(Radio Iowa) – The state has selected Microsoft to develop a website for Iowans statewide to schedule vaccinations and Governor Reynolds says it should be up and running in two weeks.  “The biggest problem of all of this has been the amount of vaccine that we receive,” Reynolds says. “…I don’t care what kind of system you had in place. That’s just not enough vaccines to really do what we needed to do.”

Reynolds describes the central website for scheduling Covid shots as a “front door” for Iowans. A call center for Iowans who don’t use the internet is still under development. “We’re going to continue to look for ways that we can streamline it, make it more efficient,” Reynolds says, “where we can help counties that need it, where we can set up mass clinics.” State officials are evaluating which counties are not able to dispense at least 80 percent of their weekly allocation of vaccine doses.

Starting next week, any county that cannot meet that threshhold will see their share of doses sent elsewhere.  “We’ve tried to take the infrastructure that we have and make that available,” Reynolds says, “and some of the problem is, really, a lot of our systems are just so antiquated and they’re siloed and they’re not operating in the capacity that we need them to do.” Federal officials are increasing each state’s allotment by five percent. Reynolds says that means about 49-thousand total doses will be delivered to Iowa next week.

“As we have more vaccines become available, as we have more providers be a part of the mix, we need to continue to look for ways that we can streamline it,” Reynolds says, “and so that’s what we’re doing.” In addition, the governor says Walgreens has agreed to schedule appointments for 10-thousand unused doses for Iowans yet this week. Walgreens and C-V-S should be done giving second doses of the Covid vaccine to residents and staff of Iowa nursing homes by February 21st.

Once completed, nearly 20-thousand doses of vaccine will be available to other Iowans each week.

A call late Tuesday night about an assault resulted in the arrest of a Glenwood man. The Glenwood Police Department says 27-year old James Maschka was taken into custody early Wednesday morning, after a brief foot pursuit. Maschka was charged with assault, two counts of criminal mischief in the 5th degree, and interference with official acts. He was being held in the Mills County Jail on a $31,000 bond.

Authorities say when a search warrant for his apartment was obtained and executed, narcotics and paraphernalia were seized. Maschka was additionally charged with Possession of a Controlled Substance (PCS) Methamphetamine, Possession of cocaine with the intent to deliver (a Class C Felony), Possession of Marijuana with the Intent to Deliver (a Class D Felony), two counts of child endangerment, and possession of drug paraphernalia.

(Radio Iowa) – With thousands of Iowans getting vaccinated daily for coronavirus, Governor Kim Reynolds says the state’s efforts to fight the disease continue to strengthen. Some 90-thousand doses of the COVID-19 vaccine were administered statewide in the past week and the governor says fewer people across Iowa are needing critical care. “Yesterday, there were 292 Iowans hospitalized due to COVID-19. That is an 80% decrease since our all-time high in mid-November,” Reynolds says, “and it’s the first time since September that hospitalizations have dropped below 300.” ‘

The governor says 49 new patients were admitted to Iowa hospitals in the past 24 hours, down from a record of 243 in one day in mid-November. Of those now in hospitals for treatment of the virus, she says 67 are in intensive care units, down 90-percent from the peak three months ago. “Our long-term care facility outbreaks have dropped to 33 from an all-time high of 166 long-term care outbreaks,” Reynolds says, “and we continue to see that number decline and we continue to see outbreaks among residents and staff decline as well.”

According to a New York Times report, only eight-percent of Iowans have gotten at least one dose of the vaccine, the fourth-lowest rate in the nation. The state health department’s coronavirus website says more than 326-thousand Iowans have tested positive for COVID, while nearly 52-hundred have died.

(Radio Iowa) – A 33-year-old woman has been charged for shooting her boyfriend to death early Sunday morning in an apartment in northeast Iowa. The shooting happened in the town of Ryan, which has fewer than 400 residents. The woman told authorities her boyfriend was shot during an argument with a man she didn’t know. Officers found the boyfriend’s body in the apartment’s kitchen and living room area. Investigators determined the shooting happened in the bedroom after finding a bullet casing and a gun with blood on the barrel — plus there were no tire tracks in the fresh snow outside to indicate someone else had been in the apartment.

Danielle Shanta Weiner of Ryan has been charged with first degree murder in the death of 27-year-old Devon Hierrazuela of Oak Lawn, Illinois.

PERRY, Iowa (AP) — A western Iowa man faces several charges after investigators say he caused a crash that killed a Minburn woman and seriously injured her 7-year-old son. Des Moines television station KCCI reports that 53-year-old Stephen Wink, of Council Bluffs, has been charged with driving while barred, driving with a revoked license, driving under suspension and having an open container of alcohol in his vehicle.

