PELLA, Iowa (AP) — An Iowa woman accused of fatally stabbing her husband’s girlfriend has pleaded not guilty to a charge of first-degree murder. The Des Moines Register reports that 55-year-old Michelle Boat entered the plea Monday. Authorities allege that Boat shouted “He don’t belong to you” during the May 18 attack that killed 46-year-old Tracy Mondabough. Pella police have said that Boat was recorded on camera following the victim to an apartment complex before the stabbing.

Police also accused Boat of abusing her estranged husband and violating a no-contact order several times in the months before the stabbing.

The Creston Police Department reports the arrest at around 6-p.m. Wednesday, of 59-year old John Edgar Dickerson, Jr., from Creston. Dickerson was arrested on the charges of Possession of Controlled Substance – Marijuana 1st, Possession of Drug Paraphernalia, and Assault While Displaying a Dangerous Weapon. He was being held on a $3,300 cash or surety bond, in the Union County Jail. And, at around 5:20-this (Thursday) morning, 26-year old Jacob David Jones, of Creston, was arrested on a charge of Failure to Appear. He was subsequently released on a $300 cash bond.

Seven people have died from COVID-19 in Iowa since Wednesday’s report, according to the Iowa Department of Public Health, and 669 more people have tested positive for the virus. The death toll now stands at 739, while the number of positive cases is 33,012. Three more persons have tested positive for COVID-19 in Cass County, for a total of 27., while the number of those recovered in the County are unchanged, at 18. Guthrie County reports two more positive cases, for a total of 72, and COVID-19 dashboard shows Pottawattamie County with 762 positive cases, which is up eight from Wednesday.

Statewide, out of the 352,106 tests completed to-date, 318,430 tests have come back as negative for COVID-19, and 26,232 people have recovered from the virus. Statewide RMCC hospitalization data show: 168 COVID-19 patients are in a hospital (3 more than yesterday/Wednesday); 49 are in an ICU (up 5 from yesterday); 32 were admitted to a hospital (compared to 23 yesterday), and 22 were on a ventilator. In southwest/western Iowa RMCC Region 4: Seven are hospitalized (2 more than yesterday); 3 remain in an ICU; 2 were admitted to a hospital (compared to none, yesterday), and there was no one on a ventilator.

Long-Term Care (LTC) facility data show: 17 current outbreaks; 339 residents/staff tested positive for COVID-19; 231 have recovered, and there have been 390 deaths to-date (3 more than yesterday). County-by-County COVID-19 cases, and the number of person who have recovered (   ).

• Cass: 27 (18)
• Adair: 17 [1 more than yesterday] (12)
• Adams: 8 (8)
• Audubon: 16 (15)
• Guthrie: 72 (58)
• Montgomery: 10 (8)
• Pottawattamie: 762 (652)
• Shelby: 117 (105)

(Radio Iowa) – The Omaha District of the U-S Army Corps of Engineers has a new commander. Command was officially passed Wednesday from outgoing Colonel John Hudson to incoming Colonel Mark Himes. Hudson has been commander of the Corps’ Omaha District — which oversees the Missouri River from mid-Missouri to its headwaters — since 2017. In his farewell speech, Hudson recalled the devastating floods that engulfed the river’s lower basin in 2019, causing an estimated two-point-nine billion in damage. “The melting waters quickly overwhelmed every tributary in eastern Nebraska, western Iowa and southeastern South Dakota,” Hudson says. “Within 72 hours, nearly every levee system from Omaha to Kansas City had been over topped and most had breached. In total, more than 300 miles of district levees were damaged or destroyed.”

Work continues on repairing additional levees that were damaged from the flooding and the Corps has spent more than 300 million dollars on repairs. Hudson says he will be retiring from the Army after 26 years. Himes comes to the Omaha District after most recently studying at the U-S Army War College in Carlisle, Pennsylvania. He has served in various roles for the Corps, including as deputy commander of the Jacksonville, Florida District. “The history and accomplishments of the Omaha District are unmatched,” Himes says. “From the earliest Civil Works missions to manage the Missouri River, the construction of the six mainstream dam projects, the countless military program successes like building the NORAD Command Center deep inside Cheyenne Mountain or the many military facilities throughout the upper Midwest to protect the nation and enable soldiers, airmen and civilians to carry out their missions.”

Himes says he is thankful to have landed in Omaha for his first command position. “It’s an extraordinary privilege and honor to assume command of this mighty district. I’m so thankful to join the dedicated team of professionals that make up this first-class organization,” according to Himes. “I look forward to serving with you as we tackle the nation’s toughest engineering challenges.”

The Omaha District oversees an annual budget of around one billion dollars in construction programs in parts of seven states throughout the Midwest.

(Radio Iowa) – U.S. Senator Joni Ernst says she supports letting businesses get a second federal COVID-19 relief grant that can be converted to a loan — if the business uses 60 percent of the money to cover payroll and employee benefits. “We still do have $100 billion-plus sitting in the Paycheck Protection Program fund that has not been utilized or allocated to businesses yet,” Ernst says, “so it is possible and I am pushing for a second round for those heavily affected businesses — allow them to come back in and support their employees through the Paycheck Protection Program.”

President Trump has expressed interest in a second round of stimulus checks to individual Americans. House Democrats are onboard, but some Senate Republicans have expressed opposition. Ernst has been non-committal that specific proposal, but she says senators will develop some sort of second economic stimulus plan this summer. “And we would anticipate seeing that maybe move through congress mid-July to early part of August,” Ernst says.

Congress is currently on recess. The Senate is to reconvene July 20th.