The Cass County Memorial Hospital’s Board of Trustees will meet 8-a.m. Wednesday (Sept. 16), in Conference Room 1 (Just inside the Main entrance/atrium). During the meeting, the Board will hold a Public Hearing on the Plans, Specifications and Form of Contract, for Bid Package #2 – 2021 Addition/Renovation Cass County Health System.

Back on Aug. 26th, CCHS announced construction would begin August 31st, on their main entrance parking lot, Lot A. The parking lot renovation is being completed in two phases, which allows half of the parking lot to remain open to patients and visitors only. The project is expected to last through November.

The parking lot construction kicks off the first phase of CCHS’s master facility plan initiative that includes parking lot renovations, electrical upgrades, remodel of the Atlantic Medical Center clinic, as well as several other updates.

The Creston Police Department says a woman residing in the 100 block of N. Sycamore Street, reported an incident of Theft, Monday. The woman said sometime between 3-a.m. and 6-a.m., Monday, an unknown man entered the garage at her residence and took a camping tent. The loss was estimated at $100.

A District Court Judge has sentenced a northeast Iowa man to prison for receiving and distributing child pornography. 24-year old Hunter Morgan Uhde, of Thornton, was ordered to serve a little more than 13-years in prison, plus five years of supervised release to follow his prison term. Uhde is also required to pay $100 to the Crime Victims’ Fund and $27,000 in restitution. He will have to comply with the State’s sex offender registry requirements upon release.

Authorities say on February 14, 2020, Uhde pleaded guilty to Count One of a two-count Indictment. The investigation began in February 2019 with a tip from the Homeland Security Cyber Crimes Center based on activity through the “Kik” app in relation to a username associated with Uhde between November and December 2018. A search warrant was conducted on Uhde’s residence in Coralville, Iowa. Agents found multiple electronic devices containing child pornography. Uhde admitted to possessing child pornography on his phone and participating in illicit activities involving child pornography.

After forensic examination of Uhde’s devices, Uhde was found to have possessed 1,400 images and two videos of child pornography. The matter was investigated by United States Department for Homeland Security and the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC). The case was prosecuted by the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Iowa.

The area’s latest and/or top news stories at 7:06-a.m. From KJAN News Director Ric Hanson.

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The Iowa Department of Public Health’s Coronavirus dashboard today (as of 10-a.m. Tuesday), said there are 508 new (Positive) COVID-19 cases and 12 deaths have taken place, since 10-a.m. Monday. Officials report there: is a total of 75,275 Positive cases to-date (2,983 since Monday); 2,705 new Negative cases (For a total of 630,386); 54,257 Iowans have recovered from the virus, and there have been a total of 1,233 deaths since the pandemic began. IDPH reported 707,186 Iowans have been tested for COVID-19.  Officials reported an 8.6% positivity rate over the last 14 days.

Of those who died, 855 had a pre-existing condition, and 651 of the deaths took place at a Long-Term Care (LTC) facility. In the KJAN listening area: Adair and Union Counties have one more positive case each, of COVID-19. Guthrie County has four more cases.

Across the State, hospitalizations are up 12 to 284. The number of patients with COVID-19 who are in an ICU is 71 (1 less than Monday); 36 people were admitted to a hospital with symptoms of the virus, and 29 patients are on ventilators. In western/southwest Iowa, hospitals report: two less patients are hospitalized for a total of 11; one more person was placed in the ICU (6 total); no people were admitted to a hospital, and one person remains on  ventilator.

There are two more LTC outbreaks, at 36, with 869 patients/staff testing positive, and 396 have recovered.

Here are the latest positive case numbers for southwest/western Iowa (County; Positive Case #’s; number of persons who have (recovered); {deaths since the outbreak began}.

• Cass County: 122 cases; (113); 2 deaths
• Adair County: 57 cases; (40); 1 death
• Adams County: 27 cases; (21)
• Audubon County: 46 cases; (29); 1 death
• Guthrie County: 205 cases; (151); 5 deaths
• Montgomery County: 83 cases; (78); 5 deaths
• Pottawattamie County: 1,828 cases; (1,555); 36 deaths
• Shelby County: 234 cases; (222); 1 death.
• Madison County, 184; (147); 2 deaths
• Harrison County, 162 cases; (149); 2 deaths
• Union County: 105 cases; (84); 3 deaths.
• Mills County: 149 cases; (105); 1 death.

(Radio Iowa) – Donald Trump, Junior, headlined a campaign rally in Treynor, Monday. He told the crowd of about 250 that Joe Biden is camouflage for the radical left. “You’re not moderate Joe with Kamala Harris as your VP. You’re not moderate Joe with Beto ‘hell yeah I’ll take your AR15′ as your gun czar, right,” Trump said, as some in the crowd booed. “You’re not moderate Joe stealing Bernie Sanders’ platform…like that’s literally his policy. That is a radical, Marxist policy.”

FILE PHOTO (A-P) Donald Trump Jr., speaks as he tapes his speech for the first day of the Republican National Convention from the Andrew W. Mellon Auditorium in Washington, Monday, Aug. 24, 2020. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)

According to the president’s 42 year-old son, “Democrats are no longer Democrats, they’re communists.” As his father did in 2016, the younger Trump has a populist message, accusing Biden of being a globalist when it comes to communist China. “For 50 years, he’s been telling us, ‘No, no, no if we make them really rich and successful, maybe they’ll be like us,'” Trump, Jr. said. The president’s oldest son joked that Trump Derangement Syndrome is worse than Covid-19 and the crowd in Treynor cheered.

