Brian Harris, President of the Atlantic Rotary Club, today (Friday) announced that the Annual Rotary Auction, originally scheduled for Saturday, November 21st, 2020, has been canceled for this year. According to Harris, “This decision was made at the monthly club Board of Directors meeting, amid continued uncertainty surrounding COVID – 19. We anticipate guidelines for gatherings will change often over the next several months, and the preparations and financial commitments for the auction take place for many months prior to the event. Another consideration was the fact that so many area businesses and individuals who have given generous donations in the past have been financially impacted by COVID – 19, and the club did not feel it was appropriate to ask these people for donations this year.”

Harris said also, “The health and well-being of our community is a priority for our club and we do not want to take an unnecessary risk by holding the event, nor do we want to have to limit attendance, thus reducing the effectiveness of the event as a fundraiser and celebration of our community’s giving spirit.”

Brian Harris closed with: “The Atlantic Rotary Club is grateful for the generosity the members of Atlantic and surrounding communities have shown us over the years through their time and donations to the Rotary Auction. For over 35 years, the Rotary Auction has been a signature event for our club, raising more than a million dollars that have been invested back into our local communities. Our hope is that in 2021 we will be able resume this annual event and continue to use those proceeds to support community projects in the Rotary spirit of Service.”

Adair-Guthrie County Emergency Management Coordinator Bob Kempf today, reports “All of Adair and Guthrie Counties will be under a Burn Ban effective at Noon today 09-04-2020.” Previously, a Burn Ban was put in place for the City of Stuart, Cass, Audubon and Pottawattamie Counties. The Adair-Guthrie County ban means there should be no burning of yard waste, piled tree debris, grass/agricultural ground and set-asides or other items during the ban. Also, do not toss cigarettes out the window of a moving vehicle!

Small recreational patio or camp fires are permitted only if they are conducted in a fire place of brick, metal or heavy one-inch wire mesh. Any camp fire not in an outdoor fire place is prohibited.

More State and area news from KJAN News Director Ric Hanson.

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(Radio Iowa) – Iowa has received a federal grant of nearly 18 million dollars to address deaths from opioids and methamphetamine. The Opioid Initiatives Director at the state health department, Kevin Gabbert, says opioid deaths are still a concern here. “We did see a decline in 2018 — however in 2019, those numbers have increased again. And for 2020 — it looks like those numbers are going to pass what we had in 2019,” Gabbert says. The number of opioid deaths in Iowa increased from 137 in 2018 to 157 in 2019. Gabbert says they have a variety of ways to address the issue. “We are going to be adding a prevention staff person in every one of our 19 service areas across the state. Our service areas represent all 99 counties,” Gabbert says. “We will continue to fund medication assisted treatment services for individuals. In addition, we’re going to be providing recovery support services — things like transportation, dental services, housing.”

Methamphatamines are what’s know as psychostimulants, and Gabbert says they continue to remain a problem. “For the first time, psychostimulant-related deaths have passed opioid-related deaths. It’s Not by much, but none the less it has passed it,” Gabbert says. “And when you start to look at the number of individuals who have experienced an overdose death and had both psychostimulants and opioids in their system — that number has quadrupled in the last decade.” Gabbert says the coroanvirus pandemic has had some impact on the use of these drugs. “We don’t know the full impact as of this time — but some of the things that we know are issues in regards to COVID-19 are things like isolation. There could be many reasons for this, we’ve got many people who are practicing social distancing,” Gabbert says.

He says there is key health link they do know about between the use of these drugs and COVID-19. “COVID-19 can have a significant impact on an individual’s normal ability to breathe. For those individuals who experience an opioid overdose, respiratory depression is the primary cause of death,” according to Gabbert. “So if you have an individual who has COVID-19 and uses opioids — there’s a possibility that the two issues combined could cause an increased risk of experiencing a respiratory issue.”

Gabbert says the two year grant is from the federal department of Health and Human Services.

(Radio Iowa) – Fewer than one-percent of Iowans live in nursing homes, but the state director of A-A-R-P Iowa says 50-percent of all coronavirus-related deaths in the state are in residents of long-term care facilities. Brad Anderson says Iowans living in nursing homes are in “grave danger” with more than 540 dead from the virus statewide this year, and he says many measures to protect those residents are still not in place. “We have Iowans dying in nursing homes at an unacceptable rate, that needs to be addressed,” Anderson says. “Secondly, we’ve got residents and families that are suffering greatly from social isolation. You can’t deal with that second crisis until you deal with the first crisis.”

The organization is calling on the governor to enact new rules like requiring regular testing for COVID-19 and providing easier access to personal protective gear. Also: “We need to insure adequate staffing levels,” Anderson says. “Nursing homes weren’t really adequately staffed prior to the pandemic and the situation has only gotten worse.” In addition, AARP wants regulations that would require virtual visitation in long-term care facilities, to put a bandaid on the challenges of social isolation. “What that means is training residents and family members on how to use things like FaceTime and iPads and Skype to allow them to connect virtually until we can get back to safe, regular, in-person visitation,” Anderson says, “which is what everyone wants but we’re still very far from achieving that.”

