Officials with the Iowa Department of Public Health, Friday (today), reported 374 new positive cases of COVID-19. Including the latest report, the statewide total of positive cases amounts to 14,049. IDPH also reported 18 deaths, for a total of 336 deaths.   93,556 Iowans have been tested for COVID-19, and 6,561 have recovered. There are currently 387 Iowans hospitalized with the virus, with 130 listed in intensive care and 87 on ventilators. There were 23 patients admitted in the last 24 hours.

IDPH reported 3,470 inpatient beds available, with 407 ICU beds available. There are currently 713 ventilators available. Hospitalization numbers have continued to flatten or decrease over the last week. There are COVID-19 in 35 of Iowa’s long-term care facilities. The number remains unchanged from Thursday.

The Iowa Department of Public Health releases new COVID-19 statistics each day on this website.

Officials with the Pottawattamie County Public Health Department (PCPH) said today (Friday), “Country House,” a memory care facility in Council Bluffs, is experiencing a COVID-19 outbreak which the Iowa Department of Public Health (IDPH) defines as three or more residents in a long-term care facility testing positive for COVID-19. Although the Country House is not classified as a long-term care facility by the state of Iowa, PCPH is responding to the outbreak in the same way we would respond to an outbreak in a long-term care facility. PCPH is working closely with local partners, IDPH, and Country House to monitor the situation and provide guidance on containment and mitigation strategies.

Country House has conducted COVID-19 testing on all residents and staff members at the facility. As of May 15, ten residents and one employee have tested positive for COVID-19. PCPH will release additional details as they become available. Matt Wyant, with Pott. County Public Health, says “Country House adapted several COVID-19 mitigation measures early on, including restricting visitors, use of PPE, and screening staff at all shifts. Despite their precautionary efforts, the virus has regrettably been introduced to Country House.”

Marty Hug, Chief Operating Officer for Agemark says “First and foremost, our concern is the health and safety of our residents and our staff. As an organization, we took very proactive measures to protect all of our people – residents and staff alike. Right now, we have activated our emergency response procedures and our dedicated team of health care professionals is doing everything in their power to contain additional spread and is providing exceptional care for our residents.”

You can find more information regarding Country House’s COVID-19 response at https://www.agemark.com/covid-19/.

(Radio Iowa) — As more businesses are reopening statewide today (Friday), leaders of Iowa’s most populous county are asking residents to wear masks anytime they’re in public to prevent the spread of COVID-19. Matt McCoy, chair of the Polk County board, recognizes that’s a stronger recommendation than from the state health department, which suggests wearing a mask when you can’t keep distance from others.  “Polk County cases continue to rise and it’s critical to continue practicing these precautions,” McCoy says.

Polk County has the most confirmed cases of COVID-19 in the state. The county health department says a recent increase in cases is tied to a combination of community spread and outbreaks at long-term care and manufacturing facilities.

(By Grant Gerlock, Iowa Public Radio)

(Radio Iowa) — The head of Iowa’s largest supermarket chain says market trends show consumers began eating the majority of their food outside of their home three years ago. HyVee C-E-O Randy Edeker says grocers were adjusting to that new reality when the COVID-19 crisis hit. The first two weeks were rough, he admits. “It was like drinking from a fire hose and making hundreds of decisions that we’d never faced before,” Edeker says.

Edeker, who became chairman of F-M-I — the Food Industry Association in January, says crisis often sparks innovation. “A lot of our grocery stores have been buying food from restaurants and selling it out of the stores…Out of this crisis will come good in the end.” He made his comments last Friday when he hosted the vice president at Hy-Vee headquarters in West Des Moines. Rodney McMullen, the C-E-O of Kroger, the largest supermarket chain in the country, was there as well. The company is not only testing its own employees, it’s now in the testing business in 15 states.

“One of the things that we’ve done with our own associates is partner with Microsoft to create a bot where our associates can go through to see whether they should be tested,” McMullen said, “and all our 462,000 associates have access to that.” There are 28-hundred Kroger stores in the U.S.

Officials with the City of Harlan posted on social media, Friday, “During this pandemic and the shortage of toilet paper, residents have been flushing things they shouldn’t,” and that “City officials are asking residents to please not flush anything but toilet paper.”  A picture accompanying the post showed rubber gloves, sani-wipes, and hand towels, all of which clog the pumps at the wastewater treatment plant. Employees have had to fish the junk out of the trash basket at the plant just to keep the pumps from clogging.

Materials fished out of the Harlan WWTP that officials say clog the pumps. (City of Harlan Facebook page photo)

DES MOINES, Iowa – Officials with the U-S Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Iowa, today, said that on May 7th, 2020, the twelfth defendant was sentenced in the federal prosecution of fourteen defendants charged with drug trafficking, firearms offenses, money laundering, and lying to a federal grand jury stemming from the investigation of a multi-state, armed drug trafficking and money laundering ring.

The drug trafficking organization was led by Robert William Lampe and Mason Leroy  Snyder, who operated their drug distribution business out of various residences in the Des Moines
area. Lampe and Snyder obtained marijuana primarily from Tan Fong Vang, who resided in the  Minneapolis area. Vang and his parents, Charley Vang and Sindy Xiong, utilized multiple
residences in Minneapolis to store and distribute thousands of pounds of marijuana. Lampe, Snyder, and their co-conspirators traveled to Minnesota to acquire the marijuana and distributed it  in the Des Moines area.

