Police in Red Oak report two arrests. At around 3:23-a.m. today (Wednesday), Officers arrested 75-year old Mary Katherine Pierce, of Red Oak, on a warrant out of Page County, for Failure to Appear on a Theft in the 5th Degree, charge. Pierce was being held in the Montgomery County Jail on a $300 bond. And, at around 10:40-p.m. Tuesday, Red Oak Police arrested 59-year old Ronald Dean Kammerer, JR., of Red Oak. He was taken into custody on a Pottawattamie County warrant for Contempt – Failure to Pay Child Support. Kammerer, JR., was being held without bond in the Montgomery County Jail, while awaiting extradition to Pott. County.

(Radio Iowa) – Two “Test Iowa” locations are opening in Orange City and Sioux Center to expand Covid-19 testing capacity in the northwest corner of the state. Governor Kim Reynolds says coronavirus cases have been elevated in Sioux County for the past three weeks.

“Sioux County currently has the highest 14-day average positivity rate in the state at nearly 28%,” Reynolds says. “Neighboring Lyon and Osceola Counties are both above 20% and some other counties in the surrounding area top 15%.” The governor says new Covid cases in northwest Iowa are evenly distributed across age groups rather than being among young adults.

“The case investigation process tells us that increased cases in these areas…aren’t really tied to a specific event or activity,” Reynolds says. “…The virus is simply spreading from person-to-person during the course of normal daily activities.” In Sioux County, for example, half of recent Covid cases were among adults between the ages of 41 and 80 and another 12 percent were among children under the age of 18. Reynolds says the virus seems to move around the country and is currently hitting the Midwest and the tri-state region of northwest Iowa and neighboring counties in Nebraska and South Dakota.

“We’re bringing in additional tests so that we can identify, so I think we’re going to see, kind of, hopefully what we saw in other areas where we see that spike,” and then, hopefully, we’ll see that come back down.” Since August, the testing sites in Orange City and Sioux Center have been screening students and staff from Northwestern and Dordt University. Now, those sites will offer Covid tests to others who register online at Test-Iowa-dot-com.

The number of Iowans hospitalized for treatment of Covid-19 has increased 20 percent in the past week. Dr. Caitlin Pedati, the state medical director, says the best advice for curbing community spread of the virus is what it’s been since the start of the pandemic: stay at least six feet away from others, wear a mask and wash your hands. The number of Iowans hospitalized for treatment of Covid-19 has increased 20 percent in the past week.

Here is the latest Iowa news from The Associated Press at 3:25 a.m. CDT

DAVENPORT, Iowa (AP) — A 21-year-old Davenport man charged with killing a woman as she was leaving a civil rights protest will remain in jail. A district court judge on Tuesday denied Parker Belz’s request to be released on bond. He is charged with first-degree murder in the death of Italia Marie Kelly. She had joined a protest on May 31 over the death of George Floyd but was leaving because the gathering was becoming unruly. She was shot in the back. Belz has pleaded not guilty. He has been held without bond since his arrest in June.

IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) — Gov. Kim Reynolds has announced a policy change to make it easier for students, teachers and business workers exposed to an infected person to avoid a two-week quarantine, despite a surge in cases throughout the state. Under new state guidance, children in daycares and schools and workers do not have to quarantine as long as they and the infected person with whom they were in contact were consistently and correctly wearing face coverings. Only the infected person must go into isolation, while the close contacts should monitor their health. The change breaks with Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidance, which recommends a 14-day quarantine for anyone who is in close contact with someone who has tested positive regardless of mask use.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Iowa U.S. Sen. Joni Ernst says she has been “very consistent” in her views on Supreme Court nominees despite supporting a vote on President Donald Trump’s nominee while working with other Republicans to block a nomination by President Barack Obama. Ernst was asked about her seemingly contradictory stands during a televised debate with Democrat Theresa Greenfield that touched on topics ranging from the Supreme Court and Trump’s tax returns to health care and racial justice. Ernst says this nomination is different than in 2016 because Republicans control both the Senate and presidency. Greenfield argued the GOP-majority Senate shouldn’t act on Trump’s nomination of Judge Amy Coney Barrett fewer than 40 days before the presidential election.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Is Iowa regaining swing state status? President Donald Trump has spent millions trying to secure the state’s six electoral votes, but several recent polls show a surprisingly close race with Democrat Joe Biden. Voters in the state where Trump won by 9.4 percentage points in 2016 have soured on Trump’s handling of the coronavirus and the overall direction of the country. A competitive presidential race in Iowa, where polls show the candidates running about even, suggests a tightening in other states he won by similar margins, such as Ohio, and potential peril in those he won by smaller margins, such as Michigan, Wisconsin and Pennsylvania.