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KJAN News can be heard at five minutes after every hour right after Fox News 24 hours a day!
Keep up-to-date with Fox News Radio, Radio Iowa, Brownfield & the Iowa Agribusiness Networks!
Audubon County Public Health Administrator Bob Nelson, today (Wednesday), provided an update on the status of COVID-19 in his county. In his online message, Nelson reminded residents not to lower their guard and become desensitized to the information that continues to flow from this pandemic.
(Bob Nelson said as of Wednesday, Audubon County had a total of eight positive COVID-19 cases. He said everyone can help prevent the spread of the virus and should watch for the symptoms. Nelson said if you think you need to be tested, call your physician, or go to www.testiowa.com.)
According to the CDC, COVID-19 affects different people in different ways. Infected people have had a wide range of symptoms reported – from mild symptoms to severe illness.
DES MOINES – Today (Wednesday), the Iowa Department of Public Health (IDPH) said it has been notified of 293 additional positive COVID-19 cases, for a total of 10,404 positive cases. There have been an additional 2,309 negative tests for a total of 52,767 negative tests to date, which includes testing reported by the State Hygienic Lab and other labs. According to IDPH, an additional 12 deaths were also reported, 414 are currently hospitalized, and 3,803 Iowans have recovered. At this time, 1 in 50 Iowans have already been tested.
According to IDPH the additional 12 deaths were reported in the following counties:
Black Hawk County, 1 elderly adult (81+)
Clayton County, 1 elderly adult (81+)
Jasper County, 2 elderly adults (81+)
Linn County, 1 older adult (61-80 years), 1 elderly adult (81+)
Marshall County, 1 older adult (61-80 years)
Muscatine County, 1 older adult (61-80 years),
Polk County, 3 elderly adults (81+)
Woodbury County, 1 older adult (61-80 years)
The total number of COVID-19 deaths in Iowa now stands at 219. More than 3,800 Iowans have recovered from the virus. Over 63,170 Iowans have been tested. RMCC data from the IDPH shows:
More State and area news from KJAN News Director Ric Hanson.
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The Atlantic Area Chamber of Commerce today (Wednesday), announced the launch of the Atlantic Small Business Relief Fund in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. The fund was kick-started by a substantial donation from a community donor. Bailey Smith, Executive Director at the Atlantic Area Chamber of Commerce, says “We’re so thrilled to launch this initiative. We received a call from a community-minded individual who wanted to do something to show support for local small businesses. They kept hearing the phrase, ‘We will get through this together’, and wanted to do their part in living up to those words. They have graciously donated $10,000 to kick start this fund and we are so thankful for their generosity and look forward to helping as many businesses as we can.”
The fund will be used to provide grants to local small businesses currently suffering economic hardship due to COVID-19. These funds are not intended to replace a loss of actual or anticipated revenue, but to provide businesses with funds to keep them viable during this public health crisis. Applications will be available beginning Monday, May 11th at 9 AM on www.atlanticiowa.com and will close Friday, May 15th at 12 PM. Grants will range between $500 – $2,500. To apply, businesses must have a 50022 zip-code. Atlantic Chamber of Commerce membership for participation is not required, though preference will be given to current members and/or businesses that have not received State and/or Federal funds previously. Applications will be reviewed by a committee and awarded pending availability of funds.
Our small business community is facing many unknown effects of COVID-19. The relief fund provides an opportunity for community members and larger businesses to donate with the reassurance their donations will be used to quickly move resources to where they are most needed and to adapt to evolving needs. To help as many businesses as possible, if you are interested in donating to the fund, contact the Chamber at 712-243-3017, email chamber@atlanticiowa.com or mail donations to 102 Chestnut St., Atlantic, IA 50022.
Officials with the Adair Fire Department said on their social media page this (Wednesday) morning, that after meeting Tuesday night, their members voted, and “Uunfortunately decided we will be cancelling Chuckwagon Days this summer due to COVID-19.”
The Department says “This was not an easy decision for us to make, but thinking of the safety of our supporters in our community along with our members on the Fire Department, we decided it was the best decision we could make during these uncertain times. Stay posted for events we will have later in the year!”
The Creston Police Department reports a woman from Adair County was arrested Tuesday morning at the Union County Law Enforcement Center. 21-year old Brianna Lawson, of Greenfield, was arrested on a Union County Warrant for the charge of Violation of a Protection Order. During the course of her arrest, Lawson was additionally charged with Possession of a Controlled Substance 2nd Offense and Possession of Paraphernalia. She was released from the Union County Jail on a Promise to Appear on all charges.
The area’s latest and/or top news stories at 7:06-a.m. From KJAN News Director Ric Hanson.
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Atlantic High School Principal Heather McKay, today (Wednesday), outlined the current plans for Prom, Senior Class Night, Senior Cruise Night (in place of traditional Drumline March), and Commencement.
Prom Information:
Prom has been rescheduled for July 11. If restrictions have been lifted AHS will host the event with all of its activities. This is dependent upon guidance from Governor Reynolds, the IDPH, and the CDC. Our final decision will be made on June 30. If we cannot have it on July 11, it will not be rescheduled.
