(Radio Iowa) – The White House Coronavirus Task Force is recommending that Iowa officials order bars to close in certain areas of the state and establish face mask mandates in more than a dozen of the state’s cities. State medical director Dr. Caitlin Pedati met privately last week with Dr. Deborah Birx, a key advisor on the White House Task Force.

“We shared with her, you know, our testing and some of the information and trends that we’re seeing,” Pedati says, “some of the ways that Iowa functions, right? Because each state might have a slightly different public health system, either local or centralized.” This spring, Governor Reynolds issued tougher restrictions in counties where Covid case counts were higher, but her existing orders are statewide in scope and she has resisted calls to let local governments enact face mask mandates. Reynolds will issue an updated public health emergency proclamation today (Friday). A spokesman for the governor says it will mainly extend current regulatory relief and maintain existing guidelines for businesses like bars, restaurants and hair salons. Dr. Pedati says she has not seen an updated draft of the proclamation.

“Unfortunately, like other states we have seen a young adult population reporting social interactions and we do want to emphasize that we need people to follow the recommendations that we’re providing,” Pedati says. “…If people were to follow those recommendations, you really take away the ability for that virus to move between people.” The pandemic-related proclamation the governor signed July 24th frequently mentions the need for social distancing, enhanced hygiene and other public health measures in all sorts of settings, but it directly mentions requiring face coverings just once — for gamblers playing poker, black jack or roulette at the state-licensed casinos.

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

(LINN COUNTY) – Gov. Kim Reynolds announced Thursday night that President Donald Trump has given approval for the use of FEMA relief under the Individual Assistance program for Linn County. Reynolds said that more counties may be approved for this assistance in the future as damage is continuing to be assessed. Requests have also been made for the following counties: Audubon, Benton, Boone, Cass, Cedar, Clarke, Clinton, Dallas, Greene, Grundy, Guthrie, Hardin, Iowa, Jackson, Jasper, Johnson, Jones, Madison, Marshall, Muscatine, Polk, Poweshiek, Scott, Story, Tama and Washington.

IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) — Iowa’s medical director says she was aware of widespread inaccuracies in the state’s coronavirus data when her agency used it to release flawed calculations that helped guide decisions on school openings and enrollment this month. Dr. Caitlin Pedati, the state epidemiologist, says she became aware in late July of a problem in Iowa’s disease surveillance reporting system that backdated thousands of new test results. Nonetheless, Gov. Kim Reynolds on Aug. 6 released 14-day county positivity rates on the state’s coronavirus website that she said would help school officials and parents decide how to proceed with the upcoming school year. The state announced Wednesday that because of the backdating problem, those positivity rates had been erroneous for two weeks.

DAVENPORT, Iowa (AP) — Police say three people died in a two-car collision in Davenport. Investigators say the accident happened early Thursday when a vehicle drove through a stop sign and hit an SUV on a Davenport street. Both vehicles went into a ditch and burst into flames. The two people in the SUV and the driver of the car all died at the scene. No names have been released and the investigation continues.

WATERLOO, Iowa (AP) — Waterloo officials say a man escaped injury when a fuel tanker slammed into the home where he was sleeping. Authorities said the tanker truck hit a Waterloo home early Thursday after first being involved in crash not far from the house. Firefighters evacuated part of the neighborhood and a hazmat team was called to help with the fuel spill. The truck driver was taken to a hospital after being extricated from the truck. Officials say the truck driver apparently lost control after hitting a minivan and struck two parked SUVs in the home’s driveway before slamming into the house. Further details were not immediately available.

CORALVILLE, Iowa (AP) — An increase in coronavirus cases has prompted Iowa prison officials to stop admitting inmates from county jails to the Iowa Medical and Classification Center in Coralville. The Department of Corrections said Wednesday that 59 inmates have tested positive in the last week out of nearly 800 tests conducted at the center. When officials believe the virus is no longer spreading in the facility, they will end the suspension. Staff implemented enhanced quarantine and testing measures after an inmate tested positive for the coronavirus last week. Inmates typically are temporarily assigned to the center before being sent to another prison in Iowa’s system. The Coralville center usually admits about 65 inmates a week from jails.

(Des Moines) – A western Iowa man found responsible for the attempted murder of police officers in Stuart last Fall, was sentenced today (Thursday), to 40-years in Federal prison. 53-year old Randall Lee Comly, of Stuart, received his sentence in U-S District Court, following his guilty pleas to possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine, discharging a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime, and felon in possession of a firearm.  He will be eligible for parole after serving 85% – or 34 years – of his sentence. At his sentencing, the United States presented evidence that Comly, a multi-time convicted drug dealer, attempted to murder four law enforcement officers.

