The area’s latest and/or top news stories at 7:06-a.m. From KJAN News Director Ric Hanson.

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(Radio Iowa)  A Le Mars police officer was fired from his job after posting questionable material on social media. Le Mars Police Chief Kevin Vande Vegte issued a news release Tuesday afternoon stating Officer Jeremy Singer had engaged in misconduct involving social media activity depicting comments and behavior unbecoming of a police officer. Vande Vegte says he was first made aware of the situation on Sunday, of which he immediately place the officer in question on administrative leave. Vande Vegte says a misconduct investigation was initiated. Based on the results of that misconduct investigation, Jeremy Singer was dismissed from his duties as a police officer effective Tuesday, September 15th.

Vande Vegte says the city of Le Mars took this matter seriously and the actions and comments made by Officer Singer are not representative of the values in place to ensure that there is trust between the police department and the community of Le Mars. Singer had been a police officer with the Le Mars Police Department for just about three years.

The Iowa Department of Public Health’s Coronavirus dashboard today (as of 10-a.m.), said there are 775 new (Positive) COVID-19 cases (for a total of 76,050 to-date) and one death has taken place, since 10-a.m., Tuesday (for a total of 1,234 to-date). Officials say 5,164 lab result have been processed since Tuesday. The data show: 4,620 new Negative cases (For a total of 633,911); 55,005 Iowans have recovered from the virus since the pandemic began. IDPH reported 712,919 Iowans have been tested for COVID-19.  Officials reported an 8.6% positivity rate over the last 14 days.

Of those who died, 856 had a pre-existing condition, and 653 of the deaths took place at a Long-Term Care (LTC) facility. In the KJAN listening area: Guthrie, Montgomery and Shelby Counties have one more positive case each, of COVID-19. Pottawattamie County has 33 new cases, Harrison and Madison Counties have two new cases, each, and Mills County shows four new, positive cases. No deaths have been reported across the KJAN listening area since Sept. 12th.

Across the State, hospitalizations have increased by six, to 291. The number of patients with COVID-19 who are in an ICU is up five, to 79; eight more people were admitted to a hospital with symptoms of the virus, for a total of 44, and 32 patients were on ventilators, three more than reported Tuesday. In western/southwest Iowa, hospitals report No change to the data from Tuesday into today: There are 11 hospitalized; Six in an ICU; There were no new admissions, and one person remains on  ventilator.

There are two more LTC outbreaks, at 38, with 901 patients/staff testing positive for COVID-19, and 442 have recovered.

Here are the latest positive case numbers for southwest/western Iowa (County; Positive Case #’s; number of persons who have (recovered); {deaths since the outbreak began}.

• Cass County: 122 cases; (113); 2 deaths
• Adair County: 57 cases; (40); 1 death
• Adams County: 27 cases; (21)
• Audubon County: 46 cases; (30); 1 death
• Guthrie County: 206 cases; (155); 5 deaths
• Montgomery County: 84 cases; (78); 5 deaths
• Pottawattamie County: 1,861 cases; (1,561); 36 deaths
• Shelby County: 235 cases; (224); 1 death.
• Madison County, 188; (148); 2 deaths
• Harrison County, 164 cases; (149); 2 deaths
• Union County: 105 cases; (84); 3 deaths.
• Mills County: 153 cases; (110); 1 death.

(Radio Iowa) – Construction is underway on a new barge loading and unloading terminal on the Missouri River near Blencoe in western Iowa. When complete, the facility will accommodate 240-thousand tons of soybeans, corn, dried distillers’ grain and dry fertilizer per year. Soy Transportation Coalition executive director Mike Steenhoek says the terminal will provide a new route for Northern Plains commodities to the Gulf of Mexico. “They have a design and intention to load a modest number of barges for the export market of soybeans yet this fall in November to December,” Steenhoek says. “For farmers in the western part of the state of Iowa, it really is exciting. It provides a new marketing option.”

The farmer-owned NEW Cooperative in Fort Dodge owns the terminal. Steenhoek says the Missouri River is underused for shipping ag commodities and the NEW Co-op facility will help producers ship their product in a more cost-effective way rather than by rail. “The Missouri River could be more actively utilized from a navigation perspective, particularly for agriculture,” Steenhoek says. “Whether it’s exports for soybeans, DDGs, corn, inbound shipments for fertilizer, the inland waterway system makes a lot of sense.”

Steenhoek says having the NEW Cooperatives facility on the Missouri River could encourage the building of other terminals downriver in order to take advantage of using barge traffic to ship ag commodities.”The Missouri River will never rival the Ohio, the Mississippi, or the Illinois River in terms of volume of freight moved, but we do think it is a maritime highway that should be used more than it is,” he says. “It could be an additional marketing opportunity for farmers in that region.”

That includes not only Iowa and Nebraska, but Missouri, Kansas and South Dakota. He says initial phases of construction should be complete within two months.

(Radio Iowa) – The Des Moines School Board has directed the district’s superintendent to come up with a new plan for both in-person AND virtual classes, but during a meeting last (Tuesday) night, the board did not set a time frame for bringing students back into school buildings. The state’s largest district started the school year with most students taking classes online, without a state waiver to do so. Board member Kalyn Cody argues virtual instruction is safest at this point in the pandemic.

