(Radio Iowa) – The results from one small precinct in Iowa’s second congressional district have been checked and rechecked after a clerical error in the Jasper County Auditor’s office gave one candidate too many votes. A group of volunteers hand counted a batch of ballots cast on Election Day at a precinct in Mingo and came up with a tally that matched the results of Saturday’s MACHINE recount.

On the SEVENTH round of counting the 516 ballots yesterday (Monday), the group added one extra vote for Republican Mariannette Miller-Meeks after determining a voter had colored outside the lines on their ballot — so the vote had not been counted by the machine. Secretary of State Paul Pate says he ordered yesterday’s audit to remove any doubt about the results.

“In this particular situation, you have human error that was caught,” Pate says, “because the system works.” The Secretary of State’s website now shows Rita Hart, the Democratic candidate in Iowa’s second congressional district, has a narrow, 152 vote lead after Monday’s recount along with the absentee ballots from all 24 counties in the district that arrived by the deadline. Hart issued a statement on Twitter, saying the most important thing is to get the count right.

“I want to say thank you so much to our poll workers and to our election officials who have been working on the front lines for months,” Hart said, “making sure that this process runs smoothly and that all ballots are precisely counted.” Early last Wednesday, Miller-Meeks was leading in the preliminary tally posted on the Secretary of State’s website. Her campaign has called on the Jasper County Auditor to provide more information about the clerical error in his office.

Iowa’s second congressional district race is the closest in the country right now. After county boards of supervisors in the district confirm results today (Tuesday), it’s likely one or both campaigns will ask for recounts in other precincts or counties in the district.

(Reporting by Iowa Public Radio’s Kate Payne)

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

UNDATED (AP) — Three Iowa prisons are reporting coronavirus outbreaks with hundreds of inmates and more than 100 prison workers testing positive in recent days. An Iowa Department of Corrections report says the prison at Clarinda has 377 inmates and 16 staff members testing positive, and at the prison in Rockwell City there are 254 positive inmates and four staff members. The department released data Friday showing an outbreak at the Anamosa prison, where 485 are now testing positive out of 982 inmates housed at the prison. Another 50 staff members are testing positive. Other prisons have smaller numbers of positive cases. In total 1,145 inmates and 103 staff members are positive in the state’s prisons.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — State prison officials say a 70-year-old man imprisoned for his role in a 1981 Davenport murder has died from COVID-19 and other health issues. David Streets, who died Sunday, was serving a life sentence in the death of Mark Webb and the kidnapping of another man. The kidnapped man, Russell Greer, was taken to Palisades State Park near Cedar Rapids, where he was tied to a tree, beaten and left for dead. Streets was one of five people convicted in the case. Corrections officials said he died at the University of Iowa Hospitals, mostly likely from COVID-19 and several pre-existing health conditions.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — The Iowa Insurance Division says its paid $1.6 billion in insurance payouts for damages caused by a rare wind storm that blew through the state in August. The agency said Monday that insurance companies paid nearly 160,000 claims as of Nov. 2. The companies are holding more than $1 billion more in reserves for future claims for damages from the derecho, which carried winds up to 140 mph. Iowa Insurance Commissioner Doug Ommen said in a news release that his office has received just over 90 complaints out of more than 200,000 insurance claims filed about derecho-related damages.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — The Des Moines school district has requested a waiver to move completely to online learning as state figures show coronavirus infections and hospitalizations remain high. The Des Moines school board approved the waiver late Sunday. It’s up to the state Department of Education to grant a waiver. Superintendent Tom Ahart notes Polk County’s average virus positivity rate has topped a state-mandated 15% threshold for districts seeking to shift to online instruction. The state on Monday reported 4,212 new confirmed COVID-19 cases. Three more people have died, bringing the state’s virus death toll to 1,845. A record 1,034 virus patients are being treated in hospitals.

The Adair County Board of Supervisors will meet in person & via dial-in session*, 9-a.m. Tuesday, in the courtroom of the Adair County Courthouse. On their agenda is a canvass of the November 3rd General Election, along with:

• An Adair Waste Management Agency Management Agreement
• Discussion with regard to a Mormon Trail Campground expansion
• And a report from Sheriff Vandewater, who will discuss inmate medical rates with regard to the Adair County Health System, the resignation of the Jail Administrator, and hiring of a new Jail Administrator/Jailer.

*The dial-in number is 605-313-6157    Access Code 526272#

DES MOINES, Iowa — Two more Iowa prisons are reporting outbreaks of coronavirus infections.
The Iowa Department of Corrections says testing has revealed outbreaks at prisons in Clarinda, where 377 inmates and 16 staff members are positive, and Rockwell City, where 254 inmates and four staff members are positive. The Clarinda prison has about 900 inmates and Rockwell City has 426.

The department released data Friday showing an outbreak at the Anamosa prison and updated numbers show 485 infected inmates of the 982 inmates at the prison. An additional 50 staff members tested positive.

Additional smaller prison outbreaks also have been reported. In total, 1,145 inmates and 103 staff members are positive in Iowa’s prisons.

Atlantic, IA – Due to the rising number of COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations, Cass County Health System is suspending its Cardiac and Pulmonary Rehabilitation services until further notice. This includes services for both Phase II and Phase III patients. Stress tests and other cardiology services will remain operational.