On the night of October 17, 2019, officers with the Stuart Police Department and Guthrie County Sheriff’s Office went to Comly’s residence in Stuart to arrest him on valid arrest warrants for second-degree arson and a probation violation. Comly ambushed the officers, jumped out of a closet, and emptied his gun by firing six rounds at a sheriff’s deputy who stood only a few feet away. During the resulting exchange of gunfire, two Sheriff’s deputies were shot. After the shooting, Comly barricaded himself inside the apartment and a hostage negotiation team was called.

Comly eventually gave himself up and was arrested just before midnight. A search of Comly’s residence revealed methamphetamine and items used in drug trafficking. Authorities noted Comly has a lengthy criminal history, including three prior felony drug trafficking convictions. He was serving a state term of probation when he attempted to murder the four officers on October 17, 2019. Based on Comly’s criminal history, the Court found him to be an armed career criminal.

In announcing the sentence, United States Attorney Marc Krickbaum said, “We thank and commend the law enforcement officers from the Guthrie County Sheriff’s Office and the Stuart Police Department who in this case put their lives on the line to protect the people in their community from a violent criminal. Randall Comly tried to murder those officers. He tried to take husbands away from their wives, and fathers away from their children so that he could escape justice. Justice was delivered today in federal court, and we are grateful.”

Adair County Sheriff Jeff Vandewater posted on social media, “The United States government sending a message that violent career criminals who use firearms to commit crimes are dealt with very seriously. This goal of this serious sentence is not only to promote respect for the law and to provide “just” punishment, but to deter others from similar conduct and to protect the public from future crimes being committed by this defendant.”

Special Agent in Charge of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF) Kansas City Field Division, Marino Vidoli said, “We are thankful for the heroic actions taken by these deputies and officers. At the very heart of ATF’s mission to investigate violent firearms crime is bringing armed criminals like Randall
Comly to justice. Today’s sentencing ensures that he will be held accountable for his dangerous actions and prevented from engaging in further violence.”

The investigation was spearheaded by the ATF. Investigative support was provided by the Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation, Adair County Sheriff’s Office, Guthrie County Sheriff’s Office, and the Stuart Police Department. This case was prosecuted by the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District
of Iowa, with assistance from the Adair County Attorney’s Office.

(Radio Iowa) – Waterloo police say a man crashed his car this morning (Thursday) and then got into a fuel tanker and crashed it into a house as he tried to get away. Major Joe Leibold says officers responded after reports of the car wreck.

A man was sleeping in the home and escaped without injury. Firefighters evacuated part of the neighborhood and a hazmat team was called to help with the fuel spill. Leibold says the fuel was everywhere.

The truck driver was taken to a hospital after being pulled form the truck that had flipped over. Liebold says they will release the man’s name and decide on charges after he has been treated at the hospital.

IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) — Iowa’s medical director says she was aware of widespread inaccuracies in the state’s coronavirus data when her agency used it to release flawed calculations that helped guide decisions on school openings and enrollment this month. Dr. Caitlin Pedati, the state epidemiologist, says she became aware in late July of a problem in Iowa’s disease surveillance reporting system that backdated thousands of new test results.

FILE – In this June 18, 2020, file photo, Iowa state epidemiologist Dr. Caitlin Pedati updates the state’s response to the coronavirus outbreak during a news conference at the Statehouse in Des Moines, Iowa. Pedati said Thursday, Aug. 20, 2020, that she was aware of widespread inaccuracies in the state’s coronavirus data when her agency used it to release flawed calculations that helped guide decisions on school openings and enrollment this month. Dr. Pedati said she became aware in late July of a problem in Iowa’s disease surveillance reporting system that backdated thousands of new test results. (AP Photo/Charlie Neibergall, Pool, File)

Nonetheless, Gov. Kim Reynolds on Aug. 6 released 14-day county positivity rates on the state’s coronavirus website that she said would help school officials and parents decide how to proceed with the upcoming school year. The state announced Wednesday that because of the backdating problem, those positivity rates had been erroneous for two weeks.

(Radio Iowa) – As experts survey storm damage, estimates on wind speeds from last week’s destructive derecho continue to climb — and are now well into record territory. Rich Kinney is the warning coordination meteorologist at the National Weather Service in the Quad Cities and he’s inspected the devastation himself in communities across eastern Iowa. “The maximum estimated winds at this point are around 140 miles an hour,” Kinney says, “and that’s associated with structural damage in the Cedar Rapids area.”

Wind speeds for a major, Category Four hurricane range from 130 to 156 miles an hour — lending credence to those who’ve called this powerful storm a “prairie hurricane.” Kinney, who’s been with the weather service 23 years, says he’s never seen this type of destruction before, especially in Iowa. Cedar Rapids got the worst of it, he says.  “Some apartment complexes where the entire roof was lifted off,” Kinney says. “Most of the exterior walls on the top floor were gone and a few of the interior walls as well.”

