DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Police in Des Moines have arrested a woman accused of keeping 11 exotic birds in deplorable conditions. The Des Moines Register reports that 63-year-old Deborah Barber faces charges of four counts of animal neglect. She was arrested Tuesday after police conducted a search of her home in late October and discovered the living conditions of the birds.

Animal Rescue League of Iowa spokesperson Stephanie Filer says three Moluccan cockatoos, four Goffin’s cockatoos, two Amazon parrots and two cockatiels were rescued from Barber’s home. Filer says the birds were found in “filthy enclosures” and suffered health problems, including one that had self-mutilation wounds caused by stress.

The Creston Police Department reports three people were arrested on separate charges, Tuesday, and one person was arrested this (Wednesday) morning. Tuesday afternoon, 40-year-old Aaron Riepe, of Creston, was arrested at his residence on two counts of Theft 2nd. He was released from the Union County Jail on a $10,000 bond. And, 36-year-old Amanda Speed (Jones), of Creston, was arrested in the 400 block of N. Mulberry, on the charge of Violation of a Protection Order. She was being held in the Adams County Jail while awaiting bond hearing.

Tuesday evening, 31-year-old Kenny Cunningham, of Shannon City, was arrested at Taylor/Birch in Creston, for Driving While Suspended. He was later released from the Union County Jail on a $300 bond. And, at around 2:50-a.m. today (Wednesday), 34-year-old Cory Mitchell, of Thayer, was arrested at 1700 W. Townline, in Creston, for Public Intoxication. He was later released from the Union County Jail on a $300 bond.

The Iowa Department of Public Health’s Coronavirus dashboard today (10-a.m. Wednesday), show that since 10-a.m. Tuesday, there have been 2,818 new confirmed cases of COVID-19 statewide, for a pandemic total of 136,047, and 26 additional deaths, for a total of 1,781. Pre-existing conditions account for 1,164 of the total deaths, while Long-Term Care facility deaths are up 10 to 865. Cass County has one more death (for a total of 6), and 21 more Positive cases, for a total of 527. Pottawattamie County has two more deaths from the virus, for a total of 47.

The number of Long-Term Care facility (LTC) outbreaks is 84. In Cass County, two facilities: Atlantic Specialty Care and the Griswold Rehabilitation and Health Care Center, have a combined total of 140 positive cases (15 more than on Tuesday), with 27 recovered. Harrison County still has 253 cases among three facilities, and 178 recovered.  (For more data not seen here, go to https://coronavirus.iowa.gov/)

Hospitalizations set another record in Iowa, jumping from 730 on Tuesday to 777 today. And , there is another record for COVID patients in an ICU, at 182 (compared to 170 Tuesday). There was also a substantial jump in admissions: 164 as of today, compared to 92 on Tuesday. And there are four more persons on a ventilator, for a total of 63. In western/southwestern Iowa: there are five more people hospitalized with COVID, at 47; one more is in an ICU, for a total of 13, and seven people were admitted. There is now one person on a ventilator, one less than reported Tuesday.

The IDPH reports a total of 994,735 Iowans have been tested for the virus, with 856,984 testing Negative. The Individual Positivity rate is up to 13.7%, and the 14-day rolling average is up to 15.7%. There are 18 counties with a Positivity rate of 20% or greater, up from 11 on Tuesday. Cass County has a Positivity rate of 20.7% (compared to 20.3 Tuesday).  Taylor County is at 22.3%, and Page County has a Positivity rate of 20.5%.  Wayne County, in eastern Iowa has the State’s highest Positivity rate, at 33.3%

Officials say 96,648 Iowans have recovered from the virus. In the KJAN listening area, here are the current number positive cases in each county, along with the 24-hour change in case numbers {+#}; the number of persons recovered, and the total number of [deaths] (if any), since the pandemic began,

• Cass, 527 cases {+21}; 336 recovered; 6 deaths
• Adair, 252 {+13}; 85; 1
• Adams, 92 {+2}; 54; 1
• Audubon, 212 {+8}; 111; 1
• Guthrie, 459 {+11); 303; 15
• Harrison County, 760 {+12}; 428; 18
• Madison County, 409 {+7}; 288; 3
• Mills County, 495 {+6}; 245; 3
• Montgomery, 222 {+7}; 183; 7
• Pottawattamie County, 3,667 {+73]; 2,647; 47
• Shelby County, 445 {+9}; 374; 2
• Union County,  311 {+18}; 237; 5

(Radio Iowa/updated 10-am) – This (Wednesday) morning, Iowa Secretary of State Paul Pate announced on Twitter that Iowa has shattered the previous voter turn-out record — by nearly 100-thousand votes. The previous record was nearly one-million-five-hundred-99 thousand ballots cast by voters in 2012. Pate and his staff had an inkling voter interest was spiking. “We’ve seen a huge uptick in people going to our website, as well as just as our social media tracking,” Paul says. “We’re seeing all-time high numbers of people seeing what we’re tweeting out, see what we’re putting on our Facebook.”

