Pottawattamie County Public Health today (Wednesday) reported seven new COVID-19 cases, all of whom are residents of Council Bluffs. Three are persons 18-to 40 years old, two are 41-to 60, and two are 61-to 80 years of age. Those persons were tested between May 11th and 18th. Thus far, 2,191 Pott. County residents have been tested for COVID-19, and a total of 189 have tested positive.

An additional five people have recovered, bringing the total number to 96. Four persons are hospitalized, 83 are self-isolating. A total of 63 Pott. County COVID-19 cases are the result of Community Spread. Sadly, officials report also, a third COVID-19 related death in Pottawattamie County. Additional information was not available.

(Radio Iowa) — With no known cure for coronavirus, some doctors in Iowa are prescribing the drug hydroxychloroquine (hy-DROX-ee-CLOAR-ah-quin) for certain patients. President Donald Trump told reporters on Monday he’s been taking the drug as a preventative measure after multiple members of the White House staff tested positive for the virus.

The Food and Drug Administration has not approved hydroxychloroquine to treat or prevent coronavirus, but it has issued an Emergency Use Authorization for it, which allows medical providers to use a product in an emergency, like a pandemic. In an interview with KCRG-TV, Dr. Dustin Arnold, the chief medical officer at UnityPoint–St. Luke’s in Cedar Rapids, says he doesn’t recommend people take the drug as a preventative measure.

The F-D-A warned in April that hydroxychloroquine can cause heart problems and its use for COVID-19 should be limited to clinical trial settings or for treating certain hospitalized patients. St. Luke’s in Cedar Rapids has been doing that for some of its moderate to severely ill patients, according to Arnold.

At this point, he says it’s hard to tell what effect hydroxychloroquine has had on coronavirus patients.

Hydroxychloroquine, which is only available with a prescription, is also more commonly used to treat people with lupus and rheumatoid arthritis. In late March, the FDA said there was a shortage of the drug, with some manufacturers reporting they have a limited supply because of increased demand. Arnold says St. Luke’s prepared for that before starting the treatment for coronavirus patients.

Here’s a summary of the changes announced in the Governor’s proclamation on Wed., May 20th. This is courtesy Mills County Emergency Management Agency Public Information Office Nick Johnson. And, even though it says this is for Mills County, the information is valid for the rest of the area, as well.

The Cass County Sheriff’s Office said Wednesday, that on Tuesday, 30-year old Justin Tyler Jacobs, of Council Bluffs, turned himself in at the Cass County Jail on a District Court warrant for Probation Violation. Jacobs remains held at the Cass County Jail on $5,000 bond.

And, last Friday, Cass County Sheriff’s Deputies arrested 23-year old Brittany Marie Ruhr, of Griswold, on charges of Driving While Barred (Aggravated) and Interference with Official Acts (Simple). Ruhr was taken to the Cass County Jail and released later that day on $2,000 bond.

Officials with the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)/Region 7, serving Iowa and three other states and Nine Tribal Nations, report a public hearing will be held on the proposed plan for the PCE former Dry Cleaner Superfund site in Atlantic (Iowa). Oral and written comments will be accepted during a 30-day public comment periods for the site, which will begin May 22nd and end June 22nd, 2020. The public may submit their comments to the EPA prior to the close of the comment period by submitting them by Email to houston.pamela@epa.gov, calling toll-free at 1-800-223-0425, or mailing comments to:

Pamela Houston

U.S EPA Region 7 (ORA/OPA)

11201 Renner Blvd.

Lenexa, KS 66219

The EPA will hold a Public Meeting to provide information and answer questions on the Proposed Plan for the site. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, EPA will host the meeting via Adobe Connect video conference, the web address for which is www.epa.gov/superfund/PCEFormerDryCleaner.

The meeting takes place June 4th, from 6-to 7:30-p.m.    Audio for the meeting will be made available at 1-844-548-8485.  Additional information is available at the site mentioned above.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — A new poll finds that strong concern about a second wave of coronavirus infections is reinforcing widespread opposition among Americans to reopening public places. The new survey from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research finds that 83% of Americans are at least somewhat concerned that lifting restrictions in their area will lead to additional infections.

About 54% say they are very or extremely concerned that such steps will result in a spike of COVID-19 cases. The poll also found about a third of Republicans are very or extremely concerned about the possibility of additional infections, compared with three-quarters of Democrats.

DES MOINES, Iowa (The Des Moines Register) — Police say a 21-year-old Des Moines man who adopted two dogs from an animal shelter left them to starve to death in his apartment. David James Goodburn is charged with two animal neglect misdemeanors. He is being held in the Polk County Jail. Police allege Goodburn adopted the dogs in late March.

A criminal complaint says the dogs were found this week because a strong odor was coming from Goodburn’s apartment. Power to the apartment had been turned off and the dogs were left without food or water. The complaint says investigators believe Goodburn intentionally let the dogs starve.

BTC, Inc. d/b/a Western Iowa Networks (“WIN”) has entered into an agreement to acquire substantially all the operating assets of Spiral Communications in Iowa.  The acquisition is structured as an all cash transaction and is expected to close on June 15, 2020, pending any approvals and other conditions to closing.  Additional details are not being released at this time.

“Western Iowa Networks is a local company with a proven track record of providing exceptional service to customers in rural service areas like those serviced by Spiral Communications,” said James Gapinski, president of Spiral Communications.  “We expect this transaction to benefit our customers, who can expect continued high levels of service and investment in their communities from WIN.”

“Our company is excited about serving this area,” said Jeff Roiland, CEO of Breda Telephone Corp.  “We look forward to investing in and partnering with these communities, while providing the customers with top quality service for many years to come.”  The people in these communities will soon be able to enjoy the suite of services we offer from High Speed Broadband and Voice along with complementary services like Managed Wi-Fi, Managed IT, and numerous business communication services.

About Spiral Communications:  Spiral Communications is a rural telecommunications service provider headquartered in Nebraska City, Nebraska.  The company offers voice over IP services and high speed Internet access services to subscribers in communities throughout southeast Nebraska and southwest Iowa. For more information, visit www.spiral-communications.com.

About Western Iowa Networks:  BTC, Inc. d/b/a Western Iowa Networks (WIN) is a rural telecommunications service provider headquartered in Breda, Iowa, and is a subsidiary of parent company, Breda Telephone Corp.  The parent company and its subsidiaries offer local and long distance telecommunications, high speed Internet access services, video services and managed IT services to subscribers in the Iowa communities of Arcadia, Auburn, Breda, Carroll, Denison,