Here is the latest Iowa news from The Associated Press

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — A White House coronavirus task force has issued new recommendations for Iowa to mandate face masks and close bars in the state’s largest cities to slow the spread of COVID-19. So far, Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds hasn’t acted on those recommendations. The Des Moines Register reports that the new recommendations were included in an Aug. 9 report from the task force. The task force’s leader, Dr. Deborah Birx, discussed the recommendations last week with Iowa’s state epidemiologist, Dr. Caitlin Pedati. The report also said bars should be closed, gyms should be closed or limited to 25% of capacity, and social gatherings should be limited to 25 or fewer people in 17 metro areas and 48 counties.

IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) — Iowa says its largest school district cannot begin the year with fully remote learning and must offer at least 50% in-person instruction, despite a worsening coronavirus pandemic. Des Moines Public Schools, which has 32,000 students and 5,000 employees, is blasting the decision by Gov. Kim Reynolds’ administration to deny its request for a waiver to allow for 100% online learning. The district announced that it will file a lawsuit to challenge the state’s order to reopen schools, a prospect that it says is simply unsafe as the virus spreads through Iowa. The looming legal showdown creates more uncertainty around the upcoming school year.

IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) — The University of Iowa is cutting four athletic programs to cope with lost revenue because of the coronavirus pandemic. The Waterloo-Cedar Falls Courier reports that Iowa announced Friday that its men’s gymnastics, men’s and women’s swimming and diving and men’s tennis programs will be discontinued at the conclusion of the 2021-22 academic year. Finances are tight after the Big Ten decided to scrap plans for a fall sports season because of the coronavirus crisis. The university will continue to honor all existing scholarships through graduation for student-athletes who choose to remain at Iowa.

A school district in southeast Iowa’s Marion County will be closed for a couple of days at the start of the upcoming week for thorough cleaning, after an outbreak of COVID-19. According to KCCI, officials with the Twin Cedars Community School District sent out a notice to families stating, “We are sad to report that we have had multiple staff members test positive for COVID-19. As well, there are several others awaiting results from testing. These positive tests will require a majority of our elementary school students to be in quarantine for 14 days.”

The district said it would notify the parents of the student impacted. Due to the positive cases, the entire district will be closed on Monday and Tuesday for cleaning, and officials would rely on the Marion County Public Health Department for guidance and consultation.

On Friday, out of an abundance of caution, the school canceled a football scrimmage against Melcher-Dallas.

A collision between a pickup and an SUV Saturday near Waterloo, claimed the life of an eastern Iowa man. The Iowa State Patrol reports a 2005 Ford F-150 pickup driven by 63-year old Robert Schmaltz, of Raymond, IA, was traveling southbound on I-380 near mile marker 68 at around 11:10-a.m., in the right, outside lane, during a heavy rain storm.

The pickup merged to the left, inside lane and struck the rear of a 2013 Chevy Captiva SUV, driven by 20-year old Emily Droste, of Center Point. The impact caused both vehicles to spin out and come to rest in the outside ditch.

Robert Schmaltz, who was wearing a seat belt, died at the scene.  The Patrol was assisted by Evansdale Police, Fire & EMS, and Black Hawk County Sheriff’s Deputies.

(Council Bluffs) – Connections Area Agency on Aging has announced the organization is offering two, evidence-based workshop series starting in September to benefit Caregivers: “Stress-Busting Program for Family Caregivers” is proven to reduce stress, anxiety, and depression and improve the quality of life for family caregivers. “Powerful Tools for Family Caregivers” provide caregivers with tools and strategies to better handle the unique caregiver challenges you face.

Are you a Caregiver?  Caregiving takes many forms.  You may help a relative or friend with transportation, housekeeping, grocery shopping, personal care, medications, emotional support, or doctor appointments. Caregiver classes meet online (via Zoom) once a week starting September 17.  Each class runs 90 minutes.  It is for caregivers of adults with chronic conditions.

Class size is limited, and registration is required.  There is no cost for the program but you will receive an opportunity to donate.  For more information, contact Jan Schnack, Family Caregiver Specialist at Connections Area Agency on Aging at 800-432-9209, Ext. 8116 or JSchnack@connectionsaaa.org

Connections Area Agency on Aging Family Caregiver Program supports people who care for their parents, spouses, or others aged 60+ by providing information, resources and support.

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

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (5.7MB)

Subscribe: RSS

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

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (6.6MB)

Subscribe: RSS

DES MOINES – Today (Friday), Gov. Reynolds signed a new proclamation continuing the Public Health Disaster Emergency for another 30 days.

