IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) — Regulators declined to inspect an Iowa pork plant after receiving a complaint alleging insufficient efforts were being made to halt the spread of the coronavirus. One state senator says that decision failed workers and allowed an outbreak to grow. An April 11 complaint to the Iowa Occupational Safety and Health Administration says employees at the Tyson Foods plant in Perry, Iowa, worked “elbow to elbow” and that social distancing was near impossible.

Records show Iowa OSHA waited nine days before contacting Tyson, which took eight days to respond. The agency described Tyson’s voluntary safety efforts as “satisfactory.” A week later, the state announced 730 workers tested positive.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — As businesses across the state are beginning to reopen, Goodwill of Central Iowa has announced plans to permanently close four retail store as well as a career center. The nonprofit organization said last week it had permanently closed stores in Grinnell, Oskaloosa, Waukee and south Des Moines because of the financial hardship of restrictions imposed in an effort to slow the spread of the coronavirus.

Goodwill has opened stores in Ames, Ankeny, Des Moines, Johnston, Indianola, Marshalltown, Ottumwa, Urbandale and two stores in West Des Moines. The organization also has closed the south Des Moines outlet and career connection center.

Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds, today (Monday) said 103,148 Iowans have been tested for COVID-19. Officials reported 304 new positive cases and 4 deaths. That brings the statewide total to 14,955 positive cases and 355 deaths. Reynolds said 7,324 have recovered, for a recovery rate of 49%, and hospitalizations continued to remain relatively flat for the past week. With that having been said, according to the Governor, Iowa “continues the trend in right direction to recovery,” with regard to COVID-19.

(She said that validates the time is right to move into the “recovery” phase of COVID-19.”)

The latest data shows there are currently 382 patients hospitalized, with 121 listed in intensive care. IDPH reported 47 patients admitted in the last 24 hours, with 85 patients on ventilators. IDPH reported 3,810 inpatient beds available, with 483 ICU beds available. There are currently 732 ventilators available. There are COVID-19 outbreaks reported in 36 of Iowa’s long-term care facilities. That number is down from 37 reported on Sunday. Reynolds said regardless of whether Iowans choose to resume their normal activities or choose to wait, only you know what’s best for your family. There is no mandate for businesses to re-open at a limited capacity, she said, or for Iowans to anything they’re not ready to do.

She said Iowa is at a point where “We can and must strike a balance between managing virus activity for the long-term, and getting our economy up and running again.”

The Governor said also, the State’s COVID-019 database is being updated to provide more timely information.

She said also, that a new, dedicated call center for TestIowa is open.

The number is available on the TestIowa.com website. Any other questions related to COVID-19 may be addressed by calling 2-1-1.

Atlantic Police and Medivac Ambulance responded at around 10-a.m. today, to a single-vehicle rollover accident. The incident happened on 22^nd Street.  One person was transported by private vehicle to the hospital, to be checked out. Additional details were not immediately available.

(Radio Iowa) — U-S Census Bureau workers are shifting to a new phase this week in the effort to count how many people call Iowa home. Gary Krob, coordinator of the State of Iowa Data Center — the lead state agency managing the state’s census data, says so far, so good for the once-a-decade census. “Sixty-six-point-four percent of all Iowa households have responded,” Krob says. “The national response rate right now is actually 59.5%, so we’re doing better than the national rate. We’re currently ranked third in the country behind Minnesota and Wisconsin.”

Krob, who serves on the State of Iowa 2020 Census Complete Count Committee, says postcards were mailed to every Iowa address in March, directing recipients to either a website or a phone number to complete this year’s census. “What’s going to start happening this week is that the Census Bureau will be going out to households that don’t have what’s considered a traditional mailing address, so, people who wouldn’t have gotten a postcard yet,” Krob says. “They’re going to drop off the forms to those households and it’s really only about less than 1% of the households in the state of Iowa.”

Due to coronavirus, many deadlines are being pushed back. Census workers won’t start following up with non-responsive households until mid-August, about a month later than normal. People are sometimes wary of anyone who comes to their door, but Krob says Census workers will be easy to identify. “They’ll have I-D, they’ll have a badge, there’ll be a phone number you can call, there will be ways for people who have a worker at their door to identify them and to verify it’s legit,” Krob says. “The easiest way to avoid that is to go online and fill out the form or use the phone number and fill it out that way. If you do that, then no one’s going to be knocking on your door.”

Census data will be used to determine the size of Iowa’s slices from multiple federal pies over the next decade. Iowa has more than $8.7 billion at stake through 55 different programs which consider population as part of their distribution formula. Census figures also determine Iowa’s representation in Congress.

