KJAN News can be heard at five minutes after every hour right after Fox News 24 hours a day!
Keep up-to-date with Fox News Radio, Radio Iowa, Brownfield & the Iowa Agribusiness Networks!
KJAN News can be heard at five minutes after every hour right after Fox News 24 hours a day!
Keep up-to-date with Fox News Radio, Radio Iowa, Brownfield & the Iowa Agribusiness Networks!
The Audubon County Sheriff’s Office reports the arrest on Nov. 29th, of 38-year-old Raymond Hurt, from Carroll. Hurt was taken into custody on an outstanding warrant for failure to serve a jail mittimus on an original, Driving While Barred charge. He was held for the length of his mittimus and released.
The Audubon County Sheriff’s Office was assisted by the Carroll Police Department and the Carroll County Sheriff’s Office.
More State and area news from KJAN News Director Ric Hanson.
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Officials with the Creston Police Department report the arrest at around 1:30-p.m. Tuesday, of 45-year-old Alisha Marie Peckham, from Creston. Peckham was arrested at her residence on a charge of Failure to Abate [a] Nuisance. She was given a Summons to Appear in court. Authorities said also, a woman residing in the 600 block of N. Pine Street, in Creston, reported Thursday morning, that someone had stolen her Christmas decorations. They included two candy canes one candle stick. The loss was estimated at $60.
And, a man residing in the 11-hundred block of W. Montgomery Street in Creston, reported Thursday, that a package containing 48 exotic tea bags was missing from his front porch. The loss was estimated at $70.
The area’s latest and/or top news stories at 7:06-a.m. From KJAN News Director Ric Hanson.
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The latest information from State of Iowa’s coronavirus dashboard (10-a.m. Friday, 12/11) shows 77 additional deaths related to COVID have taken place, for a total of 3,197.The IDPH says 2,930 deaths are the result of “Underlying causes,” and 267 have a “Contributing factor.” The website said 2,932 of the state’s deaths involved Iowans with preexisting conditions.
Long-Term Care (LTC) facility deaths amount to 1,129. In the listening area: Adair, Harrison, Mills and Montgomery Counties each show one more reported death. There are two new deaths to report in Pottawattamie County, and three in Shelby County (See the totals below)
The number of positive COVID-19 cases statewide is up 2,057 to 253,085. Long-Term Care facility outbreaks are down slightly, at 140. State data shows 1,273,664 Iowans have been tested for coronavirus, with a total of 183,213 recovered. Iowa reports a 14-day positivity rate of 15.8% and a 7-day rate of 11.3%. Of Iowa’s 99 counties, 66 report 14-day positivity rates above 15%. Two Iowa counties report a 14-day positivity rate below 10%.
Hospitalization data: show 833 are in hospitals across the state (that’s 30 less than yesterday); 175 COVID patients are in an ICU (down 14 from Thursday); 128 were admitted (an increase of 4); 97 are on a ventilator (down 17 from yesterday). Hospitals in western/southwest Iowa (RMCC Region 4) report: 55 hospitalized (compared to 53 previously); 15 in an ICU (one less than previously reported); five were admitted (three less than yesterday), and eight COVID patients are on a ventilator (one less than yesterday).
In the KJAN listening area, here are the current number positive cases; The # of new cases since yesterday {+}; and the total number of deaths in each county (Configured by the new reporting formula):
(Radio Iowa) – It’s official, former Iowa Governor Tom Vilsack is being named by President-elect Joe Biden as the U-S Secretary of Agriculture, a post Vilsack held during all eight years of the Obama administration. Jeff Jorgenson, president of the Iowa Soybean Association, says Vilsack represents Midwestern agriculture well and he looks forward to working with him again. “As an Iowa farmer and even as a U.S. farmer, with Vilsack being in the system before, we kind of know where he stands on some issues and what we have in agriculture,” Jorgenson says. “We’re going to understand where we’re at in a lot of regards and sometimes that has some bonuses along with that.”
Vilsack was unanimously confirmed by the U.S. Senate eight years ago and is expected to easily win confirmation again in 2021, but Biden’s decision is drawing criticism from some quarters. Some environmental groups charge Vilsack is too closely tied to large-scale, corporate agriculture. A coalition representing black farmers says Vilsack did not do enough as ag secretary to address racial inequities in access to loans for farmland. Jorgenson says one of Vilsack’s main strengths is his knowledge and support of the ethanol and biodiesel industries. “His understanding of regulations and biofuels and what we deal with as farmers and what we’re trying to get to as a country, I think he has a very good understanding of it,” Jorgenson says. “Really, he’s a very moderating voice. He knows how to get people to the table and work together and try to get through some differences and really move forward.”
Jorgenson says Vilsack knows the importance of trade and our key trading partners. “Vilsack has an understanding of China and he’s dealt with them a lot of years,” Jorgenson says. “He was CEO of the Dairy Council and he understands these exports and where we need to be internationally with trade. This opens him up for every product in agriculture and I think it’s a positive.” Iowa Corn Growers Association (ICGA) President Carl Jardon released a statement saying “ICGA congratulates Tom Vilsack on his nomination to serve as the Secretary of the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Being an Iowa native, Vilsack understands the significance of rural America and the importance of corn and biofuels. We had great success when Vilsack served as Secretary for eight years under the Obama Administration, and we welcome the opportunity to work with him again in this key role.”
