More State and area news from KJAN News Director Ric Hanson.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (5.7MB)

Subscribe: RSS

Police in Creston arrested an east central Iowa woman on a Theft charge, Monday night. 44-year old Joni Kibbe, of Grinnell, was arrested at the Creston Wal-Mart Store, for Theft in the 5th Degree. Kibbe was cited for the alleged offense and released from the scene on a Summons to Appear in court.

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

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (5.1MB)

Subscribe: RSS

(Radio Iowa) — Iowa Lottery spokesperson, Mary Neubauer says they won’t set another record for sales in the fiscal year that just ended June 30th. Neubauer says they won’t match the 390-point-one million dollar record once all the numbers are totaled — but they will meet some key marks. “In 2020 with COVID-19 and everything else that has been going on — we will not meet the record levels we hit in 2019. But we are on track to meet the budget goals that we have stated for state lawmakers, for state budget analysts and for ourselves,” according to Neubauer. The sales for the last fiscal year increased by more than five percent — driven by a couple of jackpots for Mega Millions and Powerball that each went above half-a-BILLION dollars at the same time.

Neubauer says a slow year in lotto sales got even slower once the pandemic hit. “Lotto game sales were already down for the year before all of that started, simply because the jackpots in Mega Millions and Powerball had been won more often at a lower level,” Neubauer explains. “So we just hadn’t seen the jackpots climbing into the stratosphere like we had in the last couple of years.” Powerball sales through may were down 17 million dollars compared to the previous year and Mega Millions sales were down 16 million.
The Iowa Lottery’s first-ever product continued to do well as other ticket sales lagged during the pandemic shutdowns.

“Scratch games continued to do really well. And I think that goes hand-in-hand with what we are seeing around the country in terms the entertainment options that people have been using in general,” Neubauer says. “You’ve heard that puzzle sales are through the roof. Board games are becoming hard to find because people are looking for those hard copy entertainment options in addition to the electronics that they’ve been using — and scratch tickets were part of the mix for folks.” Scratch ticket says were up by four-point-four million dollars through May. The Iowa Lottery turned over nearly 93 million dollars in profits to the state in that record sales year.

Neubauer says they are still on target to hit their projected 72 million dollars in proceeds for this past fiscal year. That’s really saying something in a year like this that we’ve been able to stay on track and meet those budget goals. We know that revenue to state causes is really more important now than ever — and we are really proud of the fact that we have been able to achieve our budget goals for this year,” Neubauer says. The Iowa Lottery had to adapt several of the ways it does business during the pandemic. That included no in-person prize claims.

She says they are doing the in-person claims again on a curbside basis where they have the winner fill out the information and then go inside and process it before bringing a check out to the winner. With the uncertainty remaining on what will happen with the COVID-19 outbreak, the Iowa Lottery has approved a budget that projects an increase in revenue of around nine million dollars in this new fiscal year.

The Atlantic School District’s Board of Education will hold an electronic session beginning 6-p.m. Wednesday (July 8), via YouTube. Items on their Consent Agenda include approval of: Tracy Purkapile’s resignation from Food Service, and Contract Recommendations for…Kirstin Blake – Colorguard sponsor; Derek Hall – Asst. HS Cross Country Coach; Oran Perkins – JV Football Coach; Taylor Williams – MS Cross County Coach, and Diane Hayes’ transfer to Central Office Specialist.

The Board will hold discussion with regard to: the Facility Project (an update); The District’s Return to Learn Plan; and the 2020-21 Board meeting/work session calendar. They’re also expected to act on approving:

• The purchase of 350 Chromebook’s (Laptop computers) from 2nd Gear (Temecula, CA) for $130 per device (a total of $46,000 paid for through the CARES Act & SAVE).
• A 2020-21 Southwest Iowa APEX Consortium Agreement (a specialized, special education program for those students in need)
• A 2020-21 Fuel Contract (Superintendent Steve Barber will recommend a $50,000 bid for diesel, gas and propane from Olsen’s Fuel Supply. Olsen’s bid was comparatively lower the a competitor)
• The Board is expected to approve the renewal of School Liability Insurance for 2020-21, in the amount of $112,970.50. Superintendent Barber says the District experienced a 14% increase to its liability insurance this year. Property, vehicles and general liability make up most of the cost increase.
• They will also act on approving an Atlantic Athletic Facilities Improvement Project pay application and proposed credit to the District for $695, with regard to a reduced number of flag poles at the Athletic facilities.

