(Radio Iowa) – Iowa hospitals and their employees face a number of challenges as they take care of an increasing number of patients with COVID-19. Dr. Toyosi Olutade, Chief Medical Officer for UnityPoint Health Trinity, says people put off routine health care last year, and now the system is struggling to deal with pent-up demand. “The hospitals have been very busy with non-COVID illness and if you add on COVID-19, it’s going to be a whole new level of stress to the hospital systems,” Dr. Olutade says.

Even large health care organizations in the region are shuffling patients and beds in an attempt to meet demand.  “Missouri, southern Illinois, they’ve been sending patients to Iowa, the University of Iowa, because they don’t have beds,” he says. “So what happens to the people that maybe require care over there or with us? There are no beds because COVID-19 patients have occupied those beds.”

The doctor says he wishes he could say employees are doing very well, but in reality, they’re just plain tired. Olutade says everyone who works at the hospital is stressed out. Not just doctors and nurses, but also secretaries, clerks, lab and x-ray technicians, therapists, housekeepers, food service workers, and maintenance personnel.  “Many people who were planning to retire in two or three years have actually just retired because it’s been overwhelming for them,” he says. “There’s such a limited pool of nurses available, a limited pool of respiratory therapists, a limited pool of ultrasound techs because people are leaving the health care field faster than new people are coming in.”

UnityPoint Health operates Iowa hospitals in: Anamosa, Bettendorf, Cedar Rapids, Des Moines, Dubuque, Grinnell, Fort Dodge, Marshalltown, Muscatine, Sioux City, and Waterloo — as well as in Illinois and Wisconsin.

(Radio Iowa) – Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds attended the dedication of an apartment complex in Sioux City and talked about the importance of adding more modern housing to attract new workers to the state. She also talked Tuesday about how the state is ready to help those facing eviction as the federal rent moratorium comes to an end. “Last year in 2020, so between May and December, we set up a rent eviction program as well as a mortgage program and utility program, and allocated close to 45 million dollars that helped keep a lot of Iowans in their home,” Reynolds says.

Gov. Reynolds attends apartment complex dedication in Sioux City, Aug. 3 2021 (Photo credit: Woody Gottburg, KSCJ in Sioux City)

The program is behind in getting the money out and Reynolds says state Economic Development Authority director Debbi Durham has reached out to the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court. “To let them know with Legal Aid that it is in the process and not to be rash in following through with the evictions until we can work through with the backlog. But she hoped….certainly by the end of this week — that the backlog will be filled,” according to Reynolds.

Reynolds says the new multi-plex in Sioux City is one of the things that will help attract much-needed workers. “That’s one of the reasons that I ended the 300 dollars a week supplemental unemployment payments,”Reynolds says. “Because it was a disincentive for people to go to work — and when we have more job openings than we have people on unemployment — we need to help Iowans to get the skills to fill the jobs.” She says the Economic Development Authority is working on a recruiting campaign. “That really showcases what we have to offer here in the state of Iowa. So we’re kind of finalizing that right now. That will go nationally,” she says.

The “District 42” Sioux City complex features studio, one, two, and three-bedroom options, plus an outdoor pool, community building, and a fitness center. The developer says it is already two-thirds full.

Council Bluffs Police are investigating what’s been deemed a “suspicious death.” Authorities say at around 11:30-a.m. Tuesday, officers were dispatched to the area of Lookout Point, Fairmont Park, in the 1200 block of Fairmont Avenue, after a decomposing female body was found. As of late tonight (Tuesday), additional information was not available, except to say, this is an ongoing investigation. Authorities say additional details will be released after an autopsy is performed, Wednesday.

(Atlantic, Iowa) – The Atlantic School Board, Tuesday evening, held a special meeting to discuss the goals and ultimately approve a plan ( see details here: scan_ssheeder_2021-08-03-20-07-05) for transitioning students from the Atlantic Middle School (AMS) to other District sites. The change is necessary due to a fire on July 27^th that left the building with substantial water damage. Superintendent Steve Barber said last week, the building cannot be occupied when school starts August 23^rd. The building is currently being cleaned, he said, and restoration will follow. Barber said “although those working on the building are making good progress, the process should take a whole year.”

Atlantic School Board meeting 8/3/21 via Zoom.

Barber said he and AMS Principal Josh Rasmussen got together and came up with three goals the district must accomplish to serve the students in light of the current situation.

(To serve each of the middle school grades together; finding a plan that was logical and doable, making it the least disruptive to middle school students and staff; and developing a plan that would disrupt the least amount of individuals or programs in the school district.)

He said the proposed plan is divided into three sections. The first is with regard to 8^th Grade students. The High School Media Center will be used for classrooms, with the goal of keeping MS students as separated as possible from 9-12^th graders

The second concerns 7^th Grade students. They will be housed in the eastern third of the District’s Achievement Center, in Atlantic.

The 6^th Grade students will be served in the developed western third of the Achievement Center building. EOC (Educational Opportunity Center) students will be relocated to two classrooms at Iowa Western Community College, in Atlantic.

Links program students and staff will find a temporary new home in the Early Learning Center, where the Home school Assistance program is located.

Before the plan is put into action, there are several necessary steps: It must first be approved by the State Fire Inspector; A plan will also be developed to determine transportation needs; The back end of the Achievement Center will be cleaned-out and another location found to safely store the equipment; Technology must be ordered, also, and the necessary access points to provide internet access; They will also need to begin to furnish the spaces with the necessary equipment to conduct classes; and Mr. Rasmussen will collaborate with teachers at the Middle School to determine their needs and the best ways to educate in the new setting.

In addition to approving the Transition Plan, the Atlantic School Board approved the purchase of certain pieces of technology in the amount of $80,140, from 2ndGear in Temecula, CA.

The Ottumwa Police Department announced an arrest took place Tuesday morning, in connection with the death of a woman found in the Des Moines River in Wapello County. Police charged 61-year-old Gregory Allen Showalter with first-degree murder and felon in possession of a firearm in connection with the death of his wife, 60-year-old Helen Elizabeth Showalter.

Helen Showalter’s family reported her missing Saturday. Her body was located one day later. Police said Gregory Showalter turned himself in to authorities and that a preliminary investigation found his wife’s death was “the result of foul play.”

The death remains under investigation by the Wapello County Sheriff’s Department, Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation and the Ottumwa Police Department.

(Radio Iowa) – What was billed as the state’s first-ever cryptocurrency summit was hosted in Sioux City Monday by the Siouxland Chamber of Commerce. Bitcoin Foundation chairman Brock Pierce met with leaders of Iowa, Nebraska, and South Dakota to discuss the multi-TRILLION dollar bitcoin industry. Pierce says Wyoming has already passed 19 laws regarding cryptocurrency and he talks with a lot of states about the issue.

“I’ve been spending time with legislators in Alaska, Utah, Idaho, Wyoming, Florida, all over the place, and that’s part of why I am here,” Pierce says, “is to make sure these three states understand A — what is happening, what is this all about what does it means? And to hopefully provide them with knowledge of what the opportunity is here and how that could benefit the states.” He says while some are still unsure of bitcoin — the newness has worn off and the number of investors has surged.

“This thing is going mainstream right now. There are hundreds of millions of people now who have cryptocurrency — probably ten percent of the population of the United States. And when bitcoin hits a hundred thousand dollars, a majority of the world’s billionaires will have made their money from bitcoin. Kind of a big deal,” Pierce says.

Pierce got his start in videogaming and when they became networked like World of Warcraft, he started a company to mine the virtual currency. He is considered one of the foremost national authorities on cryptocurrency and is a member of Forbes’ list of the richest in crypto.