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Iowa early News Headlines: Monday, Nov. 20 2020

News

November 30th, 2020 by Ric Hanson

Here is the latest Iowa news from The Associated Press at 3:35 a.m. CST

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Police have arrested a 22-year-old Des Moines man in connection with a fatal hit-and-run crash that happened last week. Des Moines Police said Sunday that Lim Bol Choul was arrested after an anonymous tip led investigators to him. Police also found the dark-colored SUV that was involved in the crash Thursday night. Choul is facing charges of leaving the scene of a fatal accident and driving without insurance. When authorities responded to the crash shortly after 9 p.m. Thursday, they found a pedestrian who was critically injured. That man was taken to a hospital where he later died of his injuries

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Iowa reported 2,013 new virus cases and 15 more deaths linked to COVID-19 on Sunday. As of 10 a.m. Sunday, the state had reported 227,796 cases of the coronavirus and 2,375 deaths linked to the virus since the pandemic began. The number of people hospitalized with the virus in the state declined slightly on Saturday to 1,175 from the previous day’s 1,221. Eighty-seven of Iowa’s 99 counties had a 14-day positivity rate above 15% on Sunday. Ten other counties reported positivity rates between 10% and 15%. Only two counties had a rate below 10%. Overall, Iowa had the ninth-highest rate of infection in the nation on Saturday

CLINTON, Iowa (AP) — A Republican candidate is hanging onto a single-digit lead in Iowa’s 2nd Congressional District after a recount in a race that will help determine the size of Democrats’ majority in the House of Representatives. The Iowa Press-Citizen reports that Republican Mariannette Miller-Meeks had just six more votes than Democrat Rita Hart after the recount wrapped up Saturday in Clinton County, which was the last of the district’s 24 counties to report its results. A state canvassing board is expected to meet Monday, the legal deadline, to certify the results of the race in which more than 394,400 votes were cast.

CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa (AP) — Thousands of streetlights still need to be repaired in the Cedar Rapids area months after they were broken when a derecho tore through Iowa. The Gazette reports that Mayuri Farlinger, the director of operations for Alliant Energy in the region, did not have an estimate as to how long it’ll take to repair the lights. The utility prioritized restoring power to homes and businesses after the Aug. 10 derecho. Streetlight repairs began at the end of October and crews have been out in “full force” to repair them, he said. The company’s crews and contractors have fixed hundreds of streetlights. Alliant says it has 12 two-person crews dedicated for streetlight repairs in every quadrant of the city.

ROBERTA NICHOLS, 92, of Greenfield (Celebration of Life at a later date)

Obituaries

November 29th, 2020 by Ric Hanson

ROBERTA NICHOLS, 92, of Greenfield, died Sunday, November 29, 2020, at the Good Samaritan Society in Fontanelle. A Celebration of Life Service for ROBERTA NICHOLS will be held at a later date. Steen Funeral Home in Greenfield has the arrangements.

Online condolences may be left to the family at www.steenfunerals.com.

Memorials may be directed to the Roberta Nichols memorial fund.

ROBERTA NICHOLS is survived by:

Her son – James (Salli) Nichols, of Storm Lake.

5 grandchildren; 9 great grandchildren; other relatives and many friends.

AP Top 25 College Football Poll 11/29/2020

Sports

November 29th, 2020 by admin

The Top 25 teams in The Associated Press college football poll, with first-place votes in parentheses, records through Nov. 28, total points based on 25 points for a first-place vote through one point for a 25th-place vote, and previous ranking:

Record Pts Prv
1. Alabama (62) 8-0 1550 1
2. Notre Dame 9-0 1481 2
3. Ohio St. 4-0 1403 3
4. Clemson 8-1 1392 4
5. Texas A&M 6-1 1262 5
6. Florida 7-1 1226 6
7. Cincinnati 8-0 1204 7
8. BYU 9-0 1113 8
9. Miami 7-1 991 10
10. Indiana 5-1 984 12
11. Georgia 6-2 919 13
12. Iowa St. 7-2 873 15
13. Oklahoma 6-2 815 14
14. Coastal Carolina 9-0 694 16
15. Marshall 7-0 600 17
16. Northwestern 5-1 577 11
17. Southern Cal 3-0 540 19
18. Wisconsin 2-1 531 18
19. Oklahoma St. 6-2 426 21
20. Louisiana-Lafayette 8-1 352 23
21. Oregon 3-1 326 9
22. Tulsa 5-1 244 24
23. Washington 3-0 218
24. Iowa 4-2 119
25. Liberty 9-1 67

Others receiving votes: North Carolina 65, Buffalo 56, Texas 39, Auburn 25, Colorado 21, NC State 11, Boise St. 8, San Jose St. 8, SMU 8, Oregon St. 1, UCF 1.

