SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (AP) — A reprieve from a devastating surge of the coronavirus across the Upper Midwest has given cautious relief to health officials, though they worry that infections remain rampant and holiday gatherings could reignite the worst outbreaks of the pandemic. Johns Hopkins researchers say states in the northern stretches of the Midwest and Great Plains have seen average daily cases drop in the past two weeks, with decreases ranging from 20% in Iowa to 66% in North Dakota.

Some epidemiologists believe the most compelling factor for many people who redoubled efforts to prevent infections may be that they experienced the virus on a personal level.

(Radio Iowa) While some Iowans’ homes were visited by a sleigh and eight tiny reindeer last night, it’s hoped there’s not a visit today (Friday) from a fire truck. Andrea Vaspis, public education director for the National Fire Protection Association, says if you’re trying to add some holiday ambience to the room by lighting a few candles, do so with caution.

Vaspis says, “Candles, on average, cause 21 homes fires a day in the United States with the peak days of candle fires being Christmas Day — at almost three times the rest of the year — and New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day.” December is the peak time of year for candle fires and studies find almost three of every five December home fires are started by candles.

“Candles are great but they are an open flame and when they’re placed too close to a mattress, bedding, cartons, decorations,” Vaspis says. “People leave the room and think they’ll be gone for 30 seconds but they’ve actually left for a lot longer, and now this candle is left unattended.” Christmas Day is also one of the top three days of the year for home cooking fires, but she says lighting candles may only increase the risk of a disaster.

“The key here is, if you’re going to use a candle, make sure it’s on a sturdy base. Make sure it’s at least 12 inches — one foot away — from anything that can burn,” Vaspis says. “We are big supporters of battery-operated candles because you can use them anywhere and not worry about putting them with your decorations.” Christmas tree fires don’t happen often, but when they do, they tend to be serious.

An association report finds, on average, one of every 52 reported home fires that began with a Christmas tree resulted in a death, compared to an average of one death per 135 total reported home fires.

(Radio Iowa) – House Speaker Pat Grassley has established a new “Information Technology Committee” in the Iowa House, to address broadband issues and cyber security. “There are a few things in there that won’t be the most exciting things that capture all the headlines,” Grassley says, “but they’re things that the state needs to be mindful of.”

That includes an examination of the technology infrastructure in state government as well as incentives that help more Iowans gain access to a high-speed internet connection. Grassley says just like roads and bridges, broadband is part of the state’s critical infrastructure and it makes sense to have a committee working exclusively on information technology issues. “I think this pandemic has shown us there are a lot of connectivity and security issues that we all need to be mindful of,” Grassley says.

Jack Whitver, the Iowa Senate’s Republican leader, says there are existing committees in the Iowa Senate that have addressed I-T issues and will continue to do so when the legislature convenes in 2021.

(Radio Iowa) – The holidays are supposed to be happy but the stress of the season can put you at greater risk for a life-threatening medical episode. Dr. Vincent Pompili, a heart doctor in Omaha-Council Bluffs, says it’s well-documented that cases of cardiac arrest rise between December 25th and January 7th. “Unfortunately, the incidence of heart attacks during the Christmas season goes up, significantly,” Dr. Pompili says. “Studies over the last ten years have shown that the chance of having a cardiac event goes up by five percent.”

Risk factors for heart attacks include: high blood pressure, high cholesterol, a family history and smoking. “A number of factors are exacerbated during the holiday season, including emotional stress,” Dr. Pompili says. “Also, the high-fat diet that we partake in during this time of year.” The number-one day of the year for heart attacks is December 25th followed by December 26th and January 1st. Pompili says the biggest mistake people make is to ignore a potential problem. Pompili says, “Many times people, because family members are in town, avoid going and seeking medical care during the holiday time when they have chest pain and avoid making it to the emergency room when they have symptoms of a heart attack, which makes things worse.”

