(Radio Iowa) – Valentine’s Day is this weekend and Iowans who are looking for love on an online dating platform need to be sure not to hand over their digits. Credit card digits, to be precise. Better Business Bureau spokeswoman, Bao Vang, says scammers are ready to dupe users into believing they’ve found true love, but it may actually be a true crime.

“The way they’re doing that is creating backstories, full-fledged identities, and then they’re tricking you into falling for someone that doesn’t actually exist,” Vang says, “That term, you may be familiar with, is called ‘catfishing’.” Vang says if your online love is sounding like love at first text, take it easy. Many scammers will ask for information about you that could be used to steal your identity, or will ask for money before you even met them, or maybe your credit card info so they can book a flight to see you. All of these should be red flags that someone’s after more than your heart.

Vang says, “Behind some dating profiles lurk scammers who are ready to dupe the users and ultimately leading to stealing someone’s identity or their hard-earned money.” She says you should never send money or personally identifying information to someone you’ve never met in person. Also, never give someone your credit card information to book a ticket to visit you.

(Radio Iowa) – A handful of Iowa counties will not receive doses of the Covid vaccine next week. Iowa Department of Public Health acting director Kelly Garcia says the goal is for counties to get at least 80 percent of weekly doses out the door — and five counties are below that threshold. “We’re going to give them a little bit of a break to catch up,” Garcia says. “That is really a measure not to be punitive to those five counties. We know how hard everyone is working, but it really is to make sure that we’re then giving that chance to those counties that are moving through their vaccine allocation, that we’re getting it out to the Iowans who need it.”

Garcia spoke this (Friday) morning during telephone town hall with A-A-R-P members. She did not name the five counties. “It won’t be a forever withhold,” Garcia says. “The following week they’ll get their allocation back if they reach that 80% threshold.” Many of the questions A-A-R-P members asked Garcia were about scheduling vaccinations. “Every person I call and every person I talk to says we have to have a computer or we won’t get the vaccine and I don’t know what to do. My husband and I are in our 80s and we both are not in good health we need the vaccine, but how do we get it?” Jane said. Garcia replied: “First of all, we absolutely know this is a challenge and we’ve got a number of things in place that we think, Jane, are going to really address these concerns.”

Iowans over the age of 65 can call the Area Agency on Aging for assistance. Garcia says the HyVee stores with Covid vaccine supplies have people on site who can help with registering for a shot. The governor announced this week that a statewide call center is being set up. Until then, Garcia says Iowans can call 2-1-1 for information. Some A-A-R-P members told Garcia the online system Walgreens is using to register people for Covid vaccinations is crashing and Garcia promised to raise that issue with Walgreens executives.

Sheriff’s deputies in Page County, Thursday, arrested a man wanted on a warrant for two counts of Violation of Probation. 25-year old Dylan Elwood Taylor, of Council Bluffs, was taken into custody at the Pottawattamie County Jail.

Dylan E. Taylor

He was transported to the Page County jail and held on a $4,000 cash only bond, pending future court appearances.

The Walnut City Council, Thursday evening, held a Public Hearing on the proposed FY 2021-22 City Property Tax Levy, which, according to City Clerk Shannon Wood, amounts to an increase of about a nickel per $1,000 assessed valuation. She said the increase is due to one factor over which they have very little control.

Of the four Council members present, the vote was unanimous to approve the levy as proposed. Afterward, the Council held more discussion on the FY 2021-22 Budget, which Wood says was helpful for the latest member of the Council.

The next, regular meeting of the Walnut City Council is March 4^th, which presents a problem, timeline-wise.

(Update 10-a.m. Friday) The Iowa Department of Public Health, Friday, said there were 738 new positive cases of COVID-19 test results returned from the labs over the past 24-hours, for a pandemic total of 327,993 positive cases. There were 27 additional deaths reported, for a total of 5,223. Statewide, 4,714 COVID deaths are attributed to Underlying causes. COVID was a contributing factor to 509 deaths. Deaths at Long-Term Care (LTC) facilities account for 2,136 deaths. There were two more deaths in the KJAN listening area: one each in Montgomery and Pottawattemie Counties (see more data below).

Long-Term Care facility outbreaks went from 38 Thursday to 37 on Friday. Officials say 1,018 LTC patients have tested positive for the virus, and 659 have recovered. Iowa’s COVID-19 hospitalizations are at their lowest level since August.

The State data show 249 people are hospitalized with COVID-19, which is down from 273 in the previous report. Officials say 59 patients are in an ICU, 41 were admitted over the previous 24-hours, and 33 patients are on ventilators. In RMCC Region 4 (Hospitals in western/southwest Iowa), 13 are hospitalized with COVID symptoms, six people are in an ICU, one person was admitted over the past 24-hours, and one person was on a ventilator.

Iowa’s statewide positivity rate Friday, was 8.2%, compared to 8.4% Thursday. The 7-day average was up slightly to 6.3%. Adair County remains the only county in Iowa with a 14-day positivity rate greater than 15%. Adair County reports a 22% rate. The next highest county, Crawford County, reports a 13.5% rate. Mitchell County reports the lowest average in the state at 2.1%.

A total of 300,365 Iowans have recovered from the virus.