(Radio Iowa) – Congresswoman Cindy Axne of West Des Moines, a Democrat, says now that the campaign is over, the current congress should act before year’s end to provide another round of assistance to help individuals and businesses hit hard by the pandemic.  “It’s just a really difficult time for way too many people,” she says, “and we’ve got to get this done.” Axne says it’s been more than seven months since congress passed the so-called CARES Act and most of the money has been spent.

Axne says congress should provide more federal money for hospitals, health care workers and small businesses — as well as more assistance to low-income Americans with overdue utility bills who are at risk of losing heat and electricity during the winter. The temporary spending plan for the entire federal government is set to expire next month as well.

“We’ve got to make sure that we keep government open and pass a budget,” Axne says. “That’s just a basic that needs to get done, but we need to make sure there’s things in there.” For example, Axne says congress must ensure parents can carry over any unused money they’d put aside in flexible savings accounts for child care expenses. The money in traditional pre-tax savings plans for medical and other expenses must be used by year’s end — or individuals forfeit that money.

Axne says due to the pandemic, many parents weren’t able to find child care — and they stand to lose the money they’d saved to cover those expenses. “There’s just a lot we need to do in a budget, given the fact where we’re at with Covid,” Axne says. Axne, who represents Iowa’s third congressional district, was re-elected to a second term in the U.S. House last week.

(Radio Iowa) – The Ankeny-based Casey’s convenience store chain has purchased another chain with stores in several states. Casey’s announced the agreement today (Monday) to acquire Buchanan Energy — the owner of Bucky’s Convenience Stores — in an all-cash transaction for 580 million dollars.

Bucky’s Convenience Stores were founded as a family-owned and operated business in 1980. It has stores mainly in Illinois and Nebraska — with others Missouri, Texas, and one in Council Bluffs, Iowa.

Casey’s acquisition will include 94 retail stores and 79 dealer locations, and multiple parcels of real estate for future new store construction. The purchase will increase Casey’s store count to more than 23-hundred. The transaction is anticipated to close by the end of this year.

Shelby County Emergency Management Coordinator Alex Londo, Monday afternoon, issued on update on a report we first brought you early this (Monday) morning, with regard to a missing child. Londo said at approximately 4:25 am, Monday, a call was received at the Shelby County 911 Center for a child that was missing.

Shelby County Sheriff’s Office, Harlan Police Department, Shelby County EMA, Panama Fire Department, Portsmouth Fire Department, Earling Fire Department, Westphalia Fire Department, Harlan Fire Department, and Iowa State Patrol responded to assist in locating the child.

The child was found a short distance from the family’s home in good health and returned to his parents.

(Radio Iowa) While many Iowans have enjoyed the unseasonably warm weather the past several days, it’s all about to change. Meteorologist Andrew Ansorge, at the National Weather Service, says the sunny days with high temperatures in the 60s and 70s will shift late tonight (Monday) and into tomorrow as a cold front arrives, bringing the possibility of snow.

Highs by Wednesday are only expected in the 40s and 50s, while some areas may not even get out of the 30s. As for the possible snowfall, he’s not predicting a blizzard, by any means.

The weather of the past week brought high temps perhaps 15 degrees above normal, and while we’re in for a chilly several days, he says we may yet see another warm wave before winter sets in late next month.

GRISWOLD — Anna Kelley, a Junior at Griswold CSD of Elliott was nominated as a Delegate to the Congress of Future Medical Leaders. The event takes place November 21st and November 22nd, 2020. The Congress is an honors-only program for high school students who want to become physicians or go into medical research fields. The purpose of this event is to honor, inspire, motivate and direct the top students in the country interested in these careers, to stay true to their dream and, after the event, to provide a path, plan and resources to help them reach their goal.

Anna Kelley

Anna’s nomination was signed by Dr. Mario Capecchi, winner of the Nobel Prize in Medicine and the Science Director of the National Academy of Future Physicians and Medical Scientists to represent Griswold High School based on her academic achievement, leadership potential and determination to serve humanity in the field of medicine. During the two-day Congress, Anna Kelley will join students from across the country and hear Nobel Laureates and National Medal of Science Winners talk about leading medical research; be given advice from Ivy League and top medical school deans on what to expect in medical school; witness stories told by patients who are living medical miracles; be inspired by fellow teen medical science prodigies; and
learn about cutting-edge advances and the future in medicine and medical technology.

Experts say this is a crucial time in America when we need more doctors and medical scientists who are even better prepared for a future that is changing exponentially. Focused, bright and determined students like Anna Kelley are our future and she deserves all the mentoring and guidance we can give her. The Academy offers free services and programs to students who want to become physicians or go into medical science. Some of the services and programs the Academy offers are online social networks through which future doctors and medical scientists can communicate; opportunities for students to be guided and mentored by physicians and medical students; and communications for parents and students on college acceptance and finances, skills acquisition, internships, career guidance and much more.

The National Academy of Future Physicians and Medical Scientists was founded on the belief that we must identify prospective medical talent at the earliest possible age and help these students acquire the necessary experience and skills to take them to the doorstep of this vital career. Based in Washington, D.C. and with offices in Boston, MA, the Academy was chartered as a nonpartisan, taxpaying institution to help address this crisis by working to identify, encourage and mentor students who wish to devote their lives to the service of humanity as physicians, medical scientists.