The Iowa State Patrol says Wink was driving the night of Feb. 2 when his vehicle crossed the center line on a road south of Perry and crashed head-on into a vehicle driven by 39-year-old Danyel Hardisty. Hardisty died at the scene. Her son remains hospitalized with broken bones and internal injuries.

The Adair County Board of Supervisors, Wednesday (today), heard a report from Ag Hub Midwest’s Titan Immel, with regard to the construction of a 120,000 gallon ammonia storage facility to their existing business located near the Menlo exit off Interstate 80. Immel said the State requires the Adair County Supervisors to approve of the project before the company can move on to construction. Getting the Supervisors’ blessing is part of the process.

Immel said the State has guidelines for the clearance area, which includes a distance of at least 700-feet from a neighbor. In this case, the tanks will be 1,150 feet from the nearest “useable yard.”

A new shut-off system would replace the old cable system that is typically used for that purpose. The State has approved the footage request. The Board unanimously approved the request, as well. Immel said all of AgHub Midwest’s employees will be trained on the new system.

They also discussed COVID-19. Board member Jodie Hoadley was recovering from the virus, said it is “not good to have it.” Hoadley said she was exposed to the virus January 16^th, at the Greenfield Bowling Alley, by someone who didn’t know they had the virus.

Hoadley wasn’t the only one affected. The Good Samaritan Society in Fontanelle called her Sunday night to report Hoadley’s mother-in-law and several others at the facility have the virus.

As of Wednesday morning, the State’s Coronavirus dashboard however, didn’t show any cases at care centers in Adair County. She said no one seems to know how or when COVID entered the facility. Hoadley said none of the Supervisors were exposed to the virus by her, since she stayed home after she began having symptoms. She having the virus “Is not fun, and we need to be very careful, especially with these new strains coming in.”

On a related note, offices at the Adair County Courthouse are still closed to the public, to limit the spread of COVID-19. Employees will continue to work to perform essential County services during normal business hours of 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., and may reached by phone or email. A drop box is located in the West Entrance of the Courthouse for any payments or forms that may need to be dropped off. Please contact the appropriate department for further questions regarding services.

Two women were arrested Tuesday at the Union County Law Enforcement Center, in Creston. According to the Creston Police Department, 37-year old Amanda Jones (Speed) [address unknown], was arrested on a Union County warrant for Theft in the 5th Degree. She was later released on a $2,000 bond. 26-year old Samantha Delong, of Creston, was arrested on a Union County warrant for Theft in the 4th Degree. She was later released on a $1,000 bond.

The Iowa Department of Public Health, Wednesday, reported 1,035 new cases of the COVID-19 virus since the previous 24-hour cycle, for a pandemic total of 326,414 positive cases. There were also 29 additional deaths reported since 10-a.m. Tuesday, for a total of 5,174. Statewide, 4,673 COVID deaths are attributed to Underlying causes. COVID was a contributing factor to 501 deaths. Deaths at Long-Term Care (LTC) facilities account for 2,111 deaths. In this area, there was one additional death reported in each of Madison and Montgomery Counties, and two more in Pottawattamie County (See the pandemic totals below).

Long-Term Care facility outbreaks went from 35 Tuesday, to 39 today (Wednesday). LTC patients testing positive amount to 1,058, with 675 having recovered from the virus. The State data show 292 people are hospitalized with COVID-19, which is down from 327 on Tuesday. Officials say 67 patients are in an ICU, 48 were admitted over the previous 24-hours, and 27 patients are on ventilators. In RMCC Region 4 (Hospitals in western/southwest Iowa), 14 are hospitalized with COVID symptoms, nine are in an ICU, one person was admitted over the past 24-hours ending at 10-a.m. Wednesday, and two people remain on a ventilator.

Iowa’s statewide positivity rate is up a bit. The 14-day positivity rate was 8.6% Wednesday, compared to 8.5% Tuesday. The 7-day average was up from 6.2% Tuesday to 6.4% Wednesday.   A total of 297,821 Iowans have recovered from the virus.

In the KJAN listening area, here are the current number positive cases by County; The # of new cases since yesterday {+} – if any; and the total number of deaths in each county to date:

• Cass, 1,221 cases; {+11}; 46 deaths
• Adair, 724; {+4}; 25
• Adams, 313; {+0}; 3
• Audubon, 450 {+4}; 9
• Guthrie, 1,067 {+2}; 27
• Harrison County, 1,637; {+1}; 67
• Madison County, 1,351; {+5}; 16
• Mills County, 1,438; {+7}; 20
• Montgomery, 945; {+1}; 35
• Pottawattamie County, 9,508; {+23}; 138
• Shelby County, 1,113; {+0}; 32
• Union County,  1,159; {+2}; 31