Nearly 100 people have been tested in connection with a measles case that state health officials are treating as a “public health emergency.” Most of the people were passengers on a flight from Chicago to Des Moines on May 11. A child, who later tested positive for the measles, was on the American Airlines plane (flight 3965). Iowa Department of Public Health Medical Director Dr. Patricia Quinlisk says measles is easily spread and can cause serious illness.

“It can cause permanent damage, such as brain damage. Even with good medical care…it can still cause people to die,” Quinlisk said. “So, we take this disease very seriously and want to make sure we stop anybody from getting the measles if we can.”

Iowans who were on the flight or visited Mercy Central Pediatric Clinic or Mercy Medical Center in Des Moines on May 14 may’ve been exposed to the measles. The symptoms include fever, cough, red/pink eyes, runny nose and a rash. Quinlisk says people who suspect they have the measles should NOT go directly to the E-R or their doctor’s office.

“What you need to do is call your health care provider ahead of time…and they will arrange for you to be seen in a way that is safe for the health care provider and you’re not spreading it to other patients,” Quinlisk said.

Iowans who are not sure if they’ve received two MMR (measles, mumps, rubella) vaccines should contact their health care provider. Quinlisk says people who are vaccinated have a 99-percent chance of never getting the measles – even if they’re exposed to the disease. Those older than their mid-50s and know that they had measles as a child do not need to be vaccinated.

(Radio Iowa)

RANDOLPH, Iowa (AP) — The mayor of Randolph isn’t sitting back and quietly accepting a possible proposal to close the town’s post office.

Mayor Vance Trively says he’s demanding financial information about the post office and has put postal officials on notice that he will fight a possible closing of the Randolph post office in the southwest Iowa town of about 170.

The Daily Nonpareil in Council Bluffs says Trively also has talked with state and federal lawmakers.

Mail volume has dropped 20 percent in the past four years and the U.S. Postal Service plans to close or consolidate 2,200 post offices across the country. Among the other proposed post office closures, are those located in Earling, Gray, Kimballton, Elk Horn, Marne, Grant, Modale, Tabor, New Market, Sharpsburg, and Braddyville.

Randolph’s residents say closing their post office is not a solution, suggesting instead a cut in bureaucracy.

Trively suggests a 10 percent across-the-board pay cut.

SLOAN, Iowa (AP) — Residents of a riverside subdivision near the northwest Iowa city of Sloan are calling for help filling sandbags.

Sioux City television station KTIV reports that the work at River Woods subdivision is scheduled to begin Tuesday morning at 9 o’clock. Volunteers are asked to bring along shovels and gloves.

Sloan and other Iowa towns along the Missouri River have been preparing for more flooding. Water has already spilled over the banks in several low-lying areas along the river in Nebraska and Iowa.

In Omaha, Neb., the city installed flood gates Sunday to keep rising water from seeping into downtown.

The Army Corps of Engineers warns that the high water level and flooding issues will likely worsen over the next month as releases from upstream reservoirs reach historic levels.

Tim Pawlenty, R-MN Presidential candidate

Republican Presidential candidate Tim Pawlenty will be making the rounds in western Iowa this week. The two-term former Governor of Minnesota will be in Sioux Center, LeMars and Sioux City on Tuesday, and in Council Bluffs, on Wednesday.

His first stop a “Coffee with Governor Pawlenty,” will be 8:30-a.m. Tuesday, at Casey’s Bakery in Sioux Center. Later that afternoon, he’ll visit the Blue Bunny Ice Cream Shop in Lemars, beginning at 2:30-p.m. And, at 7-p.m. Tuesday, Pawlenty will appear at the Sioux City Library.

On Wednesday, “T-Paw,” as he’s called on his website, will stop at Tish’s Restaurant in Council Bluffs, for a Town Hall meeting that begins at 9:30-a.m. Pawlenty kicked-off his campaign last week in Des Moines, with the announcement he intended to run for President in 2012.

Pawlenty told the crowd at the state capital the country is “in big trouble” and it will take a “new and better president” to fix things. He said that means phasing out federal subsidies for ethanol. That statement prompted a response from the ethanol industry: go to the heart of oil country and give a speech there about ending petroleum subsidies.

For more on Pawlenty’s positions on the issues, surf to www.timpawlenty.com.

No injuries were reported following a rollover accident Sunday night, about five-miles south of Red Oak. According to the Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office, 45-year old David Lee McClain, of Essex, was charged with OWI 1^st offense, after he wrecked the 1999 Dodge Ram pickup he owned and was operating.

Officials say McLain was traveling south on Highway 48, just south of 260^th Street at around 9:35-p.m. Sunday, when for “reasons unknown,” the vehicle crossed the center line into the northbound lane of travel. McLain attempted to steer back into his lane, but in doing so overcorrected, causing the pickup to enter a ditch on the east side of Highway 48.

In the ditch, the truck rolled an estimated three-to four-times before coming to rest on the driver’s side in a farm field. The vehicle, valued at $10,0000, was a total loss. McClain was arrested and brought to the Montgomery County Jail, where he was being held on $1,000 bond.

The Sheriff’s Office was assisted in its investigation by Red Oak Police. Red Oak Fire and Rescue also responded to the scene of the accident.