Here is the latest Iowa news from The Associated Press

IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) — Gov. Kim Reynolds is ordering the closure of more nonessential businesses to fight the spread of the coronavirus. Reynolds announced Thursday that she had expanded an earlier closure order to include stores selling furniture, books, clothing, shoes, jewelry and other items. The business closures already included bars, dine-in restaurants, theaters, casinos and gyms and will last until at least April 7. Schools will remain closed at least until April 13. Reynolds also ordered dentists to halt all but emergency work and directed hospitals not to perform any nonessential surgeries and procedures.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Hospitals and nursing homes are desperately searching for hand sanitizer amid the coronavirus outbreak and the ethanol industry is ready to step in to provide the alcohol, a key ingredient. Federal regulators are preventing them from providing millions of gallons of alcohol that could be transformed into the germ-killing mixture. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration insists that the alcohol at ethanol plants meet stringent production standards designed to protect medicine and food quality. In addition the alcohol must be mixed with a bitter additive to make it undrinkable. The ethanol industry is asking for waivers during the coronavirus emergency.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Lottery jackpots are going to shrink as the coronavirus pandemic tamps down lottery sales. The group that oversees the Powerball game announced Wednesday night that it would cut minimum jackpots in half, from $40 million to $20 million, after there is a winner of the current big prize. The jackpot also could grow more slowly, with minimum increases of $2 million instead of the normal $10 million after each twice-weekly drawing. The other national lottery game in the United States, Mega Millions, is considering a similar move. The move by Powerball won’t affect the current $160 million jackpot.

MARSHALLTOWN, Iowa (AP) — Police say one man died and another was wounded in a Marshalltown shooting. Officers and medics sent to a residence around 9:20 p.m. Wednesday found two men ages 22 and 27 suffering from gunshot wounds. Police say the 22-year-old died at the scene and the 27-year-old was taken to a hospital. Their names haven’t been released. State detectives have been called in to help with the investigation. No arrests have been reported.

Sheriff’s officials in Guthrie County says a two-year-old girl died Wednesday evening, after being run over by a truck.  Authorities told KCCI in Des Moines, a little after 6-p.m. Wednesday, deputies were called to the Guthrie County Hospital after the child was brought in by her father.

At the hospital, deputies met with a man who told authorities his family had returned home from fishing and he believed his kids and wife were inside the home. He went to a barn, west of the house, to check on some of his livestock.

When he was leaving the home, authorities said he did not see behind his truck. He got into the truck, backed up and saw his daughter laying in front of the truck. The man quickly transported the little girl to the Guthrie County Hospital, where she died from her injuries.

Authorities said they do not believe there was foul play and referred to the events as an accident. No names have officially been released.

Atlantic Mayor Dave Jones has issued a proclamation suspending permitted door-to-door sales activity in the City. City Administrator John Lund says a specific company involved in recent door-to-door sales has been contacted, and they have agreed to suspend those types of sales until further notice.

Lund says “We are taking the Governor’s orders seriously and the Atlantic Police Department should be notified if solicitors are in your neighborhood as they are not operating with the permission of the City.”

The City will allow door-to-door sales to resume when the Governor allows bars & restaurants to re-open for traditional business. View the full Proclamation below:

Atlantic, IA — Cass County Health System (CCHS) officials reported today that preparations for possible COVID-19 cases continue on a daily basis. “While we have not had any COVID-19 cases identified in Cass County, we are working diligently to prepare for likely cases any day now,” said CCHS CEO Brett Altman. As of 5:00 pm on March 26, 2020, CCHS reports that there have been 29 people tested, with 20 negative results, while 9 results are still pending.

“We have learned from other rural counties that when they get their first case, people begin to speculate and social media blows up. We ask people to abstain from such speculation and rumors. We are doing our best to keep our community informed with good, reliable information as soon as it is available. Sharing misinformation or unfounded comments, whether in person or on social media, further confuses the community and adds to people’s fears and anxieties,” said CCHS Public Relations Coordinator Ann McCurdy.

CCHS employees are all trained and held accountable to HIPAA, which strictly protects patient privacy. “Just because someone works at CCHS doesn’t mean they know anything more than the public, and even if they did, they couldn’t tell you. While we can’t control and don’t respond to rumors, we are saying this now before we have a case in an attempt to mitigate rumors, questions, and speculations if and when we get our first case,” said McCurdy.

“If there is a positive test result, that announcement will be made in conjunction with Cass County Public Health and the Iowa Department of Public Health. Like we have seen across the state, those announcements will not include information about the patient in order to protect their privacy.”

(Radio Iowa) — Governor Kim Reynolds is ordering more businesses to close and adding another week to previous restrictions designed to limit the spread of COVID-19. In addition to bars, restaurants and hair salons that have already been closed, Reynolds has ordered more retail stores that sell things like books, clothes, flowers and furniture to close. All those business closures will now be in place through April 7th.

“We will continue to take additional steps, as necessary, to further protect the health of Iowans and our economy,” Reynolds says. The governor issued a public health emergency proclamation and ordered bars and restaurants closed at noon on March 17th. She added hair and nail salons and swimming pools to the closure list this week — with the closings to last through March 31st. The closures, by the governor’s decree, now extend through Tuesday, April 7th.

“I wanted to make sure that we were giving businesses enough notice and so that’s one of the reasons that we thought we would go ahead and just extend for another week beyond what I originally did,” Reynolds says. “But, everyday, I need Iowans and businesses to know that we’re reevaluating those metrics and seeing what they look like and talking about what we need to do next and that went into the decisions that we made.” The governor has also used her emergency authority to order the suspension of all elective surgeries and dental visits, unless it’s an emergency situation.

“These actions will help us preserve the personal protection equipment as well as our health care workforce,” Reynolds said. State officials reported 34 more cases of COVID-19 had been confirmed in Iowa — for a total of 179 positive cases. “We haven’t actually made it through the first incubation period,” Reynolds says, “and so we haven’t even really been able to gather the data about the decisions that we made early on to see if we have started to bend the curve.” Reynolds says because of that, she cannot speculate on when the business closures she’s ordered will be lifted.

“We have said all along that basically we have put a lot of policies in place to protect our most vulnerable and make sure that we don’t see a surge on our health care system,” Reynolds says, “and that’s really what’s driven the decisions we’ve made.”

A case of novel coronavirus (COVID-19) has been confirmed in Montgomery County. According to the Iowa Department of Public Health (IDPH), the individual is between 41-60 years of age who has recently traveled outside of the United States and is currently isolating at home. Although the virus is spreading throughout the state, residents should not assume the risk is any less because this is a travel-related case.

Montgomery County Public Health Administrator, Samantha Beeson says “While this is Montgomery County’s first case of COVID-19, it may not be the last, and that’s why we encourage all residents to adhere to guidelines and restrictions provided by IDPH and the Center for Disease Control (CDC).”

Those actions include:
• Washing your hands frequently with soap and water for at least 20 seconds each time.
• Covering coughs and sneezes with a tissue or elbow/upper arm.
• Staying home when ill.

Beeson said “As we see positive cases turn up, Montgomery County Public Health will continue to follow Iowa privacy laws while being as transparent as possible to the public. But because there is community spread of COVID-19, detailed tracing is no longer necessary, as we know the virus is circulating in the community and the risk of virus spread is the same for all community members, not just those in close contact with the person who tested positive.”

“Montgomery County Public Health’s general practice will be to not disclose specific towns or cities of where residents with confirmed positive tests reside. However, we will share as much information as we are legally able to,” Beeson added.

For up-to-date information on COVID-19, visit the Iowa Coronavirus webpage at https://coronavirus.iowa.gov/