FORT DODGE, Iowa (The Messenger) — One firefighter was injured and apartment residents were forced from their homes by a fire that heavily damaged one building and damaged an adjacent structure in downtown Fort Dodge. The fire at the two-story brick building was reported around 9:55 a.m. Thursday. The Messenger reports that fire crews soon determined that flames from that building were entering windows in the adjacent three-story structure with apartments, so they took hoses into both. The smaller building eventually was declared a total loss. Officials say the adjacent building was damaged but saved. The injured firefighter was treated at a hospital and released.

Cumberland & Massena Rescue along with Medivac Ambulance were dispatched this morning, to a single-vehicle accident with injuries. The incident at 680th and Lansing Road (About 1/2 way between Wiota & Cumberland), was reported at 6:49-a.m.  The female driver of a pickup complained of pain, after the vehicle she was driving slid off the road and hit an embankment. No other details were immediately available.

WEST DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — A Kansas-based company intends to hire more than 150 new employees in West Des Moines as the state’s unemployment claims continue to soar from the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. SelectQuote said Thursday it’s filling the positions as part of plan to add more than 1,000 more staffers across the company.

The company, based in Overland Park, Kansas, provides insurance price comparisons. Many of the positions are in insurance sales, and agents can work from home. SelectQuote is looking for new hires to begin as early as this month.

(Radio Iowa) — Iowa Workforce Development has seen more than 100-thousand unemployment claims in the last two weeks, but everyone who has been laid off or lost their job might not have filed. I-W-D deputy director, Ryan West, encourages anyone impacted by COVID-19 to file. “You don’t want to delay — you want to get that done now. You going to want to go to IowaWorkforce.gov, and get your claim on file…you just click on the individual tab, it’s real easy to navigate through,” West says.

West says employers pay into the unemployment fund quarterly, and that information is used to determine your eligibility. “They will submit to us the amount of wages their employees earned, and then we put the information into what we call a wage line for each individual,” West explains. “And so, if an individual ever has to file for unemployment, that information is automatically generated based on their social security number, and that will lay out what they are monetarily eligible for,” West says.

The federal CARES Act was recently passed that will allow more people to file for unemployment. West says they are not ready yet to pay that part out. He says they have to wait for guidance from the Department of Labor on how that will work and will start issuing that unemployment once they get that information. He suggests if you will fall under the CARES Act provisions that you should go ahead and file to get into the system. “If you are in that situation as a sole provider, self-employed, make sure you are filing your claim. Just get ahead and get your claim on file and then again you’ll want to continue to do your weekly claims,” West says.

He says they have been working to get everyone’s claims processed, and says there will be some delays, but they will work through it.

The Adams County Sheriff’s Office reports two women from Corning were arrested on separate charges, Thursday.  Emily Higgins was taken into custody on two-counts of Child Endangerment after a report at around 11:19-a.m., of two small children in the 900 block of 8th Street, in Corning. The incident remains under investigation.

And, Ariel Cookinham, of Corning, was arrested early Thursday afternoon, for Domestic Abuse/1st offense, following an incident in the 2000 block of Quincy Street. A narcotic search warrant  was executed at her residence. This case also remains under investigation.

Griswold School District Superintendent Dave Henrichs says the Griswold School Board will hold a special meeting 5:30-p.m. Monday, April 6th, for the following reasons:

• To consider the approval of a new hire.
• To consider approval of a Continuous Learning Plan.
• and, to Consider approval of a Pandemic Pay Resolution.

The meeting will take place in the Griswold School District’s Elementary School Library.

Health officials in Shelby County are reporting two additional Shelby County residents have tested positive for 2019 Novel Coronavirus (COVID-19), bringing the total number of cases to five. The ages of the two latest cases are: A person age 61-to 80, and a person 81 or older.

Community spread of COVID-19 is occurring in Shelby County. For this reason, all Shelby County residents are urged to:

• Stay home
• Practice social distancing and avoid handshakes
• Wash hands frequently with soap and water for at least 20 seconds each time, or use an alcohol-based sanitizer when soap and water are not available
• Avoid touching your eyes, nose, and mouth with unwashed hands
• Cover coughs and sneezes with a tissue or elbow/upper arm

If you have a fever, cough or respiratory symptoms, CALL AHEAD to 712-755-5130. Do NOT go directly to the Emergency Room or the clinic.

Here is the latest Iowa news from The Associated Press at 3:35 a.m. CDT

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Pressure from medical experts and politicians on the federal and state level is building for a mandatory shelter-in-place order from Gov. Kim Reynolds who rejects such a move as unnecessary. The state is reporting 66 new cases for a total of 614 and two additional deaths, meaning 11 have died. Eli Percenevich, an epidemiologist physician overseeing infection prevention research at the University of Iowa, says the metrics Reynolds uses to decide her response isn’t staying ahead of the growth of infections and deaths. He joins Iowa Democratic legislative and congressional leaders in calling on Reynolds to issue a stay at home order.

JOHNSTON, Iowa (AP) — Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds is ordering schools to remain on recess through April 30 as part of her efforts to slow the spread of coronavirus. Reynolds says Thursday that keeping schools closed at least through April was needed as Iowa sees more cases of COVID-19, the illness caused by the virus. Reynolds says school districts have until April 30 to let state officials now how they plan to continue to provide educational opportunities to students. Districts may choose programs using distributed paper worksheets or online tools giving students credit or they may provide noncredit lessons. Those offering noncredit must make up lost instructional time beyond what hasn’t been waived by the Legislature.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Look for Powerball jackpots to get even smaller as the new coronavirus keeps more people at home, not out buying lottery tickets. It was only last week that the Powerball Product Group announced it would cut guaranteed jackpots in half and reduce the minimum amount the big prize could grow between drawings. On Thursday, the organization said it would toss out even those guarantees and instead decide new jackpots and increases prior to each drawing. The leaders of Mega Millions, the other national lottery game, haven’t said if they will make similar changes to that game.

SEYMOUR, Iowa (AP) — Officials in southern Iowa say hundreds of people gathered in Wayne County for a horse auction being held on private property, despite a state order limiting gatherings to fewer than 10 people. Des Moines television station KCCI reports that the Midwest Trotting Horse Sale was held Thursday near Seymour on the property of Ura Gingerich, after having first been postponed earlier in the month. The Wayne County Health Department set up checkpoints on the property to screen people before they could enter. Department officials say at least one carload of people was sent away after being questioned as part of the screening. The department says it counted nearly 500 people attending the auction.