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

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(Radio Iowa) — Pella’s three-day “Tulip Time” festival in early May has been cancelled. The annual festival, which started in 1935, has only been cancelled once before, back in 1946. Valerie Van Kooten is executive director of the Pella Historical Society and Museums. “It is disappointing,” she says, “and it was the product of a couple of weeks of meetings and talking and watching.”

She says after the warnings about group gatherings from the Centers for Disease Control and the Iowa Department of Public Health, cancelling was the right decision for Pella residents as well as the volunteers, visitors and vendors who would be involved in Tulip Time activities. Cindi Atkins, chair of the event’s steering committee, says with this advance notice, vendors may be able to cancel purchases of the food and other items they’d hoped to sell during Tulip Time. “That might potentially reduce the amount of money they will lose,” she says, “although it’s going to be a financial hardship for so many.”

She is encouraging residents in the Pella area to shop local and support the churches and non-profit groups in the area that depend on Tulip Time revenue. The annual springtime celebration of Dutch culture HAD been scheduled for May 7th, 8th and 9th this year. In 2017, a record-breaking crowd of 200-thousand visited Pella during the festival’s three-day run.

The area’s latest and/or top news stories at 7:06-a.m. From KJAN News Director Ric Hanson.

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SIOUX CITY, Iowa (Sioux City Journal) — A Nebraska man who was fired upon by a Sioux City officer has been convicted of several charges. The Sioux City Journal reports that a judge found Douglas St. Cyr guilty of assault on a police officer, leaving the scene of an accident and guilty of several other crimes. The nonjury trial was held Nov. 5, and the judge filed the verdicts Monday. Police have said St. Cyr rammed the undercover officer’s car on July 31 and fled. The officer fired at St. Cyr but missed him and three other people in the car.

CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa (The Gazette) — The civil service commission in Cedar Rapids has upheld the firing of a police officer who’d pleaded guilty to drunken driving. The Gazette reports that the commission Monday affirmed the firing of 29-year-old Austin Mensen. Police Chief Wayne Jerman fired Mensen on Sept. 24 last year. Anamosa police arrested Mensen early in the morning of May 27 last year, and he later pleaded guilty to drunken driving, second offense.

Mensen’s attorney says Mensen had diagnosed, work-related disabilities from responding to shootings. He says Mensen is weighing further action.

(Radio Iowa) — Students won’t be returning to Iowa City, Ames or Cedar Falls for the rest of the spring semester. The University of Iowa, Iowa State University and the University of Northern Iowa have all announced plans to continue classes online for the rest of the spring semester. The schools had planned to continue online classes for two weeks after spring break ended — which would have brought the students back after April 3rd. But with the continued spread of the coronavirus — they are keeping classes online — and all three say they are canceling spring commencement.

The announcement by the schools came after the chair of the Board of Regents, Mike Richards, declared a State of Emergency. Richards said in a statement that there are current circumstances that pose an imminent threat to the health and safety of persons or property at our institutions.

(Radio Iowa) — State officials report the price of gasoline has fallen 18 cents in the past week. The average statewide price for regular unleaded was two-dollars a gallon on Wednesday. Iowa State University economist David Swenson says it’s due to the international price war between Saudi Arabia and Russia. “What’s happened is the Saudis have increased the amount of oil that they’re selling worldwide,” Swenson says, “and they’re able to produce oil much cheaper than anywhere else in the world.”

Crude oil prices are significantly lower, down about 60 percent compared to a year ago. Swenson says it’s too early to see the full impact of the COVID-19 outbreak on gas prices. “If we have people now actively not just social distancing, but moving more toward quarantine and staying in place that, too, is going to mean a lot less demand for fuel,” Swenson says.

While state officials calculated two-dollars-a-gallon as the statewide average on Wednesday, some stations in Iowa had significantly lower prices. GasBuddy — the Boston firm that tracks prices at more than 140-thousand U.S. outlets — reported a station in Elkader was selling gas for a buck-45 ($1.45) a gallon yesterday (Wednesday). Prices were in the one-60 ($1.60) range in the Sioux City and Cedar Rapids/Marion areas.

The Adams County Sheriff’s Office reports Richard Swartz, of Corning, was arrested at his residence, Wednesday night, on numerous drug charges. At around 5:30-p.m., an off-duty Sheriff’s Deputy witnessed Swartz toss a bag out the window of his vehicle and onto a public sidewalk in front of a residence in Corning. Upon further investigation, marijuana and hydrocodone were discovered inside the bag.

At around 10:47-p.m., Adams County Deputies met with Swartz at his residence. Upon additional investigation, he was charged with two-counts Distribution of a Controlled Substance to a Minor and Possession of a Controlled Substance on real property, both Class-B felonies. He was also charged with Possession of Drug Paraphernalia, Distributing tobacco to a Minor, Possession of Prescription Drugs, and Littering.

JoAnn Runyan, Atlantic High School School to Work Coordinator, reports the Atlantic High School School Trades and Local Employer Recruiting Day scheduled to be held on April 2nd, has been postponed until further notice.

The Trades and Local Employer Recruiting Day is an opportunity for area businesses to showcase various employment opportunities to students in grades 9-12 in the Atlantic Community School District. Businesses are encouraged to recruit students for part-time jobs, summer jobs, apprenticeships, and full-time jobs.

Area employers still interested in participating in the Trades and Local Employer Recruiting Day should reach out to School to Work Coordinator JoAnn Runyan at jrunyan@atlanticiaschools.org.

Here is the latest Iowa news from The Associated Press at 3:50 a.m. CDT

IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) — Iowa health officials have confirmed nine additional cases of COVID-19, bringing the state’s total Wednesday to 38. The Iowa Department of Public Health says three of the cases are residents of Johnson County, two are from Polk County, two are from Dallas County and the last two are from Washington and Winneshiek counties. That news follows the announcement that employees at Iowa’s public universities may get an additional 80 hours of paid sick leave under an emergency measure to stop the spread of the coronavirus. Board of Regents President Mike Richards used his new emergency powers to authorize the universities and special schools to provide the extra leave.

IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) — A Roman Catholic college in Iowa has suspended a longtime priest and faculty member after church officials received an allegation of sexual misconduct dating to the 1990s. St. Ambrose University in Davenport said that it was recently made aware of the complaint against the Rev. Robert “Bud” Grant and is taking the report seriously. The school said the suspension would last until the outcome of an investigation by the Diocese of Des Moines. Grant has been temporarily removed as the sacramental minister at St. Andrew Church in Blue Grass. Grant hasn’t responded to messages left at his work phone and email address seeking comment.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Food banks and pantries across the U.S. are scrambling to meet an expected surge in demand as the coronavirus causes many people to at least temporarily lose their jobs. This is happening even as older volunteers have been told to stay home. Also, calls for social distancing are complicating efforts to package and distribute food. Pantries are shifting from letting people select items to giving them a sack filled with food to limit interaction and lessen the chance of passing along the virus. Officials say it makes them less efficient, but they don’t have better options.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — The Drake Relays that had been scheduled for April in Des Moines have been indefinitely postponed because of the virus outbreak. Drake University said Wednesday that organizers made the decision to protect the “health, safety and well-being” of participants and fans amid concerns about the coronavirus. The track and field event was scheduled for April 22-25, primarily at Drake Stadium. The postponement includes related activities, such as the Beautiful Bulldog Contest, Grand Blue Mile and Drake Road Races. Organizers said they would work with local, state and national officials to reschedule the event when it’s safe for all participants.