabbing death of a Bellevue man during a botched robbery. The Omaha World-Herald reports that 31-year-old Raymond Davis, of Des Moines, Iowa, was convicted Tuesday of first-degree murder, conspiracy to commit robbery and a weapons count in the death of 39-year-old Brent Quigley. Davis is one of five people charged in Quigley’s death. Police say Davis and another man, Christopher Reagan, fatally stabbed Quigley at his home in June 2018 as part of a plan to steal drugs and money from Quigley. Reagan was sentenced to 100 years to life in prison in June. Davis faces life in prison when he’s sentenced at a later date.

IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) — Elections officials in Iowa are worried about the state’s rising number of coronavirus cases, saying that any illnesses or absences among key workers and volunteers could hinder their services through Election Day. A week before the election, Iowa is reporting a new high 7-day average of about 1,300 daily infections, record numbers of hospitalizations and a surge in deaths. County elections commissioners say they hope the virus does not sideline any of their small full-time staffs and experienced poll workers. Officials warn any unexpected absences or last-minute substitutes could lead to delays and long lines, particularly because social distance will be required for those waiting.