CLARINDA – The Iowa Department of Corrections said Thursday, “Earlier today, the Clarinda Correctional Facility (CCF) was notified that an inmate has tested positive for COVID-19. The inmate is an adult (between the ages of 18 and 40) male, and has been in medical isolation since first notifying staff that he was not feeling well on Saturday, April 25. Staff at CCF acted swiftly to also place the unit that the inmate was originally residing into a quarantine status until the results of the test could be determined.

Working with the Iowa Dept. of Public Health and the State Hygienic Lab, CCF will be conducting additional testing of staff and inmates at the facility to identify those that might be carrying the virus while asymptomatic. The inmate that tested positive, who has been at this prison for several months, has been recovering in medical isolation, and has experienced mild symptoms. He is being monitored by medical staff regularly.”

The department says it has been preparing for the eventuality of COVID-19 in the prison system for more than a month. An outline of the steps that have been taken can be found at doc.iowa.gov/department-corrections-steps, and more information related to COVID-19 in the DOC can be found at doc.iowa.gov/COVID19. For members of the public with questions about COVID-19 in the prison system, a hotline is available during business hours Monday-Friday by calling (515) 373-5457.

CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa (AP) — Officials say a second person who works within the Black Hawk County Jail in north-central Iowa has tested positive for COVID-19. The Black Hawk County Sheriff’s Office says an employee of Summit Food Services, the company that prepares meals for inmates, has been infected with the virus. Sheriff’s Capt. Nathan Neff says the kitchen staff has very limited contact with jail staff and no contact with inmates. Earlier in the week, the jail announced that a nurse who works the overnight shift at the jail had also tested positive. Officials said the nurse had very little contact with staff and inmates.

In her daily press briefing, Thursday (today) Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds said over the previous 24-hours, the State has had 302 new, positive test results confirmed for COVID-19, for a total of 7,145. 89% of those positive results came from 22 counties where restrictions remain in-place. 198 of the new cases came from Black Hawk, Dallas and Polk Counties. There were also 1,028 new, Negative COVID-19 test results returned from the labs, for a total of 35,552. Nearly 2,700 Iowans have recovered from the virus, for a recovery rate of 38%.

14 Iowans have died from COVID-19 over the past 24-reporting hours, for a total of 162. Five of the deaths occurred in Muscatine County, three each in Linn and Polk Counties, and one each in Dubuque, Marshall and Scott Counties. Reynolds warned that even though restrictions placed on some businesses and gatherings to slow the spread of the Coronavirus are being partially lifted on Friday, Iowan’s must expect “Normal to look and feel a little different for a while.”

She said if Iowan’s continue to do their part to limit the spread of COVID-19, life can get back to normal “In a safe and responsible way.”

(Updated) With regard to other State data, the Governor said across the six RMCC’s (Regional Medical Classification Centers):

• 335 Iowans are hospitalized with COVID-19
• 49 have been admitted within the past 24-hours
• 121 COVID-19 patients are in an ICU
• 86 are on ventilators.

There are currently 3,943 In-patient beds available for COVID-19 patients, 554 ICU beds, and 658 ventilators available.

The Cass County Board of Supervisors conducted and electronic meeting this (Thursday) morning, via Zoom conferencing. During their session, the Board held a Public Hearing with regard to funding the County has received for COVID-19 response. The County, working with the Cass County Food Policy Council, SWITA, County Food Pantries and Public Health, plans to increase capacity of the food delivery system and food access in Cass County, through a CDBG (Community Development Block Grant) in the amount of $86,580.

Afterward, the Board acted to approve resolutions adopting certain policies, rules and regulations during the performance of a CDBG, and they approved a Sale of Service Contract with SWIPCO/SWITA for the CDBG project. The Supervisors then acted to approve a Cass County/ISU Extension COVID-19 Mobile Food for All contract for the aforementioned CDBG.

In other business, the Board approved and amended resolution to appoint a Cass County Representative/Commissioner to the Regional Housing Authority for a three-year term, retro-active to April 9, 2020. And, they agreed to authorize the Southwest Iowa Mental Health/MHDS Governing Board representative to sign the amended SWIA MHDS 28-E agreement.

The Board the reviewed the deadline for employees to complete their Wellness Programs, in order to qualify for incentives that include a discounted health insurance premium contribution rate, and acted on approving the deadline.

And finally, the Cass County Supervisors opened, read and considered bids for a bridge replacement project (#263) at 700^th Street and Independence Road, Four bids were received. A-M Cohron’s bid was $83,153.70; Cunningham-Reis’ bid was $75,900; Murphy Heaving Contracting submitted a bid of $110,800.10; The final bid was from Nelson and Rock Contracting, Inc. was for $169,400.

The Board elected to approve the bid from Cunningham-Reis.

