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

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(Radio Iowa) — There have been some partisan policy disputes now that the 2020 Iowa legislative session has resumed, but there’s some intense public bickering about face masks. Most Democrats have been wearing face coverings. Most Republicans are not. Senator Bill Dotzler, a Democrat from Waterloo, gave two speeches urging his colleagues to wear a mask at all times. “Have respect for us who might have underlying conditions or family members who had them underlying conditions,” Dotzler said. “We’ve even got people who are health care professionals in this room who aren’t doing it.”

Senator Mariannette Miller-Meeks of Ottumwa, the Republican nominee for Iowa’s second congressional district seat, is an eye doctor. Miller-Meeks responded to Dotzler, saying she’s read reams of research that suggests maintaining six-feet of separation is sufficient. “I don’t need to be chastised as a physician on whether I should wear a mask or not wear a mask because I’ve looked at the CDC guidelines…I am, in fact, following those guidelines,” Miller-Meeks says. “…When I’m at a store, at a location, at a restaurant I make sure I’m six feet apart.”

There was no floor debate Monday in the House or Senate. The legislature will reconvene today (Tuesday).

The Iowa Department of Public Health’s COVID-19 dashboard shows 15 more people have died from the virus over the past 24-hours, for a total of 622. The number of positive cases increased by 259 to 22,177. The number of Negative COVID-19 test results also increased, from 170,635 Monday, to 174,764 today (Tuesday). Another piece of good news: the number of Iowans who have recovered from the virus amounts to 402, for a total of 13,277.

Statewide RMCC data show 255 Iowans are hospitalized with COVID-19, an increase of 10 from Monday. The number of persons in an ICU has decreased from 85 to 82, while the number of persons admitted to a hospital was listed as 16. Two persons were removed from a ventilator. A total of 51 remain hooked-up to the breathing assistance machines.  In southwest/western Iowa RMCC Region 4: Eight people are hospitalized (1 more than Monday); four are in an ICU (3 more than Monday); One person was admitted to a hospital, and two are on ventilators.

Long-Term Care (LTC) facilities reported one less outbreak, with a total of 39. The amount of residents/staff at those facilities who have tested positive for COVID-19 number 1,561 (5 more than previously reported). 858 have recovered, and a total of 309 have died (5 more than Monday).

There’s been a slight change in some of the area county-by-county COVID-19 case and recovery numbers. The counties with changes include:

Cass: 12 persons have recovered of the 13 positive cases.

Audubon: 10 out of 13 have positive cases have recovered

Shelby: 39 positive cases were reported (1 more than the past few days), with 34 recovered.

Pottawattamie: 383 cases (+25 from yesterday), and 220 have recovered (+19 from Monday).

(Radio Iowa) — The Iowa legislature has passed another bill that toughens penalties for those who trespass at a food operation, including livestock confinements and meat packing plants. Representative Jarad Klein, a Republican from Keota, says it’s a pretty simple concept. “It doesn’t mean you can’t go up and knock on somebody’s door that’s a farmer,” Klein says. “You just can’t go in their livestock building, for example, without permission.”

Republican Senator Ken Rozenboom of Oskaloosa says he was targeted by animal rights protesters who got inside a hog confinement he had leased to someone else and released photos and video the group said showed animal neglect. “The M.O. here is simply lies, deception and intimidation. That’s what they do,” Rosenboom says. “In my case, intimidation to the point of a number of death threats. That’s who we’re dealing with.”

The bill enhances the penalty for trespassing in or on a food operation to an aggravated misdemeanor. A second offense would be a class D felony. Senator Liz Mathis (MATH-iss), a Democrat from Cedar Rapids, says what happened to Rozenboom is wrong. “But let me put this in another perspective,” Mathis says. “We have current laws on the books that deal with trespasses…harassment and damage to your reputation,” Mathis says. “We have current laws that will protect you.”

Republican Representative Louie Zumbach of Coggon says current law isn’t protecting barns where livestock is bred and fed. “People are often on our farms without being invited and it needs to stop,” Zumbach says, “and this is the effort to do that.” Critics predict the bill — if the governor signs it into law — will be successfully challenged in court. The bill passed the House and Senate Friday. The enhanced penalties for trespassing in the bill would apply to plants where eggs, milk and fish are processed as well as meat packing plants.

Police in Red Oak, Monday, cited 29-year old Chelsea Joan Hale, of Red Oak, for Failure to Maintain Control. Additional charges are pending completion of an investigation. Hale was cited following a hit-and-run accident in the 1000 block of E. Valley Street. Witnesses told police that during the accident, which took place at around 3:45-p.m., Monday, a silver car had struck a power pole, which snapped-off. The car then drove away from the scene. Officers were able to locate the vehicle and driver – Chelsea Hale – and observed her 2015 VW Passat had sustained an estimated $5,000 damage. Damage to the Mid-American Energy power pole was estimated at $1,000.

