The Union County Sheriff’s Office reports one arrest and one incident of vandalism. At around 6:15-p.m. Tuesday, 58-year old Timothy Allan Sly, of Lorimor, was arrested at the Union County Law Enforcement Center, on a Union County warrant for driving while barred. Sly was released from the Union County Jail on $2,000 bond. And, at around 2:30-p.m., Tuesday, a woman from  Lorimor reported that her son’s 1999 Jeep Grand Cherokee had been vandalized recently. The damage was estimated at $3,000.

Atlantic, IA—Cass County Health System (CCHS) officials announced today (Wednesday), that two employees have tested positive for COVID-19. CCHS Chief Executive Officer Brett Altman says “We are happy to say that our employees are only experiencing mild symptoms right now, and we expect and hope that both get well soon.” The employees contracted COVID-19 from sources outside of the CCHS. The employees are isolating at home until they are considered recovered in accordance with the recovery criteria from the Iowa Department of Public Health (IDPH).

While the staff members were always appropriately masked and protected while near patients, CCHS officials felt it was necessary to go above and beyond the current contact tracing procedures to notify any patients who were cared for by these staff members, as well as to inform the community of these new cases. CCHS Chief Nursing Officer Amanda Bireline says “We had five patients who received care from these employees. In our investigation, we found that there was no significant risk to the patients because of our use of PPE (personal protective equipment) – gloves, masks, and proper hand hygiene were properly observed. Yet, when we put ourselves in the shoes of the patients and their families, we felt like the right thing to do was to tell them.”CCHS officials have spoken with the patients who were impacted.”

In alignment with IDPH guidance, CCHS is also keeping home other staff members who worked in close contact with the employees who have tested positive for COVID-19. This is a precautionary safety measure put into practice by CCHS to minimize the risk of spreading the illness. Altman said “All along, we have been planning and preparing for the day when COVID-19 started to impact our community and staff. Without a doubt now, we’re at that point where there are real implications, and this likely won’t be the only impact on our workforce. We have an excellent team in place to strategize how we continue to safely care for patients, families, and the communities we are privileged to serve, but we still need everyone’s help to prevent the spread of the virus.”

Bireline added, “Despite these positive cases, we feel that there is no additional risk to our patients or the patients that we served at the time. We acted quickly to isolate the cases, and we are monitoring and testing the exposed staff members.” All patients and visitors at CCHS are screened at the entrance for fever and COVID-19 symptoms, and everyone in the facility is masked. CCHS also maintains a COVID-19 hotline for questions and concerns, as well as a Respiratory Care Clinic to serve patients with any respiratory symptoms that is in a designated space away
from other patients.

IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) — A federal judge has denied an Iowa drug kingpin’s requests to delay his execution, which is scheduled for Friday. U.S. District Judge Leonard Strand wrote Tuesday that he would not intervene to delay Dustin Honken’s execution date due to the coronavirus pandemic.

FILE – In this Aug. 18, 2004 file photo, Dustin Honken is led by federal marshals to a waiting car after the second day of jury selection in federal court in Sioux City, Iowa. A federal judge has denied the Iowa drug kingpin’s requests to delay his execution, which is scheduled for Friday, July 17, 2020. U.S. District Judge Leonard Strand wrote Tuesday, July 14 that he would not intervene to delay Honken’s execution date due to the coronavirus pandemic. He said the Bureau of Prisons was in the best position to weigh the health risks against the benefits of carrying out the execution. (Tim Hynds/Sioux City Journal via AP, File)

He said the Bureau of Prisons was in the best position to weigh the health risks against the benefits of carrying out the execution.

Strand also denied Honken’s motion to declare his execution void due to an alleged procedural error by the government. He affirmed the executive branch’s power to set the date for executions.

The Creston Police Department reports 45-year old Lance England, of Creston, was arrested at around 2:35-a.m. today (Wednesday), on a Union County warrant for the Purchase/Possession of Depiction of a Minor in a Sexual Act/1st offense. England was arrested at the Union County Law Enforcement Center and later released on $2,000 bond.

Tuesday evening, 35-year old Charlie Brown, of Gravity, was arrested in Creston for a Sex Offender Registry Violation. He was later released on $2,000 bond.

And, Tuesday morning, Creston Police arrested 28-year old Brandon Haley, of Clarinda, on a Union County warrant for Failure to Appear on an original charge of Possession of a Controlled Substance/2nd offense. Haley was arrested at the Union County LEC and later released on a $300 bond.