“I mean if we open up all 60 of our buildings, that’s 60 potential hotspots within a 20 mile radius, but that’s going to spread outward very, very quickly,” Cody said. Board member Kelli Soyer says she’s worried about the students who are struggling with virtual instruction. “It’s not working for everyone,” she said. Board member Terri Caldwell-Johnson agrees. “I feel like we’re failing a lot of our students,” Caldwell-Johnson said.

Board member Rob Barron says the district has to balance the need to protect staff with growing demands from parents who want their kids back in the classroom.”I don’t take lightly being out of compliance with the state, but even if we were to say: ‘Come hell or high water we are bringing everybody back in person,’ that doesn’t happen tomorrow,” Barron said. “We are still out of compliance probably at least a few weeks before we can turn that model around and bring kids back.”

A handful of parents spoke to the board during a period for public comment at the beginning of the meeting. Holly Kilborn-O’Neall says online classes provide the safest and most consistent connections for students and teachers. “This first week of school has gone remarkably well,” she said. Justin Minor is among 70 percent of parents who responded this summer that they wanted their kids to return to classrooms. “Let’s mask up and go to school,” he said.

There are about 33-thousand students in the Des Moines Public Schools.

(Radio Iowa) – A Fort Dodge man is in custody after authorities say he hit a Wright County deputy with the deputy’s own squad car. At about 2 p.m. yesterday (Tuesday) on Highway 17 in Eagle Grove, the deputy stopped the vehicle 31-year-old Sean McMillan was driving. McMillan was a suspect in a disturbance earlier in the day in nearby Goldfield.

The deputy arrested McMillan, handcuffed him and put him in the squad car’s passenger seat. The deputy then went back to McMillan’s vehicle to deal with a passenger there. According to a news release from the Iowa Department of Public Safety, McMillan jumped the console of the squad car, drove at and hit the deputy and the officer fired one round, which hit the windshield. McMillan soon ditched the deputy’s car and ran, but was found hiding in a home in Eagle Grove and arrested again.

The deputy was treated and released from a local hospital.

The Harlan Police Department reports six arrests took place from Sept. 1st through the 14th. On Monday (9/14), 40-year old Jason Robin Conway Emery, of Harlan, was charged with theft 2nd possession of stolen property.

Last Friday, 44-year old David Patrick Jackson, of Harlan, was arrested following a traffic stop. Jackson was transported to the Shelby County Jail where he was charged with operating while intoxicated and fail to obey stop sign. And, 22-year old Cameron Donald Jacobsen, of Harlan, was cited for driving while suspended following a traffic stop.

On Sept. 6th, 31-year old Ryan Lee Cox, of Harlan, was arrested on an active Shelby County warrant. Cox was transported to the Shelby County Jail where he was charged with harassment. And, 21-year old Frank Clarke Knowles, of Harlan, was arrested following a call for service. Knowles was transported to the Shelby County Jail where he was charged with assault.

Sept, 3rd, Harlan Police arrested 40-year old Jason Robin Conway Emery, of, Harlan, on a charge of  public intoxication. And, on Sept. 1st, 49-year old John August Fiebelkorn, of Harlan, was arrested on an active Shelby County warrant. Fiebelkorn was transported to the Shelby County Jail where he was charged with terroristic threats.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Gov. Kim Reynolds will let bars, breweries and taverns in four counties reopen, less than three weeks after she order them closed after a surge in coronavirus cases. In a proclamation that is effective Wednesday, Reynolds said bars may reopen in Black Hawk, Dallas, Linn and Polk counties.

Restaurants in those counties may also resume serving alcohol without the restrictions she implemented on Aug. 27. Bars must remain closed in Johnson and Story counties, where the University of Iowa and Iowa State University are located.

The state Health Department reported 12 people died in the past 24 hours as of 10 a.m. Tuesday, and there were 508 new confirmed coronavirus cases.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Des Moines police say a suspect in a homicide earlier this month is no longer facing charges. Police announced Tuesday that new evidence led them to drop a first-degree murder charge against 27-year-old Michael Jermaine Jacobs. He was accused of shooting 36-year-old Sean Newman in September in a neighborhood near Drake University. The new evidence found inconsistencies in statements from a witness but police did not release more information. Thirty-three-year-old Whitney Davis is still charged with first-degree murder in the case.

Atlantic Fire responded to a house fire at 311 Cedar Street, at about 1:15 p.m. Tuesday. Fire Chief Tom Cappel says when he arrived, the house was basically fully involved, with heavy smoke and flames were emitting from the south side of the residence out of a window and one door with a window.

Ric Hanson/photos

Heavy smoke was also coming out from underneath the gutters. Crews knocked down the flames and ventilated the roof along with the interior. The cause remained undetermined as of late Tuesday afternoon. Cappel said there was no one living in the home, and no electricity or gas was hooked-up.

Assisting the Atlantic Fire Department on the scene was Officers with the Atlantic Police Department, Cass County Emergency Management Coordinator Mike Kennon, and Cass County EMS.