The Secretary of State’s website is the portal where Iowans were able to track their absentee ballots, plus it has a page where voters could plug in their own address to find the precinct location for Election Day voting. Pate says the pandemic may have had a role in this year’s increased turn-out, as social activities have been limited.  “There weren’t as many distractions, because I have this activity to go to or that activity to go to, those were taken off the table somewhat, so voting became a higher issue,” Pate says. “And just in general terms the economy and the pandemic itself got people’s attention and they felt that voting would send a message on how they wanted their government to respond.”

Pate says there are outstanding absentee ballots that may be counted in the next few days and added to the voter turn-out tally. More than a million Iowans asked for an absentee ballot and were sent one. The latest data on the Secretary of State’s website shows about 56-thousand absentee ballots had not been RECEIVED by county auditors by Monday evening. State law allows mailed-in absentee ballots to be counted if they have a November 2nd postmark and are delivered to a county auditor’s office by November 9th.

(Radio Iowa) – Iowa Republicans had a big night — and Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds led the cheers at the party’s election night headquarters in Des Moines. “Iowa is a red state,” Reynolds said, to cheers. President Trump carried the state and won its six Electoral College votes. Republican Joni Ernst won a second term in the U.S. Senate. “We did it six years ago,” Ernst said. “We did it again.” The Republican candidate in Iowa’s second congressional district held a narrow lead early this (Wednesday) morning and Republicans were declared victory in two other congressional races.

Republican Ashley Hinson of Cedar Rapids spoke with reporters earlier this (Wednesday) morning after the vote tally showed her nearly 11-thousand votes ahead of Democratic incumbent Abby Finkenauer. “I would say, of course, I was a little bit nervous, but I knew in my heart that we had done the work necessary to win this seat and you betcha I’m ready to go to work in Washington, D.C.,” Hinson said. Republican Randy Feenstra of Hull won the fourth congressional district by a wide margin. “Frankly now the real work begins,” Feenstra says. “You know you campaign for 22 months to get to this point, but now you go to congress and you’ve got to represent everybody in the fourth district and I’m excited to do that.” In the second congressional district, Republican Mariannette Miller-Meeks of Ottumwa currently leads Democrat Rita Hart of Wheatland by 282 votes.

Democrats say the race is too close to call since absentee ballots eligible for counting may arrive in county auditors offices over the next few days. Miller-Meeks says the district has been trending Republican and her personal story resonated with voters. “I’m not going to quit on them. I’m not going to quit on their future — their future or the American dream,” Miller-Meeks said. “And I will take that same voice and fight for them in congress.” Democrat Theresa Greenfield raised more money than any other candidate in Iowa history, but fell short in her bid to unseat Senator Ernst. “We always knew this race was going to be one of the closest in the country,” Greenfield said. “We knew it was going to be a donnybrook and it was.”

Greenfield says despite the tough times and the result from her race, she’s hopeful.  “I want Washington to come together like we do in our hometowns,” Greenfield said, her voice cracking with emotion, “and I hope tonight we do come together and we heal our divisions and we solve our big problems and we move forward as a country.” Ernst struck a similar tone in her victory speech. “This has been a very difficult year and a very challenging election for all of us,” Ernst said. “People on both sides feel divided. Emotions and those wounds are very, very raw, but the election is over and it’s time to start the healing. We need to turn down the rhetoric and start listening once again.”

Congresswoman Cindy Axne of West Des Moines won re-election to a second term and admits she’s one of the only bright stars for the Iowa Democratic Party last night. “While it’s too early to understand exactly what our government will look like in January,” she said, “it will be important to come together to fix the issues facing our nation.” Axne defeated former Republican Congressman David Young in a rematch from 2018. “We just couldn’t overtake Polk County, but that’s life,” Young said. “…We left it all on the table, including my voice.” J.D. Scholten of Sioux City, the Democrat making a second run in the 4th congressional district, told reporters he was in shock about the abysmal turn-out for his party. Scholten says he got smoked in counties he did well in two years ago when he came within three points of Republican Congressman Steve King.

“We worked our tails off,” Scholten says. “If you prepare and do everything to the best of your ability, you can go to sleep knowing that you gave it your all.” In the state legislature, Republicans gained seats in the Iowa House and will hold at least 59 of the 100 House seats in January. House Speaker Pat Grassley, a Republican from New Hartford, spoke with Radio Iowa just before midnight.  “We recruited good candidates. We raised good money and honestly, we worked,” Grassley said. “We had a great ground game that the Democrats did not have and I think they’re going to wake up tomorrow morning and look at themselves and say: ‘That can never happen again.'” Republicans also retained their 32-to-18 seat edge in the Iowa Senate. Senate President Jack Whitver, a Republican from Ankeny, drew cheers from the G-O-P’s Election Night crowd in Des Moines with this declaration:

“As we look across the state at these results, I just have one  word for you: that’s a mandate.” The Iowa Democratic Party did not host an in-person gathering last (Tuesday) night, but has issued written statements about a few key races. Congresswoman Finkenauer issued written statement, too, saying given the historic turnout, her campaign team wil review data on outstanding ballots and provide an update sometime today (Wednesday).