Lampe and Snyder also organized the acquisition of cocaine from various sources, including Kasey Lee Cassady and Peter Gerald Blaha, before selling the cocaine to customers in
the Des Moines area. Alyssa Jean Karnowski, Brett Allan Corrigan Jr., Robert Joseph Lampe Jr., Austin Eugene Brommel, and David Joseph Daughenbaugh all assisted Lampe and Snyder with
their operation, including purchasing and/or distributing marijuana and/or cocaine from and on  behalf of Lampe and Snyder. Lampe and Snyder used their drug proceeds to purchase various items, including vehicles and a residence located in Des Moines. The residence was purchased from Douglas Scott Bruns, who knowingly accepted $100,000 in drug proceeds for a down payment on the residence.

Bruns’s son, Ian Michael Bruns, later provided false testimony to a federal grand jury regarding the circumstances surrounding that transaction. Both men were charged and pleaded guilty to offenses involving this conduct. The investigation culminated in federal search warrants being executed at five locations in the Des Moines metro area on August 9, 2018. On November 20, 2018, an additional search warrant was executed at one of Vang’s residences in Minnesota. During the execution of that warrant, Vang and his parents were discovered with boxes containing approximately 294 pounds of marijuana, as well as a loaded handgun. In total, the organization was responsible for the distribution of over 100 kilograms of marijuana and over 500 grams of cocaine in the Southern District of Iowa between April 2018 and January 2019. The organization also possessed multiple firearms throughout its operation. Over $140,000 in drug proceeds were seized as a result of the investigation, as well as multiple vehicles and two residences. All defendants charged pleaded guilty or were found guilty after proceeding to a jury trial, and twelve of the fourteen defendants have been sentenced by a United States District Court Judge.

• Tan Fong Vang, age 29, of Brooklyn Park, Minnesota, sentenced to a total term of imprisonment of 170 months.

• Mason Leroy Snyder, age 20, of Waukee, sentenced to a total term of imprisonment of 120 months.

• Robert William Lampe, age 23, of Des Moines, sentenced to a total term of imprisonment of 73 months.

• Robert Joseph Lampe Jr., age 56, of Des Moines, sentenced to a total term of imprisonment of 70 months.

• Brett Allan Corrigan Jr., age 25, of Des Moines, sentenced to a total term of imprisonment of 60 months.

• Austin Eugene Brommel, age 22, of Pleasant Hill, sentenced to a total term of imprisonment of 60 months.

• Alyssa Jean Karnowski, age 21, of Des Moines, sentenced to a total term of imprisonment of 46 months.

• David Joseph Daughenbaugh, age 21, of Des Moines, sentenced to a total term of imprisonment of 37 months.

• Charley Vang, age 50, of Hayfork, California, sentenced to a total term of imprisonment of 30 months.

• Sindy Xiong, age 47, of Coon Rapids, Minnesota, sentenced to a total term of imprisonment of 21 months.

• Douglas Scott Bruns, age 51, of Ankeny, sentenced to a total term of imprisonment of 15 months.

• Ian Michael Bruns, age 22, of Des Moines, sentenced to a four-year term of probation.

• Kasey Lee Cassady, age 22, of Adel, pleaded guilty to Conspiracy to Distribute Cocaine and Possession of a Firearm in Furtherance of a Drug Trafficking Crime, and is scheduled to be sentenced on July 16, 2020.

• Peter Gerald Blaha, age 42, of Winterset, pleaded guilty to Conspiracy to Distribute Cocaine and is scheduled to be sentenced on July 10, 2020.

The matter was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives, Iowa Division of Narcotics Enforcement, and the Saint Paul Police Department. The case was
prosecuted by the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Iowa.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — A Des Moines commission dedicated to protecting human rights is among the latest to endure racist and sexist messages from cyber attackers. The Des Moines Civil and Human Rights Commission says it was forced to cancel a video-conference meeting with the Des Moines City Council on Thursday night when the meeting was disrupted by racist, sexist and pornographic messages.

Commission Chairman Kameron Middlebrooks says the messages were directed at members of the commission, proving that “hate and ignorance is alive and well.” Officials say the meeting will be rescheduled.

(8-a.m.) – The Atlantic Area Chamber of Commerce reminds small business owners in the community, that the deadline is Noon today (Friday), for you to apply for a Small Business Relief Grant. The Atlantic Small Business Relief Grant was launched by the Chamber of Commerce in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. It was kick-started by a substantial donation from a community donor of $10,000 and matched by First Whitney Bank & Trust. Bailey Smith, Executive Director at the Atlantic Area Chamber of Commerce says “We’re offering one more reminder to Atlantic small businesses that there’s still time to apply. We’re really pleased with the response to the program and look forward to helping as many small businesses as we can.”

The grant will provide funds to local small businesses currently suffering economic hardship due to COVID-19. Grants range between $500 – $2,500. Applications will be reviewed by a committee the week of May 18th and will be disbursed immediately following review, pending availability of funds. A short, one page application is available at www.atlanticiowa.com and must be emailed to chamber@atlanticiowa.com or dropped off at the Chamber office, located at 102 Chestnut Street.