MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — As coronavirus hotspots erupted at major U.S. meatpacking plants, experts criticized extremely tight working conditions that made the factories natural high risk contagion locations. But some Midwestern politicians have pointed the finger at the workers’ living conditions, suggesting crowded homes bear some blame. The comments include a Wisconsin Supreme Court justice’s remark that an outbreak didn’t seem to have come from “regular folks.” Outraged employees and advocates call the comments elitist and critical of immigrants in the meatpacking workforce. The remarks came amid public gratitude for other essential workers like police officers, health care professionals and grocery store workers.

(Radio Iowa) — The State Historical Society is asking Iowans to help document the pandemic for future generations. Michael Morain, a spokesman for the Iowa Department of Cultural Affairs, says “We are inviting Iowans to capture the stories of COVID-19 and its impact, its ripple effects on everyday life here in Iowa.” Morain says Iowans may submit items electronically now — things like photos, videos and written materials in digital form. Once the state historical museum reopens to the public, they’ll begin accepting physical artifacts.  “Usually we don’t get the chance to recognize history or historical turning points as we’re living through them,” Morain says. “Usually it requires a little bit of hindsight, but I think people realize that this spring the world is changing and it’s changing here in Iowa in ways that are different than in New York or California or Italy or China.”

Curators hope items like masks, cancelled stimulus paper checks and gallon jugs of hand sanitizer will help illustrate the story of this pandemic a century from now — just like items in the Historical Society’s vault from the flu pandemic of 1917 and ’18 have. “We have medical supplies. We have photos from Camp Dodge where soldiers that were getting ready to ship off for World War I were struggling in dire straights…with the flu,” Morain says, “so we get a sense of what that looked like.”

Soldiers began getting sick in October of 1918 and by the time the illness had run its course, more than seven-hundred soldiers had died. Camp Dodge, at the time, was about a dozen miles away from the city of Des Moines. The city’s board of health closed schools, churches and other gathering spots. For more information on how to donate documents for the project, go to https://iowaculture.gov/history/research/collections/donating-materials

(Radio Iowa) — Signs spreading messages of hope and happiness are popping up in yards across northeast Iowa. Kerra Boriskey (CARE-ah bore-RISKY) manages the sign department for Kendrick Forest Products, based in Edgewood. Boriskey says the signs carry messages like, “Be the Sunshine,” “Faith Over Fear” and “Hope Can Never Be Canceled.” Dozens are now posted in nearly a dozen towns around Edgewood. “How it works is, the communities have reached out to us and said, ‘Hey, we’d love to have some,’ so we take 12 to 15 designs to a community,” Boriskey says. “My mom goes around with my grandma and my niece and they put yard signs in people’s yards.”

Radio IA photo via Kendrick Forest Products.

In addition to the free signs they’re setting up in yards around the region, dozens more are being sold as a fundraiser. “We are charging $10 a sign if it’s something that you pick up and $10 for shipping if you need signs shipped,” Boriskey says, “and we are doing 100% of the proceeds going to local medical staff for supplies and food.” As the pandemic has kept so many people indoors and isolated, Boriskey says they wanted to come up with a way to lift spirits. “The thing that really makes you proud is the fact that you can turn something around and people put their heart and soul into it and we have a product in somebody’s yard within hours of coming up with an idea,” Boriskey says. “People are very appreciative and are excited to see the good hope spread throughout the community.”

The signs are posted in communities including: Edgewood, Manchester, Strawberry Point, Colesburg, Petersburg, Guttenberg, Garber, Dyersville, Cascade, Winthrop and McGregor.

The Pottawattamie County Sheriff’s Office reports a traffic stop for speeding Thursday afternoon resulted in a backseat passenger being cited on drug charges. The 2000 Buick LeSabre was pulled over at around 1:50-p.m., near mile marker 66 on I-29, for speeding 81 in a 70 mph zone. The passenger, 21-year old Dane Michael Cole, was found to have a small amount of personal use marijuana and a glass smoking pipe. Cole was cited into court for Possession of a Controlled Substance/Marijuana – 1st offense, and Possession of Drug Paraphernalia.

