MINNEAPOLIS (St. Paul Pioneer Press) — Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz says he’s worried about neighboring states that have yet to issue stay-at-home orders to try and slow the spread of the coronavirus. North Dakota, South Dakota and Iowa were among a handful of states that did not have statewide orders in place as of Friday afternoon.

Governors from those states said they have put a number of safeguards in place and many businesses are shut down. Walz says it’s likely that he will extent Minnesota’s order to the end of April. The Pioneer Press reports that Walz says the state’s residents are saving lives by following the rules set in place.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Police say a 33-year-old woman is Des Moines’ latest homicide victim. Police say officers were called Friday afternoon to an area just blocks southwest of the Drake University campus for reports of a shooting. Arriving officers found the woman unresponsive, suffering from a gunshot wound. The woman, later identified as 33-year-old Catherine Bobbitt, of Des Moines, was taken to an area hospital, where she died.

Police say witnesses had been interviewed and investigators were following up on leads, but no arrests had been reported by Saturday morning. Police say Bobbitt’s death is the city’s eighth for 2020.

KANSAS CITY – The Federal Emergency Management Agency has obligated more than $44 million to the State of Iowa for eligible work in the COVID-19 response. These funds were obligated Saturday, April 4, under major disaster declaration (FEMA-4483-DR) approved March 23.

Funding of approximately $44 million (75 percent federal share of total project cost of approximately $59 million) was obligated to assist the state in its purchases in March and April of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) such as isolation gowns, masks, face shields, safety glasses and gloves, thermometers, disinfecting wipes, sanitizer, respirators, and ventilators to assist hospitals, medical clinics, city and county governments, and certain private-non-profits across the state.

The declaration authorized Emergency Protective Measures (Category B) not authorized under other Federal statutes, including direct federal assistance, under the Public Assistance program at 75 percent federal funding for all areas in the State of Iowa. Funds are obligated to Iowa Homeland Security and Emergency Management Department (HSEMD).

“I want to commend Iowa emergency management officials for the thoroughness of their project justification, and the speed in which they were able to get submitted,” said Paul Taylor, Administrator of FEMA Region VII. “The entire federal family is working day and night to assist state, local and tribal partners in our shared work to combat the effects of COVID-19.”

FEMA has simplified the Public Assistance application and funding process to address the magnitude of this event and to allow local officials to receive eligible funding more quickly. These reimbursements can play a critical role as state, local and tribal officials work tirelessly to assist their communities during this response.

In accordance with section 502 of the Stafford Act, eligible emergency protective measures taken to respond to the COVID-19 emergency at the direction or guidance of public health officials may be reimbursed under Category B of the agency’s Public Assistance program. Emergency medical care activities eligible under the COVID-19 Declarations include the purchase of PPE, durable medical equipment, and consumable medical supplies necessary to respond to COVID-19 cases.

FEMA will not duplicate assistance provided by the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), including the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, or other federal agencies. This includes necessary emergency protective measures for activities taken in response to the COVID-19 incident. FEMA assistance will be provided at the 75 percent Federal cost share.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Iowa health officials say another three people in the state have died from COVID-19, and 87 new cases of the disease have been confirmed across the state. The Iowa Department of Public Health reported the new numbers Saturday, bringing the statewide total of novel coronavirus cases to 786.

The department says that among the new deaths was a person between the ages of 61 and 80 from Linn County, which has been hard-hit by the outbreak. The other deaths were a person between 61 and 80 from Polk County and a person between the ages of 41 and 60 in Henry County. Fourteen people in Iowa have died since the outbreak began.

There have been a total of 9,454 negative tests to date, which includes testing reported by the State Hygienic Lab and other labs.

