Iowa’s Coronavirus dashboard (as of 10-a.m. Friday), shows since 10-am. Thursday, 14 more deaths have been attributed to COVID-19, for a total of 1,815. IDPH says there was one additional death in Adair County, for a total of three. Adair County Public Health says the individual was in the age range of 41-60.  There was also one more death in each of Cass, Harrison, Madison and Union Counties. The number of deaths attributed to a pre-existing conditions statewide are 1,185, while deaths at Long-Term Care facilities amount to 879, eight more than what was reported Thursday.

Officials say there are 3,533 new confirmed cases of the virus, for a total since the pandemic began, of 144,142. Cass County also has 18 more Positive cases of COVID, for a total of 558. Double-digit case increases were also reported in Harrison, Madison, Pottawattamie, Shelby and Union Counties.

The number of Long-Term Care facility (LTC) outbreaks is 87, three more than Thursday. Those care facilities report 2,704 positive cases and 1,137 recoveries.   In Cass County, three facilities: Atlantic Specialty Care, The Heritage House, and the Griswold Rehabilitation and Health Care Center, have a combined total of 143 positive cases, with 32 recovered. Harrison County has 280 cases among three facilities, and 196 recovered.  (For more data, go to https://coronavirus.iowa.gov/)

Hospitalizations set another record in Iowa, jumping from 839 Thursday, to 912 today. There are 188 patients with COVID in an ICU. Hospital admissions jumped from 156 Thursday to164  today. And there are 67 persons on a ventilator, compared to 60 on Thursday. In western/southwestern Iowa: there are three more people hospitalized with COVID, at 57; Two more are in an ICU, for a total of 17, and 10 people were admitted, (compared to nine previously). There are currently three persons on a ventilator, one more than reported yesterday.

The health department reports 1,012,847 Iowans have been tested for COVID-19. The state received 12,336 lab test results in the previous day, with 3,417 positive results. The State’s Individual Positivity rate is up to 14.2% (14.0% )previously, and the 14-day rolling average is up to 17.6% (It was 16.9% Thursday). Johns Hopkins University researchers say the seven-day rolling average of the positivity rate in Iowa has risen over the past two weeks from 27% on Oct. 22 to nearly 42% on Nov. 5. That keeps Iowa’s rate second in the nation behind South Dakota.

State data shows 75 counties report a positivity rate greater than 15% over the last 14 days, up from 72 the previous day. Public schools in those 75 counties can apply for a waiver to provide 100% virtual learning. There are 27 counties reporting a rate greater than 20%, with three more reporting greater than 30%.

Cass County’s Positivity rate dropped from 21.3 to 19.0%.  Taylor County is up to 24.6%, and Page County’s Positivity rate jumped from 26.5 to 30%.  Jones County, in eastern Iowa has the State’s highest Positivity rate, at 39.7%.   Officials say 99,195 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, 558 cases {+18}; 360 recovered; 8 deaths
• Adair, 260 {+6}; 95; 3
• Adams, 93; 57; 1
• Audubon, 219 {+5}; 114; 1
• Guthrie, 480 {+10); 314; 15
• Harrison County, 793 {+15}; 461; 20
• Madison County, 426 {+10}; 303; 4
• Mills County, 547 {+15}; 271; 3
• Montgomery, 242 {+8}; 200; 7
• Pottawattamie County, 3,836 {+63]; 2,767; 47
• Shelby County, 478 {+10}; 427; 2
• Union County,  330 {+11}; 250; 6

An incident Thursday night in Council Bluffs led to an Officer nearly being run over, and a pursuit that eventually ended in Omaha, with the arrest of two people. Police in Council Bluffs say the warrants will be requested for suspect driver of the vehicle, 21-year-old Garrett Knipe, from Tipton (IA). He is expected to face charges that include Aggravated Assault on a Police Officer, Theft 1st (Possession of Stolen Property), and Felony Eluding.

