(Radio Iowa) – The state’s coronavirus website listed 17-hundred-74 new cases of Covid from test results confirmed from mid-morning Friday through mid-morning Sunday. Twenty-eight deaths from Covid were reported to the state during that time period. Public health officials are urging Iowans NOT to take a holiday from pandemic protocols. Wapello County Public Health director Lynelle Diers says there was a surge in cases around July 4th and she’s hoping people don’t let their guard down at Labor Day events.

“Please wear a mask and also social distance as much as possible,” she said. “This is not the time to be hugging people you haven’t seen for six months because now you’re hugging everybody else they’ve been with the last two weeks.” Diers is among those who do the contract tracing after someone tests positive in Wapello County.

“I’ve heard the people say, ‘Yes, somebody died. I was at the funeral.’ Guess what they do at the funeral? They hug each other at the funerals and then they contract Covid,” Diers says. “…After July 4th it became reality for my small agency, the number of people that tested positive for Covid because they wanted to go party.” The number of patients admitted to intensive care units in Iowa hospitals is rising. Eighty-three were admitted to an I-C-U over the weekend.

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

AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — As the number of coronavirus cases fall in the U.S., governors in hard-hit states are rethinking lockdown orders on bars. Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis says he’s looking at reopening bars and nightclubs that have been closed in his state since June. The rate of positive cases in Texas is also falling close to levels that Gov. Greg Abbott says could allow bars reopen again. Experts say the high risks of bars are clear months into a pandemic that has led to 6 million infections in the U.S. Even in recent weeks, new outbreaks tied to college students returning to campus have resulted in bars shutting down again from Alabama to Iowa.

LEON, Iowa (AP) — A 3-year-old boy has died after driving a utility terrain vehicle into a parked trailer in southern Iowa. The Des Moines Register reports that the boy had been riding in the UTV as a passenger with two relatives in Leon, Iowa. But the boy got into the driver’s seat after his two relatives got off. The child then drove the vehicle into a parked fifth-wheel trailer. The Iowa State Patrol crash report says he was taken to the hospital but died of his injuries. He wasn’t wearing a seatbelt.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds says $100 million from the federal government will be used to maintain the state’s COVID-19 testing capacity. The Waterloo-Cedar Falls Courier reports Reynolds told reporters that she wanted to make sure the state has enough tests as schools reopen and flu season begins. But the governor says she also wants the state to be flexible in case testing needs change quickly. For example, she says the state later might want to buy saliva tests or tests that check for both COVID-19 and the flu.

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — Police around the country are reporting that as roads and highways emptied during the pandemic, some drivers took advantage by pushing well past the speed limit. It’s a trend that statistics show is continuing even as states reopen. The head of the Ohio State Highway Patrol says troopers have issued 2,200 tickets since April for driving more than 100 mph. That’s a 61% increase over the same time period a year ago. July was also Ohio’s worst month for fatal crashes since 2007. California, Iowa and Utah are among several states reporting similar year-over-year increases in high speeds.

ALLAMAKEE COUNTY, Iowa – Officials with the Iowa Department of Natural Resources, Sunday evening, said they are investigating a fatal hunting incident. Authorities on Saturday, September 5th, at around 5:00-p.m., DNR Conservation Officers responded to a fatal hunting incident at Fish Farm Mounds Wildlife Area near New Albin, Iowa.

Investigators found a 46 year old male from St. Paul, MN, dead at the scene. The man was believed to be squirrel hunting at Fish Farm Mounds Wildlife Area prior to his death. The name of the man is being withheld pending family notification. The incident is under investigation by the Iowa DNR and the Allamakee County Sheriff’s Office.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds says $100 million from the federal government will be used to maintain the state’s COVID-19 testing capacity. The Waterloo-Cedar Falls Courier reports Reynolds told reporters that she wanted to make sure the state has enough tests as schools reopen and flu season begins. But the governor says she also wants the state to be flexible in case testing needs change quickly.

For example, she says the state later might want to buy saliva tests or tests that check for both COVID-19 and the flu.

An accident involving an aircraft in Montgomery County, Saturday afternoon, resulted in two persons being hurt. Montgomery County Emergency Management Director Brian Hamman, Sunday morning, said the accident happened at around 1-p.m. Saturday near the intersection of 175th and I Avenue, in rural Red Oak.

Photos courtesy Brian Hamman, Montgomery County EMA

Hamman says Montgomery County officials were notified by staff at Montgomery County Memorial Hospital Emergency Room that two individuals were being treated for minor injuries they suffered in the accident. They were subsequently released from the hospital. After an investigation it was confirmed that the single engine, 1972 Piper Cherokee is owned and was operated by, a subject from Valparaiso, Indiana.

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has been contacted and will be conducting the investigation into the cause of the accident. Montgomery County Emergency Management was assisted on scene by the Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office, Red Oak Police Department and Red Oak Fire Department.

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — Police around the country are reporting that as roads and highways emptied during the pandemic, some drivers took advantage by pushing well past the speed limit. It’s a trend that statistics show is continuing even as states reopen. The head of the Ohio State Highway Patrol says troopers have issued 2,200 tickets since April for driving more than 100 mph. That’s a 61% increase over the same time period a year ago. July was also Ohio’s worst month for fatal crashes since 2007.

California, Iowa and Utah are among several states reporting similar year-over-year increases in high speeds.