(Radio Iowa) -A COVID-19 outbreak is reported at the Webster County Jail in Fort Dodge.  Webster County Sheriff Jim Stubbs said that all 68 inmates and staff were tested last Friday. Eight inmates and seven staff members all tested positive for the coronavirus. Stubbs said that those who have tested positive are being separated from those who are negative in the jail which is already at full capacity.

The jail was originally built to hold 29 inmates but as of earlier this week, the inmate count was at 61. As mass testing was conducted last week, the count was at 56 inmates.

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

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CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa (AP) — The murder trial for a Cedar Rapids man accused of killing another man over a pack of cigarettes has been moved to 2021. The Cedar Rapids Gazette reports that the first-degree murder trial for 37-year-old Jermaine Walker was originally scheduled for November 2. A judge agreed to reset the trial to Jan. 25 at the request of Walker’s lawyer. Walker is accused of fatally shooting 31-year-old Wayne Jones of Cedar Rapids on Nov. 2, 2019.

Authorities say Walker was at a party smoking other peoples’ cigarettes when Jones called him out for being “cheap,” prompting the shooting.

MARION, Iowa (AP) — An Iowa park will be renamed to honor a Keskwaki activist, removing a derogatory term that has long been part of the park’s name. The Linn County Conservation Board on Monday said the name of Squaw Creek Park will change to Wanatee Park. The park in Marion was originally named in 1964.

The conservation board says in a news release that because the word “squaw” is offensive, it decided to remove its use in public buildings and spaces. The new name honors Jean Adeline Morgan Wanatee, who died in 1996. She was was inducted into the Iowa Women’s Hall of Fame in 1993.

Two men were arrested Tuesday night on separate charges, in Creston. Authorities say at around 11-p.m., 37-year old Steven Lamer, of Carter Lake, was arrested in the 500 block of S. Walnut Street in Creston. Lamer was arrested on a charge of Trespass/1st offense. He was later released on a $300 bond. And, at around 10:15-p.m., 28-year old Ocie Martinez, of Creston, was arrested at his residence for Domestic Abuse/Simple Assault. Martinez was being held in the Union County Jail, while awaiting a bond hearing.

Creston Police said also, Creston Automotive reported Tuesday afternoon, that sometime between 3-p.m. Monday and 1:30-p.m. Tuesday, a vehicle located in the business’ parking lot, was shot and damaged by what appeared to be a pellet or B-B gun. The damage was estimated at $1,000.

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

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(Radio Iowa) – Iowa’s wineries are trying to hold on from the pandemic that’s dealt a double hit to their business. Iowa Wine Growers Association, marketing director, Nicole Eilers says it is a business tailored to public interaction. “They had to shift their whole business plan from bringing people into the tasting rooms and giving them the experience that Iowa wine is kind of known for,” Eilers says, “to how do we survive, how do we get the product in their hands when we are not supposed to be around people — so it has been really tough.”

Sales of wine and liquor have been up during the pandemic — but Eilers says local wineries aren’t gaining from that trend. “It’s just getting the product into consumers’ hands, that’s the tricky part. Because most wineries in Iowa — if not all — self distribute,” she says. The second hit to the wineries has been a loss of the added features they provide customers not directly related to selling wine. “Most of them are also functioning event venues. so a lot of them have spaces for weddings and private events. They do live music, all sorts of things,” according to Eilers. “And so,with COVID and a lot of the mandates in place, that has really taken a toll on businesses. Because that really sort of helps offset the decreased wine sales.”

Eilers says some may not be able to stay open. “I haven’t really heard of any wineries for sure closing down due to COVID specifically — but I anticipate that most likely that will be the case for some,” Eilers says.  Eilers says they have a report that comes out at the end of the year that details sales and that will give a better idea of where the industry stands.

Police in Red Oak report two arrests. At around 3:23-a.m. today (Wednesday), Officers arrested 75-year old Mary Katherine Pierce, of Red Oak, on a warrant out of Page County, for Failure to Appear on a Theft in the 5th Degree, charge. Pierce was being held in the Montgomery County Jail on a $300 bond. And, at around 10:40-p.m. Tuesday, Red Oak Police arrested 59-year old Ronald Dean Kammerer, JR., of Red Oak. He was taken into custody on a Pottawattamie County warrant for Contempt – Failure to Pay Child Support. Kammerer, JR., was being held without bond in the Montgomery County Jail, while awaiting extradition to Pott. County.

(Radio Iowa) – Two “Test Iowa” locations are opening in Orange City and Sioux Center to expand Covid-19 testing capacity in the northwest corner of the state. Governor Kim Reynolds says coronavirus cases have been elevated in Sioux County for the past three weeks.

“Sioux County currently has the highest 14-day average positivity rate in the state at nearly 28%,” Reynolds says. “Neighboring Lyon and Osceola Counties are both above 20% and some other counties in the surrounding area top 15%.” The governor says new Covid cases in northwest Iowa are evenly distributed across age groups rather than being among young adults.

“The case investigation process tells us that increased cases in these areas…aren’t really tied to a specific event or activity,” Reynolds says. “…The virus is simply spreading from person-to-person during the course of normal daily activities.” In Sioux County, for example, half of recent Covid cases were among adults between the ages of 41 and 80 and another 12 percent were among children under the age of 18. Reynolds says the virus seems to move around the country and is currently hitting the Midwest and the tri-state region of northwest Iowa and neighboring counties in Nebraska and South Dakota.

“We’re bringing in additional tests so that we can identify, so I think we’re going to see, kind of, hopefully what we saw in other areas where we see that spike,” and then, hopefully, we’ll see that come back down.” Since August, the testing sites in Orange City and Sioux Center have been screening students and staff from Northwestern and Dordt University. Now, those sites will offer Covid tests to others who register online at Test-Iowa-dot-com.

The number of Iowans hospitalized for treatment of Covid-19 has increased 20 percent in the past week. Dr. Caitlin Pedati, the state medical director, says the best advice for curbing community spread of the virus is what it’s been since the start of the pandemic: stay at least six feet away from others, wear a mask and wash your hands. The number of Iowans hospitalized for treatment of Covid-19 has increased 20 percent in the past week.