If you think you might be having heart trouble, call 911. Don’t try to drive yourself to the hospital unless there’s no other option, as ambulance personnel can start treatment right away. Plus, they’re trained to revive you if your heart stops.

(Radio Iowa) – A change in Department of Transportation rules for specialty plates pushed by ham radio enthusiasts is moving forward. The director of the D-O-T Motor Vehicle Division, Melissa Gillett, says they will now allow the number zero to be used on the plates. She says there was interest from those who wanted to put their call letters on a blackout plate and they needed the ability to use zero to do that.

Police historically have not wanted the use of zero for one reason. She says there felt there would be confusion between the letter ‘O’ and zero. But now because there is a slash through the zero — police believe they will be able to easily distinguish between the two.

The blackout plates continue to be the top seller of specialty plates in the state and ham radio operators can now personalize them in their own way. She says once they got the change in how the zero is present it was not an issue.

(Radio Iowa) – Key legislators say the financial toll of the pandemic on Iowa isn’t fully known and it’s best to be prudent when it comes to any state tax changes. Republican Representative Lee Hein of Monticello is the chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee.  “I guess I’m kind of in the ‘wait and see mode’ to see what the governor comes with, with her Invest in Iowa,” Hein says, “if she’s going to move that forward or a variation of that.”

Last February, Governor Kim Reynolds unveiled a plan to cut state income taxes by 10 percent and raise the sales tax to find more money for mental health programs and water quality initiatives. Republican Senator Dan Dawson of Council Bluffs, the new chairman of the Senate Ways and Means Committee, agrees that legislators are waiting for a signal from Reynolds. “Probably the biggest marker out there would be the governor’s Invest in Iowa Act,” Dawson says. “…Same questions to grapple with that we grappled with last year on how to achieve some of those goals within that plan and yet still maintaining a competitive sales tax rate.”

Iowa’s current sales tax is six percent, but Dawson notes many Iowa jurisdictions collect a one percent local option sales tax, too. “You go across the river and in Omaha, it’s a 7.5% sales tax, so raising it an additional penny has always been a concern for western Iowa because it would take our sales tax up to 8% for some of our communities,” Dawson says, “and you go across the river and it’s much lower, we lose that competitive advantage.”

Representative Hein also notes that some of the tax cuts that passed the Republican-led legislature in 2018 are just about to take effect.  “We might need to just sit back and analyze,” Hein says, “because of Covid and what has happened the last six months.” Senator Pam Jochum of Dubuque is the top Democrat on the Senate Ways and Means Committee. She says the State of Iowa’s financial situation appears stable due to an infusion of federal money for the pandemic, federal disaster aid for the derecho and a significant increase in direct federal payments to farmers. “All of those things combined have helped to prop up Iowa’s financial picture. I’m grateful for that,” Jochum says. “…Quite frankly the businesses and the families that have been hit hardest by Covid still have not recovered, and are not, and I think we’re going to be spending a lot of time this session dealing with the impact of Covid on Iowa’s families and small businesses.”

The State of Iowa received more than one-point-two BILLION dollars and businesses in Iowa received five BILLION dollars in “paycheck protection program” loans from the federal government last spring. Representative Dave Jacoby of Coralville is the top Democrat on the Ways and Means Committee in the Iowa House. He’s worried about what will happen once that pipeline of federal pandemic relief shuts down. “Our economy is tremendously buoyed by government money,” Jacoby says. “The hestitation we have is what recovery is going to look like.”

Senator Dawson says the speed at which Covid vaccinations are deployed will have a big impact on Iowa’s economy.  “I think Iowa’s structural economy is a little bit different than maybe some of the other states, which maybe gives us an advantage a little bit, whether it be geography or just the type of businesses that we have,” Dawson says. “I think that we are going to accelerate out of this quicker than some of the other states who will frankly I think have years to dig out of what Covid has brought upon them.”

The legislators made their comments earlier this month during a forum sponsored by the Iowa Taxpayers Association.