Red Oak Police have arrested two people on separate charges. At around 2:22-a.m. Tuesday (today), 23-year old Skylar Lee Bingham, of Red Oak, was arrested in the 500 block of E. Nuckols Street, on a Cass County warrant for Domestic Abuse Assault by impeding air flow. Bingham was transported to the Montgomery County Jail and held on a $2,000 bond. And, at around 10:32-p.m. Monday, Red Oak Police arrested 18-year old Angel Rose Arzola, of Red Oak, for Simple Assault. She was being held in the Montgomery County Jail on $300 bond.

(Radio Iowa) – The leader of the union that represents correctional officers says it’s time for the state prison system to quit accepting new admissions from county jails. AFSCME Council 61 president Danny Homan says if that inconveniences sheriffs and others in the criminal justice system, so be it.  “We don’t need their problems coming in there,” Homan says. “We need to shut this department down. Leave all inmates where they’re at and we need and we need to do this for four weeks, so that we can figure out what’s going on inside the walls.”

A spokesman for the Iowa Department of Corrections says halting admissions shifts the burden to county jails, most of which are ill-equipped to handle overcrowding or deal with an outbreak of the virus. Coronavirus outbreaks have been reported at state prison facilities in Coralville, Fort Dodge, Mount Pleasant, Anamosa, Rockwell City and Clarinda. Homan says he’s concerned the state prison in Newton will be the site of the next outbreak. The department’s website shows 11 Newton inmates have recently tested positive for Covid.

“If we’re going to stop this inside the Department of Corrections, inside the state’s institution, we have to take drastic action,” Homan says, “and I believe the only way to do that is to stop admissions.” Last week, state officials confirmed a staffer at the state prison for women in Mitchellville died of Covid. Homan says the corrections department now plans to distribute N-95 face masks, which provide an elevated level of protections, to all staff, not just those who have direct contact with a Covid-positive inmate. Homan says another key concern is more staff are working double-shifts because others are sick or in quarantine because of an exposure.

“They’ve expended every ounce of energy they can and they’re just going to work on sheer will and that makes them vulnerable for a lot of other things,” Homan says. “Staffing is one of the biggest problems we have within the Department of Corrections.” Homan, who held an online news conference Monday afternoon, says staff should be able to get regular access to Covid testing. “I am a proponent of all staff getting tested, simply because they’re working inside a petri dish called a prison,” Homan says.

But Homan says he’s well aware that because of the nature of the virus, a negative test result today doesn’t mean someone might not test positive for the virus tomorrow. Cord Overton, a spokesman for the Iowa Department of Corrections, accuses Homan of trying to score cheap political points rather than focus on how to best support each other through the pandemic.

Here is the latest Iowa news from The Associated Press at 3:40 a.m. CST

IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) — A slim lead held by a Republican candidate for an open congressional seat in Iowa has gotten even smaller as counties recount their votes. Republican Mariannette Miller-Meeks led Democrat Rita Hart by 47 votes in the race for Iowa’s 2nd Congressional District in unofficial results before recounts began last week. The Iowa Secretary of State’s office says Miller-Meeks’ lead has shrunk to 36 votes out of more than 394,000 cast as the recount continues. So far, 15 of 24 counties have completed recounts and sent their new unofficial totals to the state. None of the four counties Hart carried have reported new totals, including Scott and Johnson.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Iowa surpassed 211,000 coronavirus cases and 2,200 deaths, and the state remains ranked third-highest in the nation for virus positivity rate. The Iowa Department of Public Health reports there were 1,661 new confirmed cases in the past 24 hours Monday morning and 13 additional deaths. That raised the total number of cases in Iowa to 211,722 and the total deaths to 2,205. Data from Johns Hopkins University shows Iowa’s seven-day rolling average of the positivity rate was 44.7% on Nov. 22, ranking third-highest third in the nation behind Wyoming and South Dakota.

DYSART, Iowa (AP) — Twin Iowa girls who faced long odds when they were born around the 22nd week of pregnancy are celebrating a miracle milestone — they turn 2 on Tuesday. The Des Moines Register reports that Guinness World Records has recognized Kambry and Keeley Ewoldt as the world’s most premature twins. Jade Ewoldt of Dysart gave birth to the girls on Nov. 24, 2018. Kambry weighed nearly 1 pound and Keeley weighed a little over 1 pound. The girls spent the first four months of their lives in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit at the University of Iowa Stead Family Children’s Hospital. Today, the girls love singing “Baby Shark,” doing the Chicken Dance and painting pictures.

MONROE, Iowa (AP) — House Democrats lost enough seats in this month’s elections that they’ll have the smallest majority in more than a century. To find out what happened, the party has already begun a “deep dive” examination, and so far it’s blaming a parade of missteps. They include moving too far to the left on national issues, not explaining well how they’d fix an outbreak-ravaged economy and failing to grow their appeal with enough Latinos. House Democrats also were hurt by curtailing in-person campaigning amid the coronavirus pandemic. But a major factor was President Donald Trump’s ability to drive strong turnout.

IOWA CITY – The Iowa Department of Corrections report prison inmate Timothy Christopher Bryant, who had been serving a life sentence for the crime of Kidnapping 1st Degree from Polk County, died Sunday. Officials said his death was likely due to complications related to COVID-19 and other preexisting medical conditions.

He died at the University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics. Originally housed at the Anamosa State Penitentiary, he had been taken to the hospitals several days earlier for more advanced care as his medical condition began to worsen.  Bryant was 59 years old at the time of his death.

Bryant began his sentence on February 25, 1992.

Mills County Public Health along with Mills County Emergency Management Agency, Monday, announced two additional deaths associated with novel coronavirus (COVID-19) in the county today. One individual was in the 41-60 age range and the other in the 61-80 age range.

“We have had another sorrowful day in Mills County today.” said Mills County Emergency Management Director Larry Hurst. “I am concerned what the coming holiday season will do for the spread of COVID-19. Everyone needs to do their part to stop the spread of the virus.”

Mills County continues to see a significant number of new cases and an increase in test positivity. We are in the RED Zone, which means we are experiencing high level of community transmission. Mills County residents and businesses must act now to get the spread of COVID-19 under control.

For further statistical data available, in near real time, visit the Iowa Coronavirus webpage at: https://coronavirus.iowa.gov

IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) — A slim lead held by a Republican candidate for an open congressional seat in Iowa has gotten even smaller as counties recount their votes. Republican Mariannette Miller-Meeks led Democrat Rita Hart by 47 votes in the race for Iowa’s 2nd Congressional District in unofficial results before recounts began last week.

The Iowa Secretary of State’s office says Miller-Meeks’ lead has shrunk to 36 votes out of more than 394,000 cast as the recount continues. So far, 15 of 24 counties have completed recounts and sent their new unofficial totals to the state. None of the four counties Hart carried have reported new totals, including Scott and Johnson.