(Radio Iowa) — The Iowa Association of Realtors report shows home sales continued at a good pace in March despite precautions instituted to protect everyone during the pandemic. Scott Wendl is president of the association. “We actually got a pleasant surprise considering the coronavirus. March sales jumped 6.6% over last year — and pending sales jumped 9.3% — which is a big surprise also,” Wendl says.

Wendl says weather was probably the biggest factor in the increase from last year. “Last spring, early spring, late winter was pretty awful. The weather didn’t cooperate once and I know that slowed people down,” he says. “Interest rate also dropped at the beginning of this year — which really motivated a lot of people to either refinance their house or look for a different one.”

Wendl says there were some other good numbers in the report from March. “The average sales price right now is $170,000 compared to $160,000 back in 2019. And the other nice thing, is our average days on the market went form 75 days on the market in 2019 down to 73,” according to Wendl. “And our inventory picked up a little also. I know last year we had less inventory, and that has gone up almost 5.2%.”

Wendl says the did see more of a coronavirus impact on sales in the last half of March, and they may see that continue in April. “It sounds like some people are kind of pausing the search. Some sellers are a little nervous about having people go through their homes,” Wendl explains. “I know a lot of realtors are taking safety precautions to cover their face, wash their hands. And a lot of sellers are making accommodations also, they are leaving doors open, leaving lights on — trying to avoid any physical contact in the house and spreading anything.”

Wendl says the virtual tours, video walk-throughs and modified closings to accommodate the social distancing measures have gone well for those who want to buy and sell homes.

(Radio Iowa) – More than 80-thousand Iowans logged onto Test-Iowa-dot-com (www.testiowa.com) in the past 24 hours and answered questions to assess whether they meet the guidelines for COVID-19 testing. Governor Kim Reynolds unveiled the website yesterday (Tuesday) and she says nearly 250 Iowans are now scheduled to be tested Saturday at a drive-through site in downtown Des Moines.

“And we’re identifying locations now for additional sites in other communities across the state,” Reynolds says. To qualify for a test now, an Iowan must either have symptoms, interacted with someone who’s already tested positive for COVID or been in a virus “hot spot” like New Orleans or Chicago. Reynolds, though, is asking all Iowans to complete the Test-Iowa assessment — particularly Iowans who work in health care, law enforcement, manufacturing or other essential services.

“This again will help us understand the spread and scope of the virus,” the governor says, “and help see if our workforce have symptoms, we can get them the test and get them back on line.” The state is paying a group of private companies based in Utah 26 MILLION dollars to run Test Iowa and she says the companies are responsible for acquiring the supplies to do the testing.

CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa (The Gazette) — Police in Cedar Rapids are investigating after finding a man shot to death on a city street. The Gazette reports that the shooting happened around 12:30 a.m. Wednesday, when police were called to the area about a block north of Cleveland Park. Arriving officers found a young man suffering from several gunshot wounds. Police say the victim died at the scene. Police have not yet released the victim’s name. No arrests had been reported by Wednesday afternoon.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — The Iowa Department of Public Health is offering coronavirus testing for all employees of long-term care facilities in Tama County because of a rising number of cases in the region. Gov. Kim Reynolds announced Wednesday following a surge of cases at the National Beef plant in Tama, where 177 workers tested positive for COVID-19. The eastern Iowa plant resumed production Monday after being closed for two weeks due to the virus spread among its workers.

Reynolds has frequently noted that a large percentage of those who have died from the virus live in long-term care facilities. Also Wednesday, officials said there were 107 new positive coronavirus cases and seven additional deaths, bringing the total to 90 people

DES MOINES, Iowa – The United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Iowa and Internal Revenue Service-Criminal Investigations (IRS-CI), St. Louis Field Office, are warning taxpayers to be on the lookout for scam artists trying to use the COVID-19 economic impact payments as cover for schemes to steal personal information and money. United States Attorney Marc Krickbaum and Karl Stiften, Special Agent in Charge, Internal Revenue Service, Criminal Investigation (IRS-CI), St. Louis Field Office, made the announcement today in an effort to prevent taxpayers from falling victim to criminals using the recently approved economic impact payments as an opportunity to commit a crime. Automatic COVID-19 economic impact payments started being deposited into taxpayers’ accounts on April 11.

For most Americans, this will be a direct deposit into your bank account. For the unbanked, retirees or other groups who have traditionally received tax refunds via paper check, they will receive their economic impact payment in this manner as well. Scammers may try to get you to sign over your check to them or use this as an opportunity to get you to “verify” your filing information in order to receive your money, and then use your personal information at a later date to file false tax returns in an identity theft scheme. Because of this, everyone receiving a COVID-19 related economic impact payment from the government is at risk. Karl Stiften, Special Agent in Charge of the IRS-CI St. Louis Field Office warned “The existence of a deadly national pandemic will not stop criminals seeking to capitalize on the fears and difficulties faced by the public as they try to line their own pockets by stealing your money or your personal information.”

