Here is the latest Iowa news from The Associated Press at 3:40 a.m. CDT

UNDATED (AP) — A White House task force focusing on the coronavirus pandemic has told Iowa officials that many of the deaths caused by the high level of virus spread in Iowa were preventable. The report was released to the media a day after Gov. Kim Reynolds said Iowans shouldn’t let the virus dominate their lives. Average daily deaths have increased over the past two weeks to 10 per day. State health data shows 1,515 new cases were identified through testing over the last 24 hours on Thursday and five additional deaths bring the state death toll to 1,419.

IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) — An Iowa City hospital has informed state officials it plans to lay off 29 employees because of losses suffered during the coronavirus outbreak. The Gazette reports that Mercy Iowa City filed notice of the layoffs with Iowa Workforce Development, noting that the layoffs will be effective Nov. 21. According to Mercy Iowa City spokesman Aaron Scheinblum, the layoffs will affect a variety of non-specific areas in the hospital. The notice was filed days before the hospital announced last month that it would close its inpatient mental and behavioral health unit. Scheinblum says the layoffs are not specifically tied to that unit.

UNDATED (AP) — Federal agriculture officials are awarding $22 million in grants to gas stations, convenience stores and fuel distribution sites in 14 states to upgrade pumps, fuel lines and storage tanks as part of a program designed to increase the use of higher blends of ethanol fuel and biodiesel. U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue announced the grants in several stops on Thursday including two locations in Iowa. In May the government announced it would allocate $100 million for a program to help businesses upgrade gas pumps, fuel lines and storage tanks to sell gas and diesel fuels with higher ethanol content such as E15. Critics called the announcement a Donald Trump administration election year stunt.

CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa (AP) — The city of Cedar Rapids is preparing to undertake more than $7.4 million in construction work next year on its flood control system. The Gazette reports that the city will open bids this month for key projects, including demolition of a bridge and construction of a permanent levee and gatewell in Czech Village. Bids will also open for construction of a flood wall, pump stations and watermain protecting the Quaker Oats plant along the riverfront. Cedar Rapids, the state’s second-largest city, was devastated by historic flooding in 2008 flood that wiped out downtown neighborhoods.

(Radio Iowa) – The U-S Drought Monitor out today (Thursday) shows around 47 percent of the state in moderate drought — and more than two-thirds of the state is still abnormally dry. Iowa D-N-R hydrologist, Tim Hall, says there’s also a surplus of moisture in parts of the state. “It’s kind of a mixed bag in the state. Northeast Iowa has a surplus of water and west-central and southwest Iowa has a deficit of water. On average it’s not too bad. But you really can’t look at averages this year,” Hall says.

He says central Iowa is doing okay for water — but things change as you move west. “In Audubon, Guthrie, Carroll, Greene, and Shelby counties — driest April to September on record for that part of the state. So those folks in some of those places they are more than 15 inches behind where they should be on rainfall for that time period,” according to Hall. The end of September brought the end of the growing season and concern about the crops having enough water. Hall says the focus now shifts to other water needs.

“We’re looking ahead towards the next growing season certainly, and we are also looking ahead to the point where the ground freezes up and we have less ability to move water into the soil,” Hall says. “And any water that gets into the soil and eventually into the groundwater typically will end up not just being a source of water for plants, but a lot of communities pump groundwater out and use that for their drinking water supplies,” Hall says rainfall usually slows down this time of year — but any rainfall in the dry areas can help.

“We come out of a dry summer, if we go into a dry fall and the ground freezes up and sort of cuts off the ability of moisture to get down into the soil — folks is those parts of the state who have been really suffering this summer from dryness are going to find themselves in the same dryness hole next spring and it’s going to be hard to get out of,” Halls says. The counties now in extreme drought include Palo Alto, Clay, Dickinson, Osceola, O’Brien, Lyon, Sioux, Plymouth, and Cherokee.

