Plymouth County Board Of Supervisors Will Not Meet This Week
(Le Mars) — The Plymouth County Board of Supervisors will not hold a meeting this week due to the lack of agenda items.
Le Mars City Council To Award Contract For Police Berm Project
(Le Mars) — Once again, due to the outbreak of the COVID-19 virus, the Le Mars city council will hold its meeting by conference call. The city council will begin its meeting with a public hearing regarding Well #14 and the sanitary sewer extension project, which has an estimated cost of $2,333,000.
As for action items, the city council will vote on Floyd Valley Healthcare application for a Small Business Administration loan, under the Paycheck Protection Program as part of the recently passed CARES Act. The program assists businesses to keep their workforce employed during the COVID-19 coronavirus crisis. The amount is not to exceed $3,740,000. The city council
is expected to award the contract for the Police Station berm project, and they will discuss the Ambulance service ordinance which will give the authority to the Ambulance Service Director to remove any person from the Ambulance staff. Currently, such action can only be made by the city council.
Governor Reynolds Announces Latest COVID-19 Statistics During Monday Daily Briefing
(Des Moines) — Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds began Monday’s daily briefing by announcing the latest COVID-19 coronavirus statistics for the state.
The governor then updated the information across the state involving our hospitals and availability of beds and ventilators.
RAGBRAI To Postpone Bicycle Ride Until July Of 2021
(Des Moines) — Officials with the Des Moines Register’s annual bicycle ride across Iowa, known as RAGBRAI, have announced Monday they intend to postpone this year’s ride which was scheduled to happen July 19th through the 25th.
Le Mars was selected to serve as the starting point, and as the first overnight accommodation of the 48th edition of the annual ride. RAGBRAI will hold over this year’s scheduled route and the overnight destinations until next year which is now scheduled for July 25th through the 31st of 2021.
Iowa Inmates Making Personal Protective Equipment
(Des Moines) — Iowa Department of Corrections director Beth Skinner is issuing a request to the administrators of Iowa’s 99 county jails:
Inmates at the various Iowa prisons have been making several Personal Protection Equipment items for health professionals across the state. Iowa Department of Corrections Director, Beth Skinner, during Monday’s daily COVID-19 briefing, displayed several items recently constructed by Iowa’s prisoners during this time of COVID-19 coronavirus outbreak.
Skinner says the Department of Corrections has been working with the Iowa Department of Public Health distributing tests to both inmates and correction officers at each of the state’s correction facilities.
The Director of Corrections says a staff member at the state’s medical classification corrections facility has contracted COVID-19, although Skinner doesn’t believe others will be infected.
Skinner says the Corrections Department has taken additional steps such as issuing face masks to each corrections officer and each inmate to help reduce the spread of the virus. She says in addition, some prisoners have been released to cut down on the facilities overcrowding and to help put more separation among inmates.
Skinner says 811 inmates were released, but another 748 were taken in, and potentially an additional 500 inmates could see early release to help with the spread of the coronavirus.
Farmers Begin Planting This Year’s Crops
(Le Mars) — Farmers are just getting started with planting this year’s crops as the Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship says two percent of the state’s corn crop has been planted. Iowa State University Extension Crops Specialist for northwest Iowa, Joel DeJong says he has noticed a few
planters in the field, and anticipates seeing more this week.
DeJong says soil conditions are looking good this year, and farmers should have adequate amounts of soil moisture.
Earth Day Events Canceled By COVID-19
(Ames, IA) — The 50th anniversary of Earth Day is Wednesday but the pandemic has forced the cancellation of environmental awareness activities, including the Iowa State University Extension program “Water Rocks!” The staff visits Iowa schools throughout the year to hold water quality assemblies. Outreach specialist Hilary Pierce says students are urged to
commemorate Earth Day by gathering objects from nature to create works of art — and then share pictures on social media. Pierce says Earth Day served as an inspiration for “Water Rocks!” to begin publishing four short weekly educational videos on YouTube.
Governor Won’t Force Packing Plants To Close For Cleaning
(Des Moines, IA) — Governor Kim Reynolds says the state’s meatpacking plants are complying with the latest safety recommendations and she has no plans to intervene with an executive order that would temporarily close of them.
Reynolds says the plants are not like a regular facility that can be shut down for two weeks. She says farmers that are raising hogs would have to look at euthanizing them if the plants shut down. The governor says consumers would see pork prices rise, since Iowa produces a third of the nation’s pork supply. The governor says all the employees of the pork plant in Columbus
Junction and at the beef plant in Tama have been tested for COVID-19. The beef plant in Tama reopened Monday morning.
Prestage Plant Reports Coronavirus Outbreak
(Eagle Grove, IA) — Officials in Wright County have confirmed an outbreak of coronavirus at a food processing plant there. Sixteen cases of COVID-19 have been announced from Prestage Food near Eagle Grove. Testing was done a few days ago and the results were discovered over the weekend. None of the people
showed signs of illness prior to testing positive. Testing is now underway on all employees of the facility.
DNR Investigates Fish Kill In Clayton County
(Marquette, IA) — The Iowa Department of Natural Resources is investigating a fish kill which was reported over the weekend. Environmental and field office staff responded to the location on Bloody Run Creek in Clayton County. Investigators say they are continuing to look for a polluting source which may have caused the fish kill. Agents found the dead fish along a three-mile stretch of the creek, about seven miles west of Marquette.
Iowa City Police Investigate Fatal Shooting
(Iowa City, IA) — Iowa City Police are investigating a fatal shooting after getting a call around 10:00 a-m Monday. Officers found 21-year-old Kejaun Winters of Iowa City suffering from gunshot wounds. Winters later died at the hospital. Police say they are treating the shooting as a homicide. It is not believed to be a random act and there is no known threat to the public.
