DES MOINES – Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds reported this (Wednesday) morning, the latest COVID-19 data for the State. She said for the past 24-hours, there were:

• 107 additional positive cases for a total of 3,748 positive cases.
• There were no NEW counties with news COVID-19 cases, for a total of 84.
• There have been new 522 negative test results returned, for a total of 22,496 negative tests to date.
• The State Hygienic Lab has 6,248 test kits available.
• 1, 428 Iowans have recovered from the virus, for a recovery rate of 38%.
• There were seven new deaths reported due to COVID-19, for a total of 90. 51% of those deaths were in residents of Long-Term Care Facilities. (LTC’s).

According to IDPH the additional 7 deaths were reported in the following counties.

• Black Hawk County, 2 older adults (61-80 years)
• Linn County, 1 middle-age adult (41-60 years)
• Muscatine County, 1 middle-age adult (41-60 years), 1 older adult (61-80 years)
• Tama County, 1 middle-age adult (41-60 years)
• Woodbury County, 1 older adult (61-80 years)

In the Regional Medical Coordination Center (RMMC) update, Reynolds said:

• There are 272 COVID-19 patients hospitalized.
• 70 were admitted in the previous 24-hours.
• 92 COVID-19 patients are being treated in an ICU
• 57 are on ventilators.

There are also 4,082 in-patient beds available statewide for COVID-19 patients; 547 ICU beds; and 689 ventilators available for COVID-19 patient care. The Governor also another LTC Outbreak was reported. The Dept. of Public Health has confirmed the outbreak was at St. Francis Manor, in Poweshiek County. The total number of LTC outbreaks is now 11.

In more positive news, Reynolds said Iowans’ response to TestIowa.com has been “incredible.” She said “In the first 24-hours alone, more than 80,000 completed the online assessment, and more than 250 scheduled an appointment. We had 631 social media mentions with of the hashtag testiowachallenge, with a reach of over 18.8-million. Iowan’s are engaged and they’re excited, so we want to keep the going, and you can help by going to testiowa.com and taking the assessment.”

She says “It’s really the first step to understanding more about the virus activity in Iowa. What we can do to mitigate and start to manage it so that we can open businesses back up and get life back to normal, but do it in a very safe and responsible manner.” The first drive-thru testing site opens Saturday, at The Iowa Event Center’s north parking lot, in downtown Des Moines. Additional locations are currently being identified in other communities across the State. Test Iowa is currently being prioritized for those who have symptoms of COVID-19.

The state of Iowa has released an updated dashboard on coronavirus.iowa.gov that will be updated daily to include comprehensive tracking of COVID-19 in Iowa. The new dashboard includes cases, deaths, and tests conducted in each county. The state is now providing demographic information that was not previously provided as well as Iowa’s epidemiological curve.

(Harlan) — The Harlan Fire Department was paged-out to a large fire at Iowa Agricultural Biofibers, Tuesday night. The building has ingredients for making feed and pelletizing feed. The blaze at 1916 900th Street was reported at around 9:19-p.m. It occurred at the facility located near Prairie Rose State Park, just off county road M47 and south of Highway 44. Harlan Fire Chief Roger Bissen explained what they found upon arrival.

(The building was fully engulfed. Several other departments were called-in to assist including Avoca, Elk Horn, Walnut, Kimballton, Kirkman, Irwin, and Medivac Ambulance.)

Shortly after the original call of the fire, the calling party reported that there was an explosion, but it was not the original cause of the fire. The explosions were attributed to forklift propane tanks and wheels.

The cause of the fire is unknown at this time. Fire crews drew water from nearby Prairie Rose Lake.

There were no injuries. At this time, the structure looks to be a total loss. Crews were on the scene until about 3:45-a.m. today (Wednesday).

CORALVILLE- Yesterday (Tuesday), the Iowa Department of Corrections, in cooperation with the Iowa Dept. of Public Health, began implementing expanded investigatory testing at the Iowa Medical and Classification Center (IMCC) in Coralville. The testing is initially focused on the inmates who came from county jails in the special intake quarantine unit at IMCC, where the first positive inmate case was located.  Officials reports so far, there have been 69 new tests completed on the inmates in this unit in the last 24 hours, and 4 tests completed on staff that have worked in this area. Of those, 10 results for inmates have been found positive. 11 tests are still pending. 48 tests were negative. The department has also ordered an additional 150 tests that will be conducted on staff and inmates.

The department intends to continue expanding testing of inmates and staff that have worked in specific areas at IMCC, primarily those involved the intake process and quarantine units. Once these tests are completed, testing will expand to other areas of the facility. Inmates with positive test results will continue to be moved to medical isolation cells where staff use full PPE when required to have direct contact with these inmates.

The IMCC staff have moved quickly to expand mitigation efforts at the prison. They have implemented a prison-wide restricted movement, and are currently conducting a deep-cleaning of the affected unit. Staff continue expanding their efforts to separate healthy inmates from those that have tested positive, while following procedures that mitigate the risk to themselves and inmates. This prison has also suspended all non-medical admissions and transfers at this time. At this time, the vast majority of inmates remain asymptomatic and they will continue to be medically isolated and monitored for any medical needs as they recover.