WALTER “Walt” ALLEN KNUDTSON, 77, of Walnut (Memorial svcs. 12/2/20)

Obituaries

November 29th, 2020 by Ric Hanson

WALTER “Walt” ALLEN KNUDTSON, 77, of Walnut, died Friday, Nov. 27th, at the Veteran’s Medical Center. A Memorial service for WALT KNUDTSON will be held 2-p.m. Wed., Dec. 2nd, at the Pauley-Jones Funeral Home, in Avoca.

WALTER “Walt” KNUDTSON is survived by:

His wife – Beverlyt [Wendt] Knudtson, of Walnut.

His daughter – Vicki Knudtson, of Walnut.

His step-daughters: Shalee Hansen, of Council Bluffs; Aubrey (Jeff) Styles, of Gretna, NE; Angie (Chris) Turner, of Griswold; April (Rory) Miller, and Amy (Tom) Carroll, all of Walnut.

3 grandchildren and 1 great-grandchild.

Iowa State pulls away to win opener vs Ark-Pine Bluff 80-63

Sports

November 29th, 2020 by Ric Hanson

AMES, Iowa (AP) — Newcomer Jalen Coleman-Lands scored 17 points, Rasir Bolton added 16 and Iowa State took over in the second half to defeat Arkansas-Pine Bluff 80-63. The Cyclones, in their season opener, trailed 37-34 at the break before Coleman-Lands, a graduate transfer from DePaul, sparked a second-half rally.

Iowa State guard Darlinstone Dubar, top left, looks to pass under the basket as Arkansas-Pine Bluff guards Dequan Morris, center, and Joshuwa Johnson, right, defend during the first half of an NCAA college basketball game, Sunday, Nov. 29, 2020, in Ames, Iowa. (AP Photo/Matthew Putney)

After a Harris Bolton had two buckets, including a dunk, and Coleman-Lands a 3 for a 10-0 run that made it 58-44. Markedric Bell and Shaun Doss scored 15 points apiece for the Golden Lions. The win was the 200th for Iowa State coach Steve Prohm, the 96th with the Cyclones.

 

Des Moines Police arrest driver in fatal hit-and-run

News

November 29th, 2020 by Ric Hanson

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Police have arrested a 22-year-old Des Moines man in connection with a fatal hit-and-run crash that happened last week. Des Moines Police said Sunday that Lim Bol Choul was arrested after an anonymous tip led investigators to him. Police also found the dark-colored SUV that was involved in the crash Thursday night.

Choul is facing charges of leaving the scene of a fatal accident and driving without insurance. When authorities responded to the crash shortly after 9 p.m. Thursday, they found a pedestrian who was critically injured. That man was taken to a hospital where he later died of his injuries

 

Cass County Supervisors to consider Firefighters Assoc. request for support

News

November 29th, 2020 by Ric Hanson

The Cass County Board of Supervisors, Monday, will consider a request by the Cass County Firefighters Association for support. The request is for five-percent of match funding, if a grant application for the purchase of radios is approved. The Association has applied for a grant amounting to approximately $343,000. The Supervisors will meet electronically via Zoom, beginning at 9-a.m.

In other business, the Board will act on allowing or disallowing (on a case-by-case basis), family farm credits, and to approve agricultural land credits, in accordance with the Code of Iowa.

Regular reports are scheduled from the Cass County Engineer and Attorney, along with a monthly report from the Mental Health/General Relief Coordinator.

KELLY WILLIAMS, 58, of Atlantic (Svcs. 12/5/20)

Obituaries

November 29th, 2020 by Ric Hanson

KELLY WILLIAMS, 58, of Atlantic, died Thursday, Nov. 26th, at Iowa Methodist Medical Center, in Des Moines. Funeral services for KELLY WILLIAMS will be held 2-p.m. Saturday, Dec. 5th, at the First Church of Christ, in Atlantic. Roland Funeral Service in Atlantic has the arrangements. **Due to COVID, masks will be required and social distancing will take place.**The service will be live streamed on the funeral home website.

Visitation at the funeral home is on Friday, Dec. 4th, from 5-until 8-p.m., with 5 until 6-p.m. being reserved for the elderly or persons with underlying health conditions. Other friends and family may visit from 6-until 8-p.m. ** During the visitation, only 15 people will be allowed in the funeral home at any one time.** Online condolences may be left at www.rolandfuneralservice.com.

