(Des Moines) – Iowa’s COVID-19 positivity rates and hospitalizations are on the decline once again. The Iowa Department of Public Health on Friday reported 491 new positive COVID-19 cases and five additional deaths. At 10 a.m., IDPH reported 391,616 total positive tests, 343,617 total recoveries and 5,904 total deaths since the start of the pandemic. IDPH reported 391,125 total positive tests and 5,899 total deaths 24 hours earlier. In the KJAN listening area, there were two more COVID-related deaths in Pottawattamie County, for a pandemic total of 164.

State data shows 2,141,871 vaccine doses have been administered in Iowa, with 930,565 individuals completing the series. Iowa’s positivity rates are continuing to decline slowly. The 7-day average declined from 4.3% to 4% and the 14-day average declined from 4.4% to 4.2%. Virus hospitalizations are back down after showing an increase the previous day. There are now 217 Iowans hospitalized with COVID-19, down from 235 a day earlier. There are 51 patients in ICU and 24 patients on ventilators.

In RMCC Regional 4 (hospitals in western/southwest Iowa): 29 COVID patients are hospitalized (down from 31 the previous day); 10 are in an ICU (down 1 from Thursday); 3 were admitted with symptoms of the virus, and there remain four persons on a ventilator.

Urbandale Health Care Center is the only long-term care facility in the state reporting a virus outbreak There are 18 positive cases and eight recoveries among residents and staff within that facility. Iowa reports 2,309 total COVID-19 deaths in care facilities.

In the KJAN listening area, here are the current number positive cases by County; The # of new cases since yesterday {+} if any; and the total number of deaths in each county to date:

Cass, 1,436 cases; {+1}; 54 deaths
Adair, 970; {+2}; 32
Adams, 342 {+1}; 4
Audubon, 513 {+0}; 9
Guthrie, 1,266 {+0}; 29
Harrison County, 1,904; {+8}; 73
Madison County, 1,699; {+7; 19
Mills County, 1,759; {+3}; 20
Montgomery, 1,095 {+2}; 37
Pottawattamie County, 11,924; {+25}; 162
Shelby County, 1,349 {+0}; 37
Union County, 1,315; {+0}; 32

(Radio Iowa) – It’s time again to check those prescription pill bottles that have been sitting around for a while to see if you still need the medication inside. The director of the Governor’s Office of Drug Control Policy, Dale Woolery, says Saturday is another “National Drug Take Back Day.” “In hundreds of different communities across Iowa this Saturday from 10 until 2, there will be special collection sites,” Woolery says. He says there’s been progress in not overprescribing painkillers that can end up in the wrong hands — but he says there are still cases of leftover medications. “And Iowans can dispose of those unused medications as part of their spring cleaning,” Woolery says.

Woolery says if you miss the chance to take back your prescription drugs Saturday, there are now many other ways to safely dispose of them. “We have nearly 400 year-round permanent sites in law enforcement centers and pharmacies across Iowa now where all of us can take these medications back on a regular basis,” according to Woolery. “That will prevent the diversion and misuse of opioids and other medications — and it is good for the environment as well.” Woolery says you can go to the Office of Drug Control Policy website and find a list of takeback sites.

More information at https://odcp.iowa.gov/rxtakebacks

(Radio Iowa) – More than 50 agricultural groups, including the American Farm Bureau, are backing a measure now before the U-S Senate called the Growing Climate Solutions Act. Iowa Farmers Union President Aaron Lehman says it’s solid legislation that will help farmers to address climate change.  “It is designed to lead us to real changes on the ground so that farmers can use climate-smart practices,” Lehman says, “and have some assurances that they’re going to be rewarded for those practices.”

Lehman says the bill calls for a U-S-D-A-led certification program to assist farmers and ranchers in identifying reliable carbon credit programs. “It’s extremely important to know we have reliable partners in this,” he says. “If we have uncertainty about who farmers can work with reliably, that will set us back years in trying to develop this process.” At least 17 Republicans have joined 17 Democrats in signing onto the legislation. Lehman says having bipartisan backing is essential in getting anything accomplished. “Congress is fairly evenly divided and really, to pass good legislation regarding climate change, you have to have broad support both in agriculture as a whole, and when your talking about individual representatives and senators.”

A companion measure is being introduced in the House.

The Cass County Sheriff’s Office, Friday (Today), said four arrests had taken place over the past week. Yesterday (Thursday), 21-year-old Travis Joseph Osborn, of Council Bluffs, was arrested on a Cass County warrant for Theft in the 2nd, and Burglary in the second-degrees Osborn was transported from the Pottawattamie County Jail to the Cass County Jail where he was held on $5,000 bond.

