If you’re looking to spend time outdoors enjoying fall weather, you might want to check out the new Cass County trails map found at www.AtlanticIowa.com. Cass County Wellness Coordinator Brigham Hoegh says printed copies of the Cass County trails map can be picked up at the Atlantic Area Chamber of Commerce, and will be distributed throughout the county this fall and next spring. Nishna Valley Trails sponsored the map, which was created in partnership with Healthy Cass County. The map, designed by Hotch Studios, highlights 12 different trail locations across county.

Cass County Naturalist Lora Kanning says “People ask about trails in Cass County, but we haven’t been able to give them a simple reference until now. This map does that. It tells you where the trails are, how long they are, if they are accessible, and if they are dirt, grass, gravel or paved. Additionally, we know the risk of transmitting COVID-19 is lower outdoors, so now is a fantastic time to spend more time on our trails.”

Nishna Valley Trails and Healthy Cass County, in cooperation with other area organizations, are developing a trail-needs survey that will be made available this fall with the goal of gaining input and feedback about how the Cass County Trail System can be improved. In the meantime, ideas for trail improvements may be submitted to Cass County Wellness Coordinator Brigham Hoegh at bhoegh@iastate.edu or 712-249-5870.

If your business or organization would like printed copies of the map, please contact Brigham Hoegh. For more information on local wellness events or resources, follow Healthy Cass County on Facebook @HealthyCassCounty.

DES MOINES – Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds and the Iowa Economic Development Authority (IEDA), Friday (today) announced the launch of the new Residential Utility Disruption Prevention Program. The program will provide eligible households with up to $2,000 towards electric, natural gas and water bills if they are at risk of disconnection due to an inability to pay due to a COVID-19 related loss of income. Payments through the program will be made directly to utility providers and applied to the applicant’s account.

The Governor said “We are facing an unprecedented pandemic and from the very beginning the state has made it a priority to provide critical assistance to families, farmers, renters, homeowners, and small business owners For Iowans who lost their job or saw their paycheck shrink as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Residential Utility Disruption Prevention Program will help them keep the power on and their water running.”

The state allocated approximately $14.5 million of federal CARES Act funds for utility assistance programs (the Small Business Utility Disruption Prevention Program launched in mid-July). To be eligible to receive assistance, a residential electric, natural gas and/or water utility customer must have:

• A primary Iowa residence with active residential utility accounts, renters may apply as long as the utility account is in the applicant’s name;
• An unpaid utility bill balance or have previously entered into a payment plan with their utility provider;
• An annual income that is 80% of the median family income, based on county and household size
• Experienced a COVID-19 loss of income (job loss, reduction in hours, reduction in pay) on or after March 17, 2020 that resulted in hardship in paying bills for electric, natural gas, and/or water utility service provided between March 17, 2020 and October 31, 2020.

IEDA and Iowa Finance Authority Director Debi Durham says “Iowans, especially our low-income citizens have been greatly impacted due to the COVID-19 pandemic. We are proud to make available this program offering to help our most vulnerable maintain critical utility services.”

For a full list of eligibility requirements, additional information and to apply, visit iowahousingrecovery.com. Applications will be accepted between October 8, 2020, and November 20, 2020, or until funding is depleted, whichever comes first. Assistance will be awarded based on application completeness and eligibility in order received until all funds have been exhausted.

The Fall harvest is underway across much of Iowa, and that means large and numerous pieces of agricultural equipment will be moving back and forth between the farm, fields and grain elevators. Iowa State Patrol Trooper Ryan DeVault, out of Council Bluffs, says motorists need to be prepared to encounter the various slow moving vehicles and pay attention.

He says those vehicles typically don’t travel more than 25 miles per hour, and you can be on top of them faster than you think.

The size of farm equipment has increased dramatically over the years. DeVault says the operators of those machines are abiding by the law as best as they can, but you need to give them some room.

The Trooper says to “Expect the unexpected at this point during the harvest season,” especially when the farming equipment is about to make a turn into a field or a farm drive.

The bottom line, he says, is to stay focused and avoid distractions like cell phones. Another thing to be alert for during the harvest season, is deer running out of fields.

Trooper DeVault says flashing your lights or honking your horn in hopes the deer will run the other way, is not necessarily helpful in preventing a collision. He said also, farmers and others hauling grain need to be careful the grain isn’t spilled on the roadway. Motorcyclists need to be watchful too, as the loose corn and beans act like marbles, causing a loss of control, especially when motorcycles are turning.

(Radio Iowa) – It’s been a warm week in Iowa with highs in the 70s and 80s, but make no mistake, the cold weather will be here soon enough. Deb Grooms, C-E-O of the Iowa Propane Gas Association, says there should be plenty of propane this year for farmers drying their crops and for people heating their homes.  “A year ago, there were 96 (billion) 355-million barrels available and today it came out 101 (billion) 842-million barrels of propane available in the United States, and pad two, which is the Midwest pad, also looks very good right now.”

Grooms says Iowans who use propane should take a nod from the Boy Scouts and “Be Prepared” as forecasters are still working out how cold and snowy the season ahead may be. “Throughout Iowa, it looked kind of like it could be a normal winter but who knows with 2020 what’s going to happen?” Grooms says. “Our suggestion is that you communicate with your propane suppliers in advance to insure you have what you need for the winter. Contact those propane marketers and get your tanks filled now.”

The Iowa Department of Agriculture reports the average price of propane is at $1.06 a gallon this week, which is up nine cents a gallon from last month. Last year in October, the price was at $1.12 a gallon. It’s estimated 67% of Iowans use natural gas to heat their homes, 15% use electricity and 14% use liquid propane.

