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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!
More State and area news from KJAN News Director Ric Hanson.
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ELK HORN and KIMBALLTON, Iowa – Getting into the holiday spirit is easy in the Danish Villages. Celebrated the weekend after Thanksgiving, the 42nd Julefest offers visitors a way to kick start the Christmas season. For forty one years, this magical festival has warmed hearts and provided a way to celebrate all things Danish. Julefest promises an array of traditional Danish food and tasty treats such as pastries, wine, glögg, and pebbernødder. Search for unique Christmas presents and decorations at gift shops and specialty stores, in both towns. Make the most of a winter’s day – tour the newly reconstructed Danish Windmill, enjoy the latest exhibits at the Museum of Danish America.
Danish Windmill w/lights (Photo submitted)
New this year is the Danish Windmill’s Silent Auction at the Elk Horn Fire Hall 1 -6 on Saturday the 28th along with a Vintage Quilt Show sponsored by Log Cabin Quilt Shop. For this year only the Danish Windmill is sponsoring a Frikadeller Meal to Go from 4 to 7 at the Elk Horn Fire Hall. RSVP only 712-764-7472 to reserve your ticket. The Master Grillers out of Kimballton are the caterers.
Relish in the festive atmosphere of the villages – both towns will be decorated for Christmas and the streets lined with Danish and American flags. Pick up a brochure with a map of the local merchants and happenings at any of the Danish Villages businesses. Pancake breakfast, Polar Run, two craft fairs and evening concert have been canceled for 2020.
Safety is a priority this year and we will be following CDC guidelines for events. Schedules will be subject to change. Masks required. Contact the Danish Windmill at (800) 451-7960 or visit www.Danishvillages.com for more information.
The Creston Police Department says there were three people arrested Thursday, on separate charges. 48-year-old Walter Roy Hall Jr., of Creston, was arrested on a warrant from an outside agency. Hall was taken to Union County Jail. Bail was set at $500 cash or surety. 35-year-old Nicholas Andrew Colburn, of Creston, was also arrested Thursday on a warrant from another agency, He was being held in the Union County Jail without bond until seen by a magistrate. And, 38-year old Mathew Louis Scherer, of Creston, was arrested Thursday for Urinating and/or Defecating in Public. Scherer was being held in the Union County Jail on a $300 cash or surety bond.
The Creston Police Dept. says also, a resident reported Wednesday a go-kart, a table saw is missing from an address in the 500 block of N. Elm Street. The loss was estimated at $1,110. And on Thursday, Wellman Dynamics officials reported to police that Ferrara Candy Company was broken into and vandalized on Nov. 6th, at around 8:30pm. The damage was estimated damage at $50.
The Union County Sheriff’s Office, Thursday, added that a Creston resident reported on Wednesday, that sometime in late September or early October, a New Holland cycle mower valued at $1,100 was stolen from his property in the County.
The area’s latest and/or top news stories at 7:05-a.m. From KJAN News Director Ric Hanson.
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MASON CITY, Iowa – The Iowa Department of Criminal Investigation (DCI) reports that on Wednesday, Nov. 18th at 8:45 a.m., Cerro Gordo County Jail correctional officers observed an inmate in a solitary cell having a medical issue. Correctional officers entered the cell and began life-saving measures. Those efforts continued until Mason City Fire and Ambulance arrived to transport the inmate to a local hospital, where he later died.
The inmate’s name was being withheld, pending full notification of family. An autopsy will be completed by the Iowa Office of the State Medical Examiner in Ankeny. The Cerro Gordo County Sheriff’s Office requested the Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation’s assistance with this matter.
Cass County Wellness Coordinator Brigham Hoegh reports that on Wednesday December 2nd, the Cass County Local Food Policy Council is hosting a mobile food pantry through the Food Bank for the Heartland at the Cass County Community Center from 4:00 – 6:00 PM, or as supplies last. Hoegh says they have ordered double the amount of food to be handed out at the mobile pantries in the past, given the increased food needs related to COVID-19.
Anyone in need is welcome to visit the mobile pantry, and no documentation is needed. People from surrounding towns and communities are welcome. Traffic will be directed by volunteers. Visitors are asked stay in their vehicles with the trunk open. The mobile pantry is available free of charge.
For more information on local food, farmers markets, and food access, follow the Cass County Local Food Policy Council’s Facebook page @CassCountyLocalFood.
Iowa’s Coronavirus dashboard today (as of 10-a.m. Friday), shows 25 additional deaths have been attributed to COVID-19 since Thursday’s 10-a.m. report, for a total of 2,127. The number of deaths attributed to a pre-existing conditions statewide are 1,296, while deaths at Long-Term Care facilities amount to 982, 11 more than yesterday. There is one more death to report in both Adair and Pottawattamie Counties.
