DES MOINES – Officials with the Iowa Department of Corrections, Friday, said the Anamosa State Penitentiary and the Iowa Correctional Institution for Women received the results of positive COVID-19 tests Thursday afternoon. Due to the new positive cases, those facilities are entering a restricted movement status to mitigate further viral spread. While on restricted movement, video visitations have been suspended at this time at both facilities.

The facilities are currently organizing mass-testing for inmates and staff in the coming days to identify any additional inmates that should be placed in medical isolation or quarantine units as part of the facilities’ virus mitigation strategies. As additional testing is conducted and additional inmates are identified as positive for COVID-19, updates will be posted at https://doc.iowa.gov/COVID19. Whenever an inmate tests positive for COVID-19, staff notify the inmate’s emergency contact immediately.

The department says it has been preparing for and dealing with the eventuality of COVID-19 in the prison system for months. Since the start of the pandemic, the department has had over 1,200 inmates and over 200 staff recover from the virus and a total of 4 inmates that passed away due to complications related to the virus.

An outline of the changes to DOC protocols can be found at doc.iowa.gov/department-corrections-steps, and more information related to COVID-19 in the DOC can be found at doc.iowa.gov/COVID19. For members of the public with questions about COVID-19 in the prison system, a hotline is available during business hours Monday-Friday by calling (515) 373-5457. For more on the free o-mails, phone calls and video visitation that the department has provided for those incarcerated to communicate with their loved-ones, please visit https://doc.iowa.gov/families-during-covid19.

DAVENPORT, Iowa- United States Attorney Marc Krickbaum announced Friday, that 20-year-old Brandon Tumause Owen, of Cedar Rapids, was indicted by a federal grand jury for one count of Unlawful Drug User in Possession of a Firearm, after he brandished an AR-15 rifle during a June protest in Iowa City.

According to public records, Owen was stopped on June 7, 2020, by Iowa City Police for a traffic offense. An impaired driving investigation was performed and indicated Owen was under the influence of marijuana. An AR-15 rifle was located inside Owen’s vehicle. Under federal law, it is illegal for an unlawful drug user to possess firearms.

According to Attorney Krickbaum, “Our Constitution protects everyone’s right to peacefully protest against injustice. It does not protect anyone’s  right to illegally carry and publically brandish an AR-15. We will prosecute those – including protestors – who commit federal gun crimes.”

After the indictment of Owen, FBI Omaha’s Special Agent in Charge Eugene Kowel said, “The FBI holds sacred the rights of individuals to peacefully exercise their First Amendment freedoms. When someone threatens the safety of peaceful protestors, we will step in to protect them.”

The case is part of Project Guardian (PG) and Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), programs bringing together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce gun crime and make our neighborhoods safer for everyone. This matter is being investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, Iowa City Police Department, and the Iowa Department of Public Safety. The case is being prosecuted by the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Iowa.

Corning, IA  – Local farmer Marnie Cline recently directed a $2,500 America’s Farmers Grow Communities donation, sponsored by Bayer Fund, to Adams County 4-H Safety Education in Shooting Sports (SESS) project.

SESS will use the funds to purchase ammunition and supplies to maintain the low cost for 4-H members, and pay the fees. Evy Ganfield, Adams County ISU Extension and Outreach County Youth and Outreach Coordinator says “We are so grateful to Marnie for pursuing this grant for the SESS program and benefiting the kids – with this donation we can continue to offer an amazing Shooting Sports project with quality instructors that is available to all of our youth – the equipment is provided, so the financial commitment for families is extremely low.”

Since 2010, the America’s Farmers programs have awarded more than $57 million to nonprofits, aspiring Ag students and public schools across rural America. The Grow Communities program partners with farmers across the country to provide nonprofit organizations with resources to strengthen their local communities.

Each August, farmers can enter for the chance to direct a $2,500 Grow Communities donation to a local eligible nonprofit of their choice. Farmers have directed donations to food banks, emergency response organizations, schools, youth agriculture programs and many others that reflect the spirit and support the vibrancy of rural America.