The department has been preparing for the eventuality of the introduction of COVID-19 since early March, and has been as transparent as possible with all of the increased efforts across all nine prisons. This information, including a link to the department’s pandemic policy is available at doc.iowa.gov/department-corrections-steps. The department plans to continue to expand testing at IMCC, and as the results of those tests are returned, the department will update relevant statistics at doc.iowa.gov/COVID19 each day.

Dept. Director Beth Skinner had the following comment on the situation: “The members of the IMCC team have and continue to do everything possible to mitigate the impacts of COVID-19. The expanded testing they are conducting will be an essential part of helping us solve this problem. By knowing who to isolate, whether they are asymptomatic or not, we will be able to help reduce the spread at the prison.” She also stated, “We plan to continue to expand testing with staff and inmates to have as much information as possible as we work to fight the impacts of this virus. I want Iowans to know that the courageous men and women of this department are working day and night to keep our prisons as safe as possible.”

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — Nebraska state health officials are reporting a one-day jump of nine COVID-19 deaths, bringing the state’s total deaths from the disease to 42 since the outbreak began. Three of the deaths reported late Tuesday by the Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services were from Hall County and included a man in his 70s, another man in his 90s, and a woman in her 70s. Another four deaths were reported out of the Omaha area in Douglas County — all men in their 60s and 70s with underlying health conditions.

The other deaths were a woman in her 50s form Seward County and a woman in her 80s from Adams County. Officials said both had underlying health conditions.

DES MOINES – The absentee voting period for mailed ballots in Iowa’s June primary begins this Thursday, April 23. Secretary of State Paul Pate and county auditors across the state are encouraging Iowans to vote from home during the COVID-19 pandemic to reduce the risk of spreading the virus. Secretary Pate is sending absentee ballot request forms to every active registered voter in the state. The form should begin arriving in Iowans’ mailboxes next week and will include pre-paid postage for returning it to their county auditor’s office.

Absentee ballot request form covers (front and back) – This view is of the back side.

Front of the form

According to Pate, “Absentee voting from home is safe and secure, and this is the best way to participate in the June primary election.” He said “We have measures in place to ensure the integrity of the ballot while maintaining social distancing. I encourage all eligible Iowans who want to vote in the primary to use the absentee method.”

Once voters receive their absentee ballot request form in the mail, they should fill out and mail it promptly. Iowans can also download the request form directly from the Iowa Secretary of State website, VoterReady.Iowa.gov. Requests must be received by the county auditor’s office by 5 p.m. on Friday, May 22.

Primary elections are intended for members of the Republican and Democratic parties only. No Party voters who choose to request a party’s ballot will have their voter registration officially changed to that political party. Secretary Pate expanded the absentee voting period for mailed ballots in the June primary to 40 days due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The in-person absentee voting period begins Monday, May 4.

The Mills County Sheriff’s Office today (Wednesday), reported two recent arrests. Tuesday afternoon, 23-year old Devon Lee Newlan, of Council Bluffs, was arrested for Driving While Barred, Possession of a Controlled Substance, and Speeding. His bond was set at $4,000. And, 43-year old Vincent James Cerny, of Omaha, was arrested Monday morning at the Douglas County, NE. Corrections Center. He was wanted on a warrant for Theft in the 1st Degree, and held on a $10,000 bond.

IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) — Tyson Foods announced that it is suspending operations indefinitely at a large Iowa pork processing plant linked to a growing coronavirus outbreak. The company warned that its closing of the Waterloo, Iowa, plant would be a blow to hog farmers and potentially disrupt the nation’s pork supply. Tyson had kept the plant open in recent days over the objections of the mayor and other local officials.

The plant employs nearly 3,000 workers and can process about 19,500 hogs per day, about 4% of the U.S. pork processing capacity. The announcement comes as employers have struggled to contain the virus in large meatpacking plants. Several other packing plants have temporarily closed.

Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds’ Wednesday press conference on COVID-19. We plan on having live audio of the presser on KJAN as well. The press conference will begin at approximately 11:00 a.m. We will also have an exclusive Radio Iowa interview segment with Governor Reynolds this afternoon on KJAN at 1:10 p.m. Kay Henderson will be asking Governor Reynolds questions from News Directors around the state.

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

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SIOUX CITY, Iowa (Sioux City Journal) — Sioux City Police Chief Rex Mueller is among nine people within the northwestern Iowa city’s police department to test positive for COVID-19. The Sioux City Journal reports that the department revealed on Tuesday the number of police staffers infected with the novel coronavirus. The department first announced on April 9 that several police department employees had tested positive for the virus, but did not give details. Besides the police chief, a news release from the department said infected staffers include a police captain, two lieutenants, a sergeant, an officer and three civilians. The release says most have had mild symptoms, and some have been cleared to return to work.