(Radio Iowa) – A north-central Iowa woman spent six days in the hospital being treated for COVID-19 and she’s urging Iowans to heed the warnings and stay home, if possible. The 38-year-old from Kossuth County spoke with the media after her release under the condition of anonymity. She says she doesn’t know how or where she contracted coronavirus. “For the first week, I really had no idea this is what it could be,” she says. “I checked every box for just having the flu.”

She describes when the sickness reached its peak. “At its worst, I was on a ventilator, not being able to breathe on my own and just the fear of it all weighed on me a lot,” she says. “It was pretty tough.” She admits, through tears, there were times she feared she’d die from COVID-19. “I did have those moments and I never thought at 38 years old that I would.”

She pleads with everyone to take this virus seriously and to take the necessary precautions.  “It’s uncharted territory that we’re in. This is something that we’re experiencing that we’ve never experienced before, but please, everyone, just stay home,” she says. “Spend time with your families. Do what the CDC and your local health department is asking you to do because this is not a joke.” At this hour, state health officials say 105 cases are confirmed statewide in 26 counties, with seven people currently hospitalized.

(Rob Jones, Alpha Media Fort Dodge, via Radio Iowa)

The Mills County Sheriff’s Office says a Nebraska man was arrested Monday afternoon, at the Pottawattamie County Jail. 34-year old Kenneth Ray Jewell, of Omaha, was wanted on a Mills County warrant for Failure to Appear on an OWI/1st offense charge. His bond was set at $2,500.

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

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DAVENPORT, Iowa (AP) — A woman from Chicago has been sentenced to 50 years in prison on charges stemming from the beating death of her 5-year-old son in Iowa. Jacqueline Rambert was sentenced Friday in Davenport. She’d pleaded guilty to two child endangerment charges. Her co-defendant, Tre Henderson, was convicted of murder and is scheduled to be sentenced April 1 to life in prison.

Prosecutors say Ja’Shawn Bussell had 17 broken ribs and bruises from the top of his head to his ankles after Henderson beat him in April 2018. Henderson and Rambert are from Chicago and were living in a Davenport apartment when the boy was beaten.

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

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A Creston man reported to Police Monday morning, that sometime during the overnight hours Sunday into Monday, someone broke into his shop at 225 S. Chestnut in Creston, and took $4,625 worth of tools. The missing items include: A Stihl concrete saw; 2 Husqvarna concrete saws; a Dewalt hammer drill; 2 Milwaukee cordless Skil saws; a Milwaukee drill and radio.

(7-a.m. News)

CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa (AP) — Cedar Rapids is stopping its transit service at the end of Tuesday to help halt the spread of COVID-19. City Manager Jeff Pomeranz said Monday plans are to resume service on April 13. He says the city has been regularly cleaning and sanitizing buses, but they are still confined spaces that fill with many people throughout the day. He says it’s vital for the city to take the actions needed to protect the community. In Des Moines officials are cutting route frequency and service starting Thursday as ridership continues to drop.

Members of the Atlantic School Board will hold an electronic meeting 6-p.m. Wednesday. No action is expected during the work session, which includes discussion on the 2020-21 Certified Budget.  A Public Hearing on the Budget was set during the Board’s last meeting. for 6-p.m. April 8th, followed by their regular Board session.

To access the March 25th Work Session via You Tube, please use this link: https://youtu.be/8ccP4tc-KBo

(Radio Iowa) — While President Trump says he believes things may turn around sooner than expected in lifting some of the restrictions designed to stem the advance of the coronavirus. Iowa Senator Chuck Grassley, a Republican from New Hartford, is cautiously watching how the restrictions work. “I think it’s pretty simple — that we do it for the two or three weeks that people laid out and we do it for that time. And I don’t think I want to be reassessing it in the middle,” Grassley says.

He says he will keep an eye on the numbers to see what they show at the end of the recommended period. “The extent to which it seems to me like we are winning the pandemic — overcoming the pandemic –then that to me would be the decision if you want more interaction among people,” according to Grassley.

Grassley believes the U-S economy can get back up and running once the restriction period ends and people are able to resume normal activities.

Police in Red Oak report 25-year old Nathan Christopher Mulhausen, of Red Oak was arrested Monday on a Montgomery County warrant charging him with a sex offender registration violation — a Class D felony.

Nathan Mulhausen (Red Oak PD photo)

Mulhausen was being held at the Montgomery County Jail on a $5,000 bond.