MANCHESTER, Iowa (AP) — Authorities say a Davenport man was arrested after his DNA matched samples collected after a 2011 sexual assault reported in rural eastern Iowa. Delaware County court records say 33-year-old Zachary Broders is charged with third-degree sexual abuse. His attorney didn’t immediately return a call Friday from The Associated Press. Court documents say a woman reported in July 2011 that she was assaulted by a man who gave her a ride to rural Ryan. Authorities say rape kit DNA samples collected then matched a DNA sample from Broders, who had been arrested elsewhere.

(Radio Iowa) — The latest numbers from the Iowa Association of Realtors show home sales in the were up again in February. Association president-elect Jen Burkamper of Ames says sales increased by three-point-eight percent and pending home sales were 16-point-four percent higher compared to last February. “Everybody’s been excited for the spring market. January and February both were very good for sales,” Burkamper says. She says the only thing holding them back is finding enough houses to sell.  “That is what we’ve been seeing, we don’t have enough supply, there’s more demand than supply, and that’s been the case for several years now,” according to Burkamper. “In central Iowa especially, we’ve just been struggling with inventory and getting inventory.”

The median sales price of homes was two-point-eight percent higher compared to February of last year at 155-thousand dollars. Burkamper says the lack of available homes gives an advantage to sellers. “It’s not uncommon to see several multiple offer type situations, it just depends on what price range you are in. We just don’t have enough inventory in any of the price ranges really to supply the demand,” Burkamper says.

She says Realtors have noticed some slowdown in the last week as the coronavirus became more prevalent. There are still people out looking for houses. “It’s just the people that have to move right now — they’re still out there in the market — and we still have sellers putting their homes on the market,” Burkamper says. “I think everybody is just so uncertain as to just what effect this is going to have on the market.”

She says the cut in interest rates didn’t have the impact on housing it might have in other areas of the economy.“Well, the mortgage industry had already predicted a decrease….we saw a decrease in the rates about two weeks ago, and then last week we saw an increase in the rates. So, they are down to historical lows,” she says.  Burkamper says things start to ramp up this time of year — especially in areas where there is a big rental population. “Our rental market really goes from August one to July 31st. And people have to start deciding in February and March if they are going to renew their leases in the next cycle. So, that is what precipitates a lot of that activity,” Burkamper says. 

She says people who are planning on moving usually wait until school is out in May and they see an uptick in people buying and selling their homes. Homes sold in February were on the market for an average of 77 days which is slightly up from 74 days in February 2019.

(Radio Iowa) — The state hygenic lab in Iowa, has the capacity to conduct up to 800 COVID-19 tests and has set up three shifts for round-the-clock operations at the lab. State officials are discouraging wide spread testing, however — partly because health care workers conducting the tests must use personal protective equipment, like face masks and gloves which are in short supply. Dr. Caitlin Pedati is the state medical director.

“What we’re talking about is making sure that we’re helping health care facilities understand the best ways to use the supplies they have,” Pedati says. State public health officials have asked Iowa contractors and others who had protective gear like masks to donate those items to hospitals and health care facilities. Pedati says there’s high demand globally and nationally for these supplies.

d) “We’ve helped our partners be forward thinking and thinking about ways to make prudent use of the supplies that we have,” Pedati says, “thinking of ways to provide supplements when we can and just wanting to be very careful and thoughtful about how we use all of our health care resources.” Once production of masks, gloves and other protective gear ramps up under President Trump’s use of the Defense Production Act, Governor Reynolds says she’ll channel orders for those critical medical supplies through the Federal Emergency Management Agency.

“But they have encouraged every governor in every state to utilize the private sector as well,” Reynolds says. State officials are assessing the supply and demand for these items daily, according to Reynolds. “It allows us to identify the private sector industry that can step up and also play a role in helping us to provide this equipment,” Reynolds says.

As for COVID-19 tests, Iowa Department of Public Health recommendations limit tests to hospital PATIENTS, to health care workers with symptoms after being around a COVID-19 patient and to those who’ve had direct contact with a person confirmed to have COVID-19. Iowans who’ve returned to COVID hot spots like China or Italy may also be tested if they show symptoms.

Dr. Pedati says widespread testing isn’t recommended because most people with COVID-19 have mild symptoms and should isolate at home, rest and drink fluids – just as one should with a cold. “When we do a test in somebody, we want to make sure we’re doing it because the result means something, because it means we’re going to do something differently, ” Pedati says. “…Now, if we come to a place where resources change and where maybe there’s a medical we might have available or where there’s an action that’s going to be different, then we may adjust accordingly.”

Iowa now has 44 confirmed cases of COVID-19 – 25 women and 19 men. Nearly half are over the age of 60.

Here is the latest Iowa news from The Associated Press at 3:40 a.m. CDT

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — The number of Iowa residents who have tested positive for the new coronavirus has climbed to 44. The number of positive cases was up from 38 on Wednesday and followed Gov. Kim Reynolds’ order earlier in the week for restaurants, bars and other public gathering spots to close for two weeks. Speaking Thursday at a news conference, Reynolds and Dr. Caitlin Pedati, the state public health medical director, declined to give specifics about whether there were enough testing kits or protective equipment for health care workers. Instead, they emphasized the need to take simple actions that would slow the spread of the disease.

