The Iowa Department of Corrections (DOC) said Tuesday, that a Correctional Captain was assaulted by an inmate at the Anamosa State Penitentiary. The incident happened just before 9-a.m. Tuesday. Authorities say the captain was working in a unit when an inmate approached him from behind and struck him multiple times with a pointed piece of aluminum.

Additional staff that were in the area came to the captain’s aide immediately, and were able to assist in restraining the inmate. In the process of responding to the incident, a counselor also received injury when she was kicked in the ankle.

The captain that was assaulted was taken to the local hospital to be seen for his injuries, and has since been released to return to duty. The counselor was also taken to the hospital to be seen for her injury. The inmate was reviewed by facility medical staff and found to have not suffered any major injuries.

The incident remains under investigation.

MUSCATINE, Iowa (AP) — Authorities say two police officers have rescued a woman from a burning Iowa home. The Muscatine Fire Department said in a news release that Police Cpl. Matt Fowler and Officer Mark Schollmeyer were on patrol Tuesday morning when they noticed heavy smoke and found a home engulfed in flames.

The two officers tried to enter the home through the front door but were turned back by the heat and flames. They then went to the back of the home and saw an 80-year-old woman lying on the floor. The release said they then broke open the back door, pulled the woman to safety.

Two Latino advocacy groups sued the state of Iowa Tuesday over a law that prohibits county election officials from using information readily available in the voter registration database to fill in any information missing from a voter’s absentee ballot request. The law approved by Republican lawmakers in the final hours of the legislative session last month requires county election officials to contact the voter directly by phone, email or mail to confirm any missing information.

Supporters say it’s a voter fraud protection measure. The League of United Latin American Citizens and Majority Forward say in their lawsuit that it’s unconstitutional.

Mills County Public Health, Tuesday (Today), report two new confirmed cases of COVID-19. One of the cases is a person 18 years of age or younger. The other is age 41-to 60. Both were contracted through community spread. The latest cases bring to 53 the total number of positive COVID-19 cases, in Mills County. Of those, 34 have recovered.

Officials say 2,146 Mills County residents have been tested for the virus, as of today (Tuesday).

DUBUQUE, Iowa (AP) — A suspect in an Iowa killing has been arrested in Michigan. U.S. Marshals took 25-year-old Deonte Ellison into custody shortly after 10 a.m. Tuesday in Kalamazoo, Michigan. The Dubuque Police Department says an arrest warrant was issued for Ellison after he was identified as a suspect in the July 2 shooting death of Curtis R. Smothers Jr.

Ellison has been transported to the Kalamazoo County Jail, where he awaits extradition to Dubuque.

(Radio Iowa) – More than 17 percent of Iowa’s K-through-12 teachers are 55 or older and Governor Kim Reynolds says state officials realize the health concerns of teachers are an issue as schools reopen for classes. “I believe that school districts and teachers know without hesitation that our kids need to be in the classroom, ” Reynolds says. “You know, we are doing them a disservice by not opening these schools back up and getting them to school, but we have to be flexible, we have to think outside the box and we have to look at different alternatives.”

Governor Reynolds, 7-14-2020

If full-time teachers fall ill or their classroom is quarantined due to a positive COVID-19 test, Reynolds says she realizes the majority of the state’s substitute teachers are older, semi-retired — and perhaps reluctant to teach during the pandemic.  “We’re going to work with the educators, we’re going to work with the school districts to make sure they’ve got the PPE, make sure that they have the flexibility and workforce is a big component of that,” Reynolds says, “so right now we’re looking at different options that we can help provide them with the workforce that they need to just be ready for whatever, you know, happens as we kind of move through the next stage of opening our schools back up.”

Reynolds says she’ll make an announcement later this week on the topic, but the governor says there is good data that may help alleviate concerns.  “Kids are less likely to get it, you know they are less like to spread (the virus),” Reynolds says. “…But we know, also, that data says if you’re part of a certain age group, an older population, and you have underlying conditions — you are the ones that are most impacted by COVID and we need to take that into account when we’re putting the infrastructure in place.”

Reynolds says the goal should be to get everybody back to school, but she also says it’s appropriate to give parents the option of having their child take all of their classes online if the child or someone in the household has underlying health conditions that make them vulnerable to the virus. Mike Beranek, President of the Iowa State Education Association, says there’s not a teacher in the state who does not want to see their students back at school, but teachers want to ensure students aren’t put in harm’s way in an environment that is not safe.