OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — Worries about a new virus that’s infected tens of thousands of people globally are making a mark on the economy of a nine-state region in the Midwest and Plains. A new survey report says the Mid-American Business Conditions Index sank in February to 52.8 from 57.2 in January. Creighton University economist Ernie Goss oversees the survey, and he says the softer reading and the economic harm from the virus should concern policymakers. Survey organizers say any score above 50 suggests growth. A score below suggests decline. The survey covers Arkansas, Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, Oklahoma and South Dakota.

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

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The Pottawattamie County Sheriff’s Office has issued a report on recent arrests. Authorities say 47-year old Michael Darrell Jacobsen, of Avoca, was arrested Friday morning in Avoca, on a Pott. County warrant for Violation of Probation. Taken into custody Friday morning at the Pottawattamie County Courthouse, was 24-year old Brendyn O’Dell Rutherford-Malone. He was taken into custody on a Pott. County warrant for Theft in the 2nd Degree, and booked into the Pott. County Jail.

A man wanted on a Pott. County warrant for Domestic Abuse Assault w/a dangerous weapon – 1st offense, Interference w/official acts resulting in bodily injury, and Possession of Meth/1st offense, was transported from the Douglas County, NE., Jail, to face those charges in Pottawattamie County. 34-year old Sterling R. Spires, of LaVista, NE., was being held in the Pott. County Jail on a $2,000 bond.

Thursday afternoon, 26-year old Shawn Patrick Landis, Jr., of Council Bluffs, was arrested in the lobby of the Pott. County Jail, on a warrant for Driving While Barred/Habitual Offender. His bond was set at $2,000. And, 54-year old Carl Allen Race, of Council Bluffs, was arrested Thursday afternoon at the Hy-Vee Store on Madison Avenue, after a Deputy eating lunch at the store, was informed a man had just run from there with some stolen goods. The Deputy located Race a short distance away, and took him into custody for Theft in the 5th Degree. Race was also wanted on a warrant for Violation of a No Contact/Protective Order – Contempt of Court. His bond was set at $300.

(Radio Iowa) — Local governments in northwest Iowa are discussing an agreement that would launch a study of the entire Iowa Great Lakes watershed. Milford Mayor Steve Anderson says Lower Gar Lake is on the state list of “impaired” waters due to the amount of algae bloom and the level of turbidity or cloudiness of the water. “It’s due to the sediments that keep building up in Lower Gar Lake and those sediments during low water times are causing issues,” he says. “I know there are navigation concerns and what not, but when you look at it from a water quality standpoint that’s what’s causing algae blooms, that’s what’s causing water quality concerns of that lake.”

Lower Gar covers 250 acres and is the lowest lake in the Iowa Great Lakes chain. Anderson says Iowa State University professors conducted a study of the Great Lakes watershed in the 1970s and that really helped push things forward. “The reason why we see water quality in East (Okoboji) Lake like we do today versus what we saw in the ’60s is because of that study,” Anderson says. Seven major lakes lie within the watershed, including West and East Okoboji as well as Big Spirit Lake. The I-S-U study concluded each of the lakes was overly enriched with minerals and nutrients. Anderson says it’s time to take steps to slow down or contain sedimentation in Lower Gar — because that lake has an impact on the other six in the chain.

“Part of this is putting together a coalition, this resolution of the cities and the lake associations with DNR to put a coalition together to keep focus on what we can do to get Lower Gar off the impaired waters list,” Anderson says, “and if we can do that, that means we’ve fixed the rest of the lake systems.” Anderson is sending a letter from the City of Milford to other cities in the Iowa Great Lakes Watershed, hoping to get all parties to express their support of a study. The Iowa Great Lakes were carved out by glaciers and among the 34 “natural” lakes in the state. The other 65 percent of Iowa lakes were constructed by humans.

Officials with the Creston Police Department report three arrests over the past few days. At around 2:30-a.m. Sunday, 27-year old Jacob Cauthorn (whose address was unknown), was arrested with the assistance of the Creston P-D K9 “Jax.”  He was taken into custody for Possession of a Controlled Substance/Meth – 2nd offense, and was being held in the Union County Jail on a $2,000 bond.

At around 1-a.m. Saturday, 38-year old Lexie Wambold, of Creston, and 42-year old Travis Wambold, of Fontanelle, were arrested at a residence in Creston, for Violation of a Protection Order. Both were subsequently released from custody on a Promise to Appear in court.

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

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SIOUX CITY, Iowa (Sioux City Journal) — A Sioux City man accused of looting the checking account of a nursing home resident has pleaded guilty. The Sioux City Journal reports that 53-year-old Ronald Taylor entered the plea last week to a charge of dependent adult abuse. His sentencing is scheduled for April 21. Woodbury County District Court records say Taylor held a power of attorney for the man, who has dementia and can’t handle his finances. The records say Taylor spent nearly $23,000 of the man’s money since July 28, 2017, wiping out the man’s account.

