(Radio Iowa) — A Wisconsin woman is dead after being struck and killed by a tractor at Clear Lake State Park on Tuesday afternoon. The Cerro Gordo County Sheriff’s Department says they responded to a medical call at State Park Beach at about 4:15 PM. An unattended tractor owned by the State of Iowa rolled down a hill towards the beach area and struck a female sitting near the beach.

The woman, identified as 21-year-old Mercedes Kohlhardt of Eau Claire, Wisconsin, was pronounced dead at the scene due to injuries sustained from the accident. The Sheriff’s Department says the incident remains under investigation.

(Radio Iowa) — Two people were hurt in a home explosion and fire Tuesday afternoon in northeast Iowa. The Dubuque County Sheriff’s Office received a report of a possible explosion and fire at a home northeast of Cascade. Firefighters believe the explosion was due to a gasoline leak in a 1965 Ford Mustang in the garage. The car had already been taken out of the garage but lingering fumes apparently entered the basement of the home where they were likely ignited by a pilot light.

Two people inside the home were injured and were taken to a Dubuque hospital with what authorities described as non-life-threatening injuries. The home sustained significant damage due to the fire, estimated at more than $250,000.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — The Iowa Department of Education says it will rule next week on appeals filed by at least two districts opposed to fully opening schools to in-person classes when the new school year begins in the coming weeks. Earlier this month, Gov. Kim Reynolds overrode local school districts that wanted to hold online classes. She instead is requiring students to spend at least half of their education time in classrooms this upcoming school year, even as the state’s coronavirus cases have surged this summer.

News of the upcoming ruling came as the state’s online virus tracker shows nine more COVID-19 deaths and more than 450 new cases confirmed on Wednesday from the day before.

Atlantic, IA —Cass County Health System officials announced updated visitor limitations for all obstetrics patients will begin on Monday, August 3. This measure is being enacted to protect the health of patients, staff, volunteers, and visitors and to proactively limit the spread of COVID-19.

Expectant mothers will designate two support persons at the beginning of her hospital stay. The designated support persons can both be with the mother at the same time. The two designated support persons cannot change during the length of the patient’s hospital stay; the two support persons will be the only visitors permitted. The two support persons must be 18 years of age or older, in good health, and must pass screening at CCHS entrances.

Other visitor limitations remain in effect:

• All visitors must be 18 years of age or older and in good health.
• Outpatients may have one visitor with them.
• Inpatients may have one visitor at a time.

All visitors will be screened at the entrance before being allowed to proceed. Visitors must wear a mask and practice social distancing in waiting rooms. If there are too many visitors in the waiting room to appropriately social distance, then staff will ask visitors to please wait in their vehicles or return at a later time.

All visitors, family members, and friends are still encouraged to use technology to keep in contact with their loved ones.

The Creston Police Department says a man from Creston reported Tuesday night, that his black,  .9-mm Taurus handgun and leather holster is missing, The gun and holster were with him at around 10-a.m. Tuesday, while he was at 12 Mile Lake. He forgot to grab the weapon/holster before he left. The loss was estimated at $200.

A collision between a car and an ATV in northwest Iowa’s Monona County, Tuesday night, left one person dead and another injured. According to the Iowa State Patrol, a 2010 Honda Accord driven by 18-year old Elijah Oregon, of Oto, and a 2018 Suzuki Kingquad ATV driven by 65-year old Timothy Dahms, of Hornick, were both traveling west on Monona County Road E-16, when the car hit the ATV from behind. The accident happened at around 9:50-p.m.

The Patrol says after the ATV was struck, the machine left the road and came to rest in the north ditch. Timothy Dahms died from his injuries at the scene. Elijah Oregon was transported by ambulance to a local hospital.

(Radio Iowa) – A key advisor on the White House Coronavirus Task Force says Iowa is among a group of states where mitigation efforts should increase. Dr. Deborah Birx says the concern is rising infection rates among 20 and 30 years old in Iowa — coupled with the fact between five and 10 percent of those being tested in Iowa are found to have the virus. She says if officials wait for hospitalizations to spike, it is in her estimation “really way too late.”

Birx made her comments during a conference call with governors. Vice President Mike Pence, who was also on the call, says shut downs aren’t the answer, but Pence said studies show things like the use of face masks, limited social gatherings and bar closures are slowing the spread in the same way sheltering in place did this spring.