The incident began when a Council Bluffs Police Office located a vehicle that had eluded officers earlier in the day, Thursday, on the lot of Country Inn and Suites. When the backup officer arrived, the officers pulled up to the suspect vehicle. One officer pulled his cruiser behind the suspect vehicle and was attempting to make contact with the suspect, later identified as Garrett Knipe. As he was walking up to Knipe’s vehicle, Knipe, put his vehicle in reverse and rammed the officer’s cruiser. The Officer was able to get out of the way and was not injured. Knipe then eluded officers west on 23rd Ave, north on So. 35th St. The pursuit was terminated due to safety concerns, as Knipe was driving into oncoming traffic and over 100mph.

Omaha Police Department helicopter “Able 1” was able to locate Knipe’s vehicle and followed it into Omaha where he continued to drive in a reckless manner. OPD Officers were able to deploy stop sticks and deflate the tires on Knipe’s vehicle. Knipe and a female passenger fled the vehicle on foot in the area of 48th and Cuming. Able 1 was able to direct OPD officers to the area and a perimeter was set up. Both Knipe and the female passenger were taken into custody after a brief search.

Bluffs Police say they want to thank the Able 1 Pilots, OPD Uniform Patrol Officers & Command, Nebraska State Patrol K9, and the Pottawattamie County Sheriff Deputies, for their assistance in bringing the incident to a safe ending.

(Radio Iowa) – Governor Kim Reynolds says Iowa’s 2020 election results have validated the approach she and other Republicans have taken at the state-level on tax cuts and spending issues over the past two years.  “In addition, it was a validation of our balanced response to Covid-19,” Reynolds says, “one that is mindful of both public health and economic health.”

Back in March, at the beginning of the pandemic, Reynolds ordered schools and many businesses to close for several weeks, but she says closures are not a permanent solution and a majority of Iowa voters agree. “Iowans said in this election they want to get through it. They want to figure out a way to move on,” Reynolds says. “They, you know, agree with how we’ve handled Covid-19. I just believe that’s what the election said.”

She is now urging Iowans to help keep businesses open and kids in school by wearing face masks and weighing whether indoor group gatherings are worth the risk. “Government solutions alone can’t stop this virus,” Reynolds says. “It’s up to every single one of us.” Next year Reynolds will be governing with an even larger Republican majority in the Iowa House and the G-O-P kept its significant edge in the Iowa Senate.

Reynolds says she’s beginning to put together her proposals for the 2021 legislature. She told reporters on Thursday that she’s continuing to look through the numbers to see what tax cuts may be possible. The governor’s “Invest in Iowa” proposal to cut income taxes and raise the sales tax was tabled when the pandemic hit.

(Radio Iowa) – The Covid patient count in Iowa hospitals hit another high last (Thursday) night: 912. That’s a 22 percent jump from November 1st. There was also a significant increase in the daily count of newly identified Covid cases in Iowa, with 44 percent of those being tested getting a positive result. Dr. Suresh Gunasekaran is C-E-O of the University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics.

“It is not a good trend,” he says. “…The fact that number is increasing is very troubling.” The University of Iowa Hospitals operates a testing clinic for Covid and other flu-like illnesses. More than a thousand people were tested at the clinic Wednesday — the highest one-day total ever — and Dr. Gunasekaran says they will double staffing at that testing site.

“We’re moving some pretty significant numbers from one area to another in order to make this happen,” he says. Twenty-seven hospital staff tested positive for Covid on Wednesday. Anticipating a continuing surge of Covid patients, the hospital in Iowa City will expand its intensive care unit on November 16th, with the possibility of doubling it to 200 beds if needed. Dr. Gunasekaran says it appears there is substantial exhaustion among Iowans about taking simple steps, like wearing a mask in public, to reduce the spread of the virus.

“The fact that this infection rate is so high, that it is so robust across all Iowa communities means that enough Iowans are not taking this seriously,” he says. He says public health officials are looking for innovative ways to combat that exhaustion and prevent hospitals from being overwhelmed with Covid patients. Governor Reynolds announced yesterday (Thursday) she would launch a new public awareness campaign next week.

