Here is the latest Iowa news from The Associated Press at 3:35 a.m. CDT

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Iowa officials said the number of coronavirus cases in the state increased by 814 Sunday and two additional deaths were reported. Health officials said that as of 10 a.m. Sunday 74,361 confirmed cases of coronavirus have been reported since the pandemic began, and 1,218 people have died. The state said Iowa had an 8.9% positivity rate over the past 14 days, but six Iowa counties reported positivity rates over 15% over the past 14 days. The high rate means that public schools in Sioux, Lyon, Bremer, Plymouth, Carroll and Chickasaw counties may be able to apply for a state waiver to provide instruction entirely online.

SIOUX CITY, Iowa (AP) — A Sioux City woman has been charged with stealing scratch tickets from her work and redeeming the tickets for herself. KCAU-TV reports that 19-year-old Ricki Shear is free on bail after she was arrested and charged with 21 counts of forgery or theft of a lottery ticket. She is accused of stealing 94 scratch tickets earlier this month while working as a clerk for Transit General Store. Court documents say she redeemed 21 of them for $195.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Democratic congresswoman Madeleine Dean calls herself a “big hugger,” but there’s none of that in-person campaigning in the COVID-19 era. The House freshman from Pennsylvania is running for reelection largely online in the Philadelphia suburbs to protect against the health risks. But in the heartland, Iowa Republican Sen. Joni Ernst is taking the opposite approach. She just completed an annual 99-county tour of her state, mostly masked, but sometimes not, talking to modest-size groups. It’s the different tactics underway in a pandemic election year unlike any other. In the races that will determine control of Congress, it’s a high-stakes gamble as the pandemic rewrites the rules of political campaigning.

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Many teachers are choosing not to return to the classroom because of the coronavirus threat, and schools around the U.S. are scrambling to find replacements. In some places, that means lowering certification requirements to help get substitutes in the door. Several states have seen surges in educators filing for retirement or taking leaves of absence. The departures are straining staff in places that were dealing with shortages of teachers and substitutes even before the pandemic created an education crisis. Teachers in at least three states have died after bouts with the coronavirus since the dawn of the new school year.le as the pandemic rewrites the rules of political campaigning.