Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds held her weekly Press Conference Thursday morning, via social media. During her session, she spoke about the elections and COVID-19. Reynolds said Iowa is not alone in the seeing a marked increase in the number of cases and hospitalizations.

She said increased testing capacity, vaccines on the horizon and other government solutions to the problem, are not enough to stop or slow the spread of the virus.

Reynolds said she understands Iowan’s and all Americans are experiencing “Pandemic Fatigue” with restrictions that remain, and the constant, daily reports showing the increasingly higher numbers of deaths and hospitalizations.

She says the last nine months have taken a toll on healthcare workers in additional Iowans in general.

Reynolds said the State will begin a sweeping Public Service campaign reminding Iowans to “Step-up and Stop” the spread of COVID-19.

(Radio Iowa) – Iowa’s overall unemployment claims continue to be on a downward trend. The U-S Department of Labor says the continuing unemployment claims dropped by 25-hundred-35 last week and are now down to around 37-thousand. Claims had peaked at nearly 190-thousand in May. The number of new unemployment claims were up by 614.

Iowa Workforce Development says we are entering the time of year where the state starts to see an increase in unemployment claims due to colder weather that slows the ag and construction industries.

(Radio Iowa) – An election official in Iowa’s second congressional district says he won’t be surprised if there’s a recount in the race between Republican Mariannette Miller-Meeks and Democrat Rita Hart. The vote count posted on the Secretary of State’s website still shows Miller-Meeks leading by 282 votes. Jasper County Auditor Dennis Parrott says five different people associated with the Hart campaign contacted him for information on Wednesday. “I haven’t been told they’re going to ask for a recount, but they’re really looking into it if they’re wanting to find out this information,” Parrott says. “The information that they want are the number of provisionals, in which in Jasper is one, and how many ballots are still outstanding that could have been postmarked by the 2nd.”

Iowans who showed up to vote on Tuesday, but forgot their photo I-D or had requested an absentee ballot but didn’t have it to exchange for a regular ballot were allowed to cast a provisional ballot. Parrott says the number of not-yet-counted ABSENTEE ballots — particularly in Johnson and Scott Counties — will determine if there’s a recount. “They could have a sizable or not — who knows — amount of votes that still are going to be counted because people got them postmarked by Monday,” Parrott says.

Those ballots with a November 2nd postmark are to be counted if they’re delivered to a county auditor’s office by November 9th. When those ballots are counted and included in each county’s official canvas next week, the vote tally in this race will obviously change. State law allows candidates to request a county-wide recount or even a recount in a specific precinct.

At Wednesday night’s Atlantic City Council meeting, Councilman Pat McCurdy sounded the alarm with regard to a shortage of child care providers in Atlantic, especially with the closing of Zion Lutheran Church’ Daycare Program being shut down effective this Friday.

Mayor Dave Jones echoed the alarm, and added the reason for why Zion’s program, with approximately 60 children, is shutting down.

McCurdy said there are three or four home providers that closed down because of COVID, and some decided to retire. There is no one that has taken their place.  Officials with Childcare Resource & Referral of Southwest Iowa (CCR&R) reports in the last two weeks, multiple childcare programs in Atlantic have closed their doors, for a variety of reasons, leaving almost 100 children without childcare. Kelsey Smith-Walhovd, local CCR&R Child Care Consultant said “The Atlantic community is lucky to have excellent childcare providers and programs. We just simply do not have enough of them to meet growing demand. One of CCR&R’s goals is to recruit and retain the childcare workforce so our community can grow and thrive.”

CCR&R will be hosting a “Child Care Ready ” series, an online recruitment event, with hopes to recruit, retain, train and support quality childcare and early education providers. CCR&R has partnered with the Iowa Women’s Foundation to provide a small $250 incentive grant to each participant who completes the series. Funding will be primarily used to pay for costs associated with the start-up of becoming a childcare home provider opening a Child Development Home business. The incentive will potentially remove the barriers associated with the costs of training, start-up materials, supplies, and other issues individuals might be facing. Core training requirements, health, and safety items will be the first priority for childcare providers. This includes: Essentials Pre-Service training, CPR/First Aid, participant support, background checks, fingerprinting, business starter-kits, and incentives.

CCR&R is looking to expand their $250 incentive grant to better serve individuals looking to start their own home business. They have partnered with the Atlantic Area Chamber of Commerce and Cass/Atlantic Development in their efforts. The group is asking businesses/individuals to make a monetary donation of their choice to the project to be paired with the $250 grant. This will better incentivize and recruit new childcare providers to fill an immediate need while retaining and supporting existing childcare programs currently operating. If businesses or individuals wish to make a contribution to their efforts, checks can be made out to Cass/Atlantic Development or dropped off at their office located at 14 West 6th Street, Atlantic.

