Officials with the Iowa Department of Public Health (IDPH), Friday, said they spoke with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) regarding expected increases in vaccine allocation. According to IDPH, they continue to be in close communication with their federal partners and will provide updates as they learn more.

Sarah Ekstrand says “At this time, we continue to move forward with our targeted plan to ensure a swift and equitable process. Iowa is currently vaccinating individuals in Phase 1A, which includes health care personnel and residents and staff of long-term care facilities. The next phase, Phase 1B, includes Iowans age 75 and over, as well as other high-risk populations. This next phase will begin receiving vaccinations no later than February 1. The Department created a timeline to help Iowans understand when they can expect to get their vaccination.”

According to Ekstrand, “This approach focuses on Iowans who are most vulnerable to exposure to COVID-19 or high-risk for illness as the result of a COVID-19 infection, with a significant focus on equity.  Some examples include individuals with disabilities living in home settings, correctional facilities, other congregate settings and meatpacking plant workers.” Definitions and examples of individuals included in Phase 1A and B can be found here.

As the IDPH moves into the next phase, more settings and locations for vaccination will become available. Some may receive vaccines at employer-based clinics. Others may receive theirs through health care providers, pharmacies and clinical settings that are equipped to handle screening and scheduling for vaccination efforts. There are approximately 1,700 enrolled vaccine providers in the state. County health departments may partner with these providers to ensure their residents have access to the vaccine when it becomes available.

Throughout the vaccine campaign, officials say, it has been the goal of IDPH to keep Iowans informed with accurate and confirmed details. The department will continue to monitor and evaluate updated allocation information during this time when the situation remains fluid. Iowa’s current allocation numbers can be found here and vaccine administration totals here.

IDPH continues to urge Iowans that while the vaccine is still a scarce resource, to practice virus mitigation efforts.

• Wear a mask or face covering
• Practice social distancing with those outside your household
• Clean your hands frequently with soap and water
• Stay home if you feel sick

Police in Council Bluffs report officers responded at around 3:40-p.m., Friday, to the Subway restaurant at 208 E. Broadway, following a reported robbery that had just occurred. Officers were given a description of the suspect (a black male, wearing a black hoodie, light colored pants with a light mask, who displayed a handgun), and a direction of travel. Within minutes officers located the suspect in a white Chevy impala with paper plates in the general area of the business.

Tyrees Brown

A traffic stop was made on the vehicle and the driver/lone occupant, was detained. He was identified as 30-year old Tyrees Abdalla Brown, a known transient. Officers reviewed the surveillance video from the business and matched up the offender of the robbery to the man who was detained. Upon a search of the suspect vehicle, elements of the robbery were discovered.

Robbery surveillance still-frame image

The employee of the business told officers that the suspect entered the business, displayed a handgun, made threats and demanded cash. The man took an undisclosed amount of cash from the business and fled the area on foot prior to officers making the traffic stop.

Brown was arrested for Robbery in the 2nd Degree, and Harassment in the 1st Degree.  No one involved in the incident was injured. There were no other witnesses to this crime. Brown was transported to Pottawattamie County Corrections and booked-in. Anyone with any information that was in the area at the time of the incident is encouraged to contact the Council Bluffs Police Investigations Division at 712-328-4728, or  Crime Stoppers at 712-328-7867.

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — Police and firefighters in Omaha, Nebraska, evacuated a Creighton University dormitory after a student told emergency room staff that she had tried to make the poison ricin in her dorm room in an attempt to harm herself. The Omaha World-Herald reports that officials also shut down the Creighton University Medical Center emergency room on the university’s campus as a precaution.

Omaha Police Officer Joseph Nickerson says the scramble to head off any possible ricin exposure began around 9 p.m. Thursday, when police were contacted. About 50 Creighton students were evacuated from Davis Square apartments and moved to other campus housing. Nickerson says a hazardous materials crew cleaned the building.

Atlantic Rescue and Cass EMS were called to the scene of a semi tractor trailer rollover, Friday afternoon. The crash happened a little before 3-p.m. off I-80 westbound, just west of Exit 54 (the Elk Horn exit). The semi went into the north ditch. The driver was said to have been complaining of arm and other, pain.

Additional details are currently not available.