According to IDPH, the locations and age ranges of the 87 individuals who tested positive in the most recent report, include:

• Black Hawk County, 1 middle age adult (41-60 years), 1 older adult (61-80 years)
• Bremer County, 1 adult (18-40 years)
• Clinton County, 1 adult (18-40 years)
• Dubuque County, 2 middle age adults (41-60 years)
• Grundy County, 1 middle age adult (41-60 years)
• Howard County, 1 adult (18-40 years)
• Iowa County, 1 adult (18-40 years)
• Jefferson County, 1 middle age adult (41-60 years)
• Johnson County, 7 adults (18-40 years), 5 middle age adults (41-60 years), 1 older adult (61-80 years)
• Keokuk County, 1 older adult (61-80 years)
• Lee County, 1 older adult (61-80 years)
• Linn County, 3 adults (18-40 years), 9 middle age adults (41-60 years), 6 older adults (61-80 years), 2 elderly adults (81+)
• Lyon County, 1 older adult (61-80 years)
• Mills County, 1 middle age adult (41-60 years)
• Muscatine County, 1 adult (18-40 years), 3 middle age adults (41-60 years), 1 elderly adult (81+)
• Plymouth County, 2 adults (18-40 years)
• Polk County, 1 adult (18-40 years),  4 middle age adults (41-60 years), 4 older adults (61-80  years)
• Pottawattamie County, 1 adult (18-40 years), 1 middle age adult (41-60 years)
• Scott County, 3 adults (18-40 years), 2 middle age adults (41-60 years), 2 elderly adults (81+)
• Sioux County, 1 adult (18-40 years), 1 older adult (41-60 years)
• Tama County, 1 adult (18-40 years), 2 older adults (61-80  years), 4 elderly adults (81+)
• Van Buren County, 1 older adult (41-60 years)
• Warren County, 1 elderly adult (81+)
• Washington County, 1 adult (18-40 years), 1 middle age adult (41-60 years), 2 older adults (61-80  years)

In the KJAN listening area, the latest number of positive COVID-19 cases (as of 4-p.m. 4/4/20) are as follows:

• Dallas County, 33
• Harrison County, 10
• Pottawattamie County, 8
• Shelby County, 5
• 3 in Page County.
• 1 each in Audubon, Guthrie, Mills, Montgomery and Taylor Counties

There have been a total of 9,454 negative tests to date statewide. 85 people remain hospitalized, 68 have been discharged from a hospital and are recovering at home.

A status report of monitoring and testing of COVID19 in Iowa is provided by IDPH and can be found here. In addition, a public hotline has been established for Iowans with questions about COVID-19. The line is available 24/7 by calling 2-1-1 or 1-800-244-7431. The state of Iowa has started sharing the number of negative tests conducted at outside labs, and is providing additional information on the conditions of those infected with COVID-19.

NOTE: One case initially assigned to Dubuque County, upon further investigation, was determined to be a person who is a resident of Jackson County.

DUBUQUE, Iowa (Telegraph Herald) — An Iowa-based furniture manufacturer has laid off 40 workers at its Dubuque corporate location. The Telegraph Herald reports that a letter recently sent to Dubuque city officials from Flexsteel Industries says the temporary layoff was effective March 23 and is expected to last three months. The affected positions are primarily are in sales, customer service or other corporate functions.

The letter says the layoff is “in direct response to the COVID-19 pandemic” and the outbreak’s effect on Flexsteel’s business. On March 24, the company announced it was shutting down its Dubuque manufacturing plant for two weeks. The company has about 150 production workers at that Dubuque plant.

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — Animal shelters across the U.S. say they’ve placed record numbers of dogs, cats and other animals as people suddenly find themselves stuck at home amid the coronavirus pandemic. If past trends hold, many of those who agree to temporarily care for a pet will ultimately decide they want to keep the animal. Amid an avalanche of bad news, stories of people fostering pets are prompting smiles. A shelter in Denver now says it has a waiting list of 2,000 people wanting to foster.

When the Animal Rescue League of Iowa put out a call for temporary homes for 80 cats, it got 160 applications within 12 hours.

Sheriff’s Deputies in Adams County were dispatched at around 11:19-p.m. Friday to a residence in the 1500 block of Benton Avenue, in Corning, for a domestic violence incident. Upon further investigation Deputies arrested 49-year old Roselia Jane Stalker, on two counts of Domestic Abuse Assault/2nd offense. Both charges are aggravated misdemeanors. Stalker was being held without bond in the Adams County Jail.