Mills County Public Health has been notified of a third confirmed case of novel coronavirus (COVID-19). The person is a minor, under 18 years of age and is isolated at home. Mills County Public Health has conducted contact tracing investigation for this case to identify close contacts who should monitor their health symptoms and self-isolate. All known individuals who have had close contact with this confirmed case have been notified and are also in isolation per Iowa Department of Public Health protocol.

Officials say “As we continue to navigate through this pandemic, we encourage our residents to continue to use good judgment in the decisions they make. All residents are urged to stay home as much as possible, stay away from groups of people and maintain a 6-foot distance from other individuals. We remind all residents to continue to practice social distancing, wash your hands frequently with soap and water for at least 20 seconds, cover coughs and sneezes with a tissue or elbow/upper arm and stay at home when you are ill.”

For up-to-date information on COVID-19, visit Mills County Coronavirus webpage at
http://covid19.millscoia.us

CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa (AP) — Police have announced the arrest of a woman in Illinois for her alleged role in the October shooting death of a man in Cedar Rapids. Police say in a news release that 21-year-old Kiara Kathy La Shae Morrise, of Cedar Rapids, turned herself in to police in Knox County, Illinois, on Friday. An Iowa warrant charges Morrise with being an accessory to the Oct. 30 shooting death of 27-year-old Reginald Ward Jr. In late March, police arrested and charged 24-year-old Todd Jenkins with first-degree murder and going armed with intent. Police say Jenkins chased down Ward and shot him at a Cedar Rapids convenience store.

In her report on Iowa’s COVID-19 status, Governor Kim Reynolds, today (Friday) said there were:

• 740 new, positive cases of the virus, for a total of 7,885.
• 85% of the new cases are from the 22 counties where restrictions remain in place. 516 are from Black Hawk, Dallas, Polk and Woodbury Counties.
• 2,186 new Negative test cases for COVID-19, for a total of 37,708
• 45, 593 total tests have been conducted for a per capita rate of 1-in every-69 Iowans.
• 2,899 Iowans have recovered, for a recovery rate of 37%.
• 345 are hospitalized.
• 8 additional deaths reported for the past 24-hours, for a total of 170.

The additional 8 deaths were reported in the following counties:

• Bremer County, 1 elderly adult (81+)
• Linn County, 2 middle-age adults (41-60 years)
• Muscatine County, 1 older adult (61-80 years), 1 elderly adult (81+)
• Polk County, 2 elderly adults (81+)
• Scott County, 1 middle-age adult (41-60 years)

Deaths continue to be among older adults and those with underlying health conditions.

Reynolds said if Iowans are still waiting for their TestIowa.com test results, they should be receiving them this weekend. The delay is attributed to a higher volume of tests received and the necessary validation process.

(She said the numbers of Iowans impacted by the Coronavirus are expected to be higher than usual when reported this weekend due to the high volume of tests being conducted among essential workers in communities and facilities where virus activity is high.)

With 77 counties seeing a reduction in social gathering and business operating restrictions as of today (Friday), religious services are now also permitted statewide, but with restrictions. Iowa Department of Public Health deputy director Sarah Reisetter says they’re getting questions about what constitutes a worship service:

Firefighters in Glenwood were called the scene of a manufactured home early this (Friday) morning. According to reports, the incident at the Timber Ridge Manufactured Home Community on 225th Street happened at around midnight. Authorities say the fire started by smoking materials in a bedroom, and spread quickly, burning through the roof and some sidewalls. An occupant of the home was transported to a hospital in Omaha for treatment of burns. Information on the victims’ condition was not immediately available

Firefighters from Oak Township, Pacific Junction and Silver Creek provided mutual aid to Glenwood Fire. Crews were on the scene for about four hours.

Four people were injured in a rollover accident northwest of Elliott, Thursday night. Pottawattamie County authorities say the accident involving a 2004 Ford Freestar van happened near 525th Street and Pioneer Trail, at around 11:30-p.m. Officials say the driver of the van, 18-year old John Dine III, of Elliott, tried to negotiate a curve, when the van went out of control and rolled over.

Dine and his passengers: 19-year old William McCormick and 18-year old Leyton Schill, both of Elliott, and a juvenile from Atlantic, were all injured during the accident and transported to area hospitals. One of the injured was held overnight for observation.  Deputies cited Dine for failure to maintain control and having no insurance.

(Radio Iowa) — The latest gauge of the economies in Iowa and across the Midwest shows the critical impact of the pandemic. Creighton University economist Ernie Goss says the nine-state region is “solidly in recession” as the Business Conditions Index plummeted to its lowest level in more than a decade. Goss says the effort to stop the spread of COVID-19 by temporarily closing businesses is doing much more financial harm than good. Goss says, “Right now, the economy is suffering more for the lockdown and the economic downturn than it’s suffering from the coronavirus.”

The survey of business leaders and supply managers in Iowa and the eight other states indicates abysmal results and does not take into account efforts to jump-start businesses and consumer spending through the federal CARES Act. “This was, the April reading, was the lowest since the recession of February 2009,” Goss says. “I think when the dust settles, we’re going to see the decline in Quarter Two is probably going to be larger than what we experienced in 1932.”

Vast numbers of people across the region lost their jobs in recent weeks, with 170-thousand now collecting unemployment benefits in Iowa. It was a double-whammy for businesses as Goss says the employment reading for the region slumped to its lowest level since the survey began in 1993.”Six of ten employers in our survey reduced employment due to the COVID-19,” Goss says. “Sixty-three percent of the firms reported worker absences, so, not only did they reduce employment but there were worker absences because of the virus.”

On a scale of one to one-hundred, where 50 is considered “growth neutral,” Goss says the Business Conditions Index reading specifically for Iowa fell from a 46 in March to a 34 in April.

IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) — Former Iowa Gov. Chet Culver is urging Gov. Kim Reynolds to back off policies that he says will force employees to be in unsafe workplaces that have had coronavirus outbreaks. Culver says in a letter to Reynolds that workers should not have to risk serious illness or death or face the loss of their unemployment benefits. He warned that her policy choices “will affect Iowans’ quality of life for generations to come.”

Culver, a Democrat who served from 2007 to 2011, said the Republican governor’s policies have created an appearance “that the state’s most powerful business owners have exerted undue influence.”

Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds’ Friday press conference regarding COVID-19. We will have live audio available on KJAN as well with the presser set to begin at approximately 11:00 a.m.

(Radio Iowa) — Congressman Dave Loebsack, of Iowa City, is among a dozen members of the U.S. House touting a plan that would expand broadband service in America. Loebsack says it is unacceptable that in 2020, many rural Americans do not have access to high-speed internet. As the spread of COVID-19 continues, Loebsack says it shines an even brighter light on the “broadband gap” that exists between urban and rural communities. Loebsack and the other Democratic lawmakers plan to include investment broadband in the next coronavirus response package in congress.

Loebsack was a founding member of the House Rural Broadband Caucus in 2016 and is the bipartisan group’s co-chair. According to the Federal Communications Commission, 24 million Americans lack access to high-speed broadband service and nearly one-third of rural Americans lack access to mobile broadband.

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

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