(Radio Iowa) — Some stores in Iowa are already sold out of face masks, but a state health official says there’s no need for Iowans to be stockpiling masks over fears about coronavirus. Polly Carver-Kimm, spokeswoman for the Iowa Department of Public Health, says while there are a few dozen confirmed cases in the U-S, the risk of catching the potentially-deadly virus in Iowa remains very low. “We can understand that people have seen photos and video of people wearing face masks in other countries, but the CDC specifically does not recommend the use of face masks as a prevention method for COVID-19,” Carver-Kimm says. “We don’t feel that anyone in Iowa needs to run out and buy face masks now anyway.”

Unless you’re a health care worker, she says you don’t need to be wearing a face mask. “That’s a different situation because they’re in very close proximity to an individual who may be coughing or sneezing directly on them,” Carver-Kimm says. “Health care providers may, and we’d probably recommend they do use face masks just like they do when they have an influenza patient come in.” The health department does recommend Iowans make a plan, just as they would for severe weather, and assemble an emergency kit.  “That involves things like making sure you have a supply of your medications on hand, making sure you have thoughts in line for, ‘What would I do if I couldn’t get to the grocery store?’ or ‘What will I do if the school is closed because of illness,'” she says. “We’re not saying that’s going to happen but it’s always best to prepare and that’s what we’re advising people to do right now.”

That emergency kit need not include face masks, she says. So, millions of people in Asian countries who wear face masks are wrong? “There’s actually a very long cultural history behind that which has to do with societal norms and privacy,” Carver-Kimm says. “It’s not just about disease prevention and there’s a lot of history on that.”

The C-D-C recommends health care workers who interact with coronavirus patients wear masks designated as “N-95,” which fit close to the face and include a respirator. That N-95 means they’re designed to filter out 95% of particles.

(Radio Iowa) — A selection of historic photos from 75 years ago are on display at the downtown museum in Sioux City. Vernon Tott of Sioux City was serving in the U-S Army’s 84th Infantry Division that was moving through Nazi Germany near the end of World War Two rounding up German prisoners when they discovered the Ahlem concentration camp near Hanover. Museum Curator Matt Anderson says Tott, was able to capture some photos of the starving Jewish prisoners found in the Holocaust Camp 75 years ago. “Vernon had been carrying a small camera with him all through is time in the Army. Even though he wasn’t supposed to — he snapped photographs of his experience that day — and they were just in the camp for a brief period, I think it was an hour or two, and he captured some striking images of what was going on there,” Anderson says.

Tott came home and put the photos he had taken in a wooden box and did not look at them until 1997. That’s when he read a notice in his army unit’s newsletter from Benjamin Sieradzki, an Ahlem survivor seeking the G-I who had taken those photos during the camp’s liberation.  “It came to light that he had these and he was actually able to track down some of the people who were in the photos that were still alive,” according to Anderson. “It’s another way that we have a Sioux City connection with a terrible but historic event.”

Tott contacted Sieradzki and that led to them finding 15 other camp survivors before Tott’s death on March 1st, 2005 at the age of 80. Vernon Tott was honored by the Holocaust Museum for his efforts and has his name inscribed on a wall there as a Liberator. Selections from the Vernon Tott Collection will be exhibited through April 19, 2020, at the Public Museum downtown.

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

CORRECTIONVILLE, Iowa (AP) — A Powerball ticket sold in northwest Iowa is worth $1 million. Iowa Lottery officials say the ticket sold in Correctionville, Iowa, matched five of the six winning numbers in Saturday’s drawing. The ticket was sold at a Brew convenience store. The store will receive a $1,000 bonus from the Iowa lottery for selling the winning ticket. No one matched all six numbers to win the jackpot in Saturday’s drawing. So the prize will grow to $90 million for Wednesday’s drawing.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — The Iowa Democratic Party State Central Committee has certified the results of the 2020 presidential caucuses, nearly a month after a faulty mobile app and other problems delayed counting and prompted calls for Iowa to lose its first-in-the-nation status. Iowa awards 41 national delegates in its caucuses. Following Saturday’s certification of the Feb. 3 caucuses, Buttigieg had 14 delegates and Sanders had 12. Elizabeth Warren won eight, Joe Biden won six and Amy Klobuchar won one. The Associated Press opted not to call a winner, given remaining concerns about whether the results as reported by the party were fully accurate.

DUBUQUE, Iowa (AP) — A spike in influenza and other respiratory illnesses in eastern Iowa have led hospitals in Dubuque and Dyersville to limit patient visitation. The Telegraph Herald reports that children under 14 — including siblings of babies in the birth center — are being asked not to visit the hospitals. Those with respiratory or flu symptoms, such as coughing, fever, aches and nausea, are also asked not to visit. Dr. Honorio Caceres is chairman of the bi-hospital infection control committee. He directed that the restrictions be put in place at MercyOne Dubuque Medical Center and UnityPoint Health-Finley Hospital in Dubuque and at MercyOne Dyersville Medical Center.