Red Oak Police were assisted at the scene by the Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office and Red Oak Fire Department.

The Adams County Sheriff’s Office reports deputies were called Monday to 2575 Elm Avenue, in reference to a civil dispute. Upon further investigation, 41-year old Joleen Mary Most was taken into custody for Driving While Barred. Most was being held in the Adams County Jail on a $2,000 bond.

Here is the latest Iowa news from The Associated Press at 3:50 a.m. CDT

IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) — A leader of recent protests against police brutality and racial injustice in Iowa City has been ordered jailed on a probation violation after police charged him with unlawful assembly. Police arrested 20-year-old Mazin Mohamedali on Sunday evening on charges of unlawful assembly and disorderly conduct for his role in a June 3 protest near Interstate 80 that ended with officers using tear gas and flash grenades to disperse the crowd. Mohamedali has been an outspoken member of a group calling itself the Iowa Freedom Riders. He has delivered speeches ad led chants during several days of marches and gatherings throughout the city.

ELKADER, Iowa (AP) — Authorities say a motorcyclist has died in a crash with a farm tractor on a northeastern Iowa highway. The Iowa State Patrol says the crash happened just before 6:30 p.m. Saturday when 50-year-old David Bushaw, of Oelwein, was traveling westbound on Clayton Road and crossed the center line when he entered a curve in the highway. The patrol says Bushaw’s motorcycle encountered the tractor in the eastbound lanes, colliding head-on with it. Bushaw died at the scene. Investigators say the 18-year-old driver of the tractor was not hurt.

UNDATED (AP) — Police in Iowa are investigating after a black man found the initials for the white supremacist Ku Klux Klan organization scrawled on his vehicle. The Waterloo-Cedar Falls Courier reports the initials KKK were written in a waxy substance on the back and front passenger side, apparently while the vehicle was parked at the Baymont Inn in Waterloo sometime between Thursday night and Friday morning. No arrests have been made in the case.

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — Public outrage over the death of George Floyd is spilling over into small town America. Rallies have surfaced in places such as Norfolk, Nebraska, and Sioux City, Iowa, drawing hundreds of people in communities that are mostly white. Experts who study race relations say the protests illustrate the degree to which the movement demanding social justice has spread, fueled by social media and persistent but less visible racism experienced by minorities in smaller cities. The gatherings have been largely peaceful although some turned to violence and vandalism.

The Iowa State Patrol reports six people were injured in a crash at around 7:25-p.m Sunday, in Harrison County. Authorities say when a 2014 Chevy Impala driven by 21-year old Ruby Lopez-Milagros, of Omaha, failed to navigate a curve on Highway 30, east of 9th Street in Missouri Valley. the car crossed the center line of the road and struck an eastbound 2012 GMC Yukon, driven by 35-year old Stephanie Renee Martindale, of Turin (IA).

Lopez-Milagros and four passengers in her car, 25-year old Armando Rodriguez, 19-year old Kevin Lucio, and 18-year old Hector Jose De Jesus Ramirez, all of Omaha, along with 19-year old Kevin Suria, of Bellevue, NE., were transported to the hospitals in Omaha or Missouri Valley. Their injuries ranged from minor to serious. Three of the injured, Suria, Lucio and Ramirez, were not wearing a seat belt.

Martindale suffered minor injuries, and was transported to the Missouri Valley hospital by a family member. The accident remains under investigation.

Officials with Pottawattamie County Public Health, today (Monday), confirmed 18 new COVID-19 cases on Saturday, one new case on Sunday, and 30 new cases today (Monday). Of the newly reported cases, two individuals are from Oakland, one each is from Carter Lake, Crescent, Neola, and Underwood. The rest are from Council Bluffs. Two of the individuals were epi-linked, while the others were tested between June 1st and June 7th.

According to the State’s coronavirus dashboard, 4,657 Pottawattamie County residents have been tested for COVID-19 (as of June 8th), with 371 having tested positive. Including epi-linked cases, PCPH reports a total of 412 COVID-19 cases. Of those, 226 persons have recovered, four are hospitalized, and 164 persons are self-isolating. Based on PCPH contact tracing investigations, 109 Pott. County COVID-19 cases are the result of community spread.

Police in Iowa are investigating after a black man found the initials for the white supremacist Ku Klux Klan organization scrawled on his vehicle. The Waterloo-Cedar Falls Courier reports the initials KKK were written in a waxy substance on the back and front passenger side, apparently while the vehicle was parked at the Baymont Inn in Waterloo sometime between Thursday night and Friday morning. No arrests have been made in the case.