While Adair/Guthrie County COVID-19 web site only shows one confirmed case of COVID-19 in Guthrie County, Public Health Director Jotham Arber, Tuesday (Today), reportedly told the Guthrie County Board of Supervisors there are now four COVID-19 cases that have produced a positive test result so far.

The number of case positive’s are expected to rise in the next couple of weeks, according to Arber.  Health officials have said it’s important for Guthrie County residents to assume the virus is everywhere, and residents should stay home as much as possible, and practice social distancing if you must be out and about.

Red Oak Police responded to a 2-vehicle accident on Tuesday afternoon. At 1:25pm Officers were called to the intersection of North Broadway and 1st Avenue in Red Oak for the accident.

After investigation it was determined that a 2016 Chevy Silverado pickup owned by Ten Point Construction and driven by Maurice Anthony Henkelman of Manilla was northbound on Broadway. At the same time a 1994 Chevy K1500 pickup owned and operated by Larry Lee Schooling of Red Oak was making a left turn to go north off of 1st Avenue and failed to see the other truck. Schooling struck the other truck broadside but no injuries were reported.

The 2016 Chevy sustained $6,500 damage and the 1994 Chevy sustained about $3,000 damage.

Larry Lee Schooling was cited for Failure to Yield Upon Entering a Highway.

Officials with Pottawattamie County Public Health reported another positive COVID-19 case in the county this (Tuesday) afternoon. Authorities said a Council Bluffs man between the ages of 41-and 60 tested positive for COVID-19, bringing the number of cases in Pottawattamie County to 14.

The patient was tested on April 6th, and is currently self-isolating at home. Pottawattamie County Public Health said the man does not have pre-existing medical conditions, has not traveled out of state and did not have contact with an existing case.

Health officials are conducting a contact tracing investigation and is in touch with the Iowa Department of Public Health.

(Radio Iowa) — Many young Iowans who are turning 14 while schools are closed due to the pandemic are anxious to get their learner’s permits to drive, and the Iowa Department of Transportation is working to accommodate them. Darcy Doty, director of the D-O-T’s Driver & Identification Services, says those teens can now take their instructional permit written tests — at home.

The test is administered through a secure website and if the student passes, they’ll know right away and the results are automatically forwarded to the D-O-T. Once the service centers reopen — tentatively in May — the teen will be able to stop in to get their first provisional license.

Parents, guardians and legal custodians are able to proctor, or supervise, the test-taking process and Doty says she’s not concerned that a teen wanna-be driver might be allowed to cheat.

To apply to take the test at home, the parent must have a valid Iowa driver’s license and will need to complete and submit the Application to Proctor Knowledge Exam form to the Iowa DOT.

More at https://iowadot.seamlessdocs.com/f/ApptoProctorKnowledgeExam

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — A newly-released report by the Iowa State Auditor says a former Buffalo city employee failed to deposit more than $42,000 in collections over a three-year period into the city’s bank account. The audit says the special investigation was prompted by a request from Buffalo city officials who had concerns about transactions processed by the former Deputy City Clerk Riki Harrington.

The audit found $42,390 in undeposited collections from April 2015 through August 2018. That amount included $28,039.42 of checks substituted for cash collections recorded in the city’s accounting system but not deposited, as well as $5,079 in utility customers’ payments and $3,600 in utility security fees not deposited.

(Radio Iowa) — The head of the Iowa Department of Transportation says they are moving ahead with road construction projects as the weather allows. Director Scott Marler told the Transportation Commission Monday that he’s been talking with the asphalt and concrete companies and engineers. “We had a meeting with these folks to make sure that our road construction program is continuing, and we assured them that is our intent,” Marler says. He says traffic volume is down with the coronavirus emergency orders in place, and they are looking at how that can help them. “We’ve been talking about how to take advantage of the lower traffic volumes to do lane closures more efficiently,” he says. Marler says more than 70 percent of D-O-T employees are telecommuting.

“Essentially we are open for business and we are continuing to get our work done and develop our projects and prepare for lettings,” according to Marler. The D-O-T’s Stuart Anderson gave the Transportation Commission an update on the federal recovery funds. “Transit agencies and intercity bus carriers that serve rural communities in Iowa are being allocated over 107 million dollars,” Anderson says. “Some of that flows directly to the larger transit agencies, other portions of that funding flows through the Iowa D-O-T and on to public transit agencies,” Anderson says. He says the funding will help the systems that have been hit by a drop in riders since the coronavirus outbreak.

“That funding is very flexible and is 100 percent federal funding and is available until expended. We will be working very closely with the transit agencies to get that money to work,” he says. Anderson says airports in the state will also be getting some relief funds. “We do expect the Federal Aviation Administration later this week to announce how much is being allocated to each individual airport — so we should have the information in just a matter of days,” according to Anderson. Anderson says the aviation funding will go directly from the F-A-A to the airports.

IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) — More than 200 residents and employees have tested positive for the coronavirus in a growing number of outbreaks at Iowa long-term care facilities. New statistics released Tuesday by the Iowa Department of Public Health show that the number of state-confirmed outbreaks at those facilities has doubled to six since last week. The agency defines an outbreak as one in which at least three residents test positive for COVID-19, the respiratory illness caused by the virus. The new outbreaks include 22 cases at a rehabilitation center for the disabled in Ankeny; six at a Des Moines nursing home specializing in dementia care; and six at a Lutheran retirement home in Waverly.