Police in Red Oak report the arrest at around 12:45-a.m. Monday (Today), of 37-year old Stephen Ray Adams, of Red Oak. Adams was taken into custody on a Class-B Felony charge of Arson in the 1st Degree. Adams was being held in the Montgomery County Jail on $25,000 bond.

Sunday afternoon, Red Oak Police, assisted by Montgomery County Sheriff’s Deputies, arrested 30-year old Dylan Thomas Griffeth, of Red Oak, for Public Intoxication. He was being held in the Montgomery County Jail on a $300 bond.

(Radio Iowa) – After disappointing statewide election results for their party, Democrats in the Iowa Senate have chosen a new leader, but Democrats in the House are keeping theirs. Zach Wahls of Coralville is the new minority leader for the 18 Democrats in the Iowa Senate. He says it’s clear his party has rebuilding to do.

“One of the the things that’s ahead of us is really clearly defining what it means to be an Iowa Democrat…There may may be some folks who look at what happened here in Iowa and say, you know, the problem is the Democrats are spending too much time talking about, you know, this issue or that issue…I think the reality is the Democratic Party has always stood — probably since the New Deal — for civil rights and workers rights,” Wahls says. “…The work ahead of us is to clearly define that brand.”

Wahls, who is 29, was elected to the state senate in 2018 and comes from Johnson County, an urban county dominated by Democrats. His district includes rural areas, however — including the home of the Iowa Republican Party’s chairman. Wahls says voters in rural areas of his district want to see change. “My message whether it’s in rural Iowa or in Iowa City or Des Moines or anywhere else is going to be very consistent,” Wahls says, “which is that the Democratic Party is here to make sure that we are supporting every Iowan, not just the wealthiest Iowans.”

Todd Prichard of Charles City, the leader of House Democrats for the past two years, was re-elected this weekend as the group’s leader. “We need to learn from this election. We need to find ways to expand our reach to voters and find ways to bring people into the Democratic Party,” Prichard said. “But I don’t think that, you know, the conclusion was…everything that happened in this last election is…in our immediate control.”

Democrats were aiming to win more seats and majority control in the Iowa House, but Republicans expanded their majority to 59 of the 100 seats in the House. Prichard says good Democratic candidates just got swept aside in a Republican wave election. “Unfortunately they weren’t successful in a way that we wanted to be successful,” Prichard says. “…I’m proud of them for fighting the good fight.”

The 2021 Iowa legislative session is scheduled to begin January 11th.

(Radio Iowa) – There were nearly 14-hundred Covid patients in Iowa hospitals Sunday evening. That’s three times as many as a month ago and nearly double the number that were hospitalized on November 1st. Dr. Dan Diekema is director of the Division of Infectious Diseases at the University of Iowa.

“I think the word unprecedented is probably being overused this past year, but the type and degree of spread that we’re seeing now in the state — it is really unprecedented,” he says, “…record numbers of patients who are in the hospital with Covid-19, in our intensive care units.”

There were 271 patients in Iowa intensive care units Sunday night — a 61 percent increase from October 15th. Diekema says Iowa hospitals are converting general wards to areas for Covid patients only and retraining staff who work in other areas to care for Covid patients. “Oftentimes you’ll read or see on public health websites, for example, numbers of beds available or ventilators available, but often that isn’t the limiting factor,” he says. “The staffing becomes the real issue.”

Diekema made his comments during an appearance on Iowa Public Radio. This weekend, public health officials in Polk County said staffing is the biggest issue facing hospitals in Des Moines. A statement from the Polk County Public Health Department used words like “dire” and “alarming” to describe the continued escalation in cases of the coronavirus.

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

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — The number of people hospitalized with the coronavirus in Iowa set another record as the recent surge in cases continued. The state said 1,279 people were hospitalized with COVID-19 in Iowa on Saturday, up from 1,261 the day before. Iowa also reported 4,432 new cases and 13 additional deaths as of Sunday morning to give the state 184,685 cases and 1,985 deaths. Over the past week in Iowa, one out of every 95 people in the state was diagnosed with COVID-19, and the rate of new cases in the state remained the third-highest in the nation,

BETTENDORF, Iowa (AP) — Former U.S. Sen. Roger Jepsen who represented Iowa in Washington D.C. in the early 1980s has died. The 91-year-old Republican died Friday at a hospice facility in Bettendorf, Iowa. U.S. Sen. Chuck Grassley said Jepsen served the state well during his single term in the Senate from 1979 to 1985. While in Congress, Jepsen led the Joint Economic Committee of Congress and served on the Armed Services and Agriculture committees. After losing his re-election bid to Democrat Tom Harkin, Jepsen was appointed chairman of the National Credit Union Administration Board and helped oversee more than 14,000 credit unions nationwide from 1985 until 1993.