Sheriff’s officials in Union County, Thursday, said a man from Monroe, Louisiana reported Thursday morning, that sometime during the overnight hours, someone entered his vehicle while it was parked at 1804 Virginia Lane, in Creston. Authorities say a Ruger .380 pistol, serial number 372243442,was taken from inside the vehicle. The weapon was valued at approximately $200.

A Lake Mills man also reported to authorities, Thursday morning that his vehicle, parked in the same location as the one mentioned above, was also entered. Taken from inside, was a tackle box with tackle, 5 DeWalt batteries, angle grinder, ½” impact driver, and blank checks. The combined value of those items was estimated to be around $800.

UPDATE: 10/9/2020 the juvenile returned home safe and sound.

Original story posted Thursday evening:

The Council Bluffs Police Department is asking for the public’s help in locating a missing juvenile, 17-year-old Stacey Gomez was last seen at around 9:30-p.m. Wednesday, in the area of 2200 S. 7th St., walking towards Sunset Park in Council Bluffs.

Stacey Gomez

Authorities say Stacey is roughly 5’3” tall, 135 pounds, with blond hair, blue eyes and wearing glasses. She was last seen wearing blue jeans, pink shoes, a gray t-shirt with Mickey Mouse on the front and carrying a black sweatshirt.

Her family is worried for her safety and we are asking anyone with information about her whereabouts to call the Pottawattamie County Communications Center at (712)328-5737. Thank you for your help!

The City of Atlantic issued a notice on Thursday afternoon that due to the burn ban and windy conditions the compost site is closed until further notice. We’ll update you with more information as it becomes available.

(Radio Iowa) – A report from Iowa’s largest auto insurer shows the state is still one of the most dangerous for drivers at risk of hitting wildlife, as well as pets and livestock. Kelly Pargett, a spokeswoman for State Farm Insurance, says Iowa drivers have a one-in-58 chance of colliding with an animal while on the road. She says the company had 40-thousand Iowa customers report incidents involving animals in the past fiscal year.

Pargett says, “Iowa is ranked 7th in the nation for animal collisions, most of which are still deer, but there were other animals — dogs, cats and then, of course, farm animals for this part of the country were a huge category this year.” It’s mating season for deer, plus, it’s harvest season across Iowa and the hundreds of tractors and combines are driving deer by the thousands out of the fields and onto the highways. While 67-percent of the reported animal collisions involved deer, other animals drivers had unfortunate encounters with included: cows, squirrels, turtles, raccoons, rabbits, rats and opossums.

“Iowa being the Hawkeye State, a lot of birds — birds is a big category this year,” Pargett says. “They swoop down and they’re doing enough damage to have the driver file a claim and nationwide, 15,000 of those in the bird category are turkeys.” The likelihood of an animal collision more than doubles during October, November and December. 2020 being the year of coronavirus, so many people were staying home at the start of the pandemic, the number of drivers on the roads dropped — and so did the number of accidents.

“One thing we did see this year is the difference in March of this year compared to March of last year,” Pargett says. “This year we saw a 20% decrease, which is over 70,000 less claims reported.” Iowa’s seventh-place ranking this year is down from fifth last year. Those above Iowa for the riskiest states for animal collisions are, number-one: West Virginia, followed by Montana, Pennsylvania, South Dakota, Michigan and Wisconsin.

(Radio Iowa) – U-S Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue says the U-S-D-A has awarded over nine-MILLION dollars in grants to increase ethanol and biodiesel sales in the state of Iowa. The money may be used to install new storage tanks or new fuel pumps for biodiesel or higher blends of ethanol. “A consumer will have the ultimate choice. That’s what we want to do,” Perdue said. “…I’m confident that our wise consumers when they see a cleaner product, higher octane, lower price, that benefits their neighbors — I think they’re going to choose that.”

Iowa Senator Chuck Grassley and U.S. Ag Secretary Sonny Perdue talk with reporters.

Perdue made an appearance in Mason City today (Thursday) to announce the opening round of grants from a 100-million dollar federal grant program he unveiled in May. The 22 million dollars awarded today (Thursday) goes to retailers in Iowa and 13 other states.  “Many stations had hidden that E15 pump out in the back. It was kind of like putting tobacco in a cage, where you had to go find it or ask for it,” Perdue says. “Now, we’re taking those skulls and crossbones off those pumps, putting them out there with a single blended type of pump.”