(Radio Iowa) — Four Democrats seeking the opportunity to challenge Iowa Republican U-S Senator Joni Ernst in November will appear together TONIGHT n the first televised forum of the 2020 campaign. Chris Larimer, a political science professor at the University of Northern Iowa, doesn’t expect the candidates to be that critical of one another. “I think where the criticism will go toward President Trump and potentially Governor Reynolds will be on management style,” Larimer says.

The four candidates running are Mike Franken, Kimberly Graham, Theresa Greenfield and Eddie Mauro. Tonight’s debate begins at 8 p.m. and will be broadcast on Iowa P-B-S. There will be no studio audience. While the candidates will be on the same stage, they’ll stand than six feet from one another and there will be huge planks of vertical plexiglass providing additional safety barriers.

Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds’ Monday press conference on COVID-19. We will have live audio on KJAN as well. The press conference is set to begin at approximately 11:00 a.m.

The Atlantic City Council will meet 5:30-p.m. Wednesday in their chambers at City Hall, the first meeting held in the same room since the electronic, social distancing sessions via ZOOM began April 1st.  The last time they met together in the same room was the meeting held March 4th. During this Wednesday’s meeting, Mayor Dave Jones will swear-in the City’s newest Police Officer, Tayte Schoff, who was selected from a highly qualified and competitive pool of applicants. Schoff replaces a full-time officer who left a few months ago. Originally from Iowa, Officer Schoff comes to the City from Scotland County, MO., where he served as a Deputy with the Sheriff’s Office. His first day on the force in Atlantic, was March 17, 2020.

After he’s sworn-in, the Atlantic City Council will review bids for the Atlantic Facade Rehabilitation Project, made possible through a Community Development Block Grant. City Administrator John Lund says only two bids were received, one from Cornerstone Commercial Contractors, Inc., of Corning, and United Construction, in Atlantic. The bids, which were close, came in well below the projected cost of $520,000. Lund is expected to recommend the Council approve the low bid of $422,009 from Cornerstone Contractors. The facade project will include the following businesses on Chestnut Street:

• Nails & Spa
• Brymon’s Interiors
• Meredith Communications
• The Fog Zone

as well 509, 511 and 514 Chestnut. After acting on a Resolution to approve the recommended bid, the Atlantic City Council will take action on a request from property owner Tad Wonio, to reverse an abatement at 602 Maple Street. The property has been the subject of repeated complaints and violations of an Ordinance against nuisance household waste and junk, dating back to March 1st. City crews cleaned-up the property on March 13th, after repeated notices were sent about the mess. The City then billed Wonio $937 for equipment, labor and materials necessary to get rid of the trash.

In other business, the Council will act on approving a Resolution “To change the Federal Functional Classification System on Atlantic Roadways,”: from Urban Local to Urban Collector for Highland Road from the south Urban Area Boundary north, then east on Marne Ave. to Highway 83; from Urban Minor Arterial to Urban Local, for W. 6th Street from the west Urban Area Boundary east to Sunnyside Lane, and Sunnyside Lane from W. 6th Street to Highway 6. A similar Resolution was approved May 12th by the Cass County Board of Supervisors.

The Council will hold a Public Hearing for an amendment to the FY 2020 Budget, which John Lund says is a routine matter, and involves only a few changes with regard to revenue and expenditures. They will also act on a Resolution setting June 17th as the date for a Public Hearing on “Designation of the Expanded North Urban Renewal Area and on [an] Urban Renewal Plan Amendment,” with regard to the Whitney Group Development agreement that was approved by the Council in 2017, but has since run into some legal snags pertaining to Tax Increment Financing (TIF). John Lund says he and the City’s Legal Counsel, John Danos have worked out a solution to the matter, which he will explain during this Wednesday’s meeting.

Their final items of business include the third and final reading of an Ordinance making the north side of E. 12th Street a “No Parking” zone, and, an order to close 6th Street between Chestnut and Poplar on Thursday evenings, from 3-to 6:45-p.m. June 4th through Sept. 24th, for “Produce in the Park,” held in the downtown Atlantic City Park.

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

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(Radio Iowa) — The state’s bars and casinos are still waiting to get the okay from the governor to reopen after restrictions were lifted on restaurants and many other businesses. Iowa Racing and Gaming administrator Brian Ohorilko says the 19 state-licensed casinos will follow a thoughtful, slow process when they are given the green light. “It’s not just a situation where when they can open that we’ll see the doors spring open and lots of people come in and we’re back to how things used to be that will certainly not be the case,” Ohorilko says.

Ohorilko says he expects there will be limits on how many people will be allowed at each property. “So customers may not be able to touch the cards as much as they used to, we’ll see seating removed to promote social distancing,” he explains. Buffet meals have been a staple at the casinos and he says they will likely have a new look too. “Many of the food and beverage outlets, I do not believe we’ll see customers being able to get their own food like you would see at a normal buffet,” Ohorilko says.

The casinos saw thousands of customers come through their doors every day before they were shut down.