A pursuit on Interstate 29 in Pottawattamie County Thursday night, ended with a crash and a Montgomery County woman being injured. The Iowa State Patrol reports a 2010 Mazda MZ-6 driven by 21-year old Alexa Raye Prichard, of Red Oak, was actively attempting to elude law enforcement while traveling west on I-29 at the 53-mile marker, when the car went out of control and entered the north ditch.

The vehicle rolled several times, causing Prichard to the ejected. She was not wearing a seat belt. The accident happened at around 9:36-p.m.

The Patrol says Prichard was transported by Council Bluffs Rescue to the University of Nebraska Medical Center, where she was reported to be critical condition. The accident remains under investigation.

Here is the latest Iowa news from The Associated Press

IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) — Small numbers of outstanding mail ballots are arriving after the election in Iowa’s 2nd Congressional District, where the candidates remain locked in a tight race. In unofficial returns, Republican Mariannette Miller-Meeks leads Democrat Rita Hart by 282 votes out of 393,000 tabulated. The candidates are competing for a seat that opened with the retirement of Democratic Rep. Dave Loebsack. Iowa will count absentee ballots that were postmarked by Monday and arrive by noon Nov. 9 and any provisional ballots that are deemed eligible. Johnson County has received 28 absentee ballots thus far that have yet to be counted. Two other counties carried by Hart _ Clinton and Jefferson _ have a combined total of 18 absentee ballots to be counted.

IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) — President Trump received more than 70% of the votes cast on Election Day in Iowa, easily overcoming Joe Biden’s substantial lead among those who voted early. Unofficial results show Trump captured Iowa’s six electoral votes by winning more than 53% of the vote, defeating Joe Biden by about 138,700 votes. A record number of people voted early in person and through the mail. Those voters heavily favored Biden. Trump entered Election Day facing a deficit of 161,000 votes but ended up picking up about 300,000. Only 704,000 votes were cast at polling places Tuesday, a 230,000 decrease from 2016 as voters embraced other voting options.

OTTUMWA, Iowa (AP) — A judge has found an Ottumwa woman guilty of involuntary manslaughter, rather than murder, in the death of her 5-year-old daughter. Kelsie Thomas was charged with first-degree murder in the 2018 death of her daughter at their home. Her first trial ended in a hung jury. After a two-week bench trial last month, Judge Lucy Gamon on Thursday convicted Thomas of the lesser charge. KTVO reports Thomas initially told authorities her daughter accidentally hung herself but later confessed to killing her. Gamon ruled that Thomas’ actions were horrific but she did not find evidence of premeditation, which is required for first-degree murder.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds is launching a media campaign to encourage people to take action to reduce the state’s surging number of coronavirus infections but will not impose any mandates or enforce new rules. Reynolds also said Thursday that the success of Republican candidates in the general election was proof that most Iowans support her decision to not require masks and quickly end most restrictions on businesses. Reynolds says the media campaign would begin next week and would include newspaper, television and radio advertising. She spoke on a day when there were 4,562 new confirmed cases in the past 24 hours and 20 more deaths.

IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) — Small numbers of outstanding mail ballots are arriving after the election in Iowa’s 2nd Congressional District, where the candidates remain locked in a tight race. In unofficial returns, Republican Mariannette Miller-Meeks leads Democrat Rita Hart by 282 votes out of 393,000 tabulated. The candidates are competing for a seat that opened with the retirement of Democratic Rep. Dave Loebsack.

Iowa will count absentee ballots that were postmarked by Monday and arrive by noon Nov. 9 and any provisional ballots that are deemed eligible. Johnson County has received 28 absentee ballots thus far that have yet to be counted. Two other counties carried by Hart _ Clinton and Jefferson _ have a combined total of 18 absentee ballots to be counted.