Burial, at a later date, is at the Oakwood Cemetery in Lewis.

Memorials are preferred to the family for a later designation.

KELLY WILLIAMS is survived by:

Her sons – Justin (Lindsay) Williams, of Atlantic; Shawn Williams (& fiance’ Megan McGuire), both of Atlantic.

Her mother – Mickey Williams, of Harlan.

Her brother – Greg Semrau.

Her sisters – Michelle (Denny) Reis; Patricia (Jon) Barthelman, & Christie Semrau.

Her very special granddaughter: Paige Williams; other relatives and friends.

Iowa COVID-19 update for 11/29/2020: 15 more dead; hospitalizations continue to decline

News

November 29th, 2020 by Ric Hanson

(Updated 10-a.m.) Iowa’s Coronavirus dashboard Sunday, showed 15 more people died from complications of COVID-19 since 10-a.m. Saturday, for a total of 2,375. There was one more death reported in both Cass and Pottawattamie Counties. The number of deaths attributed to a preexisting condition statewide are at 1,334, while deaths at Long-Term Care facilities amount to 1,062, three more than on Saturday.

Health officials report long-term care facility COVID-19 outbreaks total 153. Those care facilities report 4,799 positive cases among patients and staff, and 1,971 recovered. Cass County’s three LTC facilities have a total of 211confirmed positive cases, and 130 recovered. Harrison County has one LTC facility with 139 positive cases and 117 recovered. Shelby County has two LTC facilities with a total of 127 positive cases and 20 recovered. Pott. County has three facility outbreaks with a total of 151 positive cases and 15 recovered.

Officials say there have been 2,013 new confirmed, Positive cases of the virus reported since yesterday, for a total since the pandemic began, of 227,796.

Hospitalizations are down from 1,221 Saturday, to 1,175 today. There are: 235 patients in intensive care (down from 244 previously); 131 patients were admitted since yesterday (down from 127, and there are 151 people on a ventilator (five more than on Saturday). In western/southwestern Iowa: there are 56 COVID patients in the hospital (unchanged from Saturday); 16 are in an ICU (down 3 from yesterday); seven people were admitted to a hospital, and six people are on a ventilator (down from 11 on Saturday).

The state’s data shows that 1,208,055 Iowans have been tested for coronavirus. Test results received yesterday amounted to 4,853, with 3,611 coming back Negative and 1,171 Positive. Iowa’s statewide 14-day positivity rate is unchanged, at 17.8%. The Individual Positivity rate is 18.9%. Cass County’s Positivity rate is up slightly, to 19.1%.

The IDPH says 131,099 Iowans have recovered from the virus. In the KJAN listening area, here are the current number positive cases in each county, along with the 24-hour change in case numbers {+#}; the number of persons recovered, and the total number of [deaths] (if any), since the pandemic began,

  • Cass, 808 cases {+3}; 507 recovered; 23 deaths
  • Adair, 440;{+7} 229; 8
  • Adams, 169 {+2}; 87; 2
  • Audubon, 295; 192; 2
  • Guthrie, 752 {+3); 436; 15
  • Harrison County, 1,067; 723; 29
  • Madison County, 680 {+2}; 396; 4
  • Mills County, 1,040 {+5}; 485; 7
  • Montgomery, 462 {+7}; 211; 11
  • Pottawattamie County, 6,245 {+24]; 3,578; 70
  • Shelby County, 762 {+1}; 441; 11
  • Union County,  767 {+3}; 302; 6

Stuart Fire Dept. battles storage unit blaze

News

November 29th, 2020 by Ric Hanson

Firefighters from Stuart battled a storage unit blaze this past Thursday morning. In a social media post, officials said the fire at the M & G Storage units on the west end of Stuart, was reported at around 1-a.m.   Smoke and heavy fire were seen on arrival. The fire spread quickly due to wind and structure conditions.

Photos via the Stuart Fire Dept. Facebook page.

Dexter Fire and Menlo Fire were called in for additional support. All crews were working until 6am and one crew remained until 7-am Thursday to search for and extinguish hot spots. The fire caused heavy damage to multiple storage units. All companies returned to base with no injuries.

In addition to assistance from the Dexter and Menlo Fire Departments, Stuart Rescue was on the scene providing rehab for firefighters, and law enforcement was on-hand for traffic control. Barb Boss with the Stuart Fire Auxiliary answered the call at 3-am and brought coffee and donuts for the firefighters.