To learn how you can be an America’s Farmers Grow Communities recipient, visit www.AmericasFarmers.com. The America’s Farmers Grow Communities 2021 program will kick off on August 1, 2020, and farmers will once again have the opportunity to enroll for a chance to direct a donation to a local eligible nonprofit of their choice.

(Radio Iowa) – Incumbent Republican Joni Ernst has been campaigning in northwest Iowa today (Friday) as part of her final push to win a second term in the U.S. Senate. During a stop in Sioux City, Ernst criticized her Democratic opponent Theresa Greenfield for not visiting each of Iowa’s 99 counties. “Can you believe that?” Ernst said and the crowd booed. “The Iowa people expect their elected representatives to show up and do their job.”

Ernst brought along a team of supporters, including two of her fellow senators. Texas Senator Ted Cruz told the crowd jammed into Woodbury County G-O-P headquarters that Ernst’s race will determine whether Republicans retain majority control of the U.S. Senate. “There are no moderate Democrats,” Cruz says. “Now, Theresa Greenfield — she may try to talk like she doesn’t believe any of this craziness, but a vote for her is a vote for Chuck Schumer, a vote for her is a vote for AOC and a vote for her is a vote to destroy the economy and the rights of millions of Iowans.”

Iowa Senator Chuck Grassley held up a bottle of hand sanitizer and told the crowd packed into Woodbury County’s Republican Headquarters he was there to clean up some lies, like the claim in an ad that Ernst had voted four times to give herself a pay raise. “Senators have not had a pay raise since 2009 or 2010, whenever it was the last time,” Grassley says.

Ernst took office in 2014. Cruz, the winner of Iowa’s presidential caucuses in 2016, told the crowd Iowa is playing a pivotal role in the national election this year. “If the Democrats win Iowa, they’re going to raise your taxes — massively,” Cruz said. “If the Democrats win Iowa, they’re going to continue to shut down the economy and destroy small businesses across this county. If the Democrats win Iowa, they are going to jam through a Green New Deal that will destroy energy in the United States.”

Governor Kim Reynolds, who is also on the tour, joked that Cruz “would be in trouble” once she got coffee after the first bus tour stop. Cruz opposes the federal ethanol production mandate, but none of the other Republicans at the event brought that up.

(Radio Iowa) Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden was in Des Moines earlier this (Friday) afternoon to deliver his closing pitch to Iowans at a drive-in rally on the state fairgrounds. “It’s time for us to stand up, take back our democracy,” Biden said, as car horns blasted in response. “We can do this. We’re so much better than we’ve been.”

Biden accused the Trump Administration of a “weak and chaotic” China trade policy that has dealt set-backs to Iowa farmers and the biofuels industry. “Ethanol margins have tanked and Iowa’s manufacturing facilities are idle and even closing,” Biden said. Biden also brought up the 28 BILLION dollars in trade disruption payments the Trump Administration has provided farmers. “He says because of quote — his bailouts, our farmers do better now than when they actually had to farm,'” Biden said. “…Where’s this guy from? Who does he think he is?”

Biden said if elected, he’ll mobilize an international effort to address China’s trade abuses that have hit the nation’s farmers as well as U.S. manufacturers.  “I’m going to hold China, which he hasn’t from the pandemic on,” Biden said.  Biden brought his Trump’s critique of wind energy — and Trump’s claim wind turbines cause cancer —  “This is also a guy you may recall, the stable genius, who said the problem with the Revolutionary War was that we didn’t have enough airports,” Biden said. “And he talks about mental acuity? Whoa.”

The Biden campaign says 200 vehicles were parked around the state and another 125 were in a holding area nearby. This was Biden’s first visit to Iowa since his 4th place finish in the Iowa Caucuses. The Trump campaign announced the president will hold a rally in Dubuque on Sunday afternoon.

