(Radio Iowa) – Scammers are targeting some Iowans who are trying to get COVID-19 vaccinations. Larry Jones, a public health expert, says criminals are pretending to be from a local health department or another organization in order to get your personal information. “Health departments, etcetera, are not going to be asking people for their credit card numbers or personal information of that nature,” says Jones. “They’re going to be wanting to know your name, probably a telephone or an email to be able to get back with you, but they’re not going to be asking you for financial information.”

Jones says some of the scammers have built sophisticated websites with authentic-looking vaccine sign-up forms. “They look very legitimate like they are a local health department and they’re not,” says Jones. “When you go onto their site, they start asking for their credit card and their Medicare or Medicaid numbers and things of that nature.”

If you get a call, email or letter from your local, county or state health department that looks suspicious, call that agency directly before responding.

The Atlantic Community School District Board of Directors and representatives with the Non-Certified Staff Collective Bargaining Unit (CBU) are set to begin contract negotiations on Wednesday, February 2. The meeting starts at 4:00 p.m. at the High School Media Center, and will be available for viewing live on YouTube. The meeting is open to the Public. The NCS CBU will present its proposal first, followed by the Atlantic Board of Education’s proposal.

In the last school year (2020-2021), the non-certified staff CBU negotiated a 2.31% increase, at an estimated cost of $68,357.64. In 2020-2021, the certified staff CBU negotiated a 2.28% increase for the 2020-21 school years, with an estimated cost of $157,503.82.

(Radio Iowa) A House committee has voted to create two new state tax incentives for expanding child care in Iowa, but backers admit both bills are not in final form. Representative Phil Thompson of Jefferson says the first would establish a new state tax credit for property developers.

The other bill would offer state tax breaks to business owners that promise to expand on-site day care centers for their employees or build new ones. State economic development officials have asked for more guidelines for how businesses would qualify. Representative Lindsay James of Dubuque says these two bills are a start.

Other bills on the topic are pending. One that’s eligible for House debate would increase the number of Iowa parents who are eligible to claim a state income tax credit for child care expenses.

(Radio Iowa) – Students in Iowa’s K-through-12 schools would be led in reciting the Pledge of Allegiance at the start of each school day under legislation that’s cleared initial review in the Iowa House. Representative Joe Mitchell, a Republican from Wayland, says Iowa is one of four states that doesn’t have this requirement.

If the bill becomes law, students would not be forced to stand and say the pledge if they or their parents object. Parochial schools would be exempted if the pledge conflicts with the school’s religion. The Iowa State Education Association — that’s the state teachers’ union — is registered in support of the bill, while other groups representing school boards and school administrators are registered as undecided.

Here is the latest Iowa news from The Associated Press at 3:30 a.m. CST

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Iowa public health officials say coronavirus testing has identified three cases in Iowa of the virus variant strain found in the United Kingdom. Two of the cases were found in Johnson County in eastern Iowa and one in Bremer County in northeast Iowa. Based on scientific study of the variant strain called B.1.1.7. researchers believe it can spread more easily than the original strain of COVID-19 and it is believed to be deadlier. Current vaccines are believed to be effective against the strain. However, Iowa vaccine rollout has been slow. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention report Iowa has delivered 190,689 first vaccine doses to individuals, or 6,044 per 100,000 people, the third lowest rate among states.

SIOUX CITY, Iowa (AP) — The second of three suspects accused of firing shots into a Sioux City home during a New Year’s party has pleaded not guilty to first-degree murder and other charges. Eighteen-year-old Carlos Morales, of Sioux City, entered his plea Monday. Police allege he and two others fired at least 27 shots into a house where 20 to 25 people were partying. Eighteen-year-old Mita Kritis was killed and three others were injured. Morales’ brother, 19-year-old Christopher Morales, pleaded not guilty earlier to the same charges. A third suspect, 18-year-old Anthony Bauer, has not entered a plea.

DAVENPORT, Iowa (AP) — Police say a man shot in an apparent domestic disturbance at a Davenport home over the weekend has died. The Quad-City Times reports that the shooting happened just before noon on Saturday. Officers called to the scene on Fillmore Street found 33-year-old Nicholas Brown, of Davenport, suffering from a gunshot wound. Brown was rushed to a Davenport hospital with critical injuries. Police say he died at the hospital on Monday. Police have not released other details of the shooting, including whether police have a suspect or have made any arrests in the case.

SIOUX CITY, Iowa (AP) — The second of three suspects accused of firing shots into a Sioux City home during a New Year’s party has pleaded not guilty to first-degree murder and other charges. Eighteen-year-old Carlos Morales, of Sioux City, entered his plea Monday. Police allege he and two others fired at least 27 shots into a house where 20 to 25 people were partying.

Eighteen-year-old Mita Kritis was killed and three others were injured. Morales’ brother, 19-year-old Christopher Morales, pleaded not guilty earlier to the same charges. A third suspect, 18-year-old Anthony Bauer, has not entered a plea.

The Mills County Sheriff’s Office, Monday, reported the arrest on Jan. 29th, of 35-year old Brandon Amos Woodruff, of Omaha. He was arrested at the Mills County Jail on a warrant for being a Fugitive from Justice. He was being held in the jail without bond.