KROS radio tower blown down by the derecho.

The highest estimated winds in this storm were gusts of 126 miles an hour, recorded at a home weather station of an emergency manager in the Benton County town of Atkins. The estimated winds of 140 miles an hour that were based on the structural damage -could- be an all-time Iowa record for straight-line winds. Might they go even higher? “That is hard to say,” Kinney says, “because we’re still getting additional reports coming in daily, even ten days after the incident.”

Gusts between 120 and 140 miles an hour are now estimated in three main areas of eastern Iowa: a long stretch across Linn County which includes Cedar Rapids, and smaller patches in and around the city of Clinton and straddling both Jones and Cedar counties. With state damage estimates approaching four-billion dollars, Kinney says this will likely go down as the most powerful derecho Iowa’s ever seen, especially given the long-duration winds. “For a lot of folks, that’s what really made it seem like you were experiencing a hurricane,” Kinney says. “We had many locations with sustained, strong winds and extreme gusts for 30 to 45 minutes or so.”

A radio antenna near Van Horne that was rated to be able to withstand 125 mile per hour winds was snapped off in the storm. Another radio tower in Clinton, carrying the signal of Radio Iowa affiliate K-R-O-S, was flattened in winds Kinney estimates at 130 miles an hour.

DAVENPORT, Iowa (AP) — Police say three people died in a two-car collision in Davenport. Investigators say the accident happened early Thursday when a vehicle drove through a stop sign and hit an SUV on a Davenport street. Both vehicles went into a ditch and burst into flames. The two people in the SUV and the driver of the car all died at the scene. No names have been released and the investigation continues.

DAVENPORT, Iowa – The U-S Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Iowa reports, a United States District Court Judge sentenced a 24-year old Rock Island, IL. man to 10-months in prison, for assault on a postal worker. Bryan Christopher Hanson was also ordered to serve three years of supervised release to follow his prison term and pay $100 to the Crime Victims’ Fund.

On November 18th, 2019, Hanson pleaded guilty to the offense. The investigation began after a report was made by a mail carrier that a male was harassing her. Hanson sought the postal
carrier out and physically grabbed her while she was on duty. She was able to run away, but the defendant continued to pursue and got into his car and followed her. The mail carrier received
help from a bystander before police arrived.

The matter was investigated by the United States Postal Inspection Service and the case was prosecuted by the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Iowa.

WATERLOO, Iowa (AP) — Waterloo officials say a man escaped injury when a fuel tanker slammed into the home where he was sleeping. Authorities said the tanker truck hit a Waterloo home early Thursday after first being involved in crash not far from the house. Firefighters evacuated part of the neighborhood and a hazmat team was called to help with the fuel spill. The truck driver was taken to a hospital after being extricated from the truck. Officials say the truck driver apparently lost control after hitting a minivan and struck two parked SUVs in the home’s driveway before slamming into the house.

Images from the scene show the rig overturned partially inside but mostly outside the house. Further details were not immediately available.

(Radio Iowa) Some 200 refugee families have transitioned into temporary housing in Cedar Rapids, leaving behind devastated apartments they were living in and around, even after they were condemned. Residents of the Cedar Terrace Apartments spent days sleeping on the ground, in tents, cars and even inside destroyed units. Kobinali Lwishi said his family rode out the storm on the top floor as the roof was torn off. They survived, but they lost all of their possessions. “The way you see me, that’s the way I am right now. I don’t have nothing. I don’t have anything,” Lwishi says. “Something I have right now is just water, diapers, for the people help me, but in my apartment I didn’t get anything.”

Lwishi says he and his family have moved in with a friend for now, but long-term, he doesn’t know what they’ll do.  “Exactly we don’t have any place to go for now,” Lwishi says. “Because some apartments, they are booked already. They don’t have any available apartments.” Refugee advocates, service providers and local officials helped transition the families into shelters and hotels. Others are living with friends, or have left the city entirely. Residents in the area were already struggling to find affordable housing and that need is expected to spike in the wake of the storm. Meanwhile, Linn County is closing its overnight shelter in Palo, as the Red Cross says residents preferred to be at the shelter in Cedar Rapids.

That shelter at the Veterans Memorial Building in Cedar Rapids has capacity for about 150 people, and Red Cross spokesman Peter Teahen says coronavirus protocols are in place. Teahen says, “I would strongly encourage, if anyone feels they would like a safe place to stay, with air conditioning, electricity, meals, care and attention, the best place to come is Veterans Memorial Building, now with the entrance on Second Avenue.”

The Palo shelter will now house the agency’s staff, which will open up some local hotel rooms. Teahen says the Red Cross is working to transition displaced residents into hotels, but finding available rooms is still an issue.

(By Kate Payne, Iowa Public Radio)