The Cass County Board of Supervisors met this past Wednesday. According to the minutes provided by County Auditor/Board Secretary Dale Sunderman, the Board considered bids for lawn care, snow removal and trash pick-up. Two bids were received for Calendar Year 2020 (CY2020). The low bid from Erickson W.S.S was approved by unanimous vote. Two bids were also received for FY2021 snow removal, but because they were not detailed in the same manner, the board postponed action until after more information is obtained. And, the Supervisors approved the lone bid from Cook Sanitation Service for FY 2021 sanitation services/trash removal. Their bid was less than current service fees.

A motion made to re-appoint Brenda Nelson as commissioner of Southern Iowa Regional Housing Authority failed by a roll-call vote for lack of a majority (Supervisor Mark O’Brien was absent). The appointment will be reconsidered when the full board is present at their next regular meeting. In other business, new account manager Group Benefit Partners representatives reviewed renewal information for the County’s ISAC Group Health Program, and the voluntary group dental program, for FY2021.  The County also has a mini-self-funded health insurance program and flex benefits program and contracts with a third party administrator for those by calendar year.  Options for reducing third party administration costs were discussed.  The discounted renewal rates for the health program are nearly the same as current rates (increase of $1 per month for a ‘single plan’ and a decrease of $2 per month for a ‘family plan’.

Sunderman says also, the Board asked Cass County Emergency Management Coordinator Mike Kennon about steps he was taking to protect the ‘courthouse’ from the COVID-19 virus.  At his invitation, Cass County Health Systems Public Health Nurse Linda Edelman and Nurse Darci Young, were invited to Wednesday’s meeting to discuss COVID-19. Information discussed included what the County should do to prevent the spread of COVID-19.  Edelman said persons should not panic; and said the public is more at risk of catching the flu than COVID-19.  It was recommended, that like any business, the County should have plans in place for any illness that may take a considerable number of people out of the workplace.  Precautions to be taken should be those everyone should have been taking all of their lives as far as keeping the facilities clean, good hygiene practices and the things you would do in any flu season.  If a person has a virus, that person should call medical personnel prior to going to the clinic or hospital so proper precautions may be taken as they arrive.

A good source of information on COVID-19 is the Iowa Department of Public Health website (idph.iowa.gov)

Red Oak Police, this (Friday) morning, arrested 35-year old Devon Michael Wheat, of Omaha, on a Red Oak P-D warrant charging him with five counts of 1st Degree Harassment. Wheat was picked-up at the Pottawattamie County Jail and transported back to Montgomery County, where he was being held on a $2,000 cash-only bond.

DAVENPORT, Iowa (Quad-City Times) — The National Weather Service says in its latest spring flood outlook that Mississippi River flood chances remain high in eastern Iowa’s Quad-Cities area but have dropped significantly in the past two weeks. The report released Thursday showed a 59% chance of major flooding _ down from 95% reported on Feb. 27. The report says the drop was due to a prolonged period of dry weather across much of the Mississippi River Valley and a favorable snowmelt.

The Quad-City Times reports the outlook says the risk of major flooding is above normal from Dubuque through Gregory Landing, Missouri.

A Pottawattamie County man was sentenced Thursday in Council Bluffs U-S District Court, to seven-years in prison for being a Felon in Possession of a Firearm. 31-year old Jordan James Collier, of Council Bluffs, was also ordered to serve three-years of supervised release.

His sentence was the result of an investigation which began with a call from the American Inn in Council Bluffs regarding a firearm located in a patron’s room. Upon arrival, officers entered the room and located a black and silver, .32 caliber revolver on the bed along with drugs and drug paraphernalia. Collier was contacted as he returned to the hotel room and it was determined he had previously been convicted and sentenced in the Southern District of Iowa for the crime of Possession of an Unregistered Firearm, making his possession of firearms or ammunition illegal.

The case against him was investigated by the Council Bluffs Police Department and Southwest Iowa Narcotics Task Force, and prosecuted by the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Iowa.

Members of the Audubon School District’s Board of Education met Wednesday evening and, following a Public Hearing, approved the Fiscal Year 2020-21 School Calendar. Superintendent Eric Trager said the calendar is a little different than the current school year calendar. He says school will begin on the FY21 Calendar August 24, 2020. He said barring any snow days, the 2020-21 school year will conclude May 18, 2021.

