Here is the latest Iowa news from The Associated Press at 3:40 a.m. CST
IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) — Gov. Kim Reynolds’ administration is using $10 million in federal pandemic relief funds to pay the salaries of state police officers, who have largely not been directly involved in Iowa’s virus response. The expense is listed in a state report as going toward “State Government COVID staffing” at the Iowa Department of Public Safety. The report claims the money will support payroll expenses for employees “whose services were diverted to a substantially different use as a result of COVID-19.” Department spokeswoman Debra McClung noted that the spending is allowable under revised Treasury Department guidance that stipulates that payroll expenses for public safety employees are presumed to qualify as pandemic-related. However, she didn’t provide examples of how any duties had changed.
STORM LAKE, Iowa (AP) — The family of a 65-year-old Iowa man is suing Tyson after he died of COVID-19 while working at the company’s pork plant in Storm Lake. Michael Everhard, of Fonda, died June 18, three weeks after he contracted the virus. His family contends in a lawsuit that Tyson didn’t implement proper safety precautions to protect Everhard and other employees from the virus. Several Tyson executives at the plant are also named in the lawsuit, which was filed on behalf of Everhard’s three children. A Tyson spokeswoman said the company has implemented several safety measures that meet or exceed federal guidelines designed to slow the spread of the virus.
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Iowa reported another 67 COVID-19 related deaths on Tuesday, a day after posting 60 more deaths. The state changed its method of calculating deaths last week and officials said death records could take a week to be filed, so it’s difficult to know when the new deaths occurred, but the increasing number of lives lost to the virus mirrors national trends. Iowa’s total death toll increased to 3,340, and more than 300,000 people across the country now have died from the virus. Iowa has seen a slowing of the virus spread but is still averaging more than 1,700 new cases a day. While the pressure on hospitals hasn’t surged after Thanksgiving as some health care professionals expected, 798 people remained hospitalized with 166 in intensive care.
DOWS, Iowa (AP) — A person was found dead in a home near the small northern Iowa community of Dows. The Franklin County Sheriff’s Office said Tuesday that a 911 caller on Monday afternoon reported a male person had been shot at a home in rural Dows. Deputies responded and found a person who was dead. An autopsy is planned at the Office of the State Medical Examiner in Ankeny. The identity of the person killed will be released after relatives are notified.
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