“We don’t have the benefit of billions of dollars in the media. What we have the benefit of is hardworking Americans who have had enough, who want to live their American Dream,” Trump, Jr. said. “We have you guys.” One of the loudest crowd responses was when the president’s son mentioned his father’s nomination for the Nobel Prize.

Nebraska Democrats responded to Trump’s appearance less than 20 miles from Omaha, saying no member of the Trump family has any credibility to talk honestly with voters after the president admitted to downplaying the pandemic.

Here is the latest Iowa news from The Associated Press at 3:00 a.m. CDT

UNDATED (AP) — Federal regulators have handed a victory to corn farmers by refusing to allow a group of petroleum refiners in 14 states to forego requirements to blend ethanol into the gasoline they make. Members of Congress from farm states have heavily lobbied President Donald Trump to reject the waiver requests for months. Those representing oil producing states supported the waivers which were originally designed to help small refineries but were also granted by EPA in recent years to larger refineries. The decision comes 50 days before the presidential election in which Trump needs support of farmers to help carry several Midwest states again.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Law enforcement authorities say a 16-year-old died and another was injured when they were shot while trying to rob a group of people in Des Moines. Police say 16-year-old Liem Deng and another 16-year-old were armed with handguns when they tried to rob the group early Monday on the city’s north side. An adult man in the group drew his gun and fired several times at the two teens. Police say the man had a concealed carry permit for his gun. After consulting with the Polk County Attorney’s Office, the incident was ruled self-defense and no charges will be filed.

SERGEANT BLUFF, Iowa (AP) — Iowa authorities have ruled the cause of death of a 66-year-old northwest Iowa man as undetermined after initially investigating it as a homicide. David Davenport died in October after tenants on his property found him injured inside rental property near his home in Sergeant Bluff. Authorities became aware of his death two days later, when a fire damaged his home on the property. Authorities ruled his death a homicide after a preliminary autopsy. Investigators later determined the house fire was accidental. Earlier this month, after further reviewing all the evidence, the Iowa Medical Examiner ruled the cause of Davenport’s death was undetermined.

IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) — An Iowa judge has voided absentee ballot requests in Johnson County, where the county auditor had mailed 92,000 of the forms to voters with personal information already filled in. It’s the third county in Iowa to have the ballot request forms voided after the campaign of President Donald Trump and state and national Republican Party groups challenged the county election officials. Judge Ian Thornhill sided with the Trump campaign in the Johnson County case on Saturday. He earlier ruled similarly in a Linn County case, and Judge Patrick Tott also found in favor of the Republicans in a Woodbury County case. Those rulings voided about 64,000 requests for absentee ballots

(Radio Iowa) – A spring tradition at the three state universities is falling victim to the pandemic. The University of Iowa and the University of Northern Iowa and Iowa State University have each announced plans to shift their spring semester calendars to start later than originally planned. The move includes canceling spring break to try and minimize concerns about students returning to campus and spreading COVID-19. The administrators at the schools in Ames, Iowa City and Cedar Falls say they are planning to hold a mix of virtual and in-person classes in the spring.

U-N-I and I-S-U altered their fall calendars to end the fall semester the day before Thanksgiving so students would not have to go home and come back to campus again. The University of Iowa is using the regular fall calendar — but is switching to all online classes after Thanksgiving.

(Radio Iowa) – The Iowa Department of Natural Resources is helping the U.S. Forest Service fight wildfires out west. A total of 17 Iowans have been deployed in the past month, working wildfires in California, Colorado, Idaho and Montana. With the extremely damaging and deadly fires in these states this year, the D-N-R’s state wildland fire supervisor Gail Kantak says it’s important that Iowa has resources to send.

“All the firefighters are trained really well,” Kantak says. “They go out and they get experience in fire behavior that they can’t get in Iowa. Not only are they helping by supporting the national fire program, but they’re also gaining experience and knowledge and skills that they couldn’t get at home.” Kantak says they’ll bring those skills back to Iowa, which helps improve Iowa’s fire programs. Firefighters would usually mingle a lot once they arrive at their campsite, but she says that’s been a challenge because of the pandemic.

“Everybody has masks on that they may not normally have, and they have to eat in their own module groups,” she says, “so there’s a whole lot less interaction.” At least 40 people have signed up this year to fight wildfires outside of Iowa. Kantak says the D-N-R trains the individuals, who range from local firefighters to conservation board members to college students. Currently, four Iowa firefighters along with an engine and a support vehicle are helping battle flames in Idaho, while one firefighter is assisting in California.

(reporting by Katie Peikes, Iowa Public Radio)

Federal regulators have handed a victory to corn farmers by refusing to allow a group of petroleum refiners in 14 states to forego requirements to blend ethanol into the gasoline they make. Members of Congress from farm states have heavily lobbied President Donald Trump to reject the waiver requests for months.

Those representing oil producing states supported the waivers which were originally designed to help small refineries but were also granted by EPA in recent years to larger refineries. The decision comes 50 days before the presidential election in which Trump needs support of farmers to help carry several Midwest states again.