In other business, the Audubon School Board approved a canvass of the March 3^rd School Bond Vote for facilities improvements. Trager said they’re moving forward with the projects, including having recently met with Piper-Sandler [formerly Piper-Jaffrey] to discuss when the bonds would be sold. They’ve also held discussions with the Construction Manager with regard to HVAC work on the north end of the building, and getting the engineering and bid documents ready to go.

The Audubon School Board approved a Sanitation Services bid from Carroll Refuse for garbage collection, and set April 6^th at 7-p.m., as the date and time for a Budget Hearing. The Board also approved a Collective Bargaining Agreement with the Audubon Education Association. The District and Teachersa settled on a 3.25% total package increase. Trager said increased enrollment, a little better SSA [Student Supplemental Aid] from the State, made for a “Good time to put a little money on the salary schedule.”

Trager said the Audubon School Board approved contracts for Teacher Leadership (TLC) positions: Molly Lange was hired as a new Secondary Instructional Coach. She will take over for Sue Hawkins, who is retiring at the end of the year. And, 5^th Grade teacher Megan Kjergaard is taking a new, half-time Interventionist position. She will also serve as a half-time Title 1 teacher.

Trager said looking ahead, there are two things the District is looking forward to: Spring Break, which begins April 10^th, and a slowing-down of the COVID-19 so the district can “get back to some sort of normal.” The State, he says, continues to recommend school students and staff maintain good hygiene and take preventative measures aimed at keeping the virus at bay.

(Radio Iowa) — Face masks are a hard commodity to find lately as many Iowa drug stores and even hardware stores are sold out over rising fears about coronavirus. There’s a lot of confusion about masks, though, according to health care professionals in Davenport. Dr. Louis Katz, at the Scott County Health Department, says masks give people a false sense of security.  “There’s absolutely no evidence that a well person is significantly protected by wearing a mask, despite a lot of people wearing masks,” Dr. Katz says. “The thing that it does, it diverts masks that are going to be needed in acute care if the epidemic gets bad.”

While it doesn’t hurt people who aren’t sick to wear a mask, Katz says the supply of masks is very important. “I think that I will fail at convincing some segment of the public that they shouldn’t be wearing masks because those masks need to be made available to the hospitals and the clinics and the acute care facilities and the first responders,” Katz says. “They’re at a much higher risk than the general public.”

The Davenport-based Genesis Health System had been offering free masks and hand sanitizer to visitors — until recently. Lisa Caffrey (CAF-ree), the system’s the infection prevention coordinator, says they had to stop. “People are out running around buying or taking masks inappropriately,” Caffrey says. “We had to take our masks out of our public kiosks because people wouldn’t just take one, they were taking boxes of them. We had to do that. They’re available behind our counters. You just have to ask for it.”  Caffrey says if you’re going to wear a mask, at least wear it properly.  “The mask does not work unless you cover the mouth and nose and there’s a little metal bar in there that you pinch over your nose,” Caffrey says. “That’s the only way you’re going to get any kind of protection. The mask just keeps those big chunks from coming out all over everybody else.”

Federal health officials say masks are ineffective at preventing the spread of coronavirus. Caffrey notes, health care experts added a “C” to the three Cs of “Clean, Cover, and Contain.” The fourth “C” is for those who have symptoms to CALL ahead before going to the hospital, doctor’s office and other health care centers. That way, employees can isolate those who are sick from others in waiting areas.

(Radio Iowa) — One person was killed in a crash on Interstate 80 early this (Friday) morning just east of Iowa City. The state patrol says a car was stopped along the interstate but was still partly in the traffic lane. Troopers say it was hit from behind by a Jeep just after midnight, sending the car into the ditch while the Jeep rolled onto its side in the median.

The car’s driver was killed. She’s identified as 48-year-old Jennifer Ferguson of Marion. The Jeep’s driver, 27-year-old Callie VerSchoore of Marion, was injured and taken to University Hospitals in Iowa City.

Authorities in Iowa have issued an alert to law enforcement about a man allegedly involved this morning in a Storm Lake stabbing incident. Additional details about the incident are currently not available. According to an all-points-bulletin, 26-year old Jesus Hernandez is believed to be driving a gold colored 2008 Dodge Caravan, with Iowa license plate IPR-646. The vehicle is also thought to be occupied by a woman and three small children. Direction of travel is unknown.

The man is believed to be armed with a knife. Hernandez is 5-feet 3-inches tall, with black hair and brown eyes. If you see the suspect vehicle, do not approach the it or the suspect. Call your local authorities or 9-1-1.