Atlantic Public Library Director Michelle Andersen reports the library is working very diligently to be ready to open the facility, but there is not yet a set date to open, because (as of today, 4/30) they are waiting on the delivery of cleaning supplies needed to safely sanitize surfaces and hands when they are open. Once those orders are received, Andersen says the Library will be open on Monday-Wednesday-and Friday’s only using the CDC and IDPH guidelines (as follows);

• Stay home if you are sick
• Please wear a mask or something that covers your nose & mouth when you are in the building. Staff will wear masks while interacting with the public.
• There can be no more than 30 people in the library at any given time.
• The library will not be a gathering place for groups or have seating available for more than one person per table.
• All material must be returned in a book drop or in the lobby. Returned materials will be quarantined for 48-hours and sanitized before being made available on the shelf.
• Only half of the public computers will be available in order to accommodate social distancing.
• All children (ages 12 and under) must be accompanied by an adult while in the building.
• Grab & Gopick-up appointments will be available every Thursday10 am to 5 pm.Materials requests and appointments must be made by Wednesday of each week to qualify for Thursday pick up.
• The first hour of each day (9-10 am) is designated for patrons who are especially vulnerable to sickness. These individuals are also encouraged to continue to use the Grab & Go service.
• The reading garden will remain closed except for Grab & Go pick-ups.
• No in-person programs. Look for announcements about online programs.
• No in-library activities (puzzles, coloring pages, games, makerspace, etc.) will be available.
• No meeting room reservations
• No interlibrary loan or homebound services.
• No walk-up copy service downstairs. Staff assisted copier still available upstairs.

This plan will be implemented for the month of May before re-evaluating services and days open. If the library is directed to close again from a state agency or local public health agency, we will close.One more note: the summer reading program will still happen in June and July, but it will feel very different from past years. Participants can fill out reading logs online through Beanstack or on paper. There will still be special programs and activities but you will participate from home. More details will be available later in May. Please contact library director Michelle Andersen with questions at 243-5466 or atlanticpubliclibrary@gmail.com

During a special meeting of the Exira-EHK School Board, Wednesday evening, the Board approved a bid for air conditioning at the Elk Horn School gymnasium. Superintendent Trevor Miller says they had six different contractors offering a wide-range of bids for the project, with the top end coming in at $310,000. The Board chose to go with ACI Mechanical, of Ames. Their bid was $209,902.

Miller says there is an expected 8-12 week wait to get the equipment. He said also, the Board passed a resolution for an Interfund Transfer.

The board also took action on personnel matters, including the resignations of High School English Teacher and Coach Jill Johnston, and Para Educator Barb Paulsen, who is retiring. Taylor Krohn was hired as the -12 English Teacher.

Mr. Miller said also, Exira-EHK’s prom was set for June 13^th, depending on if things are open or closed. Graduation will be a virtual and drive-thru event.

(Radio Iowa) — If online orders for seeds and plants are any indication, there will likely be many more backyard gardens around the state this year. Since mid-March, interest in garden seeds and plants has quadrupled at the Midwest headquarters of Earl May in Shenandoah. Spokeswoman Deanna Anderson says online orders came in at an astonishing pace. “It was an interesting time for us,” Anderson says. “It was kind of fun, back to the catalog days for us. We really liked that and we love sharing our knowledge with our customers and hope that they continue throughout the next several years.”

Anderson says onion sets and seed potatoes flew off the shelves. Now that the weather is more springlike, she says tomato plants are growing more popular.  “As we’re getting into this warmer weather, especially this last ten days of really nice weather and it looks like we’re going to have great weather for the next few days, you can definitely see that itch for people to get out,” Anderson says. “They’re wanting to put stuff into their yard and their garden so they can do stuff with their kids.”

She says many customers say they‘re planting a garden for the first time or haven’t had one for several years. Earl May has 29 garden centers the Midwest including Iowa, Nebraska, Missouri and Kansas.

The Union County Sheriff’s Office reports a Ringgold County man was arrested Wednesday morning on a Union County warrant for Sexual Abuse in the 3rd Degree. 20-year old Kaden Lee Witt, of Redding, was arrested at the Union County Law Enforcement Center, and later released on a  $10,000 bond.

Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds’ Thursday press conference on COVID-19. We plan on providing live audio of the presser on KJAN as well. The press conference is set to begin at approximately 11:00 a.m.

(Radio Iowa) — A giant food processing company that was recently forced to shut down its  plants in Columbus Junction, Perry and Waterloo due to coronavirus outbreaks now plans to double employee bonuses. Tyson Foods, Inc., announced in a press release Wednesday that the company will be paying an extra $120 million in bonuses to frontline workers and truckers. Earlier this month, Tyson said the amount would be $60 million. Under the program, 116,000 Tyson workers are eligible to receive two $500 payments – one in May and one in July.

According the press release, Tyson Foods is also increasing short-term disability benefits through the end of June for team members who are unable to work due to illness. The company says its also increasing employee screening and implementing other safety measures designed to protect production workers from the virus.