WEBSTER CITY, Iowa (AP) — Iowa authorities have identified a man shot to death earlier this week as he held a woman hostage, as well as the troopers involved in the shooting. The Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation said in a news release Thursday that 35-year-old Darwin Barnett Foy, of Fort Dodge, was killed by troopers Monday afternoon in Webster City. The three Iowa State Troopers involved were Sgt. James Smith and Troopers Tyrel Williamson and Jeremy Schaffer. The Iowa Public Safety Department says Foy was shot hours after officers responded to a woman’s 911 call. Officials say Foy had threatened to shoot the woman when the troopers went into the home and shot him.

SIOUX CITY, Iowa (AP) — A Nebraska man who was fired upon by a Sioux City officer has been convicted of several charges. The Sioux City Journal reports that a judge found Douglas St. Cyr guilty of assault on a police officer, leaving the scene of an accident and guilty of several other crimes. The nonjury trial was held Nov. 5, and the judge filed the verdicts Monday. Police have said St. Cyr rammed the undercover officer’s car on July 31 and fled. The officer fired at St. Cyr but missed him and three other people in the car.

CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa (AP) — The civil service commission in Cedar Rapids has upheld the firing of a police officer who’d pleaded guilty to drunken driving. The Gazette reports that the commission Monday affirmed the firing of 29-year-old Austin Mensen. Police Chief Wayne Jerman fired Mensen on Sept. 24 last year. Anamosa police arrested Mensen early in the morning of May 27 last year, and he later pleaded guilty to drunken driving, second offense. Mensen’s attorney says Mensen had diagnosed, work-related disabilities from responding to shootings. He says Mensen is weighing further action.

(Radio Iowa) — Due to the coronavirus pandemic, the Iowa Department of Transportation is making a series of concessions for the state’s motorists which have never been made before. For starters, D-O-T spokeswoman Andrea Henry says extensions are being granted for anyone whose driver’s license should have been renewed in the past two months.

“If your driver’s license has been expired from anytime between January 16th to the end of this disaster period, you will not be docked for an expired license,” Henry says. “If you get pulled over, even if your license is expired, they’re going to consider it valid for driving purposes.”

The D-O-T is also forgiving motorists whose vehicle title, registration or license plates have expired since mid-January. “Until the end of the disaster, you’re still okay,” Henry says. “If you’ve purchased a new vehicle or are transferring a vehicle, you’re not required to obtain a title or registration within that 30-day period that you normally would, or if you purchased it from a dealership, normally it’s 45 days, that’s all waived until this disaster is over.”

If you want to renew or get a new license or I-D, all business at Iowa D-O-T service centers is now being done through appointment only. Henry says it’s an effort to limit the number of people waiting in any one location at a time. “We’re really trying to practice strong social distancing so we’re trying to reduce the number of people in our service centers,” Henry says. “If someone does show up and they don’t have an appointment, we’ll do our best to serve them, but if there are a lot of people in the facility, we may ask them to come back later or we may ask them to wait in their cars until we can serve them.”

D-O-T staff members have been advised on how close they should get to customers, even when doing a vision screening. “They’ll do their best to keep a distance from the customer and we are sanitizing those machines between every customer,” Henry says, “as well as high-touch areas like counters, door knobs and other locations like that are being sanitized on a much more frequent basis.”

All customers who visit a D-O-T service center will be asked a series of questions to evaluate their risk of exposure to COVID-19. For now, the D-O-T is halting and rescheduling all non-commercial driving tests.

For appointments, visit: https://iowadot.gov/mvd/other-appointments

WEBSTER CITY, Iowa (AP) — Iowa authorities have identified a man shot to death earlier this week as he held a woman hostage, as well as the troopers involved in the shooting. The Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation said in a news release Thursday that 35-year-old Darwin Barnett Foy, of Fort Dodge, was killed by troopers Monday afternoon in Webster City.

The three Iowa State Troopers involved were Sgt. James Smith and Troopers Tyrel Williamson and Jeremy Schaffer. The Iowa Public Safety Department says Foy was shot hours after officers responded to a woman’s 911 call. Officials say Foy had threatened to shoot the woman when the troopers went into the home and shot him.

BULLETIN – EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
Severe Thunderstorm Warning
National Weather Service Omaha/Valley Nebraska
438 PM CDT Thu Mar 19 2020

The National Weather Service in Omaha has issued a

* Severe Thunderstorm Warning for…
Southeastern Montgomery County in southwestern Iowa…

* Until 515 PM CDT.

* At 437 PM CDT, a severe thunderstorm was located over Villisca, or
13 miles west of Corning, moving northeast at 40 mph.

HAZARD…Tennis ball size hail.

SOURCE…Radar indicated.

IMPACT…People and animals outdoors will be injured. Expect
damage to roofs, siding, windows, and vehicles.

* Locations impacted include…
Villisca, Stanton and Viking Lake State Park.

PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS…

A Tornado Watch remains in effect until 1100 PM CDT for southwestern
Iowa.

This storm is producing large hail. SEEK SHELTER NOW inside a sturdy
structure and stay away from windows!

The deadline to file nomination papers for the Nov. 3rd General Election, is fast approaching. Candidates must submit their nomination papers to your Auditor’s Office by the end of business, Friday. In Cass County, all candidates need to call 712-243-4570 to set up a time to file their papers at the courthouse before 5-p.m., due to the fact the courthouse is closed to the public.

There are still three candidates needed for the Cass County Soil & Water Conservation District, which is a non-partisan post. Four people are needed to file for the Agricultural Extension Council. The filing deadline for that office is August 26, 2020.