The nonprofit, nonpartisan AARP is also calling for the creation of a state task force to address the crisis in nursing homes. Anderson notes, there’s all kinds of discussion about Iowa schools during the pandemic, and rightly so. “How do we deal with virtual learning and how do we get to a path for in-person learning? These conversations are happening at all levels related to schools,” Anderson says, “yet we have had 50% of the deaths related to COVID in Iowa nursing homes and there seems to be next-to-no public conversation about this crisis.” Anderson says the enacting of common-sense policies will save lives.

The Creston Police Department reports 33-year old Christina Marie McDonald, of Creston, was arrested Thursday afternoon at the Union County Law Enforcement Center, for Theft in the 5th Degree. McDonald was cited and released on a Summons to Appear. And, a Creston man reported to Police Wednesday morning, that someone had forcibly entered his garage in the 500 block of S. Oak Street.

The man saidvarious tools, a cordless drill, a tool belt, a multi-meter and a Smith &Wesson M&P m2.0 TS .9mm pistol had been stolen. The loss was estimated at $1000.

The area’s latest and/or top news stories at 7:05-a.m. From KJAN News Director Ric Hanson.

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The Guthrie County Fair is underway through Monday, in Guthrie Center. As with other county fairs, due to the Covid-19 epidemic the fair board earlier this Summer, made the difficult decision to drastically scale back the 2020 Fair. Although the Fair is not be a full-scale production like it has in the past, there WILL BE:  livestock shows, camping, and some grandstand entertainment.  There is, NO carnival, the Art/Ag Hall will be closed, and the new Static building will be open intermittently. The Static Showcase in the new 4_H & FFA Education Center (Sept. 3rd-6th) takes from from 4:30-until 7-p.m. You’re invited to stop out and check out members’ Static projects and the new building.   All precautions will be taken to keep our visitors safe and healthy during their visit.  The Fair Board asks that you wash your hands frequently, use the sanitizer stations, and practice social distancing.

The Schedule includes: Friday Evening (Grandstand) – Rodeo; Saturday – Dog trials at the horse arena, Chainsaw artist, & Saturday evening Figure 8 races at the Grandstand; Sunday’s activities include a Bags Tournament, Dog Trials at the Horse Arena, and NAG races during the evening at the Grandstand.

4-H and FFA Livestock shows will be live on Facebook during the Fair, through Sept. 7th.

For more information, go to https://www.guthriecountyfair.com/, or follow Guthrie County Fair on Facebook.

Here is the latest Iowa news from The Associated Press at 3:30 a.m. CDT

CORALVILLE, Iowa (AP) — Authorities say police in Coralville shot and injured a man who pointed a rifle at officers during a standoff. Coralville Chief Shane Kron said in a news release officers were called Thursday to check on a possibly suicidal man. Officers tried for about an hour to convince the man to accept help. Kron says the man eventually emerged from the home’s garage and pointed a rifle at officers. One officer fired two rounds, striking the man. He was taken to an Iowa City hospital. His condition was not available late Thursday afternoon. No further information was released. The Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation will investigate the shooting.

BETTENDORF, Iowa (AP) — Authorities say a Bettendorf police officer shot and killed a man who had threatened a child inside a home. The confrontation happened Thursday when officers responded to a report of someone who was bleeding holding a knife to the throat of a 4-year-old child. Bettendorf officer Keith Kimball said in a news release the man was holding a sharp-edged weapon when one of the officers shot him. The man died at the scene. Several children were in the home. No one else was injured. The Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation is investigating.

IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) — A judge says she’ll try to rule next week on whether to block Gov. Kim Reynolds’ mandate for schools to return to in-person learning, despite the coronavirus pandemic. Judge Mary Chicchelly heard arguments in a lawsuit brought by the Iowa City school district and the Iowa State Education Association. She said that, barring “unforeseen circumstances,” she would issue a written ruling next week. Lawyers for the Iowa City district and the teachers’ union asked her to impose a temporary injunction that would allow local school boards to decide when it’s safe to reopen classrooms to students and teachers. Many school districts begin classes on Tuesday in Iowa, where the virus is spreading faster than almost any other state.

SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (AP) — South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem got some extra air time on Fox News last week during the Republican National Convention, after the state ran a $819,000 taxpayer-funded ad promoting tourism. Purchasing the Fox News ad while millions of people tuned into the RNC was Noem’s idea, her spokesman Ian Fury said. In the 30-second ad narrated by the Republican governor, she describes how the state is “open for opportunity,” alluding to how she has leveraged her decision to forego coronavirus restrictions to attract tourists and businesses to the state.