(Updated 10-a.m./24-hour update) Officials with the Iowa Department of Public Health report on their Coronavirus dashboard, that after more than 24-hour of no virus-related deaths, four people have died, for a total of 725, and 273 more Iowans have tested positive for COVID-19, for a total of 31,929 positive results. Among the latest positive cases, two were reported in Cass County, which brings the total number of cases here to 24, with 18 having recovered. In Shelby County, one more positive case of COVID-19 was reported, for a total of 114, with 100 having recovered.

The IDPH website said 512 of the state’s deaths involved Iowans with pre-existing conditions. COVID-19 outbreaks at long-term care facilities account for 384 of the state’s total deaths. The number of LTC outbreaks stands at 17. Positive test results at those facilities amount to 356, with 269 having recovered from the virus.

Iowa DPH reports 165 hospitalizations, of which 44 patients are in intensive care. A total of 27 people with virus symptoms were admitted to a hospital since Monday, and 20 are on ventilators. The TestIowa program reports 848,808 completed assessments, with 339,040 having been tested, and a total of 306,564 testing negative. According to the Iowa DPH, 34,068 Iowans received serology tests. Of those tested, 31,664 tested negative and 2,371 tested positive.

In the area hospitalization report (RMCC 4): there are five people hospitalized (1 more than yesterday); 3 in an ICU (Compared to 2 Monday); 1 person was admitted and no one was on a ventilator. In the KJAN listening area: Pottawattamie County has 737 positive COVID-19 cases with 635 recovered. All other area counties (aside from Cass & Shelby) have had no changed results from what was posted Monday on the IDPH website.

(Radio Iowa) – The president and C-E-O of the Food Bank of Iowa says a record number of meals went out in June. Michelle Book says in 2016 when she first arrived, they were serving about 800-thousand pounds of food each month and this June they had just short of two million pounds served. The organization serves 55 counties in the state. Book says the demand looks to continue in July as the federal coronavirus 600 extra dollars in unemployment comes to an end.

She says those who have had extra unemployment will see those dollars go away and at a time when kids continue to be home from school and away from free meals. “And children are home from college as well and seniors are still shut-in, and we are seeing a bigger demand on our local school pantries and our food pantries,” Book says. Book says they expect things to be challenging as the economies of the state and country continue working out of the pandemic.

She says their parent organization Feeding America is telling them to prepare for an increased need two-and-a-half times what they normally would do and through December of 2021 as the economy recovers very slowly. Book encourages anyone who is struggling to call. “If people need help, this is the time to get help,” according to Book. “Don’t wait until you are down to your very last dollar and can’t pay your rent. If you need help — go to our website to find a food pantry nearest you. And our website is www.foodbankiowa.org.”

Book says those who are interested in donating can also go to the website. She says the increased demand for food has put more demand on their vehicles and everything else involved in getting the food out.

At least two people were injured during a collision in a construction zone northeast of Council Bluffs on Interstate 80, Monday afternoon. According to the Iowa State Patrol, a 2002 Cadillac Escalade driven by 41-year old Carri Hillis, of Minden, and a 2004 Chrysler PT Cruiser driven by 41-year old Rebecca Hewitt, of Des Moines, were traveling eastbound on I-80 in the right lane, with the PT Cruiser in front of the SUV.

Traffic was being shifted into the right lane due to road maintenance, which caused traffic to come to a stop. When Hewitt stopped her vehicle, Hillis braked but was unable to stop in-time. After her SUV rear-ended the Chrysler, the Cadillac rolled onto its side and came to rest in the ditch. The PT Cruiser came to rest in the median. The accident happened at around 4:10-p.m. near mile marker 12.

Both drivers and occupants of the vehicles were treated for their injuries.

Here is the latest Iowa news from The Associated Press at 3:20 a.m. CDT

UNDATED (AP) — The federal government says about 6,000 Iowa businesses received loans of $150,000 or more from the Paycheck Protection Program, requiring them to list their business names and addresses. The list released Monday by the Treasury Department includes churches, manufacturers, car dealerships, farm-related organizations and hospitals. Among them is firearms accessories company Brownells Inc. and King Contracting, the construction company founded by U.S. Rep. Steve King but sold to his son in 2003. Another 52,500 Iowa businesses and nonprofit organizations received less than $150,000 and weren’t named by the Trump administration. That secrecy spurred a lawsuit by news organizations including The Associated Press.

IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) — The University of Iowa Athletics Department announced four additional positive coronavirus tests on Monday along with one negative test. KGAN-TV reports that the new cases bring the number of positive tests in the athletics department to 21 on 392 total tests. The department is not disclosing which sports the positive tests stem from or if they are athletes or staff. Statewide, the number of confirmed cases rose by 417 to 31,660. The state’s health department also reported two more deaths, bringing the total to 723.

DUBUQUE, Iowa (AP) — A Dubuque man and his wife have been sentenced to two years in federal prison for stealing more than $200,000 from his disabled mother. The U.S. attorney’s office said in a news release Monday that 66-year-old H. David Derby and 52-year-old Patti Lynn Derby were sentenced after pleading guilty in September to one count each of wire fraud. The release said the couple stole the money from 2013 to 2017 from his widowed mother, who was a former teacher. She suffered from mental and physical disabilities and was living in an assisted living facility in Dubuque.

FARGO, N.D. (AP) — A judge has ordered the Dakota Access pipeline shut down for additional environmental review more than three years after it began pumping oil. The ruling Monday hands a victory to the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe and delivers a blow to President Donald Trump’s efforts to weaken public health and environmental protections his administration views as obstacles to businesses. U.S. District Judge James Boasberg in Washington, D.C., wrote that he was “mindful of the disruption” that shutting down the pipeline would cause, but that it must be done within 30 days. Pipeline owner Energy Transfer says it will ask a court to halt the order.

(Des Moines, IA) The Iowa Department of Human Services (DHS) announces the distribution plan for $76,268,223 in Food Assistance benefits for Iowa Families. The Families First CoronaVirus Act allowed states to issue Food Assistance benefits to households with children in Pre-K through grade 12 who lost access to Free and Reduced Price School Meals due to pandemic-related school closures in Spring 2020.

There are two ways the 247,785 eligible children will receive their $307.80 in Food Assistance benefits. If their household received Food Assistance benefits anytime in April, May, or June, their benefits will be put on the household’s EBT card on July 15, 2020. 94,354 children will receive benefits on the EBT card. The remaining 153,431 non-Food Assistance children will receive P-EBT cards in the mail between July 14 – 21, 2020.

Eligibility was determined with a detailed match through the Department of Education and Iowa schools that participate in the National School Lunch Program. Iowa is one of few states that did not require an application to receive these benefits. Any child who was an enrolled Pre-K through grade 12 student in the 2019-20 school year in either a public school or non-public school that participates in the National School Lunch Program and received Free and Reduced Price School Meals as of March 16, 2020, was deemed eligible.

“We hope to create advance awareness about the arrival of the P-EBT cards to prevent families from throwing the envelopes away, not realizing what they contain,” said Janee Harvey, DHS Division Administrator of Adult, Child and Family Services. Cards will arrive in white envelopes addressed with the child’s name from an Austin, TX return address beginning July 14, 2020. The cards inside will be white, with black font, with IOWA P-EBT printed at the top, and will bear the name of the eligible child. Families will need to follow the included instructions to activate the card.

Families with current EBT cards will have P-EBT benefits available on July 15, 2020 as well. These benefits will just be added to cards, and families do not need to do anything to activate the additional P-EBT funds. Harvey shared, “A family with three eligible children will receive over $900 dollars through P-EBT. That’s a substantial boost during this time when many are struggling with unemployment and additional childcare costs. In cases where transportation or health concerns are a barrier to shopping in person, we hope families will take advantage of purchasing online. Both Wal-Mart and Amazon online are accepting P-EBT benefits.”

“Ensuring a straightforward user process was top priority as we developed this program. Nonetheless, our call centers and stakeholder partners are prepared to answer questions about how to use or access these benefits,” Harvey stated.

A comprehensive FAQ document in English and Spanish, including eligibility information, and images of the card and envelope, are available on the DHS website here. We encourage the public to visit the website to find answers to all their P-EBT questions.