IOWA CITY – A man convicted of 1st Degree Murder in Polk County died Friday, at the University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics in Iowa City. The Iowa Department of Corrections reports 54-year old Christopher Michael Phipps, Sr., died Friday morning, due to natural causes. Prior to being transferred to UIHC, he was an inmate at the Iowa State Penitentiary, where he began serving his life sentence on Oct. 7, 2010.

A semi tractor-trailer driver from California was injured during a rollover accident that blocked both lanes of I-80 in  Adair County, Friday night. According to the Iowa State Patrol, a 2018 semi driven by 27-year-old Yevegeniya Oleinkov, of Citrus Grove, CA, was traveling westbound on I-80 at around 11:45-p.m., when for reasons unknown, the vehicle left the road at mile marker 90 and went out of control on the shoulder.

The semi entered the ditch and flipped onto its side. Oleinkov, who was not wearing a seat belt, was transported by Stuart Rescue to Mercy West Hospital, in Des Moines. Traffic was rerouted while the Interstate was blocked for about three-hours.

Stuart Fire Department Facebook photo

Stuart Police and Fire assisted the State Patrol at the scene.

The Iowa Department of Public health on Saturday reported 173 new COVID-19 positive tests and ten additional deaths. At 10 a.m., the health department reported 400,734 total positive tests, 357,363 total recoveries and 6,035 total deaths since the start of the pandemic. Twenty-four hours earlier, the health department reported 400,561 total positive tests and 6,025 total deaths.

Iowa reports 2,679,228 COVID-19 vaccine doses have been administered and 1,305,749 individuals have completed the vaccine series. Iowa’s 14-day positivity rate is at 2.9%, and the 7-day average is now 2.8%. Health department data shows 4,998,503 total tests have been administered.

There are now 131 patients hospitalized with COVID-19, down from 142 the previous day. Iowa reports 39 patients in ICU and 18 patients on ventilators. In RMCC Region 4 (hospitals in western & southwest Iowa), there remain: Seven patients hospitalized with COVID or symptoms of the virus; Five people with COVID in an ICU; No new admissions were reported, and one person remains on a ventilator.

Two of Iowa’s long-term care facilities report active COVID-19 outbreaks (Risen Son Christian Village in Pott. County, & the Clarion Wellness & Rehab Center in Wright County). The health department reports 17 positive cases and one recovery among residents and staff within those facilities. The state reports 2,357 care facility deaths since the pandemic began.

In the immediate KJAN listening area, here are the current number positive cases by County (since the beginning of the pandemic) and the total number of deaths (Since the beginning of the pandemic) in each county to date:
Cass, 1,473 cases; 54 deaths
Adair, 990; 32
Adams, 352; 4
Audubon, 536; 10
Guthrie, 1,306; 31
Harrison County, 1,930; 73
Madison County, 1,776; 19
Mills County, 1,795; 23
Montgomery, 1,112; 38
Pottawattamie County, 12,286;170
Shelby County, 1,372; 37
Union County, 1,366; 33

The Griswold School Board will hold a special meeting 5:30-p.m. Monday, in the Conference Room at 20 Madison Street. The lone items on their agenda is discussion and action on releasing an employee from their contract.

The latest report from the Pottawattamie County Sheriff’s Department shows three people were arrested on drug charges, Thursday, after Deputies executed a search warrant at 707 Atlantic Street, in Walnut. Authorities say 38-year-old Amy Joy Carman and 30-year-old Jessie Suzanne Petersen, were each charged with Possession of a Controlled Substance/ Methamphetamine – 1^st Offense, and Possession of Drug Paraphernalia. And, 34-year-old Phillip Michael Houston was arrested for Possession of a Controlled Substance 3^rd Offense and Possession of Drug Paraphernalia.

A man from Neola was arrested Thursday, following a call about a person who was armed. Deputies responded to the 400 block of 1st Street, where they arrested 27-year-old Darrell Jerome Boyer for Carrying a Weapon (a loaded Gun) within City Limits. Boyer was also charged with Possession of Drug Paraphernalia and Unauthorized Possession of Offensive Weapon. Boyer was being held in the Pott. County Jail on a total of $7,300 bond.

Pott. County Sheriff’s Officials said also, 35-year-old Daniel Joseph Shreeves was arrested early Friday morning, after Deputies were dispatched to I-880 for a reported impaired driver. Deputies located the vehicle in the center median at the five mile marker of I-880. Shreeves was charged with Operating While Intoxicated 1^st Offense.

