SIOUX CITY, Iowa (Sioux City Journal) — A Sioux City man accused of looting the checking account of a nursing home resident has pleaded guilty. The Sioux City Journal reports that 53-year-old Ronald Taylor entered the plea last week to a charge of dependent adult abuse. His sentencing is scheduled for April 21. Woodbury County District Court records say Taylor held a power of attorney for the man, who has dementia and can’t handle his finances. The records say Taylor spent nearly $23,000 of the man’s money since July 28, 2017, wiping out the man’s account.

(Radio Iowa) — Some stores in Iowa are already sold out of face masks, but a state health official says there’s no need for Iowans to be stockpiling masks over fears about coronavirus. Polly Carver-Kimm, spokeswoman for the Iowa Department of Public Health, says while there are a few dozen confirmed cases in the U-S, the risk of catching the potentially-deadly virus in Iowa remains very low. “We can understand that people have seen photos and video of people wearing face masks in other countries, but the CDC specifically does not recommend the use of face masks as a prevention method for COVID-19,” Carver-Kimm says. “We don’t feel that anyone in Iowa needs to run out and buy face masks now anyway.”

Unless you’re a health care worker, she says you don’t need to be wearing a face mask. “That’s a different situation because they’re in very close proximity to an individual who may be coughing or sneezing directly on them,” Carver-Kimm says. “Health care providers may, and we’d probably recommend they do use face masks just like they do when they have an influenza patient come in.” The health department does recommend Iowans make a plan, just as they would for severe weather, and assemble an emergency kit.  “That involves things like making sure you have a supply of your medications on hand, making sure you have thoughts in line for, ‘What would I do if I couldn’t get to the grocery store?’ or ‘What will I do if the school is closed because of illness,'” she says. “We’re not saying that’s going to happen but it’s always best to prepare and that’s what we’re advising people to do right now.”

That emergency kit need not include face masks, she says. So, millions of people in Asian countries who wear face masks are wrong? “There’s actually a very long cultural history behind that which has to do with societal norms and privacy,” Carver-Kimm says. “It’s not just about disease prevention and there’s a lot of history on that.”

The C-D-C recommends health care workers who interact with coronavirus patients wear masks designated as “N-95,” which fit close to the face and include a respirator. That N-95 means they’re designed to filter out 95% of particles.

(Radio Iowa) — A selection of historic photos from 75 years ago are on display at the downtown museum in Sioux City. Vernon Tott of Sioux City was serving in the U-S Army’s 84th Infantry Division that was moving through Nazi Germany near the end of World War Two rounding up German prisoners when they discovered the Ahlem concentration camp near Hanover. Museum Curator Matt Anderson says Tott, was able to capture some photos of the starving Jewish prisoners found in the Holocaust Camp 75 years ago. “Vernon had been carrying a small camera with him all through is time in the Army. Even though he wasn’t supposed to — he snapped photographs of his experience that day — and they were just in the camp for a brief period, I think it was an hour or two, and he captured some striking images of what was going on there,” Anderson says.

Tott came home and put the photos he had taken in a wooden box and did not look at them until 1997. That’s when he read a notice in his army unit’s newsletter from Benjamin Sieradzki, an Ahlem survivor seeking the G-I who had taken those photos during the camp’s liberation.  “It came to light that he had these and he was actually able to track down some of the people who were in the photos that were still alive,” according to Anderson. “It’s another way that we have a Sioux City connection with a terrible but historic event.”

Tott contacted Sieradzki and that led to them finding 15 other camp survivors before Tott’s death on March 1st, 2005 at the age of 80. Vernon Tott was honored by the Holocaust Museum for his efforts and has his name inscribed on a wall there as a Liberator. Selections from the Vernon Tott Collection will be exhibited through April 19, 2020, at the Public Museum downtown.

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

CORRECTIONVILLE, Iowa (AP) — A Powerball ticket sold in northwest Iowa is worth $1 million. Iowa Lottery officials say the ticket sold in Correctionville, Iowa, matched five of the six winning numbers in Saturday’s drawing. The ticket was sold at a Brew convenience store. The store will receive a $1,000 bonus from the Iowa lottery for selling the winning ticket. No one matched all six numbers to win the jackpot in Saturday’s drawing. So the prize will grow to $90 million for Wednesday’s drawing.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — The Iowa Democratic Party State Central Committee has certified the results of the 2020 presidential caucuses, nearly a month after a faulty mobile app and other problems delayed counting and prompted calls for Iowa to lose its first-in-the-nation status. Iowa awards 41 national delegates in its caucuses. Following Saturday’s certification of the Feb. 3 caucuses, Buttigieg had 14 delegates and Sanders had 12. Elizabeth Warren won eight, Joe Biden won six and Amy Klobuchar won one. The Associated Press opted not to call a winner, given remaining concerns about whether the results as reported by the party were fully accurate.

DUBUQUE, Iowa (AP) — A spike in influenza and other respiratory illnesses in eastern Iowa have led hospitals in Dubuque and Dyersville to limit patient visitation. The Telegraph Herald reports that children under 14 — including siblings of babies in the birth center — are being asked not to visit the hospitals. Those with respiratory or flu symptoms, such as coughing, fever, aches and nausea, are also asked not to visit. Dr. Honorio Caceres is chairman of the bi-hospital infection control committee. He directed that the restrictions be put in place at MercyOne Dubuque Medical Center and UnityPoint Health-Finley Hospital in Dubuque and at MercyOne Dyersville Medical Center.