In the KJAN listening area, here are the current number positive cases by County; The # of new cases since yesterday {+} – if any; and the total number of deaths in each county to date:

• Cass, 1,226 cases; {+3}; 46 deaths
• Adair, 758; {+3}; 25
• Adams, 315; {+2}; 3
• Audubon, 450 {+1}; 9
• Guthrie, 1,068 {+1}; 28
• Harrison County, 1,643; {+3}; 68
• Madison County, 1,353; {+1}; 16
• Mills County, 1,452; {+6}; 20
• Montgomery, 952; {+3}; 36
• Pottawattamie County, 9,551; {+13}; 139
• Shelby County, 1,121; {+5}; 32
• Union County,  1,166; {+1}; 31

(Radio Iowa) – Democrats in the Iowa legislature are proposing a tax break at the state level for the expanded unemployment benefits congress approved during the pandemic. House Democratic Leader Todd Prichard of Charles City says it would mean the additional 600-dollars in jobless benefits approved last summer would not be subject to state income taxes. “This is a no-brainer,” Prichard says. “The Covid crisis…should be the focus. It is the issue of the day that we should be dealing with to help Iowans through this.”

Congresswoman Cindy Axne, a Democrat from West Des Moines, is making a similar proposal in the U.S. House — to exempt up to 10-thousand dollars of unemployment benefits from FEDERAL income taxes. Axne says tens of thousands of Iowans are affected. “As the tax deadlines for 2020 near, there is a potentially devastating tax bill waiting for those Iowans,” Axne says. “Since unemployment benefits are subject to income taxes, Iowans in need will find these benefits on their tax bill this spring.”

Axne joined Democrats from the Iowa House and Senate to discuss these proposed tax breaks at the state and federal level. Senate Democratic Leader Zach Wahls of Coralville says businesses that got federal Paycheck Protection Program grants aren’t paying income taxes on that money.  “We just want to make sure that we’re providing this fairness for worker who lost their jobs in the same way,” Wahls says.

Wahls says many Iowans filed for unemployment benefits for the first time in their lives and may not have known that money was subject to income taxes.

(Radio Iowa) – A bill eligible for debate in the Iowa Senate would set the state on a course that COULD make Daylight Saving Time permanent. Senator Jeff Reichman, a Republican from Montrose, says “It’s a good bill. I’ve had a lot of great feedback about it.”   The Senate State Government Committee has approved a bill that would make Daylight Saving Time permanent all year — but Reichman says that would only happen if the six states that surround Iowa make the same move.

“We couldn’t be an island of Daylight Saving Time in the Midwest here,” Reichman says. “This gives all bordering states 10 years to come on board with this, pass their own legislation.”

Critics of the twice-a-year time change say it disrupts sleep schedules and is actually a temporary damper on the economy. Last year, bills were introduced in 32 states that called for observing Daylight Saving Time year round.

DAVENPORT, Iowa (AP) — The owner of a long-vacant hotel in Davenport has agreed to demolish the building and market the site for a new use. Hotel owner Alex Patel told the Quad-City Times his company had considered keeping a hotel at the site along with retail and offices but now plans to clear the site and put it up for sale. The former Hotel Davenport and Conference Center, located south of Interstate 80, sits on an 8-acre site and has been vacant for more than three years.

The 125,000-square-foot building has deteriorated and officials last fall ordered the owner to rehabilitate it or demolish the structure. The hotel was build in the 1970s as a Holiday Inn.

JOHNSTON, IA – Officials with the Iowa Renewable Fuels Association (IRFA), Friday, announced Elite Octane, a 150 Million Gallon per Year ethanol plant near Atlantic, has joined the association as a producer member. Nick Bowdish, Elite Octane’s President & CEO, will serve on IRFA’s board of directors. Bowdish said he is excited to work alongside the rest of the IRFA board this year to grow ethanol demand across Iowa, especially in light of Governor Kim Reynolds recent introduction of the Iowa Biofuel Standards legislation earlier this week.

Elite Octane CEO/President Nick Bowdish (File photo)

If passed, the legislation would set a minimum standard of 10 percent ethanol and 11 percent biodiesel sold in Iowa and chart the path to universal availability of gasoline containing 15 percent ethanol in Iowa. Bowdish said “We share the vision of Governor Kim Reynolds, IRFA, and the other supporters of the Iowa Biofuel Standards legislation that gasoline containing 15% ethanol should be available for consumers at every Iowa retail station and this bill provides retailers with the support they need to make it happen.“We are looking forward to being a part of the IRFA team as it works alongside the Governor and other ag groups to see the passage of this crucial legislation.  Upon doing so, Iowa will continue to lead by example as we advocate for other states and countries to offer higher blends of ethanol.”

IRFA Executive Director Monte Shaw said IRFA was excited to welcome Elite Octane as a new member. “While Elite Octane has only been in operation for a couple of years, Nick has been an active and staunch supporter for ethanol for many years and we look forward to his voice joining our board of directors,” Shaw said. “He is passionate and driven and as we work this year to pass ground-breaking legislation to boost biofuel demand, IRFA will be that much stronger because Elite Octane is now a part of our team.”

SIOUX CITY, Iowa (AP) — A woman accused of driving three men suspected of firing a barrage of shots into a Sioux City home during a New Year’s party and killing a woman has pleaded not guilty to gun charges. The Sioux City Journal reports that 20-year-old Liliana Gutierrez, of Sioux City, pleaded not guilty Thursday to intimidation with a dangerous weapon and three counts of reckless use of a firearm.

Police say Gutierrez drove Christopher Morales, Carlos Morales and Anthony Bauer to the house shortly after midnight on Jan. 1. The three men are charged with firing at least 27 shots into the house, where 20-25 people were at a New Year’s party, and killing 18-year-old Mia Kritis. Three others were wounded.