Home News Monday News, March 23rd

Monday News, March 23rd

COVID-19 Now Detected In Woodbury and Sioux Counties

(Des Moines) — The Iowa Department of Public Health has updated its numbers for cases testing positive for the COVID-19 coronavirus. The number is now getting closer to 100 cases across the state, with the latest information confirming coronavirus at Woodbury and Sioux counties. Iowa health officials have confirmed 22 new coronavirus cases in the state. Iowa now has 90 cases of COVID-19. Johnson County reported five new cases of COVID-19, and Tama County reported 3 new cases. The new virus cases include two new cases in each of the following counties: Cerro Gordo, Dubuque, and Harrison counties.
The counties of Dallas, Kossuth, Linn, Poweshiek, Scott, Sioux, Washington and Woodbury counties each reported one new case of the disease. For most people, COVID-19 causes only mild or moderate symptoms, such as fever and cough. For some, it can cause more severe illness, including pneumonia.

 

 

Wells Enterprises Says One Employee Has COVID-19

(Le Mars) — Over the weekend, Wells Enterprises announced that one of its employees at the corporate offices has contracted the coronavirus. In a news release, Wells Enterprises says the company is recognized within the ice cream category for their expertise in food safety and food quality, and our vigilance in ensuring our ice cream products and frozen desserts can be
enjoyed by all. As stated in recent Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and World Health Organization reports, there is no evidence to suggest that food produced in the United States can transmit COVID-19. We, like everyone, have been monitoring the COVID-19 situation closely to ensure
we’re doing all we can to protect the health of our employees and safety of our products. As of Saturday, March 21st, we were notified that a Wells team member at our Le Mars corporate center tested positive for COVID-19. The team member is on self-quarantine for the period currently recommended by the
Centers for Disease Control. Team members known to have been in contact with the individual have also been notified and asked to self-quarantine. Team members quarantined during this time will not be allowed to return to work until the recommended quarantine period has passed and they are symptom free.
We’d like to reassure consumers that the Good Manufacturing Practices (GMPs) we have in place in our facilities to ensure food safety exceed the measures necessary to prevent COVID-19 and any cross contamination. We are embracing social distancing and deploying our work-from-home policy for individuals whose jobs allow, ensuring all team members who are ill stay home, and are
giving team members flexible time off accommodations so they can prioritize their health. Wells takes pride in our food safety and quality and we are extremely proud of our products and the team members making them.
Our ability to serve our consumers, customers and communities has not been impacted, nor has the safety and quality of our products. We are monitoring the situation closely and will continue to support our team members during this time.

 

 

Craig Special Election For City Council Member Pushed Back Until July

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) – Iowa Secretary of State Paul Pate has rescheduled three upcoming special elections to take place this summer as part of efforts to avoid crowds of people gathering and possibly spreading the new coronavirus. Pate says the elections will now be held on July 7. Included with that order is the special election for the city council position for
residents living at Craig here in Plymouth County. The other special elections are for Cedar Falls, and the third election is for Woodbury County to fill a Board of Supervisors vacancy. Pate says he consulted with the auditors of all three counties, including Plymouth County Auditor, Stacey Feldman, before rescheduling the elections. He says July 7 is the first date
available for the elections.
For people who had voted by an absentee ballot, those ballots will be held and counted on July 7th.

 

 

Governor Reynolds Ask For Beauty Salons, Barbershops, Tanning Centers And Other Entities To Be Closed

(Des Moines) — Governor Kim Reynolds has ordered the closure of hair and nail salons, barber shops, tattoo parlors and swimming pools. The mandatory closures were effective at 10 p.m. Sunday and also apply to spas, tanning facilities and massage therapy establishments. Reynolds announced these moves as part of a new disaster proclamation that suspends foreclosures on residential, commercial and agricultural properties as well.

This weekend, the governor announced the U.S. Small Business Administration has issued a disaster declaration for the state of Iowa. It means small businesses impacted by the pandemic may apply for low-interest federal disaster loans. Some business owners have expressed concern that getting a federal loan might disqualify their business from receiving other forms of federal aid. Reynolds says she doesn’t know the answer to that right now.

The governor will hold another news conference this (Monday) afternoon, and Reynolds says she and two top state officials plan to discuss how to apply for the S-B-A disaster loans.
………

 

 

Dr. Steven Meis Addresses COVID-19 Coronavirus  (Part 3)

(Le Mars) — We conclude our conversation with Dr. Steven Meis of Floyd Valley Healthcare about the COVID-19 coronavirus during this part three of the series. Meis talks about the medical community has a limited number of available tests to detect the presence of the COVID-19 coronavirus.

Meis, a 27-year physician with Floyd Valley Healthcare, says since COVID-19 is a new virus, the medical community doesn’t know a lot about the virus. He says if you contract a cold or influenza…stay home.

People may wonder why pharmacitical companies have not been able to create a vaccine for the COVID-19 coronavirus. Meis explains, it takes a long time and much testing, before a proven vaccine can be introduced to the public.

Meis says it isn’t just the time to create the vaccine, but also the time it takes to create the mass volumes of vaccines to be readily available to the public.

Most people may know this strain of coronavirus began in China, but The Floyd Valley doctor says many people may not realize how it started?

For additional information about the COVID-19 coronavirus, people can go to the Centers for Disease Control website at
https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/index.html or visit the Iowa Department of Public Health website at https://idph.iowa.gov/

 

 

River Drowning

GUTTENBERG, Iowa (AP) – Authorities say a man fishing on the Mississippi River fell from a boat in northeast Iowa and drowned. The Iowa Natural Resources Department says two men in a 14-foot-long boat were in a restricted area near a low-head dam at Guttenberg on Saturday afternoon when their boat began to take on water in a turbulent area below the lock. The department
says 54-year-old Shaun Oppenheimer, of Quasqueton, went overboard and drowned. His body was recovered. The department says neither man was wearing a flotation device although two were on the boat. The incident is being
investigated.

 

 

Woman Convicted For Human Trafficking

SIOUX CITY, Iowa (AP) – A Sioux City woman who schemed with her husband to illegally harbor a 17-year-old Guatemalan girl in what authorities have called a human trafficking case has been sentenced to a year in prison. The Sioux City Journal reports that 40-year-old Amy Francisco was sentenced Friday in Sioux City’s federal court. She pleaded guilty in November to the single count. Her husband, 38-year-old Cristobal Francisco-Nicolas, pleaded guilty in December to federal counts of smuggling and unlawful possession of identification documents. Prosecutors say Francisco-Nicolas helped smuggle the girl and her father from Guatemala to Sioux City. The girl was found wandering Sioux City streets last June and told police she had been repeatedly raped by Francisco-Nicolas before she escaped.

 

 

Cedar Rapids Shooting

CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa (AP) – Police have made two arrests in a fatal January shooting in Cedar Rapids – including the arrest of a teen injured in the shooting. Cedar Rapids police say in a news release Saturday that a 17-year-old male was arrested Friday evening for the Jan. 24 shooting that killed 18-year-old Andrew Gaston and injured a 16-year-old boy with him. The 17-year-old was arrested on suspicion of voluntary manslaughter and other counts. The 16-year-old boy injured also was arrested on suspicion of robbery and other counts. Police say the shooting happened when Gaston, the 16-year-old and another person arranged to meet with the 17-year-old to buy marijuana, then ambushed the 17-year-old in a plot to rob him.