OFFUTT AIR FORCE BASE, Neb. (AP) — Offutt Air Force Base south of Omaha says it has shut down an off-base child care center after a child care provider there tested position for COVID-19. The base says in a news release Wednesday that infected person had been in contact with staff and children at the Child Development Center 1 before self-quarantining. Officials say contact tracing is currently being conducted by the Offutt Public Health section, which will contact those who may have been exposed. Offutt says the Child Development Center will be professionally sanitized before reopening. No date has been set to reopen the center.

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

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The area’s latest and/or top news stories at 7:06-a.m. From KJAN News Director Ric Hanson.

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Officials with the Creston Police Department report a man from Missouri was arrested just before 1-a.m. today (Thursday), in the 300 block of N. Birch Street. 31-year old Lance Wood, of Lexington, MO., was arrested for Public Intoxication. Wood was being held in the Union County Jail on a $300 bond.

Cass County Wellness Coordinator Brigham Hoegh reports earlier this spring, a local trucking company, Sindt Transportation, was delivering frozen chicken to a customer when the driver realized he had accidentally been given one too many pallets of frozen chicken. The meat supplier told the trucking company to just go ahead and donate the chicken. But, getting rid of a pallet of frozen chicken is no small task when the pallet is 1400 pounds—700 boxes of 20 pounds of chicken. And, the refrigerated truck trailer was needed for business the next day.

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According to Hoegh, “This is one of those times when it is just so much fun to see how people in Cass County jump into action.” The trucking company made contact with the Lord’s Cupboard, a food pantry in Griswold, who then called Hoegh to see if anyone else could take chicken. Soon enough, Cumberland Care and Share, a food pantry in Cumberland, and the Anita Food Pantry, were on their way to Lyman to pick up chicken. Carol Seddon, a member of the Atlantic Kiwanis, drove down to get chicken to share with families who have children in Head Start.

Hoegh said “That chicken was gone in a matter of hours. It was fantastic. Huge thanks to Dan Mueller and Sindt Transportation for the chicken and to the people across the county who dropped what they were doing to make sure good food didn’t go to waste.”

Healthy Cass County is a community-focused network to promote the health and well-being of Cass County residents. Follow Healthy Cass County on Facebook @HealthyCassCounty. Reach out to Cass County Wellness Coordinator Brigham Hoegh at bhoegh@iastate.edu or 712-249-5870 more information.

The Iowa Department of Public Health (IDPH) and Audubon County Public Health have identified an additional case of COVID-19 in the county. Officials have not yet disclosed the age bracket of the person affected, or other details. The data had not been updated on the IDPH website as of this (Thursday) morning. The previous COVID-19 case was reported near the end of March, was in a person age 61-to 80 who was self-isolating at home.

Audubon County Public Health Director Bob Nelson, Wednesday, issued some tips on how to help prevent the spread of the virus. It’s important, he said, for everyone to stay home as much as possible and to practice social distancing – this simply means to stay away from groups of people, and to keep a 6-foot distance from other individuals.”

Nelson said symptoms of COVID-19 include cough, fever (with a temperature of 100.4-degrees or greater), and shortness of breath. If you experience those symptoms, call your health care provider before going into their office.

All residents should continue to practice:

• Staying home when even mildly ill (the kind of illness that normally wouldn’t prevent you from your everyday activities)
• Covering coughs and sneezes with a tissue or your elbow/upper arm.
• Washing hands frequently with soap and water for at least 20 seconds.

In addition, leave your home only for essential errands like getting groceries or getting medication. And when you run those types of errands, send only one person from the household, if possible.

Police in Red Oak report the arrest at around 5-p.m. Wednesday, of 38-year old Jesse Donald Trost. The Red Oak man was taken into custody in the 1700 block of E. Summit Street, for Carrying Weapons, and Public Intoxication. He was being held in the Montgomery County Jail on a $2,000 bond.

(Radio Iowa) — Nearly 900 Iowa National Guard soldiers have been called to active duty to help in the state’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Adjutant General Benjamin Corell says 150 of those soldiers are at call centers in Cedar Rapids, Sioux City and Johnston, helping determine the spread of the virus through contract tracing.

