In an update to our earlier reports, officials with the Cass County Sheriff’s Office today (Friday), said no injuries were reported following a single-vehicle accident that took place early Tuesday afternoon, north of Atlantic. Authorities say a 2015 Toyota Camry driven by Paige Elizabeth Henderson, of Amarillo, Texas, was traveling north on 620th Street (Olive Street) at around 12:14-p.m., when her car struck a “Road Closed” sign that was in the northbound lane, near Chicago Road. The vehicle then crossed into the southbound lane, entered the west ditch and rolled over.

The Sheriff’s Office reports also, three arrests took place this week:

On June 20th, Cass County Deputies arrested 50-year-old Sandy Paulline Coburn, of Griswold, on a charge of driving while barred. Coburn was transported to Cass County Jail and was later released on her own recognizance.

On June 21st, Deputies arrested 24-year-old Jordan Travis Lee Comstock, of Irwin, on a Cass County warrant for operating without a valid drivers license.  Comstock was transported to Cass County Jail and was later released on bond. And, 33-year-old Kayla Milliam, of Shenandoah, was arrested on a Cass County warrant for violation of probation.  Milliam was transported to Cass County Jail where she was being held on $2,000 bond.

(updated 10-a.m.) The latest data from the Iowa Department of Public Health’s Coronavirus dashboard shows the some notable improvements in case numbers and hospitalizations. On Friday (Today), the IDPH reports four additional deaths, for a pandemic total of 6,124, and 76 additional (positive) COVID test results, for a total of 404, 208. A COVID-19 outbreak was reported at the Friendship Home in Audubon, where there are 14 cases. The last time they had an outbreak, but overcame it, was during the week of June 10th. The latest Long-Term Care Center outbreak brings the total number of such facilities with outbreak in Iowa, to three, after having gone to two, just three days ago. There are now a total of 34 patients/staff at those three facilities, who have tested positive, and a total of 11 who have recovered. Deaths at LTC’s in Iowa currently stand at 2,372.

The number of persons hospitalized with COVID in Iowa, has dropped to 46. Health officials report 18 patients are in an ICU, two were admitted, and 12 patients are on a ventilator. For the first time since records were kept from the start of the pandemic, hospitals in RMCC Region 4 (those in western & southwest Iowa) report NO no cases, no one in an ICU, no one admitted and no one was on a ventilator.

The State’s 14-day positivity rate is 2%. The seven-day rate is 2.0%.

In the immediate KJAN listening area, here are the current number positive cases by County (since the beginning of the pandemic) and the total number of deaths (Since the beginning of the pandemic) in each county to date:
Cass, 1,475 cases; 55 deaths
Adair, 996; 32
Adams, 356; 4
Audubon, 553; 11
Guthrie, 1,317; 32
Harrison County, 1,935; 73
Madison County, 1,790 19
Mills County, 1,809; 24
Montgomery, 1,116; 38
Pottawattamie County, 12,367;174
Shelby County, 1,380; 37
Union County, 1,382; 35

(Ames, Iowa) – An investigation is underway into a train derailment that occurred Thursday, in Ames. KCCI reports Union Pacific Railroad officials confirmed that approximately 27 cars derailed in the area of Carnegie Avenue and Edison Street at approximately 1:45 p.m. Authorities called a hazmat team to the scene due to hazardous materials being present. Ames Fire Chief Rich Higgins said petroleum gas was leaking from some of the cars. Higgins said there were no injuries. However, he said 15 to 20 properties in the area were evacuated as a precaution.

Hazmat teams from Arkansas were traveling to Ames to assist with clean up, which was expected to take about 24 hours.

(Radio Iowa) – Enrollment at Iowa community colleges has been decreasing since 2011 and the decline accelerated during the pandemic. However, the leaders of two community college districts that operate nine campuses say the dip isn’t as deep here as it is in other states. Rob Densen is president of the Des Moines Area Community College which has six campuses in Ankeny, Boone, Carroll, Newton, Des Moines and West Des Moines. “The average community college nationally dropped 9.5%. At DMACC, we’ve been down 7% throughout the year,” Denson says. “We know that the largest single group of students who aren’t coming back are low income who were impacted by so many other things during the pandemic.”

A statewide report on community college enrollment in the current academic year isn’t available yet. In the previous 2019-2020 year, there was a 1.3% drop in students taking Iowa community college classes to earn credits for an associates degree. The number of students taking courses at an Iowa community college to earn professional certificates or licenses dropped 23% in the previous year. Densen says when classes resume in the fall, he expects an influx of students. “So far, our preliminary numbers — applications, registrations — look very good for the fall,” Denson says.

Kristie Fisher is chancellor of the Iowa Valley Community College District which operates Ellsworth Community College in Iowa Falls, Marshalltown Community College and Iowa Valley Grinnell. “When the economy is really strong, our enrollments drop and when it’s not as strong we have people coming back seeking retraining,” she says, “but with Covid-19, we were in an area we’ve never been before…Iowa’s enrollments didn’t drop as much as the rest of the country and we’re strongly positioned to come back really quickly and serve students in our communities.”

Iowa Valley classes moved online in March of last year, but Fisher says the campuses didn’t completely close at the beginning of the pandemic.
“We had computer labs open for our students with really strict protocols because we knew our students didn’t have internet at home,” she says. “…We opened up our theater to the Marshall County Judicial District because they didn’t have a place for trials. They’re still there. Our hospital up in Iowa Falls moved into our recreation center because they needed a place for physical therapy. We did mask distribution, a Test Iowa site, vaccination sites — so while we were managing our students, we also doing all our communities needed us to do.”

Fisher and Densen made their comments during taping of the “Iowa Press” program that airs tonight (Friday night) on Iowa PBS.