Senior Class Night Information:
Senior Class Night will be shown/live-streamed on www.kjan.com through the KJAN website and will take place Thursday, May 21 at 6 PM. Only designated personnel will be present for the stream. If you miss the live-stream, it will be archived on the district’s website and the district Facebook page. Please join AHS staff remotely that evening as Atlantic students are honored for their hard work and dedication.
Commencement Information:
Atlantic Community Schools desires to have a traditional in-person ceremony for the Class of 2020. That ceremony has been rescheduled to Sunday, July 19 at 2 PM in the AHS gymnasium. Commencement rehearsal will be Wednesday, July 15 at 10 AM in the high school gymnasium. This all is dependent upon guidance from Governor Reynolds, the IDPH, and the CDC. Our final decision will be made on July 8.
Sunday, May 24: A commencement ceremony will be conducted as originally scheduled for Sunday, May 24 at 2:00 p.m. and will take place via a digital format provided by Jostens. At 2 PM on Sunday, May 24, you can enter a previously supplied password that will be sent from me and view the ceremony from the convenience of your home or any remote location. The ceremony will be archived on the district Facebook and web page. School officials will be asking for your help to make this experience as authentic as possible. District personnel considered many options for electronic graduation and believe this is the most personable.
Graduates will be staggered so sanitizing procedures can be implemented between each individual. Graduates and guests will enter through the front entrance auditorium doors. The exit door will be stage right – we will guide you through this process.
Details:
“Drumline March” Cruise Night Information:
A tradition AHS started several years ago was a final march through the schools. This will be modified with a cruise through town.
(Radio Iowa) — One of the country’s largest Latino organizations is calling for a boycott of processed meat, due to outbreaks of the coronavirus at meat packing plants. The League of United Latin American Citizens — also known as LULAC (LOO-lack) is calling on consumers to join their “Meatless May” campaign. Joe Henry leads the Des Moines chapter of LULAC.
“This is again the time for people in America to speak up…for safety and health procedures for these workers,” Henry says, “to make sure that we have justice in the workplace.” Henry and other advocates say in addition to COVID-19 testing for all employees at food processing plants, the corporate owners of the plants should provide paid sick leave and slow down production lines so workers can stand farther apart.
State officials announced yesterday (Tuesday) that 16-hundred-53 employees at FOUR meat packing plants in Columbus Junction, Tama, Waterloo and Perry have tested positive for COVID-19. Henry says that means the relatives of those workers are at risk of contracting the virus. “Aunts and uncles in these homes, grandparents are becoming infected and then having to go the hospitals,” Henry says, “and so it’s tragic.”
State officials reported yesterday (Tuesday) that for the first time, more than 400 Iowans were hospitalized for treatment of COVID-19 and about a quarter of those patients were on ventilators.
Here is the latest Iowa news from The Associated Press at 3:40 a.m. CDT
DES MOINES – Gov. Reynolds will travel to Washington, D.C. today (Wednesday), to provide an update to President Donald Trump and his Coronavirus Task Force on the status of COVID-19 in Iowa, including the state’s efforts to reopen. The usual 11-a.m. press conference will not be held. Daily press conferences will resume later this week.
BELLE PLAINE, Kan. (AP) — The attorneys general for 11 Midwestern states have urged the Justice Department to investigate market concentration and potential price fixing by meatpackers in the cattle industry during the coronavirus pandemic. The state attorneys general wrote in a letter dated Tuesday to U.S. Attorney General William Barr that the concentrated market structure of the beef industry makes it particularly susceptible to market manipulation, particularly during times of food insecurity, such as the current COVID-19 crisis. The letter was signed by attorneys general in North Dakota, Missouri, Colorado, South Dakota, Montana, Arizona, Idaho, Iowa, Minnesota, Nebraska and Wyoming.
IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) — A state official says nearly 1,400 workers at three Tyson Foods pork processing plants in Iowa have tested positive for the coronavirus. The Iowa Department of Public Health revealed Tuesday that the state’s largest outbreak to date has been at the Tyson plant in Perry, a town in central Iowa. There, 730 workers were confirmed to have the virus, a stunning 58 percent of those tested. The Tyson plant in Waterloo has had 444 workers test positive, and its Columbus Junction plant has had 221 confirmed infections. Two other large outbreaks were confirmed at a Tama beef plant and a Newton wind turbine blade plant.
WATERLOO, Iowa (AP) — Tyson Foods will begin limited operation of its huge pork processing plant in Waterloo, more than two weeks after closing the facility because of a coronavirus outbreak among workers. Tyson said Tuesday that workers have been invited to tour the plant Wednesday to see enhanced safety measures and social distancing procedures that have been implemented. The plant will reopen Thursday. It has been closed since April 22. The Iowa Department of Public Health reports 444 workers have tested positive for the virus. The plant is Arkansas-based Tyson’s largest pork processing operation, with the ability to process 19,500 hogs per day.
WEST DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Officials say two paramedics with West Des Moines Emergency Medical Services have tested positive for COVID-19. Station WOI-TV reports that the service announced the first case on Monday and the second on Tuesday. Officials say one of the infected paramedics had transported coronavirus patients in recent weeks. It was not known whether the other paramedic had come in contact with patients infected with the virus. Both paramedics were tested on April 29, and neither have shown any symptoms. Both paramedics have been removed from duty and will remain off work for 10 days as long as they remain symptom- free.