The proclamation extends public health mitigation measures currently in place for businesses and other establishments. This includes the requirements for bars and restaurants to ensure six feet of physical distance between each group or individual dining or drinking; to ensure all patrons have a seat at a table or bar; and to limit congregating together closer than six feet. Requirements for social distancing, hygiene, and other public health measures to reduce the risk of transmission also remain in place for gyms, casinos, salons, theaters, and other establishments.

As Gov. Reynolds announced yesterday (Thursday), the proclamation also authorizes school districts with buildings damaged by the derecho natural disaster to offer instruction by primarily remote learning with approval of the Department of Education. And those that are unable to conduct even primarily remote learning because of the derecho may apply for a waiver of instructional time from the Department.

In addition, the proclamation suspends certain fees for the replacement of official records by county recorders or the state registrar of vital statistics for records lost, destroyed, or damaged by the derecho natural disaster. The proclamation also extends many of the previously issued regulatory relief measures necessary to respond to this public health disaster, including those related to healthcare, professional licensure, educational workforce, and expiration of driver’s licenses.

The proclamation is now in effect until 11:59 p.m. on Sunday, September 20, 2020.

The proclamation can be found online here

(Radio Iowa) – Iowans who are trying to rebuild their homes and lives after last week’s derecho are finding it very difficult to find certain supplies, from fence boards and two-by-fours to refrigerators and toilets. Jay Iverson, executive officer of the Homebuilders Association of Iowa, says lumber prices were bounding -before- the powerful storm hit, in part, due to trade tariffs.

“It is difficult and those tariffs were only part of the problem,” Iverson says. “Supply and demand is a bigger part of the problem, especially with the states that were closed down with the virus, including construction. When those opened back up, it really started pulling a lot of those resources.” Prices on some lumber imported from Canada have risen 80-percent in recent months, while wood supplies are depleted in many home improvement stores stretching from Des Moines to Davenport — especially in Cedar Rapids.

“They’re six weeks out on vinyl siding, too,” Iverson says. “Part of that is virus-related and the plants being shut down for periods of time.” Hundreds, perhaps thousands of Iowa homeowners lost fences during the destructive winds, which gusted up to 140 miles an hour in eastern Iowa. Good luck trying to find those six-foot dog-ear-cut cedar boards to rebuild a fence, he says, as most stores are sold out, though supplies may be plentiful in areas that weren’t touched by the storm.

“That is going to be a problem unless they start moving that inventory around, because you’re right, there are stockpiles in other parts of the country,” Iverson says. “I know they’re shuttling a lot of that between those big box stores.” For Iowans who had severe storm damage to their homes who need to replace a kitchen for example, or those who were in the process of building a new house, timetables are all being pushed back — by COVID-19 and now by the derecho.

“Electrical equipment, appliances are in very short supply, a lot of the Mexican plants have been closed down because of the virus so appliances are very difficult to obtain,” Iverson says. “Some issues with other supply chains, like in China. China produces a lot of the plumbing products.” A report from the Iowa Association of Realtors finds home sales took a healthy jump in July, bounding more than 18-percent compared to a year ago.

Statewide, more than 52-hundred homes sold last month. The association says the median sale price was 185-thousand dollars. There’s plenty of business out there, Iverson says, and there’s no decline in the number of orders — it will just take time for supplies of raw materials to catch up and be able to meet demand.

(Radio Iowa)  – Drought conditions continue to expand in Iowa, covering nearly 88 percent of the state. State Climatologist Justin Glisan says rainfall in western Iowa over the last six months is as much as a foot below normal — and in Iowa’s extreme drought region last week’s derecho dropped between a half inch to an inch of rain. “For a drought buster to take really hold you would need measurable rainfall every five-to-seven days for a few months to really start eating into those precipitation deficits,” Glisan says.

The latest drought report was issued yesterday (Thursday). It classifies new areas of southern Iowa as abnormally dry and parts of northeast Iowa as moderately dry. Extreme drought conditions are reported in all or part of a dozen west central counties, including the cities of Carroll, Jefferson and Audubon. “It’s not looking like we’re going to get measurable rainfall that we need over the next seven days,” Glisan says.

Glisan says there may be more chances for rain as summer ends and storms tend to produce up to an inch of gentle rainfall over several hours. Until then, Glisan says weather systems over Minnesota and Missouri could shift and produce rain over Iowa and hurricane season could have an impact. “The tropics are starting to heat up again. There’s a possibility of two landfalls in the Gulf of Mexico,” he says. “If those tropical systems do make inroads into the United States, we might be able to seed some moisture into the Midwest, making conditions more favorable for rainfall.”

The U.S. Drought Monitor indicates areas of southwest and southeast Iowa are NOT in the drought zone.