And, prisoner in the Pott. County Jail for being a Fugitive from Justice, was served with a warrant Thursday morning, also for being a Fugitive from Justice. 24-year old Zachary John McGinn, of Omaha, was read the Omaha P-D warrant and then turned back over to corrections staff.

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

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CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa (The Gazette) — An Iowa judge has ruled that a state law blocking Planned Parenthood from receiving federal money for sex education programs is unconstitutional. The Cedar Rapids Gazette reports that Fifth Judicial District Judge Paul Scott ruled Wednesday in the case. Scott wrote that the law violates Planned Parenthood of the Heartland’s right to equal protection and “has no valid, ‘realistic conceivable’ purpose that serves a legitimate government interest …”

In his ruling, Scott issued a permanent injunction to prevent the law’s implementation.

The Atlantic School Board met in a special electronic session this (Friday) morning, and approved 2020-21 Master Contracts for the Atlantic (School District) Employee and Education Associations. The Employees Association Contract ages the schedule, affecting 70 employees, and provides for an 18-cent per hour increase in wages over 2019-20. The contract is for one-year, beginning July 1, 2020 and ending June 30, 2021. The total package cost is $68,357.

Superintendent Steve Barber explained what it means to “Age” the schedule.

The schedule covers up to seven-years. With regard to the Atlantic Education Association Contract, Barber said it’s basically an Alternative Compensation model, with the previous Certified salary schedule replaced by a Certified Base Wage schedule for 2020-21. The base wage for a BA is $32,124.

(A BA+15 would receive a $1,300 increase ($33,409 salary); BA +30: $1,500 ($34,694); BA+50 MA: $1,700 ($35,979) ; MA+15 : a $1,900 increase over the base ($37,264), and with an MA+30, a $2,100 increase ($38,549).)

The alternative compensation model has increase to the base wage of $1,325 for BA, all the way up to $1,590 for the MA+30. Barber said by equalizing the TSS payments, some individuals may receive more. Nurses receive the same percentage of increase in their respective educational lanes. The supplemental pay generator will increase by $825, so the percentages of each position outlined in the supplemental fee schedule has a base generator of $44,325 from the 2020 school year, for a duration of one-year.

The total cost of the two changes amounts to $152,076.

Police in Creston report 18-year old Gage William Meggison, of Creston, was arrested at his home recently, for Possession of a Controlled Substance/Marijuana-1st offense. Meggison was released from the Union County Law Enforcement Center on a Promise to Appear in court.

The area’s latest and/or top news stories at 7:05-a.m. From KJAN News Director Ric Hanson.

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Officials with the CAM Community School District report 4-year old Preschool Registration will take place online for the upcoming school year. CAM Preschool is open to any child who turns 4 by Sept. 15, 2020. Kindergarten is open to any child who turns 5 by Sept. 15th. (The online form can be found here: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1FkS4Sl7lsMjlGIRHfDRrP4c77AVG4ZdZgM4VtJyDVRg/viewform?ts=5eb2c3b4&fbclid=IwAR1KzHOa1K7_y8j5TogJiHWdoTiEborT1Q39EWqIgyScL5br-Zo6OpVHxRk&edit_requested=true)

If your child is in the CAM South Region, please contact: Principal Larry Hunt, at lhunt@cam.k12.ia.us, or Lora Blomme, Preschool Teacher, at lblomme@cam.k12.ia.us.

If your child is in the CAM North Region, please contact: Principal Barry Bower, at bbower@cam.k12.ia.us, or Preschool Teacher Shannon Paup, at spaup@cam.k12.ia.us.

For other questions, call the school or your building principal:

CAM South 712-779-2211

CAM North 712-762-3343