CORRECTIONVILLE, Iowa (AP) — A Powerball ticket sold in northwest Iowa is worth $1 million. Iowa Lottery officials say the ticket sold in Correctionville, Iowa, matched five of the six winning numbers in Saturday’s drawing. The ticket was sold at a Brew convenience store.

The store will receive a $1,000 bonus from the Iowa lottery for selling the winning ticket. No one matched all six numbers to win the jackpot in Saturday’s drawing. So the prize will grow to $90 million for Wednesday’s drawing.

A series of meetings and a media blitz should have Guthrie County residents ready to make an informed vote Tuesday on an $8.5-million referendum to pay for a jail expansion and parking lot improvement project in Guthrie Center, that authorities have been promoting. Sheriff’s officials have said the current jail, constructed 56-years ago, was originally only supposed to house 10 inmates and five employees, but it is currently 100% full, due to segregation rules (including gender, juvenile, medical/mental health issues, misdemeanor/felony, etc.). And, while the jail might only five inmates, it is considered full due to the segregation rules. Overflow inmates are transferred to another county at a daily rate.

Authorities say the cost of housing inmates at other out-of-county facilities from December 2018 to November 2019 amounting to over $47,180, and does not include transportation/labor costs of approximately $29,000 per year. They said also, the jail is cramped. It was built to house several departments within the Sheriff’s Office (dispatch, civil, patrol, administration) and Guthrie County inmates charged with criminal offenses outlined in the Iowa Code.

Sheriff Marty Arganbright says due to an increase in crime, drug use, and mental health issues, there is a mix of 35 full and part-time employees, reserve officers, and chaplains. Because there’s also an increase in inmates, some are forced to sleep on the floor and live in less than humane conditions. Officials say the 911 Center/Dispatch area is not secure, and there is poor inmate flow that presents increased risk to public, staff, and inmates.

The solution, according to officials is a 14,800 square foot addition will serve as the Guthrie County Law Enforcement Center (LEC). The facility is designed to include five classification units and four intake holding cells and includes a jail with 28 beds (with second bunk – 32 beds), jail services, jail administration, Sheriff’s administration, patrol, and investigations. Other support spaces include interview rooms, evidence, records, storage, and a sally port. From a safety perspective the new facility design and surveillance technologies officials say, will enhance safety by providing more effective supervision, less potential incidental contact between inmates, staff and the public, and reduced inmate transfers.

To tour the current facility and see models of the new Guthrie County Jail Center visit the Guthrie County Vote website.

(Radio Iowa) — The number of homes sold in Iowa during the month of January, bounded more than ten-percent compared to January of 2019, according to a report from the Iowa Association of Realtors. Association president Scott Wendl, a realtor in Clive, credits the warmer weather for the healthy jump. “If you remember last year, January was really cold and not many people like to look at homes when it’s negative-20-degrees out,” Wendl says. “This year, it just seems to be a more mild winter, not as much snow. People are more energized to get out and start looking with the rates being so competitive.”

The report says home sales prices across Iowa remained steady compared to January of 2019.”The average price has gone up statewide 1.3% which averages out to about $3,000,” Wendl says. “The average sale price in the Iowa market is $160,000 which makes it very affordable when comparing it to other states.” More than 21-hundred homes sold statewide in January, compared to about 19-hundred a year ago. Wendl says homes sold relatively fast compared to last year, too, as January saw an average of 70 days on market compared to 74 days in January of 2019. “Anything with less than six months inventory, basically homes available, it’s kind of a balanced market,” Wendl says. “The buyers are definitely out there. The inventory is starting to pick up a little bit so there’s more homes to choose from.”

He’s expecting home sales to continue rising with the temperatures as warmer weather approaches. “It always picks up right after Spring Break,” Wendl says. “The floodgates open and everybody wants to buy or put their home on the market after the long winter.” Compared to last January, the report says new listings were up 4.4-percent and pending sales were up 7.5-percent, which Wendl says bodes well for February. Those numbers will be out later this month (In March).

Sheriff’s Deputies in Montgomery County, Saturday evening, arrested an Adams County man following an investigation into a single-vehicle accident. Authorities say 34-year old Jeffrey Knapp, of Nodaway, was taken into custody at around 6-p.m., for OWI/1st offense. Knapp was not injured in the accident, which took place in the 1900 block of 200th Street, in Red Oak. He was transported to the Montgomery County Jail, and held on a $1,000 bond. The incident remains under investigation.

Red Oak Police arrested a man late Saturday night on a Public Intoxication charge. 32-year old Brandon Michael Houghtaling, of Red Oak, was taken into custody at around 11:26-p.m. in the 1600 block of Broadway. He was brought to the Montgomery County Jail and held on a $300 bond. Red Oak Police said Houghtaling had also been arrested Friday night on the same charge in a different area of town. He was also held on a $300 bond for that offense, before being released and apprehended again Saturday night.

Emergency personnel from the West Des Moines Fire Dept. along with Police and other EMS crews were called to the scene of an accident involving three motorcycles, Saturday afternoon. Three people were injured. According to KCCI in Des Moines, the accident happened in the 1200 block of the Veterans Parkway, at around 4:10-p.m., Saturday.

Two of the crash victims suffered serious injuries, while injuries to a third person were considered to be life-threatening. The crash remained under investigation. No names were immediately released.