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

UNDATED (AP) — Three Iowa prisons are reporting coronavirus outbreaks with hundreds of inmates and more than 100 prison workers testing positive in recent days. An Iowa Department of Corrections report says the prison at Clarinda has 377 inmates and 16 staff members testing positive, and at the prison in Rockwell City there are 254 positive inmates and four staff members. The department released data Friday showing an outbreak at the Anamosa prison, where 485 are now testing positive out of 982 inmates housed at the prison. Another 50 staff members are testing positive. Other prisons have smaller numbers of positive cases. In total 1,145 inmates and 103 staff members are positive in the state’s prisons.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — State prison officials say a 70-year-old man imprisoned for his role in a 1981 Davenport murder has died from COVID-19 and other health issues. David Streets, who died Sunday, was serving a life sentence in the death of Mark Webb and the kidnapping of another man. The kidnapped man, Russell Greer, was taken to Palisades State Park near Cedar Rapids, where he was tied to a tree, beaten and left for dead. Streets was one of five people convicted in the case. Corrections officials said he died at the University of Iowa Hospitals, mostly likely from COVID-19 and several pre-existing health conditions.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — The Iowa Insurance Division says its paid $1.6 billion in insurance payouts for damages caused by a rare wind storm that blew through the state in August. The agency said Monday that insurance companies paid nearly 160,000 claims as of Nov. 2. The companies are holding more than $1 billion more in reserves for future claims for damages from the derecho, which carried winds up to 140 mph. Iowa Insurance Commissioner Doug Ommen said in a news release that his office has received just over 90 complaints out of more than 200,000 insurance claims filed about derecho-related damages.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — The Des Moines school district has requested a waiver to move completely to online learning as state figures show coronavirus infections and hospitalizations remain high. The Des Moines school board approved the waiver late Sunday. It’s up to the state Department of Education to grant a waiver. Superintendent Tom Ahart notes Polk County’s average virus positivity rate has topped a state-mandated 15% threshold for districts seeking to shift to online instruction. The state on Monday reported 4,212 new confirmed COVID-19 cases. Three more people have died, bringing the state’s virus death toll to 1,845. A record 1,034 virus patients are being treated in hospitals.

The Adair County Board of Supervisors will meet in person & via dial-in session*, 9-a.m. Tuesday, in the courtroom of the Adair County Courthouse. On their agenda is a canvass of the November 3rd General Election, along with:

• An Adair Waste Management Agency Management Agreement
• Discussion with regard to a Mormon Trail Campground expansion
• And a report from Sheriff Vandewater, who will discuss inmate medical rates with regard to the Adair County Health System, the resignation of the Jail Administrator, and hiring of a new Jail Administrator/Jailer.

*The dial-in number is 605-313-6157    Access Code 526272#

DES MOINES, Iowa — Two more Iowa prisons are reporting outbreaks of coronavirus infections.
The Iowa Department of Corrections says testing has revealed outbreaks at prisons in Clarinda, where 377 inmates and 16 staff members are positive, and Rockwell City, where 254 inmates and four staff members are positive. The Clarinda prison has about 900 inmates and Rockwell City has 426.

The department released data Friday showing an outbreak at the Anamosa prison and updated numbers show 485 infected inmates of the 982 inmates at the prison. An additional 50 staff members tested positive.

Additional smaller prison outbreaks also have been reported. In total, 1,145 inmates and 103 staff members are positive in Iowa’s prisons.

Atlantic, IA – Due to the rising number of COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations, Cass County Health System is suspending its Cardiac and Pulmonary Rehabilitation services until further notice. This includes services for both Phase II and Phase III patients. Stress tests and other cardiology services will remain operational.

(Radio Iowa) – Congresswoman Cindy Axne of West Des Moines, a Democrat, says now that the campaign is over, the current congress should act before year’s end to provide another round of assistance to help individuals and businesses hit hard by the pandemic.  “It’s just a really difficult time for way too many people,” she says, “and we’ve got to get this done.” Axne says it’s been more than seven months since congress passed the so-called CARES Act and most of the money has been spent.

Axne says congress should provide more federal money for hospitals, health care workers and small businesses — as well as more assistance to low-income Americans with overdue utility bills who are at risk of losing heat and electricity during the winter. The temporary spending plan for the entire federal government is set to expire next month as well.

“We’ve got to make sure that we keep government open and pass a budget,” Axne says. “That’s just a basic that needs to get done, but we need to make sure there’s things in there.” For example, Axne says congress must ensure parents can carry over any unused money they’d put aside in flexible savings accounts for child care expenses. The money in traditional pre-tax savings plans for medical and other expenses must be used by year’s end — or individuals forfeit that money.

Axne says due to the pandemic, many parents weren’t able to find child care — and they stand to lose the money they’d saved to cover those expenses. “There’s just a lot we need to do in a budget, given the fact where we’re at with Covid,” Axne says. Axne, who represents Iowa’s third congressional district, was re-elected to a second term in the U.S. House last week.

(Radio Iowa) – The Ankeny-based Casey’s convenience store chain has purchased another chain with stores in several states. Casey’s announced the agreement today (Monday) to acquire Buchanan Energy — the owner of Bucky’s Convenience Stores — in an all-cash transaction for 580 million dollars.

Bucky’s Convenience Stores were founded as a family-owned and operated business in 1980. It has stores mainly in Illinois and Nebraska — with others Missouri, Texas, and one in Council Bluffs, Iowa.

Casey’s acquisition will include 94 retail stores and 79 dealer locations, and multiple parcels of real estate for future new store construction. The purchase will increase Casey’s store count to more than 23-hundred. The transaction is anticipated to close by the end of this year.