IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) — An Iowa county says that a clinic failed to report up to 3,000 negative coronavirus test results, as concerns about inaccuracies in the state’s official pandemic data continued to mount even as schools use it to determine their fall plans. Webster County Public Health department spokeswoman Kelli Bloomquist says her agency uncovered the clinic’s failure to report negative tests last week, and the clinic belatedly submitted the 3,000 results.

The state system rejected the submissions, but a subsequent review confirmed that many tests had not been entered. The new information dramatically reduced the county’s 14-day positivity rate, which the state is using to determine whether school districts must return for at least 50% in-person instruction.

(Radio Iowa) – Iowa Congresswoman Cindy Axne is calling on U.S. Postmaster General Louis De Joy to resign. Axne, a Democrat from West Des Moines, says there is growing proof the postmaster general has intentionally made changes to slow delivery of the mail. “Over this past month I’ve heard increasing concerns from Iowans,” Axne says.

Axne says the changes are jeopardizing the health of Iowans who depend on the Postal Service for their prescription drugs and Social Security checks, plus small business owners are seeing delivery of their packages delayed. “The list goes on and on,” Axne says. “We should not be jeopardizing Iowans’ access to these necessities, especially during a pandemic.”

Axne hosted an online forum about the Postal Service yesterday (Tuesday). Kimberly Karol, president of the Iowa Postal Workers Union, says postal employees appreciate the public support. “We really need them to show their support by choosing the Postal Service for their mailing and shipping needs,” Karol said.

A recent Pew survey found 91 percent of Americans have a favorable view of the Postal Service. Postmaster General De Joy started the job in mid-June. De Joy announced yesterday he was suspending recent changes until after the fall election. Critics charge removing mail-handling equipment and reducing employees’ hours endangered delivery of millions of ballots that voters will be mailing this fall. Axne says yesterday’s (Tuesday’s) announcement doesn’t change her view that De Joy should resign.

(Radio Iowa) – Four sailors who are preparing the U-S-S Iowa submarine for duty in Connecticut are in Iowa the next couple of days helping with the derecho recovery. Bradford Vanorden is from New Jersey says the decided to help out after hearing about all the damage here. “We wanted to be able to give back to our sponsor state, so what we did is we did a collection drive and we got a bunch of supplies and tools and we drove them out here on Monday,” Vanorden says. He has never been to Iowa before. “It was really actually quite amazing yesterday driving through Cedar Rapids and seeing just how much damage there was in that area. It reminded me a lot of — being from New Jersey — I lived through Hurricane Sandy and Irene and it reminded me a lot of what happened there,” according to Vanorden.

Image from ussiowassn797.org.

Crewmember Keith Miller is a Des Moines native. “The damage is really, it’s just insane, not something I thought I’d be coming back into,” Miller says, “I heard the stories — but seeing it first-hand is completely different.” Vanorden says they would normally be preparing for the submarine’s completion in September of 2022. “Our day-to-day operations are mostly training and working on qualifications to get ready for when we will actually be standing watch on the boat and then preparing for taking operational control of the various systems that will be turned over to us by the shipyard,” according to Vanorden. “And then throughout the construction process where we eventually will have full control of the boat, getting ready to test it and get it underway.” The vessel is expected to be commissioned sometime between Nov. 2022 and Jan. 2023.

Miller is looking forward to serving on the ship named for his home state. “I am pretty excited to get the opportunity. It’s one of the military’s most advanced pieces of equipment and you have the honor of building that and shaping that and getting it ready for the future,” Miller says. “And if you think about the average life span of the submarine — somewhere in the next 30 years — we are bound to experience some sort of action, some sort of conflict. So, it’s good to be shaping it up and being sure everything is good to go to protect America.”

The sailors worked at Union Park in Des Moines Tuesday and today (Wednesday) will assist with clean-up at the Iowa Veterans Home in Marshalltown. They will finish with clean-up in eastern Iowa on Thursday and Friday. The submarine is the fourth naval vessel to be named after the state of Iowa.

Police in Red Oak report the arrest Tuesday afternoon, of 22-year old Jade Jaylene Bogart, from Omaha. She was taken into custody on a warrant for Theft/Forgery of a lottery ticket. Bogart was being held in the Montgomery County Jail on a $5,000 bond. And, at around 10:50-p.m. Tuesday, Red Oak Police arrested 20-year old Tia Marie McArdle, of Red Oak, on a charge of Domestic Abuse Assault/1st offense. She was transported to the Montgomery County Jail and held without bond, pending at court appearance.

Here is the latest Iowa news from The Associated Press at 3:35 a.m. CDT

IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) — An Iowa county says that a clinic failed to report up to 3,000 negative coronavirus test results, as concerns about inaccuracies in the state’s official pandemic data continued to mount even as schools use it to determine their fall plans. Webster County Public Health department spokeswoman Kelli Bloomquist says her agency uncovered the clinic’s failure to report negative tests last week, and the clinic belatedly submitted the 3,000 results. The state system rejected the submissions, but a subsequent review confirmed that many tests had not been entered. The new information dramatically reduced the county’s 14-day positivity rate, which the state is using to determine whether school districts must return for at least 50% in-person instruction.

UNDATED (AP) — President Donald Trump has promised to approve $180 million in aid for damaged Iowa homes and infrastructure and additional funding for farmers who were affected by an unusually powerful storm that tore through the state last week. During a brief stop in Iowa on Tuesday, Trump attended a disaster recovery briefing at the airport in Cedar Rapids, which was hit hard by the Aug. 10 derecho that caused extensive damage to the state. On Monday, Trump signed a portion of Republican Gov. Kim Reynolds’ disaster relief request that covers extensive debris removal and repairs to public buildings, streets and bridges in 16 counties. That portion of the request totaled about $45 million.

IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) — President Donald Trump’s reelection campaign and Republican Party groups are suing a third Iowa county, seeking to invalidate thousands of absentee ballot request forms that have been submitted by voters. The lawsuit against Woodbury County’s top elections official expands the GOP’s efforts to make it harder for voters and local officials to handle absentee ballot requests during the pandemic. The Trump campaign and GOP groups filed identical lawsuits last week against elections officials in Linn and Johnson counties. At issue are absentee ballot request forms that the three counties have mailed to most registered voters pre-filled with information, including names, dates of birth and a voting pin number that few people know.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Iowa Attorney General Tom Miller says Gov. Kim Reynolds has blocked his request to join a lawsuit that seeks to prevent changes to the U.S. Postal Service that Democrats claim could threaten mail-in voting. Miller announced Tuesday that he wanted to join the lawsuit planned by more than 20 states that seeks to stop budget cuts and operational changes that are disrupting mail deliveries. Postmaster General Louis DeJoy says he will delay some operational changes but the states plan to move ahead with the lawsuit and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi was pushing for legislation to block the postmaster’s actions. Miller, a Democrat, sought the Republican governor’s consent under a deal the two officials agreed to last year.