Iowa Farm Bureau president Craig Hill says his organization is very pleased Vilsack has been chosen to once again lead the U-S-D-A. Hill says Vilsack has remained engaged in agriculture since his eight-year stint as U-S ag secretary four years ago and has a deep understanding of the struggles farmers face. Vilsack is a Democrat and he’s getting support from Iowa U-S Senator Chuck Grassley, a Republican. In a statement on Tuesday, Grassley said: “I liked what Vilsack did as the secretary of agriculture for eight years and if he was in for another four years, it would be okay with me.”
(Radio Iowa) – The number of unemployment claims shot up in the last week. First-time claims were up by nearly 54-hundred in the last week and the number of continuing claims was up 94-hundred. Iowa Workforce Development says the increase in continuing claims was due primarily to construction and manufacturing claims from Thanksgiving week that were filed last week and were not unexpected.
The information from I-W-D says November through February are typically the months for the most unemployment claims driven by seasonal layoffs. The agency says just more than 59 percent of those who filed claims said those claims were not related to COVID-19.
(Radio Iowa) – Iowa State University research suggests certain foods — including cheese and red wine — may prevent cognitive decline in our later years. I-S-U food science and human nutrition professor Auriel Willette led the review of publicly available data from a study in Great Britain. “We’ve been interested for a while in looking at the impact of diet on cognition and on the brain as we get older,” he says. “We wanted to look at the kinds of different foods that people eat and if there is a relationship with how flexible their thinking is over time.”
Via Pintrest.com
Willette’s research is featured in an article published in the November issue of the Journal of Alzheimer’s Disease. Willette and an I-S-U grad student were granted access to information in what’s known as the “BioBank” in Great Britain. It contains in-depth genetic and health information from half-a-million people. Their most significant finding was that cheese is the food that seemed to provide the most protection against cognitive decline and daily consumption of alcohol, especially red wine, appeared to improve cognitive function. “These things which taste good actually, at least for your brain, might be good for you and that I think is a departure a lot of the diet literature that basically says if you live like a monk, then, you know, you should be good.”
It may be worthwhile to follow up with a clinical trial to test these conclusions, Willette says, as one path in Alzheimer’s research is pursuing the theory exercise and diet can have an impact on cognitive performance as we age. “But I think more important and more practical is that it doesn’t always have to deal with adding things we usually don’t like and taking away things that we do,” he says. “It’s more complicated than that and we’re hoping that modifying our diet in ways that are fun actually may be a good route to go.”
And Willette says in the midst of a pandemic, he was pleasantly surprised the results suggest responsibly eating cheese and drinking red wine daily may have these side benefits for our brains.
(Radio Iowa) – A study conducted by the Iowa and National Restaurant Associations confirms the fears about the impact of COVID shutdowns on the industry. The president of the Iowa association, Jessica Dunker, says the pandemic has been devastating to the industry. She says they entered 2020 with the hope of four-point-four BILLION dollars in revenue and they are now expecting to lose one-point-four BILLION dollars — with the average restaurant seeing a 33 percent decrease. Dunker says that’s not the end of it for the more than six-thousand restaurants, bars, and other venues that serve food and beverages. “The frightening thing is that 88 percent of Iowa operators expect to see an even bigger decrease in sales over the next three months,” she says.
Dunker says winter will shut off the outside dining that has helped some businesses continue to operate. You may go by some establishments and see long lines at their drive-throughs. Dunker says they are the ones that have been able to deal with the pandemic restrictions. “We feel like any restaurant that had a drive-through in place when the COVID measures started to be put in place by the state had a tremendous advantage. And many those are actually seeing increases in sales this year,” according to Dunker. “So, when we talk about these kinds of loses — the drive-throughs are doing fine — and the people that were always set up as a carry-out and delivery, they are doing fine.”
Dunker says the COVID restrictions have hurt the establishments that offer an experience. “It really about the ambiance, the environment, as well as food that presents beautifully when you serve it straight from the kitchen. Those are the people who were not able to turn their business model quickly into something that would transfer for carryout and delivery,” she explains. She says 61 percent of people surveyed say they are looking for an experience when they eat out. Dunker says they predicted early on they might lose one-thousand restaurants. “We started out hoping that we were wrong — that it wouldn’t get to a thousand. Now we hope that our numbers are right and it will only get to a thousand,” Dunker says.
The Iowa Restaurant Association has joined thousands of small business advocacy organizations across the nation calling for the Federal Government to immediately pass a relief bill which includes additional Paycheck Protection Program grants. Dunker says they are also asking state agencies and lawmakers to create relief measures including directing additional CARES Act money toward small business grants, forgiving and/or deferring sales and payroll taxes, and giving a minimum of one year respite on alcohol and other state license fees. “Forty-one percent of operators say they don’t see how they can stay in business for another six months if federal programs aren’t renewed,” she says.
Dunker is encouraging operators across the state to contact state and federal lawmakers throughout December and invite them to visit their businesses to see firsthand the toll COVID-19 has taken.
The Mills County Sheriff’s Office, Thursday, reported three recent arrests. On Wednesday, 31-year old Krista Jo Lynn McKee, of Malvern, was arrested for Domestic Abuse Assault. McKee was being held without bond in the Mills County Jail. And, there were two arrests on Tuesday: 47-year old Laurie Elizabeth Holmes was arrested at the Mills County Sheriff’s Office, on a warrant for Domestic Abuse Assault. She was being held without bond; 34-year old Jared William Rye, of Plattesmouth, NE., was arrested at the Pottawattamie County Jail, on a Mills County warrant for Failure to Appear on a Possession of Controlled Substance, charge. Rye was being held on $1,000 bond in the Mills County Jail.