Reynolds Says There Are Now 17 Cases Of COVID-19 In Iowa
(Des Moines) — State officials say there are now 17 confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Iowa. The latest case, confirmed Friday in a Harrison County resident, is linked to travel. Governor Kim Reynolds says since all 17 cases are connected to travel and there’s no evidence the new coronavirus is spreading within Iowa communities, she isn’t recommending that schools close
or large events be cancelled.
(photo contributed.)
Reynolds says the goal is to avoid a spike in coronavirus cases that would lead to the crash of the state’s health care system. Ordering school, government and event closings too early means there will still be a peak, but it will happen later, she says.
The governors of South Dakota, Illinois, Wisconsin and
Louisiana ordered schools closed on Friday, an action governors in a half dozen other states had already taken. Iowa’s governor says closing schools too soon can have a negative, ripple effect on families and communities.
Agencies in Iowa’s state government are holding board and commission meetings by telephone and Reynolds has ordered all non-essential state employee travel cancelled. Reynolds says many Iowa schools will be on spring break next week.
She urged Iowans who plan to travel to be safe and be responsible and check on the prevalence of COVID-19 in the areas they’re visiting and self-isolate, if necessary, upon their return to Iowa. The State Hygenic Lab now has 850 kits available to test Iowans who have symptoms of the viral infection.
Gehlen Catholic Cancels Mission Honduras Trip
(Le Mars) — 43 people are feeling disappointed after the decision was made to cancel the Gehlen Catholic Mission Honduras tour. Carolyn Bickford, the coordinator for Mission Honduras program says they were hoping to still be
able to go to the Central American nation, until it was unveiled that a couple of cases of COVID-19 were detected in Honduras. Bickford says the group was scheduled to leave next week on Tuesday, March 17th, St. Patrick’s Day.
Bickford says there is some hope that the Mission Honduras trip may be able to take place sometime during the summer.
The Mission Honduras Coordinator says this year’s group of 43 people, scheduled to go was the largest group ever assembled for the annual mission tour. Bickford says if the group is able to travel this summer, it may be a difficult challenge to coordinate the schedules.
Bickford says she knows there will be some participants, due to scheduling conflicts, that will not have the opportunity to travel to Honduras. This is the second time a planned trip to Honduras needed to be changed. A few years ago, the Honduras Mission trip was needing to be scrubbed for a service outreach program that was held in the state of Mississippi.
Plymouth County Republicans To Hold County Convention
(Le Mars) — Plymouth County Republicans will convene for their county convention on Saturday. The political party convention will be held at the basement of American Bank of Le Mars starting at 1:00 p.m. Karl Stodden is the chairman of the Plymouth County Republican party. He says the county
convention is the start of the political process.
Stodden says at the county political party convention delegates will be selected, as well as the initial work for the party’s planks and platform.
Stodden says he believes the delegates will follow the traditional republican party positions during the county convention.
Plymouth County is eligible to have up to 18 delegates go on to the district political party convention. Stodden explains how Plymouth County arrives at having 18 delegates.
The Iowa Congressional District 4 currently has five republicans seeking the office, and Stodden expects either the candidates, or an official from the candidate’s campaign will be on hand to garner support from Plymouth County republican delegates. While the Republicans will hold their county conventions on Saturday, the Iowa Democratic Party has cancelled their county
conventions which were scheduled for the following Saturday, March 21st.
Northwestern College Switches Position With Regards To COVID-19
(Orange City) — On Friday, KLEM had reported Northwestern College of Orange City was going to continue with classes on campus, going against the trend of many other universities and colleges to cancel classes and extend spring break and offer courses through on-line programs, because of the spread of
the coronavirus. As of late Friday evening, Northwestern College has reversed its original decision. In a news release issued Friday evening, Northwestern College officials now say due to the global outbreak of COVID-19, Northwestern College is transitioning to online course delivery for all traditional undergraduate classes effective Monday, March 23. Complete information about Northwestern’s decision can be found at the college’s
website: www.nwciowa.edu/coronavirus.
All traditional undergraduate on-campus classes are canceled
through Thursday, March 19. The campus will reconvene online on Friday, March 20, at 10 a.m. for a required convocation. All instructors will offer their classes online starting Monday, March 23, through the rest of the semester.
All student activities, campus ministries and campus events are canceled by the close of the day on Saturday, March 14. Normal campus operations will continue. Faculty and staff are expected to work as usual; however, there may be some modifications to campus services and to work assignments.
Northwestern’s current graduate and online courses will operate as previously planned with no break next week.
Army Corps Of Engineers Have Reached Its Goal For Having Levees Restored
OMAHA, Neb. (AP) – The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ Omaha District says it has reached its goal of having the Missouri River mainstem levee system restored to its full height following massive flooding a year ago that devastated levees in Nebraska, Iowa, Kansas and Missouri. The Corps said in a news conference Friday that while there is still much work to be done throughout the region, crews had closed 24 breaches along the main river
system, spending more than $400 million to date on the work. District commander Col. John Hudson said crews have moved 4.73 million cubic yards of sand in the effort, “equal to two Empire State Buildings.”
Mississippi River Flood Potential Is Declining
DAVENPORT, Iowa (AP) – 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.
Johnson County Officials Say Coronavirus Has Not Spread Through The Area
IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) – Officials in Johnson County say they have no indication that the coronavirus has spread in the Iowa City area beyond 14 residents who tested positive after a cruise to Egypt. Johnson County Public Health Director Dave Koch told reporters Friday that he has seen no indication of “community spread” in the area. However, he acknowledged that
not all of those who were on that cruise or a second one that was cut short have been tested for the virus. He says testing is reserved only for people showing symptoms.
South Dakota Governor Noem Cancels Public Schools
PIERRE, S.D. (AP) – South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem has ordered a state of emergency and instructed public schools to close in response to the COVID-19 outbreak. Officials have revealed one more person who tested positive for the coronavirus, bringing the state’s total to nine. Noem says a drop-off in positive test results and the absence of signs of community spread is
“encouraging. But she is taking the step of ordering the state of emergency as a “proactive” measure. Noem has ordered all public schools to close, high school sports to postpone games, and state employees to work from home.
(photo contributed.)