DUBUQUE, Iowa (AP) — A Dubuque firefighter is suing the city because she says she has endured sexual harassment on the job since she started in 2011. Jami Boss cites a number of incidents in her lawsuit including being told by a lieutenant that she was only hired because she was a girl. Boss said male firefighters used the women’s restroom and sometimes walked in on Boss while she was in there. And in one incident, a coworker shoved his hand down the back of Boss’ pants, according to the lawsuit. City officials denied most of the allegations in a formal response to the lawsuit

ELMWOOD, Neb. (AP) — The biggest reason coronavirus infections are soaring in the Midwest isn’t because residents don’t understand the dangers of the virus or how to protect themselves. It’s because many of them aren’t that concerned. In much of the region, as in other pockets of the country, some look at statistics showing that most people quickly recover from the virus and ask, why should I stop living my life the way I want to avoid catching an illness that probably won’t hurt me much anyway? The perception, coupled with a lack of government mandates requiring masks and other safety precautions, is a huge concern for local public health officials. They worry that soaring caseloads will soon overwhelm their hospitals.

BETTENDORF, Iowa (AP) — Former U.S. Sen. Roger Jepsen who represented Iowa in Washington D.C. in the early 1980s has died. The 91-year-old Republican died Friday at a hospice facility in Bettendorf, Iowa. U.S. Sen. Chuck Grassley said Jepsen served the state well during his single term in the Senate from 1979 to 1985. While in Congress, Jepsen led the Joint Economic Committee of Congress and served on the Armed Services and Agriculture committees.

After losing his re-election bid to Democrat Tom Harkin, Jepsen was appointed chairman of the National Credit Union Administration Board and helped oversee more than 14,000 credit unions nationwide from 1985 until 1993.

DUBUQUE, Iowa (AP) — A Dubuque firefighter is suing the city because she says she has endured sexual harassment on the job since she started in 2011. Jami Boss cites a number of incidents in her lawsuit including being told by a lieutenant that she was only hired because she was a girl.

Boss said male firefighters used the women’s restroom and sometimes walked in on Boss while she was in there. And in one incident, a coworker shoved his hand down the back of Boss’ pants, according to the lawsuit. City officials denied most of the allegations in a formal response to the lawsuit

The Griswold, Exira-EHK and Audubon School Boards all have (separate) meetings set to take place Monday evening. In Griswold, the Board will elect a Board President and Vice President, set the regular Board meeting date and Time, and possibly take action on a Mask Mandate, after some discussion. On a related note, the Griswold School Board will discuss, and possibly act on Remote Learning Limitations, and consider cancelling Wrestling Cheerleading for 2020-21. Their meeting takes place 5:30-p.m. in the Conference Room.

In Elk Horn, the Exira-EHK School Board will gather at 6-p.m. for a meeting in the Conference Room, as well. On their agenda is personnel matters, including the resignations of: Rick Nielsen, Instrumental Music; Andrea Nulle, Asst. Volleyball Coach; and Doug Newton, Junior High Football. The will also act on hiring: Trent Megchelsen and Alex Hansen, JH Boys Basketball; Andrea Nulle and Courtney Peppe, JH Girls Basketball. The Exira-EHK Board will elect new officers, as well as approve early graduation requests, and take action on facial coverings, among other items of business.

And, the Audubon School Board will gather at 6:30-p.m. Monday in the High School Board Room, during a Work Session set aside for Policy Review. They’ll begin their regular meeting at 7-p.m. with a Public Hearing on the proposed issuance of about $4.2-million in School Infrastructure, Sales, Services and Use Tax Revenue, and Refunding Bonds. Afterward, they’ll adjourn the retiring Board and elect new officers. Their action items include a Resolution supporting the aforementioned proposed issuance of about $4.2-million in Bonds.

DES MOINES – The Iowa Finance Authority and the Iowa Department of Natural Resources has announced that 25 municipalities with current State Revolving Fund loans for water quality projects (Including Lewis and Stanton), will save a total of more than $12 million in interest over the remaining life of their loans as a result of their interest rate being reduced from 3% to 1.75%. The City of Lewis can expect to save $13,387, according to the IFA, while Stanton can expect a savings of $31,668.

The State Revolving Fund is one of Iowa’s primary sources for financing projects designed to improve Iowa’s water quality. Two funds, one for drinking water and one for wastewater and pollution control, have provided low-cost financing to projects in nearly 700 Iowa communities in addition to farmers, watershed groups and others for water quality projects. The program is jointly administered by the Iowa Finance Authority and the Iowa Department of Natural Resources.

Besides offering communities low interest rates to finance water infrastructure projects, the State Revolving Fund offers other benefits, such as lower up-front costs and no reserve requirement.  For more information on the State Revolving Loan program, visit IowaSRF.com.