Here is the latest Iowa news from The Associated Press at 3:20 a.m. CST

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — The number of people hospitalized with the coronavirus in Iowa has dipped below 500 for the first time since October. The Iowa Department of Public Health said 474 people were being treated for COVID-19 in hospitals Saturday, down from 505 on Friday. The last time the number of people hospitalized was below 500 was on Oct. 18. The state reported 730 new cases and two deaths Sunday to give Iowa a total of 304,852 cases and 4,323 deaths since the pandemic began. Over the past week, Iowa has been reporting an average of 941.43 new cases per day.

IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) — A judge has dismissed nine felony counts filed against a Black Lives Matter leader in Iowa charged with shining a laser pointer in the eyes of police officers during an August protest. Judge Paul Miller ruled Thursday that the Johnson County Attorney’s Office violated Matè Farrakhan Muhammad’s speedy trial rights by waiting 46 days after his arrest to file a formal charging document, one more day than allowed by law. Miller ruled that six aggravated misdemeanor assault counts related to the same allegations can proceed since they were filed weeks after his arrest. Muhammad has changed his name since his arrest, when he went by the name Matthew Bruce.

IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) — A white military veteran shot and wounded a 15-year-old Black girl during a tense confrontation at a rally in support of President Donald Trump in Iowa last month. Michael McKinney is charged with attempted murder in the Dec. 6 shooting in Des Moines. McKinney, who was heavily armed and wearing body armor, told police he fired in self-defense. He has posted on Facebook in support of the far-right Proud Boys and against Black Lives Matter. Authorities haven’t mentioned the Trump rally or the race of those involved in news releases detailing the shooting, suggesting it was traffic-related. The driver’s mother says the crowd of Trump supporters subjected her daughter and the other girls to racist abuse.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — The Powerball jackpot will grow to an estimated $730 million after there were no winners Saturday for the lottery’s top prize. The results come as there was also no winner of the Mega Millions jackpot on Friday. That top prize is now estimated at $850 million. It’s been nearly two years since a lottery jackpot has grown so large. The Powerball’s $730 million top prize would be the fifth-largest ever if a lottery player strikes big in Wednesday’s drawing. The Mega Millions’ $850 million jackpot would be the third-largest ever for the drawing on Tuesday.

The Cass County Board of Supervisors met last Tuesday morning and received information from Account manager Group Benefit Partners representatives Ryan Berven and Katie Schmit, with regard to renewal information for the County’s ISAC Group Health Program, the voluntary group dental program, and other ancillary products for FY2022.

According to Auditor Dale Sunderman, the County also has a mini-self-funded health insurance program and a flex benefits program administered by a third-party.  If the County continues with the current plan, renewal rates for the health plan are up approximately 9.5% from the current year’s rates.  The information was taken under advisement. Also during the meeting, Access Systems IT Account Executive Chase Nevins gave presentation to inform the Board of the IT solutions it has available for management of an IT network including cyber security.

Sunderman reports the City of Lewis requested an easement across a county owned parcel in the SE 1/4 of the NE 1/4 of section 10 in Cass Township for an ingress/egress easement to access its lagoon site.  After short discussion, the Board approved granting to Lewis, a permanent easement for an access drive for ingress/egress to its lagoons.

Cass County Wellness Coordinator, Brigham Hoegh reported to the Supervisors, that additional funds may be available for the COVID Mobile Food program.  The Board may request an amendment to the current agreement.  She recommended requesting $40,000 more funds and a project completion time extension to the end of 2021. The Board unanimously approved a contract amendment to increase funding by $40,000 and a time extension thru Dec. 31, 2021 for the COVID Mobile Food program CDBG project.

The board also discussed making changes to the policy for allowances for use of personal cell phones for County business by employees whose job duties include the frequent need for a cell phone regarding both the amount of reimbursement and who qualifies.  After several minutes of discussion, the decision was to gather additional information and postpone consideration to a future board session.

After plans by the Audubon School Board to award bids for the Building Project fell through during their meeting last month, the Board Monday evening (1/18), will discuss and possibly act on rejecting their Building Project bids, to include: General Contractor; Electrical; Mechanical and Fire Suppression. Superintendent Eric Trager told KJAN in December that their plans for the Project were stalled by significantly higher than anticipated quotes. He said they were trying to work with the low bidders to figure out where they can maintain efficiency without compromising quality. Work on the restroom asbestos abatement project was postponed until they Board knows where they stand on the other projects.

In a related note, the Audubon School Board will likely take action on rejecting the Asbestos abatement bids during their meeting, Monday, also. In other business, discussion and action is expected with regard to: Vehicle purchases; A VW grant for the purchase of a bus; a possible mower purchase, and, renewing a Sharing Agreement with the Coon Rapids-Bayard School District.

In his report to the Board, Mr. Trager will provide an update on the Building Project and other matters. The meeting takes place in the Audubon High School Board Room, at 7-p.m., Monday.

The Exira-EHK School Board will meet 6-p.m. Monday in the Conference Room at the Elk Horn Building. Among the action items on their agenda for Discussion (D) and/or Action (A), is:

• A Sharing Agreement (D)
• Setting the time & date for a hearing on the 2020-21 School Calendar (D/A)
• An extension of the District Return-to-Learn plan, & extension of facial coverings (D/A)
• Approval Personnel Hires, including; Emily McDermott – Long Term English Teacher Substitute. (D/A)
• Approval of Resignations: Linda Petersen – Librarian, & David Anderson – Bus Driver. (D/A)

The Iowa Coronavirus dashboard Sunday (10-a.m./24-hour update) indicated 304,853 individuals have tested positive since the beginning of the pandemic, 265,925 have recovered, and there have been 4,323 deaths. The changes include 608 additional positive cases, and two additional deaths. Of those who died, 3,950 had an underlying cause, while COVID-19 was an contributing factor in 373 of the deaths. Deaths at Long Term Care facilities number 1,759, which is unchanged from the previous report.

Outbreaks at LTC’s as of Sunday, amount to 77, one less than before. Patients and staff who have tested positive amount to 1,878, and the number of patients/staff who have recovered is 921. The IDPH says 1,421, 497 Iowans have been tested for the virus. Iowa’s 14-day positivity rate has declined to 13% in the last 24 hours, down from 13.3% a day earlier.

Hospitalizations are down from 505 Saturday, to 474 today (Sunday); 93 COVID patients are in an ICU; 61 were admitted to a hospital (compared to 80 on Saturday), and 40 are on a ventilator. In RMCC Region 4 (western/southwest Iowa), there remain 36 hospitalized, 14 in an ICU, two people were admitted, and seven remain on a ventilator.

In the KJAN listening area, here are the current number positive cases by County; The # of new cases since yesterday {+} – if any; and the total number of deaths in each county to date:

• Cass, 1,125 cases; {+1}; 41 deaths
• Adair, 686; {+2}; 20
• Adams, 295; {+2}; 3
• Audubon, 411; {+0}; 8
• Guthrie, 1,025 {+3}; 24
• Harrison County, 1,544; {+4}; 62
• Madison County, 1,186; {+8}; 9
• Mills County, 1,360; {+3}; 16
• Montgomery, 840; {+0}; 22
• Pottawattamie County, 8,935; {+30}; 112
• Shelby County, 1012; {+0}; 26
• Union County,  1,081; {+0}; 22