A year ago, the Trump Administration moved to allow year-round sales of E-15 nationwide, but most stations that offer an ethanol blend offer E-10. In September, President Trump announced he had directed the E-P-A to let stations use current E-10 pumps to sell E-15. These U-S-D-A grants are for NEW tanks and pumps that dispense E-15 or higher blends. “This is the beginning of getting this kind of situation and availability across the country and if you go from 10 to 15, I’m not a math major, but that looks like that’s a 50% increase,” Perdue said, laughing.

Iowa Democratic Party chairman Mark Smith held a virtual news conference to critique Perdue’s announcement. “This is an election year ploy,” Smith said. Former Iowa Lieutenant Governor Patty Judge, a Democrat who also served two terms as the state’s ag secretary, says President Trump’s trade and biofuels policies have crushed the rural economy. “Now he thinks he can buy us off,” Judge says. “…What we’re seeing today is too little and it’s too late.”

Perdue says the program was announced in May and it takes a while in the federal government to get grants awarded. “It sounds like this may be sour grapes because they didn’t think of it,” Perdue said.

Ankeny-based Casey’s is getting a nearly five-million dollar grant to replace 346 dispensers at 70 fueling stations across the Midwest. West Des Moines-based Kum and Go will use a one-and-a-half million grant to install 128 dispensers at 17 fueling stations in six states, including Iowa.

ANKENY, Iowa (AP) — Police in central Iowa are looking for two vandals who ruined freshly-poured concrete on a popular trail trestle bridge. The Ankeny Police Department says in a news release that a male and female rode bicycles on a newly-poured extension of the High Trestle Trail on Oct. 2. Police say tire tracks and footprints were left along about 300 yards of the partially set cement.

Writing was also scrawled into the concrete, which hardened before the damage was found. Officials say the concrete will have to be replaced at a cost up to $75,000. Police are asking anyone with information to call the department.

Atlantic, IA –The Parents as Teachers (PAT) program through Cass County Public Health has immediate openings for up to ten families. PAT is a free program for families with children ages 0-5, focusing on interactions between parents and their children, and traditionally provides home visits to help young children grow up healthy, safe,and ready to learn.

Due to the current pandemic, the PAT educators are meeting virtually with families through video calls. Nancy Gibson, PAT Coordinator, says “Parents really are their children’s first and most influential teacher. Parents as Teachers has been providing services to Cass County residents since 1998, and we are a credentialed, evidence-based program.”

During a PAT visit, the PAT educator works on getting a complete health history, doing developmental screenings to catch any delays as early as possible, check on immunizations, and much more. Children in the program also have access to free vision, hearing, and dental checks. The PAT program is partially funded by a grant from Boost 4 Families.

Parents who are interested in the program can contact Nancy Gibson at 712-243-7475. Referrals are also welcome—anyone who knows of a family that could benefit from participating is encouraged to call.

(Atlantic) – Coca-Cola Days was cancelled this year due to the COVID-19 pandemic, but the local committee wanted to find a way to still celebrate the occasion. Bailey Smith, Executive Director at the Atlantic Area Chamber of Commerce said “With the National Coca-Cola Collector Association making the tough decision to cancel the event, we searched for a way to celebrate safely. Our Atlantic Coke Days committee decided to carry on the annual t-shirt tradition and celebrate virtually giving collectors and community members the opportunity to still celebrate Atlantic Coca-Cola Bottling Company,”

This year’s feature theme is “Chilin’ with Coca-Cola”. 2020 Coca-Cola Days t-shirts are now available online at www.atlanticiowa.com. T-shirts are $15 for short sleeve or $25 for long sleeve. Shirts may be picked up locally or can be shipped for an additional fee.

Contact the Atlantic Area Chamber of Commerce at 712-243-3017 or email chamber@atlanticiowa.com with further questions.