Cass County Wellness Coordinator Brigham Hoegh reminds area residents, that on Saturday, March 13th, the Anita Town and Country will host a USDA Farmers to Families Food Box distribution at the Anita Community Center (805 Main St.), from 12:00 – 1:00 PM, or as supplies last.

Anyone is welcome to visit the drive-through food box pick-up, and no documentation or proof of need is required. Boxes will be given away at no cost or donation. People from surrounding towns and communities are welcome. The USDA Farmers to Families Food Boxes are likely to contain fresh fruits and vegetables, dairy products, and meat.

For more information, contact: Jodi Irlmeier, Anita Town and Country, 712-762-4234.

COUNCIL BLUFFS, Iowa — Mar. 11, 2021 – Council Bluffs residents and interstate travelers will soon notice construction activities beginning near the Interstate 29/I-480/West Broadway System Interchange. According to the Iowa DOT, the I-29/I-480/West Broadway System Interchange project includes the area of I-29 north of the Union Pacific Railroad bridge to a point just west of North 25th Street, along with the I-480 corridor to the Iowa side of the Missouri River crossing.

Officials say the project will improve traffic flow, safety, and the functional design at this location and at the adjacent interchanges at 41st Street, 35th Street, Avenue G and 9th Avenue. Construction activities are currently underway and are expected to continue until late 2024. An overview of construction activities and impacts has been updated on the program website at: www.CouncilBluffsInterstate.iowadot.gov.

(March 11, 2021) – The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) issued revised nursing home visitation guidance Wednesday (March 10), that now also includes consideration of the impact of COVID-19 vaccination.  The guidance (QSO-20-39-NH), includes the following changes:

* All visitors who enter the facility will need to be screened for COVID-19 symptoms, regardless of the visitor’s vaccination status.
* Facilities can allow indoor visitations for all residents (regardless of vaccination status), except for a few circumstances when visitation should still be limited due to a high risk of COVID-19 transmission, such as:
– For unvaccinated residents if the nursing home’s COVID-19 county positivity rate is greater than 10% and fewer than 70% of residents have been vaccinated.
– For residents with confirmed COVID-19 infection, whether vaccinated or unvaccinated until they have met the CMS criteria to discontinue Transmission-Based Precautions.
– For residents in quarantine, whether vaccinated or unvaccinated, until they have met criteria for release from quarantine.
* Procedures for handling visitations during an outbreak situation, and how to determine if such visits can occur depending on how far the outbreak has spread in the facility.
* Encouraging, but not requiring, visitors to become vaccinated.

Iowa Health Care Association President and CEO Brent Willett said “We are still reviewing [the] guidance, but it appears that it does what we have called for and longed for: an orderly reopening of nursing homes in Iowa and across the nation.”It is almost exactly one year to the day since nursing homes were closed to visitors nationwide and 357 days since the first COVID-19 case was reported in an Iowa nursing home. [Wednesday’s] action by CMS is historic: thousands of Iowa families will soon be able to visit their loved ones once again.”

To read the CMS guidance in its entirety, visit: https://www.cms.gov/files/document/qso-20-39-nh-revised.pdf

A collision that occurred T-bone style in Red Oak, Wednesday, caused a total of $7,000 damage, and suspected minor/non-incapacitating injuries to the driver of a car. Red Oak Police say the collision happened at around 5:40-p.m. at the intersection of Walnut and N. Broadway, when a 2005 Chevy Impala registered to David Fussell and driven by 18-year old Dashon Fussell, of Red Oak, failed to yield the right-of-way, to a 2006 Chevy pickup truck driven by 83-year old Michael Norris, of Red Oak.

Dashon Fussell was checked out by Red Oak Fire and Rescue, but did not require transport to the hospital. He was cited for Failure to Obey a Stop sign and yield the right-of-way.

The Creston Police Department reports one person was arrested Wednesday night. 34-year-old Matthew Rinehart, of Creston, was arrested at the Union County Law Enforcement Center, on a charge of False Report of [an] Indictable Offense to a Public Entity. Rinehart was being held in the Union County Jail on a $1,000 bond.

Some of the latest local/area news at 7:07-a.m., with Ric Hanson.

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(Radio Iowa) – Brides who want intricate braids, up-dos or chignons for their wedding day could have a professional stylist on site if a bill that cleared the Iowa House becomes law. Representative Ann Meyer of Fort Dodge explains: “It will allow licensed cosmetologists to practice cosmetology at a wedding venue, on the day of the wedding,” she says. “Currently they can only practice in a licensed salon.”

In addition to hair styling, some licensed cosmetologists do nails. That means if this bill becomes law, brides could get touch ups on their manicures and pedicures at their wedding venue, too. Hair salons took a hit during the pandemic as they were closed for weeks last spring to curb the spread of Covid. Supporters say this bill could provide cosmetologists with a welcome source of new income.