Officials say there have been 4,359 new confirmed, Positive cases of the virus reported since yesterday, for a total since the pandemic began, of 203,033. Cass County now has 26 new, Positive cases of COVID, for a total of 706. Double-digit Positive case increases were reported in Harrison, Mills, Montgomery, Shelby and Union Counties, and 162 more cases in Pottawattamie County. (See the list below)
There are 23 additional Long-Term Care facility (LTC) outbreaks, for a total of 117. Those care facilities report 4,282 positive cases and 1,882 recovered. Cass County’s three LTC facilities (Heritage House, Griswold Rehab & Health Care Center & Atlantic Specialty Care) have a total of 193 confirmed positive cases (45 more than yesterday), and 104 recovered. Harrison County has two LTC facility outbreaks (Dunlap Specialty Care & Longview Home), for a total of 213 confirmed positive cases and 172 recovered. In Pottawattamie County, there are 159 outbreaks among three LTC facilities (Risen Son, Bethany Lutheran Home & Midlands Living Center), with 66 recovered. And, in Shelby County, there are 115 outbreaks among two facilities (Elm Crest Retirement Community & the Salem Lutheran Home), and 17 persons have recovered.
The health department reports a another drop in virus hospitalizations. There are currently 1,447 Iowans hospitalized with COVID-19, compared to 1,516 the previous day. There were 275 COVID patients in an ICU, compared to 286 on Thursday, while 207 persons were admitted in the last 24 hours, down from 233 the previous day. There are also 144 on a ventilator, up from 135 on Thursday. Hospitalization analysis shows 1,078 hospitalized patients had a primary COVID-19 diagnosis, while 369 were hospitalized for another reason but tested positive. Seventy-two percent of Iowa’s hospitalized patients with the virus are 60 or older. Another 14% of patients are between the ages of 50-59. Three percent of cases are under the age of 18.
In western/southwestern Iowa: there are 74 COVID patients in the hospital, compared to 66 yesterday; 24 are in an ICU (2 more than Thursday), 11 people were admitted to a hospital (up 5 from Thursday), and there are eight people a ventilator.
The state’s data shows that 1,144,669 Iowans have been tested for coronavirus. Test results received yesterday amounted to 10,022, with 7,646 coming back Negative and 2,342 Positive. The total number of Negative results since the beginning of the pandemic is 939,618. Iowa’s 14-day positivity rate is 21.6%, and the Individual Positivity rate is 17.7%.
The IDPH says 114,290 Iowans have recovered from the virus. In the KJAN listening area, here are the current number positive cases in each county, along with the 24-hour change in case numbers {+#}; the number of persons recovered, and the total number of [deaths] (if any), since the pandemic began,
A Red Oak man was arrested Thursday night for Violation of a No Contact Order. Authorities say 20-year old Tyler Blaine Baucom was taken into custody at around 10:30-p.m. in the 1600 block of E. Summit Street, in Red Oak. He was transported to the Montgomery County Jail and held on a $300 bond.
(Radio Iowa) – The number of new coronavirus cases in Iowa is going up so quickly that contact tracers with the state Department of Public Health are having a hard time keeping up. Dr. Caitlyn Pedati, the state epidemiologist, says they’ve made so-called “household contacts” the priority.
“Particularly when we think about family gatherings, moving into the holiday season, and the way that we interact,” Pedati says, “again keeping in mind that the goal here, right, is doing what we can to limit spread, protect people who are going to have poor outcomes and maintain those health care resources.”
About 100 state employees are doing these kind of case investigations. Earlier this week, the public health department started accepting bids from private companies, to add another 200 people to the effort to track down and notify people who’ve been in close contact with someone who has tested positive for Covid.
(Radio Iowa) – The State reports 980 nursing home residents have died of Covid and a record 118 Iowa nursing homes now have active Covid-19 outbreaks.
“You just cannot separate the two,” he says. “It’s like separating smoke from a wildfire.” The spike in Iowa’s coronavirus infections is also making staffing shortages worse. A-A-R-P Iowa is calling on the state to develop a plan to help with staffing and to keep the virus out of facilities. Brad Anderson is the state director for A-A-R-P:
“We have 43% of Iowa nursing homes across the state reporting a workforce shortage,” Anderson says. “That is well above the national average of 28% and so until we deal with the workforce shortage, we’re going to have a very difficult time containing the virus.”
New state guidelines say nursing homes may — as a last resort – have Covid-positive staff care for residents, if the staff wear proper protective equipment.