(Radio Iowa) – The pandemic is being particularly difficult on non-profit groups which rely on volunteers to operate, and the American Red Cross is asking Iowans for help in order to help other Iowans in need. Emily Holley, spokeswoman for the agency’s Nebraska-Iowa region, says people who give freely of their time make the charity’s humanitarian mission possible.

“One of the things that COVID has affected is that folks are less likely to go to public places and volunteer,” Holley says. “That is harmful to us because we’re an organization where volunteers represent more than 90% of our Red Cross work force.” Red Cross offices across Iowa where blood is drawn are always looking for blood donor ambassadors. They do things like welcoming visitors and taking their temperatures before entering agency facilities and blood drives.

There is also a high-priority need for transportation specialists to help deliver blood from Red Cross facilities to local hospitals. “Another option is disaster response volunteers,” Holley says. “Most of the disasters in the U.S. that the Red Cross responds to — every eight minutes — are home fires. Especially during the wintertime, there are more home fires. We need folks who are willing to respond to those home fires.” In some cases, disaster response volunteers can connect with families by video or phone to provide emotional support, emergency financial assistance and information to help families begin to recover.

“We have so many virtual positions available to help folks,” Holley says. “You don’t even have to leave your house. You can sit in a comfy chair and help out folks affected by disasters.” For Iowans who are still hesitant to get close to other virtual volunteer opportunities.

(On the web at redcross.org/volunteertoday)

Local, state and federal law enforcement officials say they are monitoring potential threats in Iowa leading up to inauguration day. Following the violence at the U.S. Capitol, the F-B-I has warned of plans for armed protests at all 50 state capitols. Iowa officials say they have not received threats to the Capitol in Des Moines specifically, but Iowa Department of Public Safety Commissioner Stephan Bayens says more officers are patrolling the statehouse as a precaution.

(as said) “We’ve increased both our uniform and non-uniform presence up at the capitol,” he says. “Additionally, the Iowa Department of Public Safety has a division of intelligence and so we have a fleet of analysts that are constantly examining social media, are working with federal and local partners.”

The F-B-I’s Omaha field office is asking those with information about potential violence at upcoming protests or events to call 402-493-8688.

DES MOINES – The five state-operated Test Iowa drive-thru sites and the State Hygienic Lab will be closed on Monday, Jan. 18, for the Martin Luther King, Jr. federal holiday.

The sites include:

• Black Hawk County — 4121 Alexandra Drive, Waterloo
• Linn County — Windstar Lines, 5755 Willow Creek Drive SW, Cedar Rapids
• Polk County — 4475 NE 3rd Street, Des Moines
• Pottawattamie County — 3236 Nebraska Ave., Council Bluffs
• Scott County — North Park Mall, 320 W. Kimberly Road, Davenport

All sites will reopen for testing as usual on Tuesday, Jan. 19, from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.   Individuals who wish to be tested at any site must first complete an online assessment at testiowa.com, and schedule an appointment. Locations and hours of operation for all test sites can be found at testiowa.com or coronavirus.iowa.gov.

IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) — A judge has dismissed nine felony counts filed against a Black Lives Matter leader in Iowa charged with shining a laser pointer in the eyes of police officers during an August protest. Judge Paul Miller ruled Thursday that the Johnson County Attorney’s Office violated Matè Farrakhan Muhammad’s speedy trial rights by waiting 46 days after his arrest to file a formal charging document, one more day than allowed by law. Miller ruled that six aggravated misdemeanor assault counts related to the same allegations can proceed since they were filed weeks after his arrest. Muhammad has changed his name since his arrest, when he went by the name Matthew Bruce.

SIOUX CITY, Iowa (AP) — A man who killed his one-time girlfriend in a Sioux City hotel room before setting it on fire has been sentenced to 75 years in prison. The Sioux City Journal reports that 31-year-old Jordan Henry was sentenced Friday in Woodbury County District Court to 50 years for second-degree murder and 25-years for arson. The sentences are to be served one after the other. Henry was convicted of the counts in November for the January 2019 strangulation of 40-year-old Elizabeth Bockholt, of Hinton. Firefighters found her unresponsive Jan. 24, 2019, in a Wingate Hotel room, and she was pronounced dead later at a hospital.