(More at iapropane.org)

(Radio Iowa) – The state’s coronavirus website shows 461 Covid patients were being treated in an Iowa hospital last (Thursday) night. That’s 30 percent more than a month ago and the third day in a row that Iowa has set a new record for coronavirus hospitalizations. Suresh Gunasekaren, the C-E-O of University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics, spoke with K-C-R-G Television about the latest statistics. Iowa hospitals are treating more patients, but he notes fewer are in Intensive Care compared to earlier in the pandemic.

“Many physicians around the state are very good at managing Covid patients at home, so they have a higher level of care before they even come ito the hospital,” he says, “and so I think that a lot of these strategies are allowing us to more successfully treat Covid patients.”

University of Iowa Hospitals served as a test site for remdesivir, one of the therapies now available for Covid patients. A new study released Thursday found the medication cut recovery time for Covid patients by five days. It’s one of the drugs prescribed to President Trump.

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

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(Radio Iowa) – The 2020 Iowa General Election ballot asks voters if there should be a convention to revise the state constitution. The question must be submitted to Iowa voters once every 10 years. Todd Pettys is a constitutional law professor at the University of Iowa. “If you’re at all risk averse, the idea of a constitutional convention ought to be a very frightening thing,” Pettys says. “It’s really the appropriate thing to do only if you think the system is fundamentally broken and needs to be changed in lots of ways.”

Pettys says voters in the 1920 election asked for a constitutional convention, but the legislature refused to follow through and organize one. Any changes convention delegates drafted ultimately would have to be approved by voters, but Pettys says delegates could propose dramatic changes in how Iowa government is structured. “So you’re really opening up a Pandora’s Box,” he says, “and then whatever they propose, whatever document they come up with gets sent out to the people of Iowa to get voted on in one up or down vote.”

The state’s original — and only — constitution was ratified in 1857 and it includes a requirement that voters be asked every 10 years if they wish to hold a constitutional convention to consider changes to the document. There’s a SEPARATE process for proposing AMENDMENTS to the Iowa Constitution and, over the past 154 years, the state’s voters have approved 48 amendments.

(Reporting by Iowa Public Radio’s Katarina Sostaric)

The Creston Police Department reports two recent incidents. A man residing in the 600 block of W. Adams Street, reported that someone has taken an electric hedge trimmer from his truck. The loss was estimated at $150. And, a man residing in the 400 block of Wyoming Avenue, in Creston, reported to police that someone broke a window out of his Cutlass Ciera. The damage was estimated at $300.

The area’s latest and/or top news stories at 7:05-a.m. From KJAN News Director Ric Hanson.

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(Updated 10-a.m., 10/9) – The State of Iowa’s Coronavirus dashboard today shows Cass County has seven more positive cases of the virus, for a total of 212 cases since the pandemic began.  There are 26 new cases in Pottawattamie County and 34 more cases in Harrison County. There was also one more death attributed to the virus in Pott. County, for a total of 43 since the outbreak began. (See more detailed info. below)

Statewide, there are 1,184 new cases of COVID-19 since 10-a.m. Thursday, for a total of 97,041. There have also been 14 more deaths statewide, for a total of 1,433. The IDPH says of the reported deaths, 968 were related to a pre-existing medical condition. There have been a total of 847,700 Iowans tested for COVID-19 to-date, with 750,096 total Negative results. There were 8,154 results received since Thursday, with 7,166 of those Negative, and 977 Positive. The 14-day rolling average is  8.9%.  Officials say 11.4% of persons tested had a positive test result.  Iowans who have recovered from the virus number 75,041. Fourteen counties in Iowa report 14-day positivity rates above 15%, including Lyon, Taylor, Sioux, Harrison, Fremont, Page, Carroll, Delaware, Adams, Plymouth, Guthrie, Osceola, Emmet and O’Brien counties.

Hospitalizations continue to rise, from a record 449 yesterday to 461 this morning. The IDPH says: eight fewer patients were in an Intensive Care Unit (ICU), for a total of 104; 77 people with COVID symptoms were admitted to a hospital (compared to 66 Thursday); and 38 patients are on a ventilator (down from 39 previously). Western/Southwest Iowa hospitals report 25 people hospitalized, five are in an ICU, eight were admitted and no one was on a ventilator.

There are currently 56 Long-Term Care (LTC) facility outbreaks in Iowa (3 more than previously reported), 1,154 positive cases of COVID among patients and staff at those facilities, and there have been 731 deaths since the outbreak began (6 more than the last report). The IDPH reports 614 persons recovered from the virus at LTC’s.

In the KJAN listening area, here are the current number positive cases in each county, along with the 24-hour change in case numbers {+#}; the number of persons recovered, and the total number of [deaths] (if any), since the pandemic began,

• Cass, 212 cases {+7}; 179 recovered; 2 deaths
• Adair, 88 {+2}; 56; 1
• Adams, 52 {+3}; 30; 0
• Audubon, 112 {+2}; 41; 1
• Guthrie, 320 {+8}; 194; 12
• Harrison County, 399 {+34}; 186; 5
• Madison County, 284 {+6}; 191; 2
• Mills County, 254 {+7}; 147; 1
• Montgomery, 125 {+9}; 97; 5
• Pottawattamie County, 2,497 {+26}; 1,929; 43
• Shelby County, 301 {+8}; 271; 1
• Union County,  175 {+16}; 115; 3