(Radio Iowa) – The Chief Justice of the Iowa Supreme Court has ordered a pause in jury trials as cases of COVID-19 are up. Jury trials were suspended in March after the pandemic started — and then began again in September after a couple of pilot trials to test coronavirus precautions recommended by a committee put together to study the issue. The Chief Justice now says jury trials will be on hold until at least February 1st. That is for any trial that has not sworn in a jury by November 16th.

The order also grants extended deadlines for prosecutors to bring cases to trial under Iowa’s speedy trial rules, and suspends all grand jury proceedings until February as well.

(Radio Iowa) – The latest vote count in Iowa’s second congressional district race shows Republican Mariannette Miller-Meeks of Ottumwa leading Democrat Rita Hart by 40 votes. Boards of supervisors in the 24 counties in Iowa’s second district met on Monday and Tuesday to conduct what’s called the official canvass of votes.

At 7:30 Tuesday night, Miller-Meeks issued a written statement, declaring the election over and saying she had won. Half an hour later, Hart’s campaign manager issued a written statement, saying the race remains too close call. Secretary of State Paul Pate will certify election results November 30. He’s notified Lucas County officials they may amend the county’s results if recounts on Thursday and Friday come up with different vote totals.

An attorney for Hart’s campaign has raised concerns that Lucas County’s error was discovered at the 11th hour and wound up putting Miller-Meeks in the lead. Both campaigns have until the end of the week to request recounts in certain counties or even specific precincts and that is likely. This is currently the closest congressional contest in the country.

(Radio Iowa) – More than three-thousand Iowa nursing home residents have Covid and there were nearly 12-hundred Covid patients in Iowa hospitals last (Tuesday) night. Hospital officials say this surge threatens to overwhelm the system. Governor Kim Reynolds warns rationed care is on the horizon if coronavirus cases continue to spike here.

“This situation has the potential to impact any Iowan who may need care for any reason, whether for Covid-19 or for any other serious medical condition,” she said, “and we don’t want anyone to be turned away from our hospitals.” The U.S. set a record overnight for the number of patients hospitalized due to Covid. Two percent of those patients were in Iowa hospitals, while the entire state accounts for a little less than one percent of the U.S. population.

“We can’t continue to see the number of individuals hospitalized,” Reynolds says. “It is about workforce and it’s about capacity.” The two week average in Iowa for deaths from Covid is at the highest point during the pandemic. On Tuesday, the state reported 44-hundred-28 Iowans had tested positive for the virus in the past 24 hours. That is 460 more than were reported in the entire state of New York yesterday. Reynolds is asking Iowans to spend as little time outside their homes as possible.

“As I said last week, these trends cannot continue,” Reynolds said, “and it’s critical that all Iowans do everything within their power to stop the spread of the virus now.” During a news conference on Tuesday, Reynolds asked to Iowans cancel or postpone parties and get-togethers and avoid situations where others are not following pandemic basics, like wearing a mask.

“We all have to buckle down and take this serious,” Reynolds said. “It spreads. It’s very contagious and so we all need to do our part.” In addition to a new public health proclamation that requires masks be worn in some group settings, Reynolds is now limiting the size of crowds at high school events, like band concerts, basketball games, wrestling matches. Each student participating will be allowed to have just two people in the crowd.

Reynolds has stopped short of a mask mandate for schools, however. About 60 percent of Iowa districts require masks inside schools.

Clarinda Police Chief Keith Brothers, Tuesday, announced “Due to increasing COVID cases in our area the police department will be restricting access to our facility spaces effective 11/11/2020. In addition, we will not be providing fingerprinting services. These restrictions will likely remain in effect until at least December 1st. No one will be admitted to the facility without a face covering”

Here is the latest Iowa news from The Associated Press

IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) — A Republican candidate seeking to flip a Democratic-held congressional seat in Iowa has pulled ahead by 40 votes after a county discovered that that it had failed to report a small town’s votes. The dramatic turn was the latest in the seesawing race between Republican Mariannette Miller-Meeks and Democrat Rita Hart. And it may not be the last. The 24 counties in the southeastern Iowa district were certifying their votes Tuesday after completing their official canvasses. It’s possible additional provisional ballots or absentee ballots that arrived by Monday at noon could be added to some county totals. The race is considered among the closest in the nation and could remain unsettled for weeks.

JOHNSTON, Iowa (AP) — Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds will require that people wear masks if they join indoor gatherings of 25 or more people as the state sees a continued surge of coronavirus infections that is threatening to overwhelm hospitals. Reynolds said Tuesday she signed a proclamation taking effect Wednesday that would require masks for the indoor and outdoor gatherings of 100 or more people. The Republican governor didn’t require new mask requirements for bars and restaurants. The new rules don’t apply to school districts. Asked why she didn’t impose a mask requirement for smaller gatherings, Reynolds said: “It’s a place to start.” Iowa health officials reported 4,441 new confirmed cases in the past 24 hours and 27 additional deaths.

DAVENPORT, Iowa (AP) — A 24-year-old woman charged with fatally shooting a woman inside a busy Chuck E. Cheese in Davenport lost a bid to have her bond altered so she could be released from jail to await trial. Treshonda Pollion, of Davenport, is charged with first-degree murder in the death of 29-year-old Eloise Chairs in late October. During a telephone conference on Tuesday, Pollion and her attorney asked to have her $1 million cash-only bond altered, noting she has no prior criminal history or failure to appear in court on her record. The judge rejected the request, citing the serious nature of the shooting.

FORT DODGE, Iowa. (AP) — Five men are charged with second-degree murder in the shooting deaths of two people in Fort Dodge this summer. Police said in a news release Tuesday that four people from Fort Dodge and one from Eagle Grove were charged in the deaths of 25-year-old Jamal Cox and 47-year-old Tyrone Cunningham. Two women also were injured in the shooting on June 16. Police said at the time that the victims were innocent bystanders after shots were fired during a social gathering. Those charged Tuesday were: Michael Shivers, of Eagle Grove; James Davis; Michael Wells; Darrell Jones; and Jeremiha Hatten, all of Fort Dodge.

FORT DODGE, Iowa. (AP) — Five men are charged with second-degree murder in the shooting deaths of two people in Fort Dodge this summer. Police said in a news release Tuesday that four people from Fort Dodge and one from Eagle Grove were charged in the deaths of 25-year-old Jamal Cox and 47-year-old Tyrone Cunningham. Two women also were injured in the shooting on June 16.

Police said at the time that the victims were innocent bystanders after shots were fired during a social gathering. Those charged Tuesday were: Michael Shivers, of Eagle Grove; James Davis; Michael Wells; Darrell Jones; and Jeremiha Hatten, all of Fort Dodge.

DAVENPORT, Iowa (AP) — A 24-year-old woman charged with fatally shooting a woman inside a busy Chuck E. Cheese in Davenport lost a bid to have her bond altered so she could be released from jail to await trial. Treshonda Pollion, of Davenport, is charged with first-degree murder in the death of 29-year-old Eloise Chairs in late October.

During a telephone conference on Tuesday, Pollion and her attorney asked to have her $1 million cash-only bond altered, noting she has no prior criminal history or failure to appear in court on her record. The judge rejected the request, citing the serious nature of the shooting.