The “Childcare Ready” series event is available at no cost to attendees. If you are interested in opening a Child Development Home business, email Child Care Resource & Referral of Southwest Iowa at surich@westcca.org or 712-579-9057 for more information.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — The Iowa Court of Appeals has upheld the murder conviction of a man serving life in prison for the the 2017 death of his infant son, who was found dead in a maggot-infested baby swing. Station WHO-TV reports that the appeals court on Wednesday rejected 31-year-old Zachary Koehn’s appeal of his first-degree murder and child endangerment convictions.

Koehn had argued the convictions should be vacated because, among other things, there was insufficient evidence to convict his and that the jury was given incorrect instructions. Officials have said Koehn’s son, Sterling, was found dead in his parents’ Alta Vista apartment and that he had been in the same diaper for up to two weeks.

Iowa Auditor of State Rob Sand today (Thursday), released a report on a special investigation of the City of Hastings (in Mills County), for the period covering December 1st, 2018 through May 31st, 2020. The special investigation was requested by City officials as a result of concerns regarding certain financial transactions processed by the former City Clerk, Darren Gray. Sand reported the special investigation identified more than $8,400 worth of improper disbursements and over $3,470 of unsupported disbursements.

The improper disbursements identified include nearly $4,900 worth of unauthorized payroll to Gray and the related City share of the payroll costs. The improper disbursements identified also include over $1,730 worth of improper reimbursements to Gray, and about $1,684 worth of late fees and interest. Auditor Sand says the $3,472 of unsupported disbursements identified includes $1,966 in payments to Darren Gray’s wife, for training she provided to her husband.

Sand reported it was not possible to determine if additional amounts were improperly disbursed or if any collections were not properly deposited because adequate documentation was not available.Sand recommended City officials implement procedures to ensure the City’s internal controls are strengthened, including segregation of duties, performing independent reviews of bank statements, reviewing payroll records, and ensuring all disbursements are properly supported, approved, and paid in a timely manner.

Copies of the report have been filed with the Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation, the Mills County Attorney’s Office, and the Iowa Attorney General’s Office. A copy of the report is available for review on the Auditor of State’s web site at https://www.auditor.iowa.gov/reports/audit-reports/.

(Atlantic, Iowa November 5, 2020) The Southwest Iowa Housing Trust Fund has awarded $81,500 to demolish six dilapidated houses in three Southwest Iowa communities. The grants include one property in Griswold, two in Red Oak, and three in Villisca. The awards will pay for up to 50% of the actual cost of asbestos testing and removal and demolition, up to a maximum grant of $15,000 per property. In order to qualify, those cities had to take ownership of the property and demonstrate that removal of the property is the best option for the improvement of the neighborhood. The application process is highly competitive as there is a large need throughout the region to remove houses that are beyond repair. Southwest Iowa Planning Council (SWIPCO) administers the housing trust fund.

SWIPCO Executive Director, John McCurdy said “There is a huge unmet need in our region for new and rehabilitated housing, but on the flip side there are many situations where the best thing for a neighborhood is to demolish a dangerous eyesore and move on to better things. We’re proud to have one of the few programs in the state that sets aside funds to do this unglamorous but needed work.”

The Southwest Iowa Housing Trust Fund serves the counties of Harrison, Shelby, Cass, Montgomery, Page, and Fremont. It is supported by membership dues paid by the participating
counties, by grant funds including from the Iowa Finance Authority, and by revenue generated from loans made to first time homebuyers. The main programs the trust fund carries out include new homeownership grants and loans, housing rehabilitation, and dilapidated property removal. Information about trust fund is available at www.swipco.org under the “Housing” tab.

Police in Creston cited the driver of an SUV, following an accident Wednesday night in the 800 block of Abell Street. Authorities say 17-year old Angel Eduardo Medina, of Creston, was cited for Failure to provide proof of financial liability (insurance), after the 2007 Ford Edge he was driving left the road and struck a dumpster on the Fastenal property. The dumpster was shoved into a parked Fastenal delivery truck. The accident happened at around 10:15-p.m.

Medina told Police he was unable to slow down as he negotiated the curve, which caused him to lose control. Damage from the accident amounted to $5,000 for both the SUV and the Fastenal Company’s 2016 Dodge RAM pickup.