Firefighters from Griswold were called out early Saturday morning, to the scene of a machine shed fire. The fire page went out at around 5:46 a.m., following a report of smoke and flames coming from a structure at 13001 490th Street.

Additional details are currently not available.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is warning backyard poultry farmers that their chickens may be linked to a growing salmonella outbreak. The notice of investigation, posted Thursday, said 163 people are confirmed to have been sickened across 43 states. While none have died, a third of those sickened were children under 5 years of age, the agency said.

The CDC warns that there are likely many more cases as few people are tested for salmonella, a bacterial infection that in most people resolves on its own in a week or less after causing diarrhea, fever and stomach cramps. People younger than 5 or older than 65 are likelier to experience more severe illness and are at increased risk of hospitalization, the CDC says. Safety tips shared by the public health agency include having hand sanitizer near your coop and frequently washing hands after touching poultry.

“Don’t kiss or snuggle backyard poultry, and don’t eat or drink around them,” the CDC writes. “This can spread Salmonella germs to your mouth and make you sick.” The agency said children are more likely to get sick from salmonella, and advised supervising them around flocks, and preventing children under 5 years of age from touching the birds. The news follows what was a bad year for salmonella safety in America’s backyard poultry farms, according to the CDC. There were 17 multi-state salmonella outbreaks linked to backyard flock contact in all 50 states in 2020, the agency said.

“The number of illnesses reported [in 2020] was higher than the number reported during any of the past years’ outbreaks linked to backyard flocks,” the CDC wrote. Salmonella outbreaks linked to backyard poultry flocks were reported every year from 2020 back to 2017

(Radio Iowa) – This week’s announcement from Governor Kim Reynolds eliminating mask mandates in schools and most businesses is making some Iowans anxious. Plus, the C-D-C says fully vaccinated people no longer need to socially distance or wear masks indoors, with some exceptions. Douglas Gentile, a psychology professor at Iowa State University, says many of us will need to ease slowly into resuming pre-pandemic activities.

“If you go out and you find ‘Oh my God, I’m freaking out,’ then leave,” Gentile says. “There’s nothing wrong with that, and try again another day, but don’t assume you’re never going to be okay going out to dinner again.” Gentile says it’s normal if activities don’t initially feel the same way they did before the pandemic, and if fully vaccinated people want to continue wearing masks, that’s also fine. Gentile says despite the drastic change in public health guidance, Iowans need to take the return to “normal” at their own pace.

“Don’t believe that your feelings should be the same as anyone else’s,” Gentile says. “We all handle stress differently. We’ve all come through this situation differently. We’ve all had very different experiences of it.” COVID-19 has affected the mental health of many Iowans, and some parents are noticing changes in their children. Janette Lems, of Johnston, says the trouble for her kids began when they started school last fall and she sought out in-person play therapy.

“I called eight different places. I was told that they had no openings until May and this was in January,” Lems says. “I had no idea that there were so many troubled children that were, at the age of five or six, having to seek out mental health.” According to the CDC, mental health-related emergency room visits increased 24 percent for young children and 31 percent for teens from March to October of last year compared to 2019.

(reporting by Natalie Krebs, Iowa Public Radio)

Police in Glenwood report four arrests took place, Thursday. Authorities say:

• 25-year-old Kameron Myers, of Glenwood, was arrested for Child Endangerment and Possession of Drug Paraphernalia. Meyrs’ total cash or surety bond was set at $2,300.
• 32-year-old Tera McAtee, of Glenwood, was arrested for Child Endangerment, Possession of a controlled substance and Possession of Drug Paraphernalia. Her bond was set at $3,300.
• 54-year-old Christina Jennings, of Glenwood, was arrested for Child Endangerment, Possession of a controlled substance, Poss. of Drug Paraphernalia, Unlawful possession of prescription drug and Gathering where controlled substance are used, Her bond was set at $9,300.
• And, 20-year-old Dezirae Kuhl, of Glenwood, was arrested on a Mills Co Warrant for Domestic Abuse Assault. She was being held without bond until seen by a magistrate judge.

Atlantic Parks and Recreation Department Director Bryant Rasmussen, on Friday, said that “With the current weather pattern, heating up of the pool is taking longer. With regards to this the pool will open up on the June 7^th as opposed to the 1^st to allow for more time to increase the temperature of the water.”