On Wednesday, Cass County Deputies arrested 29-year-old Shialea Kay Cozad, of Anita, for Driving While Barred. Cozad was transported to the Cass County Jail and later released on her own recognizance. Last Sunday (April 18), 26-year-old Daniel Albert Ward, of Lewis, was arrested for Domestic Abuse Assault/1^st Offense. Ward was transported to the Cass County Jail where he was held on bond. He plead guilty the following day and was released.

And, on April 17th, 21-year-old David Confere, of Atlantic, was arrested on a Cass County warrant for Harassment 3^rd Degree. Confere was transported to the Cass County Jail and later released after posting $300 bond.

(Greenfield) – The Adair County Board of Supervisors, Friday morning, set May 5^th at 7-p.m., as the date and time for a Public Hearing on a proposed Utility-Scale, Solar Energy System Ordinance (Commercial Solar Farms). Publication of the Ordinance for public review will be in area newspapers April 28^th and 29^th. One last tweak to the Ordinance came from Board Members Jodie Hoadley, and it pertained to the setbacks, where the fence will be for solar farms.

Other Supervisors said they had received calls requesting the fence line be established at the setback. A motion to that effect was approved by a vote of 4-to-1, with Supervisor Steve Shelley a “No” vote. Adair County Attorney Melissa Larson clarified also the answer to a question from Hoadley about the acreages and how they are divvied-up to attain the 400 acre maximum.

The broadcast News from 8:-a.m., w/Ric Hanson.

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(Radio Iowa) – You may know the song that includes the line, “Way down yonder in the pawpaw patch,” but most Iowans have never tasted or even seen the fruit from trees that once thrived in our state. An effort is underway to educate Iowans about pawpaws and bring the trees back from obscurity. Jason Taylor, executive director of the Bur Oak Land Trust in eastern Iowa, says pawpaws have a long history in Iowa and across much of the country. “This is the largest fruit that is native to North America and they’re similar in shape to a potato,” Taylor says. “They taste between a mango and a banana, so they have a very tropical flavor to them. These are trees that used to be very prevalent in Iowa and unfortunately, today, there’s very few of them left.”

In recent years, monarch butterflies have become the subject of much concern as their numbers are dwindling, and milkweed plants are key to the survival of the monarch, an important pollinator. There’s a similar story about pawpaws and a threatened insect. “What we want to do is bring the pawpaw back to Iowa and the reason for that is not just because it’s an awesome tree that is no longer around, but there’s also a specific butterfly species, called the zebra swallowtail. The caterpillar of that butterfly actually eats the leaves of the pawpaws and nothing else,” Taylor says. “So, if the pawpaw goes away, this butterfly goes away.”

Pawpaw Tree (Via Arborday.org.)

The pawpaw is known by a variety of names, including the Appalachian banana, the custard apple and the banango. Taylor says many people who’ve had pawpaws love the flavor and use the fruit in a variety of recipes, from ice cream to cocktails and specialty beer brews.  “If you like mangoes, you’d probably like a pawpaw,” Taylor says. “The problem with pawpaws is that the fruit goes from fresh off the tree, where it’s the best and most ripe, to pretty much rotten within about three days, so it’s a fairly difficult fruit to actually sell to market.”

The trust is launching the “Foster a Pawpaw” project, where participants can register to care for pawpaw seedlings from May 1st through early October. Hundreds of the seedlings will be planted this weekend as part of an Eagle Scout project. “We’re going to have community members take those seedlings and grow them over the summer for us, just to be a part of the action,” Taylor says. “Then we’re going to take them back for the wintertime, and then next spring, we’ll work with volunteers to plant those seedlings on our properties.”

The cost is $25 for a crate of nine potted pawpaw seeds. The nonprofit Bur Oak Land Trust, based in Iowa City, was created in 1978 to protect and conserve natural areas for future generations. It owns or manages nearly 900 acres of land in Johnson, Poweshiek and Washington counties — where pawpaw patches will be planted in 2022.

The broadcast news report from 7:06-a.m., w/News Director Ric Hanson.

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The Trevor Frederickson Memorial Fund is once again assisting the Kiwanis Club with their bike helmet project.  Deb Schuler shared that this is the 25th year of the club distributing bike helmets to the local 3rd grade students.  Melanie Petty, Trevor’s mom, said “What a wonderful project this club started to keep kids safe on their bicycles!  Trevor was one of their first recipients and it has always been a great memory of ours and something we look forward to donating to each year.”

Grant Petty presents a check from the Frederickson Foundation to Kiwanis member Deb Schuler. (Photo courtesy Melanie Petty)

Here’s a reminder, the 13th Annual TFred Memorial Golf Tournament will be held Saturday, August 14th.  Melanie Petty says “We look forward to a full day of golfing and visiting with friends and family.” Team registration and hole sponsors are open. Simply contact Melanie Petty at 249-3696 to get registered.  All monies raised at the tournament and silent auction are given back to the community that Trevor loved.

Follow the funds activities on local media and FaceBook.  The Trevor Frederickson Memorial Fund is a 501©3 non-profit organization.