And, Glenwood Police report three arrests. On Monday (Feb. 1), 37-year old Kristina Erwin, of Council Bluffs, was arrested for Possession of a Controlled Substance, Unlawful Possession of a prescription drug, and Possession of Drug Paraphernalia. Her cash/surety bond was set at $2,300.

On Sunday, 49-year old Earl Nosekabel, of Glenwood, was arrested for OWI/1st offense. His bond was set at $1,000. And, on Friday, Glenwood Police arrested 47-year old Edwin Rogers, of Glenwood, on a Mills County warrant for Probation Violation. His bond was set at $5,000.

(Radio Iowa) – A bill being considered in the Iowa legislature would give utility companies more authority to trim trees and other vegetation around power lines. Onnalea Kelley, a lobbyist for MidAmerican Energy, says it’s not just during bad weather that obstructions cause power outages. She has data for MidAmerica’s service area in Iowa.  “For the past 10 years, almost 10,000 tree-related interruptions totalling 72 million minutes of interruption time occurred,” Kelley says, “and this is onl when the winds were below 45 miles an hour, so it was not considered a wind incident.”

If there’s no easement granting access to a property, the bill would grant utilities 10 feet of clearance around power lines in cities and 30 feet around power lines outside of city limits. Kevin Condon, a lobbyist for the Iowa Association of Electric Cooperatives, says in places where the R-E-Cs have no agreement about access, some non-resident landowners are refusing to let crews trim trees that endanger power lines.

“Ice storms are always a problem. Tornadoes are always a problem,” Condon says. “This last August we saw a derecho come through and really expose part of the issue here.” The union representing line crews backs the bill, too. Nick Laning is a lobbyist for the state chapter of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers. “When trees rub up onto the wiring and get into the insulation, you have a hazard for fires and electrocution for workers,” he says, “so it’s a worker safety issue as well.” Kevin Kuhle, a lobbyist for the Iowa Farm Bureau, says his group opposes the bill.

“This bill is not about the August derecho, which was devastating for farmers,” Kuhle says. “This bill is all about property rights.” Kuhle says a landowner has the right to determine what happens on his or her land and blanket easements will not provide appropriate compensation for landowners. The bill has cleared subcommittee hearings and is eligible for consideration in House and Senate committees.

DAVENPORT, Iowa (AP) — Police say a man shot in an apparent domestic disturbance at a Davenport home over the weekend has died. The Quad-City Times reports that the shooting happened just before noon on Saturday. Officers called to the scene on Fillmore Street found 33-year-old Nicholas Brown, of Davenport, suffering from a gunshot wound. Brown was rushed to a Davenport hospital with critical injuries.

Police say he died at the hospital on Monday. Police have not released other details of the shooting, including whether police have a suspect or have made any arrests in the case.

(Des Moines, IA) Today (Monday), the Iowa Department of Public Health (IDPH) there are confirmed three cases of the COVID-19 variant, SARS-CoV-2 B.1.1.7. in Iowa. The virus variant is often referred to as the U.K. variant because it was first detected in the United Kingdom. Based on epidemiologic and modeling data, researchers believe that the B.1.1.7 strain can be spread more easily than the original strain of SARS-CoV-2. Current COVID-19 vaccines are considered to be effective against the variant strain.

Two of the three B.1.1.7 cases were detected in Johnson County, an adult (18 to 40) and a middle aged adult (41 to 60) and an adult individual in Bremer County. IDPH and local public health have already initiated contact with these cases to understand their exposures and initiate the health monitoring process. The process will include notifying anyone with whom these individuals have been in close contact. The individuals will be advised to isolate in accordance with IDPH and CDC guidance.

The positive cases were identified by the State Hygienic Lab (SHL). SHL has been participating in the CDC’s SARS-CoV-2 Strain Surveillance Program by sending COVID-19 test samples to be sequenced for the B.1.1.7 variant since early December. SHL recently began doing their own internal sequencing to look specifically for the variant. Routine analysis of genetic sequence data assisted in identifying the new variant strain in Iowa.

“Viruses constantly change through mutation, and new variants of a virus are expected to occur over time. Sometimes new variants emerge and disappear. Other times, new variants emerge and persist. Multiple variants of the virus that causes COVID-19 have been documented in the United States and globally during this pandemic. Public health will continue to work with our partners at SHL to monitor these trends and it is very important that we all keep practicing good public health protective measures,” shared Dr. Caitlin Pedati, State Medical Director and Epidemiologist.

The emergence of new variants underscores that it remains critical for Iowans to continue the mitigation efforts that we know work to slow the spread of COVID-19:

Wear a mask or face covering
Practice social distancing with those outside your household
Clean your hands frequently with soap and water
Stay home if you feel sick
Get tested if you are exposed to, or have symptoms of COVID-19
Consider getting a COVID-19 vaccine when it’s available to you
Updates to Iowa’s B.1.1.7 cases will be shared on the CDC’s website here. These case counts only represent the variant strains that are confirmed through genomic sequencing, and may not accurately reflect the true number of variant cases.