DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — State health officials say the number of cases of coronavirus in Iowa increased more than 15% on Sunday to 2,902. The Iowa Department of Public Health said Sunday that 389 additional cases of COVID-19 and one additional death related to the virus had been confirmed. The person who died was an adult in the 61-to 80 age bracket, from Muscatine County. The state has now reported 75 deaths linked to the virus.

Officials say 261 or 67% of today’s 389 additional positive cases can be attributed to surveillance testing of meat processing facilities. That includes over 500 completed surveillance tests of Tyson employees and over 500 completed surveillance tests of National Beef employees, for a total of 84 positive and 177 positive respectively.

The IDPH says 198 patients are currently hospitalized, and 1,171 Iowans have recovered. There have been an additional 1,214 negative tests for a total of 21,648 negative tests to date, which includes testing reported by the State Hygienic Lab and other labs.

For most people, coronavirus causes mild or moderate symptoms that clear up in two to three weeks. For some people, the virus can cause more severe illness and death. The state of Iowa has released an updated dashboard on coronavirus.iowa.gov that will be updated daily to include comprehensive tracking of COVID-19 in Iowa.

The new dashboard includes cases, deaths, and tests conducted in each county. The state is now providing demographic information that was not previously provided as well as Iowa’s epidemiological curve.

The Griswold School Board plans to meet 5:30-p.m. Monday in the Elementary School Library. Old Business on their agenda will cover the second reading of 200-Series Board Policies, Book Fees for 2020-21, and an update on COVID-19 response.

New Business for their meeting includes:

• Consider approval of Open Enrollment Requests
• Discussion on SAVE Bond Refinancing
• Approval of Master Contracts for: a School-Based Interventionist; and Technology Coordinator
• Approve the Master Contract for Non-Certified Staff
• Approve contract renewals for: Certified Staff, Coaches/Sponsors, Administration, Quasi-Administrators, and Support Staff, and….
• Setting contract issuance and return dates.

The Audubon School District will hold Public Hearings, Monday, on the FY2021 School Budget, and with regard to the proposed plans and specifications, form of contract and estimate of cost for, the Middle School/High School Facility Improvements. The hearings take place during the Audubon School Board meeting that begins at 7-p.m., and can be accessed via Zoom (https://zoom.us/j/4779457777?pwd=dTRZWlBmQ05FM3M0eGlqKyswZzFGdz09).

The Public Hearing on the Facility Improvements will cover project details, including the replacement of four, roof top Heating, Ventilation and Air Conditioning (HVAC) units. If approved, four new upgraded units will be installed and one Energy Recovery Ventilation Unit. The project will take place at the Audubon Middle School/High School.

At the conclusion of the Public Hearing, the School Board will make a decision on putting the project out for bids, with a Summer 2020 implementation anticipated. In other business, the Audubon School Board will act on approving the following items:

• A Canvass of the Votes for the Bond Election.
• The FY2021 Budget
• The Plans and Specs for Project 1 – HVAC RTU’s, and…
• Agreements with Piper Sandler for General Obligation Bond Financing

The Board will also act on: an AEA Purchasing Agreement; the annual IASB Membership, including policy review manual; the second-reading of 400-Series Board Policies, and Personnel matters.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Across an arc of vital swing states, the coronavirus has put politics on an uneasy pause. Political fights are raging among state leaders from Iowa to Pennsylvania over the handling of the pandemic’s impact. Protecting public health versus restarting the economy, along with arguments about the limits of executive authority, have taken the place of the national political debate that’s typical of presidential campaigns at this point.

FILE – In this April 9, 2020, file photo Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds listens to a question during an update to the state’s response to the coronavirus outbreak during a news conference at the State Emergency Operations Center in Johnston, Iowa. Democratic State Auditor Rob Sand has questioned the data Reynolds is using to justify allowing more freedom of movement than in neighboring states. (AP Photo/Charlie Neibergall, Pool, File)

Meanwhile, presumptive Democratic nominee Joe Biden has built little campaign structure across the region. President Donald Trump is relying on state GOP headquarters for his operations, though they too have been largely empty.

(Update 12:50-p.m.) — Clarinda Police Chief Keith Brothers reports a 2018 Chevy pickup was reported stolen this morning from a residence in the 200 block of north 6th Street. Authorities believe the vehicle was taken by two Clarinda Academy students, who have since fled the area.

The vehicle was recovered near Lyman at around 8:40 a.m., but the two white, male students were still missing. Another vehicle, a 2011 Lexus SUV was reported missing from Lyman. License plate EJT 020.

The students escaped from the Clarinda Academy at around 9:20-p.m. Saturday. One is 5-foot-10 and 150 pounds with blonde hair and blue eyes, while the other is 5-foot-10 and 142 pounds with blonde hair and blue eyes. Anyone with information on the missing Clarinda Academy students should contact Clarinda Police at 712-542-2194.

It was less than a week ago two males escaped from the Academy. They allegedly stole a car from Clarinda and caused $5,000 damage to the vehicle, which located last Monday in a rural Grundy County field. In Mid-March, five students escaped from the Clarinda Academy, two on one day, three on another day.

The Clarinda Academy has had a number of incidents where students escaped, or “Absconded” from the center for at-risk youth, this year. On Jan. 20th, two white 16-year old males escaped but were caught after the stolen vehicle they were in crashed, during a high-speed chase. Four male students also absconded from the facility on Feb. 24th. They were apprehended the same day.

Here is the latest Iowa news from The Associated Press at 4:45 a.m. CDT

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — The Iowa prison system has had its first case of an inmate testing positive for the novel coronavirus. State officials confirmed the case Saturday as the number of cases statewide and COVID-19-death continues to rise. The inmate had been transferred Thursday from Henry County to the Iowa Medical and Classification Center in Coralville. KWQC-TV reports that the inmate is in stable condition and in isolation while staff traces the inmate’s contacts. The state Department of Public Health reported another 10 COVID-19-related deaths Saturday, increasing the total to 74, and up 15.6% since Friday. The total number of confirmed coronavirus cases rose 7.8%, to 2,513.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — More than a dozen Iowa elected officials implored Tyson Fresh Meats to close their Waterloo pork processing plant, saying the coronavirus is spreading among workers and is endangering not only employees of the plant but the entire community. Mayors, county officials and state legislators signed the letter that was sent to Tyson on Thursday. The 19 officials said at a Friday news conference they had only received confirmation from the company that it had received the letter but no other action .The officials also accused Gov. Kim Reynolds of misleading Iowans on the seriousness of the outbreak and for failure to take action to close the plant.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — An Iowa sheriff is urging Tyson Foods to temporarily shut down its plant in Waterloo as coronavirus cases spike in Black Hawk County. The Des Moines Register reports Sheriff Tony Thompson says he’s concerned that COVID-19 will overrun his community even more if the Tyson Foods plant doesn’t take proper precautions. He says they need to deep clean that facility and restart it on a clean slate. His comments came shortly before Gov. Kim Reynolds announced that 138 people had tested positive for the virus and one person has died with the virus in Black Hawk County.”

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds says she will not call schools back into session this year. Reynolds says the state has not reached its peak of positive coronavirus cases yet, and data doesn’t indicate it’s safe to reopen schools.. The announcement also cancels spring sports activities. State education officials say they will release information on June 1 about summer sports. Reynolds reported 191 new positive cases for a state total of 2,332 cases. Four more people died, bringing the state total to 64 deaths.