“These soldiers and airmen are assisting the Iowa Department of Public Health in their efforts to contact Iowans who have tested positive for the virus,” Corell says, “in order to help identify other persons and places that may have been exposed.” Coronavirus outbreaks in small Iowa counties have overwhelmed the limited number of local public health staff available to do the kind of investigations that identify people who may have been exposed to the virus and encourage them to isolate themselves to prevent spreading COVID-19.

Corell says the information soldiers collect through their conversations is turned over to the state. “The Iowa National Guard members supporting these missions have been thoroughly trained by public health professionals to gather and properly handle personal information required to determine potential COVID-19 exposure,” Corell says. A few weeks ago, Governor Reynolds indicated employees in the Iowa Department of Public Health would also be reassigned to do this work, but there has been no indication when or how many may be joining the effort.

Until a COVID-19 vaccine is available, experts say social distancing will be necessary until there’s widespread testing, followed by quickly tracking down people who were around someone who has the illness. Beyond the contact tracing mission, another 25 soldiers are picking up, transporting and unloading food for the state’s six regional food banks. “We are Iowans helping Iowans, neighbors helping neighbors,” Corell says.

In addition, guard soldiers are distributing COVID-19 test kits around the state and returning samples to the State Hygienics Lab. Others are providing administrative and logistical support to the “Test Iowa” sites in Des Moines and Waterloo.

(Radio Iowa) — Tyson will temporarily shut down its Dakota City beef facility near Sioux City this weekend. A statement from the company says the facility will pause operations starting Friday through Monday, May 4th to complete a deep cleaning of the entire plant. The company says it has has been working closely with the local health department and is in the process of screening plant team members for COVID-19 with assistance from the Nebraska National Guard.

The Dakota City facility is one of the largest beef processing plant in the country and employs a workforce of 4,300. It’s the largest employer in the Sioux City metro. The plant normally produces enough beef in one day to feed 18 million people, but with increased absenteeism over the last few weeks the company has had to scale back production. Tyson says employees will continue to be paid through the temporary closure.

Tyson had previously idled its pork plants in Waterloo and Perry and plants in Indiana and Washington for similar reasons.

Here is the latest Iowa news from The Associated Press at 3:00 a.m. CDT

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds is defending her actions to open restaurants and other businesses in a majority of Iowa counties with few coronavirus cases. Reynolds says University of Iowa professors who warned reopening business now could cause a second wave of infections were presenting a model that was a snapshot in time. She says improved testing and mitigation efforts have successfully prevented hospitals from being overwhelmed. Health officials reported 467 new cases Wednesday for a total of more than 6,800 in Iowa. An additional 12 people died, increasing the total to 148 deaths.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Unions in the U.S. meat packing industry say President Donald Trump is jeopardizing lives and prioritizing cold cuts over workers’ health. Trump on Tuesday signed an executive order under the Defense Production Act to classify meat processing as critical infrastructure during the coronavirus outbreak. The goal is to try to prevent a shortage of chicken, pork and other meat on supermarket shelves. More than 20 meatpacking plants have closed temporarily because of the outbreak. One union estimates that 6,500 workers are sick or have been exposed while working near someone who tested positive. At least 20 workers have died.

SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (AP) — Big meatpacking companies that have struggled to keep plants open during the coronavirus crisis say they welcome President Donald Trump’s executive order that plants must remain open. But unions, some employees and Democrats raised questions about whether workers could be kept safe. Trump has used the Defense Production Act to classify meat processors as critical infrastructure to try to prevent supermarket shelves from running out. Some employees and unions say the president’s order was not enough. They are calling on authorities to ensure social distancing in plants and to offer greater protections such as priority access to testing and protective equipment.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — The Iowa Legislative Council has voted unanimously to continued the suspension of the legislative session until at least May 15. Meeting by telephone, the 24-member council agreed to reconvene at 10 a.m. May 15 unless they meet earlier and set a different date. House Speaker Pat Grassley and Senate Majority Leader Jack Whitver faced questions by Democratic senators about the criteria they’re using to evaluate whether it’s safe to come back to the Iowa Capitol. Whitver says leaders are talking with Gov. Kim Reynolds and state health officials to ensure it’s safe.