“Today, we need to be just as careful about our financial information as we are about our health,” stated U.S. Attorney Krickbaum. “Don’t give out your financial or personal information—or your money – over the phone, or in response to emails or texts. And look out for your elderly neighbors, friends, and relatives to help prevent them from falling victim to scammers.” Special Agent in Charge Stiften offers the following information and tips to spot a scam and understand how the COVID-19 related economic impact payments will be issued:

• The IRS will deposit your check into the direct deposit account you previously provided on your tax return (or, in the alternative, send you a paper check).

• The IRS will not call and ask you to verify your payment details. Do not give out your bank account or any other account information – even if someone claims it’s necessary to get your check. It’s a scam.

• If you receive a call, don’t engage with scammers or thieves, even if you want to tell them that you know it’s a scam, or you think that you can beat them. Just hang up.

• If you receive texts or emails claiming that you can get your money faster by sending personal information or clicking on links, delete them. Don’t click on any links in those emails or texts.

• Reports are also swirling about bogus checks. If you receive a check that requires that you verify the check online or by calling a number, it’s a fraud.

“In these uncertain and trying times, we need to stand together united with purpose. Don’t become a victim by allowing criminals to exploit your emotions. Stay strong, tell your family, friends and neighbors about these scams. IRS Criminal Investigation alongside the U.S. Department of Justice are prioritizing these types of investigations to help protect taxpayers and the tax system, especially those looking to prey on vulnerable taxpayers,” said Special Agent in Charge Stiften. “Remember, go directly and solely to IRS.gov for official information.”

For more information, visit the IRS website at www.irs.gov/coronavirus. You can always report scams to the IRS on the website at https://www.irs.gov/privacy-disclosure/report-phishing

DES MOINES – Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds reported this (Wednesday) morning, the latest COVID-19 data for the State. She said for the past 24-hours, there were:

• 107 additional positive cases for a total of 3,748 positive cases.
• There were no NEW counties with news COVID-19 cases, for a total of 84.
• There have been new 522 negative test results returned, for a total of 22,496 negative tests to date.
• The State Hygienic Lab has 6,248 test kits available.
• 1, 428 Iowans have recovered from the virus, for a recovery rate of 38%.
• There were seven new deaths reported due to COVID-19, for a total of 90. 51% of those deaths were in residents of Long-Term Care Facilities. (LTC’s).

According to IDPH the additional 7 deaths were reported in the following counties.

• Black Hawk County, 2 older adults (61-80 years)
• Linn County, 1 middle-age adult (41-60 years)
• Muscatine County, 1 middle-age adult (41-60 years), 1 older adult (61-80 years)
• Tama County, 1 middle-age adult (41-60 years)
• Woodbury County, 1 older adult (61-80 years)

In the Regional Medical Coordination Center (RMMC) update, Reynolds said:

• There are 272 COVID-19 patients hospitalized.
• 70 were admitted in the previous 24-hours.
• 92 COVID-19 patients are being treated in an ICU
• 57 are on ventilators.

There are also 4,082 in-patient beds available statewide for COVID-19 patients; 547 ICU beds; and 689 ventilators available for COVID-19 patient care. The Governor also another LTC Outbreak was reported. The Dept. of Public Health has confirmed the outbreak was at St. Francis Manor, in Poweshiek County. The total number of LTC outbreaks is now 11.

In more positive news, Reynolds said Iowans’ response to TestIowa.com has been “incredible.” She said “In the first 24-hours alone, more than 80,000 completed the online assessment, and more than 250 scheduled an appointment. We had 631 social media mentions with of the hashtag testiowachallenge, with a reach of over 18.8-million. Iowan’s are engaged and they’re excited, so we want to keep the going, and you can help by going to testiowa.com and taking the assessment.”

She says “It’s really the first step to understanding more about the virus activity in Iowa. What we can do to mitigate and start to manage it so that we can open businesses back up and get life back to normal, but do it in a very safe and responsible manner.” The first drive-thru testing site opens Saturday, at The Iowa Event Center’s north parking lot, in downtown Des Moines. Additional locations are currently being identified in other communities across the State. Test Iowa is currently being prioritized for those who have symptoms of COVID-19.

The state of Iowa has released an updated dashboard on coronavirus.iowa.gov that will be updated daily to include comprehensive tracking of COVID-19 in Iowa. The new dashboard includes cases, deaths, and tests conducted in each county. The state is now providing demographic information that was not previously provided as well as Iowa’s epidemiological curve.

(Harlan) — The Harlan Fire Department was paged-out to a large fire at Iowa Agricultural Biofibers, Tuesday night. The building has ingredients for making feed and pelletizing feed. The blaze at 1916 900th Street was reported at around 9:19-p.m. It occurred at the facility located near Prairie Rose State Park, just off county road M47 and south of Highway 44. Harlan Fire Chief Roger Bissen explained what they found upon arrival.

(The building was fully engulfed. Several other departments were called-in to assist including Avoca, Elk Horn, Walnut, Kimballton, Kirkman, Irwin, and Medivac Ambulance.)

Shortly after the original call of the fire, the calling party reported that there was an explosion, but it was not the original cause of the fire. The explosions were attributed to forklift propane tanks and wheels.

The cause of the fire is unknown at this time. Fire crews drew water from nearby Prairie Rose Lake.

There were no injuries. At this time, the structure looks to be a total loss. Crews were on the scene until about 3:45-a.m. today (Wednesday).