(Radio Iowa) – The latest predictions show a La Nina weather system has developed in the Pacific Ocean and it’s expected to linger into spring — which may bring Iowa a colder winter and could influence the state’s weather well into 2021. Matt Rosencrans, a meteorologist at the Climate Prediction Center, says they plan to update the forecast monthly.

“The La Nina forecast goes out about eight months, so if we were doing a forecast back in July, it wouldn’t have extended too far into next year anyway, so that’s one aspect of it,” Rosencrans says. “The other aspect is that you just have more certainty.”

A La Nina system occurs when sea surface temperatures average below-normal. Historically, La Ninas have caused below-normal temperatures across much of the Northern Plains states during the winter. Rosencrans says the center’s predictions are largely based on past observations.

“There’s kind of a new unpredictability die-off in this skill of La Nina at about six months, some seasons, it’s six to seven, in the springtime, it’s only about two to three months,” he says. “We really don’t have a lot of lead time on there.”

Rosencrans says they are confident of the impacts at least through February, while beyond that, there’s still some uncertainty.

One person was transported to the Shenandoah Memorial Hospital following a motorcycle versus deer collision, Friday morning, about four-miles southeast of Shenandoah. The Page County Sheriff’s Office reports 61-year-old David Henry Jackson, of rural Shenandoah, was riding a 2006 Harley Davidson motorcycle northbound in the 2500 block of C Avenue at around 5:33-a.m., when a deer ran onto the road in front of him.

After the cycle hit the deer, the machine slid into the east ditch/shoulder area of C Avenue. Jackson suffered undisclosed injuries and was transported to the hospital by Shenandoah Ambulance. His motorcycle sustained an estimated $6,500 in damage.

AMC Rapid Care will close at 6 pm tonight, October 30 and will resume normal hours of operation tomorrow, October 31 10 am to 6pm.

The Page County Sheriff’s Office says no one was injured early Friday morning, when a semi struck a cow on Highway 71. The collision happened at around 12:38-a.m., about five-miles north of Clarinda. Authorities says a 2020 Volvo semi driven by 50-year-old Steven Alan Telkamp, of Slayton, MN was traveling north on Highway 7, when the rig struck a black cow on the road that was valued at $2,500. The animal belongs to McCoy Farms.

After the semi hit the cow, the animal landed in the southbound lane, where it was struck by a 2001 Chrysler PT Cruiser. The driver of that vehicle was identified as 36-year-old Kurtis Hollon, of Clarinda.

The semi sustained an estimated $10,000 damage, but it was still driven from the scene. Hollon’s vehicle sustained about $1,500 damage, and had to be towed from the scene. There were no charges or citations resulting from the incident.

Officials with Mills County Public Health say “As we prepare to celebrate holidays and other large gatherings such as local and state athletic events…” they want to remind all, that “COVID-19 is still widely circulating in our county and state.” They encourage all students and adults to continue to take precautions to protect the health of themselves and their families. Remember that the more people an individual interacts with at a gathering and the longer that interaction lasts, the higher the potential risk of becoming infected and accelerating the spread of COVID-19.

MCPH asks you to ‘lease keep the following key points in mind:
• Carefully consider whether certain social or recreational activities are worth putting yourself and others at risk.
• Stay home if you are sick or feeling unwell.
• Wear a face mask and maintain social distance when in public. This includes when you are in a vehicle with others that do not live with you.
• Wash your hands often with soap and water for at least 20 seconds. Use hand sanitizers frequently.
• If you are positive or a close contact of a positive, take it seriously. Isolate yourself and stay home for the full quarantine period.

Officials say “These proven public health mitigation strategies will contain the spread of COVID-19. We want to protect our health and keep our positivity rate well below the 15% threshold. Kids need to be in school as long as safely possible. Please put this guidance into practice and encourage those around you to do the same.”

For up-to-date information on COVID-19, visit the Iowa Coronavirus webpage at https://coronavirus.iowa.gov