Members of the City of Atlantic’s Personnel and Finance Committee will meet 5:30-p.m. Wednesday, April 29th, during an in-person session, as opposed to via Zoom meeting. The meeting will take place in the Council Chambers, but attendance is limited to 10 people, and the six-foot separation policy will be adhered to. City Administrator John Lund says the City has acquired face masks available for those in attendance, if desired.

During the session, the Committee will hold an open discussion and take recommendations on, Human and Financial Resource changes resulting from Covid-19, along with any other business to come before them. Lund says “A lot has happened in the last 40 days. Things are rapidly changing in human resources and public finance. The City is staying on top of everything [it] can, but Council oversight of these two critical functions is essential [and] we need to have an opportunity for a question and answer period so the Council’s questions can be addressed directly and also make sure its priorities are being responded to by staff.”

(Radio Iowa) — The Republicans competing in the fourth district congressional primary say it’s time to begin rolling back the restrictions on businesses and gatherings that have been imposed during the pandemic. Steve King of Kiron is the incumbent congressman facing four challengers in June. King says he’s been most concerned about limiting the freedom to assemble.

“But I saw the emergency we were in,” King says, “and I personally decided I’m not going to throw that wrench into the gears because there’s a national crisis at work and I don’t want to undercut the people that are leading on this.” State Senator Randy Feenstra of Hull says this is a difficult situation for policymakers like Governor Reynolds.

“It’s a tough time,” Feenstra says, “and she is balancing all that needs to be done when it comes to our rights, our economy, our safety.” Bret Richards, a businessman who was the mayor of Irwin, says it’s time to rethink the emergency powers given to governors.

“A benevolent governor’s great now,” Richards says, “but what about a Chet Culver or someone else in the future?” Former Woodbury County Supervisor Jeremy Taylor says he’s concerned about restrictions on religious liberty in other states.

“We have to be very careful lest we go the way of the socialist left,” Taylor says. Steven Reeder, a real estate broker from Arnolds Park, says this situation shows why it’s important to elect people who follow the constitution. The five congressional candidates participated in an online forum Sunday evening that was hosted by Crawford County Republicans and broadcast by K-D-S-N Radio.

The operator of a motorcycle was transported by Crescent Rescue to the UNMC in Omaha, Sunday evening, after the cycle left I-29 northbound at Exit 61-A, and for reasons unknown, went out of control. The Iowa State Patrol reports 50-year old Billy Hannan, of Council Bluffs, who was not wearing a helmet, suffered critical injuries.

The accident happened at around 6:50-p.m.

Here is the latest Iowa news from The Associated Press at 3:33 a.m. CDT

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Iowa’s three major public universities are planning to resume in-person classes in the fall, but they are still working out the details of what that will look like during the coronavirus outbreak. Iowa Board of Regents President Mike Richards said the schools will follow state and federal guidelines to protect health as they develop plans for thousands of students to return to the campuses of the University of Iowa, Iowa State University and Northern Iowa University. The number of coronavirus cases continues to rise in the state. Health officials said Saturday the number of confirmed cases in Iowa had increased by 648, to 5,092, though the actual number of sick is thought to be much higher because of many people haven’t been tested.

IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) — An Iowa firefighter whose family has been devastated by the coronavirus says he wants people to know how easily the virus can spread. Twenty-nine-year-old Omar Martinez said Friday that his mother first tested positive for the virus on April 3. Then his 22-year-old sister Evelyn, who is the mother of a toddler, contracted the virus and has been in the hospital since April 10. On April 15, Omar says his 58-year-old father, Jose Gabriel Martinez, was hospitalized. He died on Tuesday. The family shares a home in West Liberty, Iowa, where they settled after immigrating from Mexico in the 1990s. Omar Martinez says, “I don’t wish this upon anybody.”

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — The medical director at a state-run institution for people with intellectual disabilities has resigned amid questions about the care residents received at the Glenwood Resource Center in southwest Iowa. The Des Moines Register reports that documents from the Iowa Department of Human Services show that Dr. Mohammamd Rehman resigned Friday from the Glenwood facility. The U.S. Department of Justice is investigating allegations that the former Glenwood superintendent was planning to conduct human sexual arousal experiments and had begun questionable hydration therapy on patients. The department also is looking into a death rate that concerned employees.

CHARLES CITY, Iowa (AP) — One person is dead after fire broke out at a home in northeastern Iowa. The Charles City Fire Department said the blaze was reported about 2:20 a.m. Saturday. Arriving firefighters found heavy smoke and determined the fire was confined to the kitchen area. The victim was found during a search of the home. Fire officials say the victim was alone in the home. An investigation determined that the fire was likely caused by cooking materials overheating.

A semi that failed to yield at a four-way stop in northwest Iowa, struck pickup truck late Sunday morning, killing a teenage passenger in the semi. The Iowa State Patrol says the accident happened in Moville at around 10:15-a.m., at the intersection of U-S Highway 20 and Iowa Highway 140.

A 2015 International semi driven by 37-year old Leuchann A. Johnson, of Williamsburg, VA, was traveling west on Highway 20 when it collided with a northbound 2000 Ford Ranger, driven by 62-year old Roger J. Clark, of Moville. Following the collision, the semi came to rest on its side, in the median.

15-year old Leuchann Johnson, Jr., of Williamsburg, VA. died from his injuries at the scene. Clark was transported to the hospital by Moville Ambulance.

Neither of the accident victims were wearing a seat belt. The Patrol was assisted at the scene by the Woodbury County Sheriff’s Office, Moville Fire Department & Ambulance, and the Lawton Fire Dept/Ambulance.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — The medical director at a state-run institution for people with intellectual disabilities has resigned amid questions about the care residents received at the Glenwood Resource Center in southwest Iowa. The Des Moines Register reports that documents from the Iowa Department of Human Services show that Dr. Mohammamd Rehman resigned Friday from the Glenwood facility.

The U.S. Department of Justice is investigating allegations that the former Glenwood superintendent was planning to conduct human sexual arousal experiments and had begun questionable hydration therapy on patients. The department also is looking into a death rate that concerned employees.

Police and firefighters from Council Bluffs were dispatched at around 9:13-a.m. Sunday (today), to the area of the Indian Creek at Creek Top Street for a vehicle in the creek. A passing Union Pacific train crew had spotted the vehicle in the culvert. Upon arrival, emergency responders found a Red Ford Explorer had driven through the metal guard rail and concrete barrier. The vehicle had fallen approximately 12 feet down into the culvert, landing on its wheels. The vehicle was in approximately 1-2 feet of water.

The driver of the vehicle, 74-year old Kieth Cunningham, of Omaha, was extricated by the Council Bluffs Fire Department and transported to a local hospital with non-life threatening injuries. Cunningham had been reported as missing in Omaha and may have been suffering from a medical condition.

The incident was being investigated by the Council Bluffs Police Special Operations Traffic Unit. Anyone with information about the crash is urged to call the CBPD Traffic Unit at (712) 328-4948.

Pottawattamie County Public Health, Sunday (today) reported four new COVID-19 cases. The total of COVID-19 cases in Pottawattamie County is now twenty-nine. Seventeen individuals have recovered, eleven are self-isolating at home, zero are hospitalized, and there has been one death.

The four new cases all reside in Council Bluffs and include two males and two females ranging in age from 18 to 80 years old. Two of them have pre-existing conditions. One of the individuals had contact with an existing COVID-19 case, and three were the result of community spread. These individuals were tested between April 23 and April 24. All four of them are self-isolating at home.

Pottawattamie County Public Health is conducting the contact tracing investigations and is in communication with the Iowa Department of Public Health. As testing capacity increases, the number of positives reported will also increase. The total number of Iowans tested for COVID-19, along with positive and negative results, can be found at www.coronavirus.iowa.gov.

IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) — An Iowa firefighter whose family has been devastated by the coronavirus says he wants people to know how easily the virus can spread. Twenty-nine-year-old Omar Martinez said Friday that his mother first tested positive for the virus on April 3. Then his 22-year-old sister Evelyn, who is the mother of a toddler, contracted the virus and has been in the hospital since April 10.

On April 15, Omar says his 58-year-old father, Jose Gabriel Martinez, was hospitalized. He died on Tuesday. The family shares a home in West Liberty, Iowa, where they settled after immigrating from Mexico in the 1990s. Omar Martinez says, “I don’t wish this upon anybody.”

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Iowa’s three major public universities are planning to resume in-person classes in the fall, but they are still working out the details of what that will look like during the coronavirus outbreak. Iowa Board of Regents President Mike Richards said the schools will follow state and federal guidelines to protect health as they develop plans for thousands of students to return to the campuses of the University of Iowa, Iowa State University and Northern Iowa University.

The number of coronavirus cases continues to rise in the state. Health officials said Saturday the number of confirmed cases in Iowa had increased by 648, to 5,092, though the actual number of sick is thought to be much higher because of many people haven’t been tested.