Officials with the Pottawattamie County Department of Public Health, today (Thursday), confirmed a third presumptive positive case of COVID-19. The results are from a female resident of Council Bluffs, age 41-to 60, who has no pre-existing medical conditions, and HAS had recent travel on a cruise ship. The individual is currently self-isolating at home.

The woman returned from a cruise March 16th and chose to immediately self-quarantine at home. Health officials say there is therefor No Risk to the public. The second presumptive positive case (as previously mentioned) was a man 41-to 60 years of age, who is currently in stable condition at the UNMC.

Pott. County Public Health wants to make the following terms clear:

Monitoring: Monitoring for fever by taking temperature twice a day and remaining alert for respiratory symptoms (Cough, shortness of breath, sore throat).

Quarantine: Separates and restricts the movement of people who were exposed to a contagious disease to see if they become sick.

Isolation: Separates sick people with a contagious disease from people who are not sick.

You are urged to continue practicing Social distancing efforts, along with vigilant excellent hygiene and disinfectant practices, every day.

(Radio Iowa) — A natural disaster like a tornado often brings out crooks promising to do home repairs on the cheap who promptly vanish with the downpayment. Coronavirus is no different. Pella’s interim police chief, Lieutenant Paul Haase, says they’ve taken multiple calls from people reporting scams and phishing attempts that all relate back to the pandemic.

“There has been reports of door-to-door testing and people offering to come to your door and test you for COVID-19 for a small fee,” Haase says. “A lot of these are just designed to get people to give out banking information, personal information.” Haase says the scammers can be very persistent.

“The people are very good at what they do. They’re manipulative. They’ll trick people,” Haase says. “Don’t send them any money. Call the police department and say, ‘Hey, can you walk me through this situation?'” A familiar scam involves a phone call from someone claiming to be a grandchild who’s in trouble and needs money in a hurry. Haase says it’s difficult to catch someone pulling that type of telephone scam and it’s almost impossible to get money back once you’ve sent it.

Haase says, “They prey on people that want to look out for their loved ones and will fool them into sending that money in by pressuring them to do it right now, before they have a chance to think about it.” The bottom line is to avoid anyone who asks for money, Haase says, and don’t give money to someone you haven’t contacted first.

Report suspected fraud by calling the National Center for Disaster Fraud Hotline at 866-720-5721.

A woman from Red Oak was arrested at around 8:45-a.m. today (Thursday). Red Oak Police say 49-year old Shelby JoAnn Olivares was taken into custody and transported to the Montgomery County Jail, where her bond was set at $300.

The Cass County Treasurer’s and Recorders’ Offices report that effective tomorrow (Friday, March 27th), personnel with both offices will no longer meet customers on a face-to-face basis. There is a drop box outside the courthouse door (with instructions) for you to leave information or documents. For any specific needs or instructions, please call one of the respective offices:

Treasurer: 712-243-2975

Recorder: 712-243-1692.

(12-p.m. News)

The Cass County Sheriff’s Office reports four arrests. Today (Thursday), 22-year old Emily Christine Garside, of Lewis, was arrested on a felony charge of Child Endangerment. Garside was released with a pending court date. On Tuesday, 43-year old Jason Richard Tasto, of Atlantic, was arrested for Violation of No Contact Order. Tasto was taken to the Cass County Jail and released the following day on his own recognizance.

Last Sunday, Cass County Deputies arrested 59-year old Daryl D Armstrong, of Anita, for Domestic Abuse/1st Offense. Armstrong was released with a pending court date. And, last Saturday, 20-year old Kadin Michael Schoenfeld, of Atlantic, was arrested for felony Eluding, and a serious misdemeanor charge of OWI 1st Offense. Schoenfeld was taken to the Cass County Jail and released the following day on his own recognizance.

DES MOINES – The Iowa Department of Public Health (IDPH) today (Thursday) said it has been notified of 34 additional positive cases of Iowans with COVID-19, for a total of 179 positive cases. There have been a total of 2,975 negative tests to date, which includes testing reported by the State Hygienic Lab and other labs.

According to IDPH, the locations and age ranges of the 34 individuals include:

Appanoose County, 1 elderly adult (81+)
Black Hawk County, 1 middle-age adult (18-40 years)
Cedar County, 1 middle-age (18-40 years), 1 older (61-80 years), 1 elderly (81+)
Clayton County, 1 adult (18-40 years)
Des Moines County, 1 adult (18-40 years)
Jasper County, 1 elderly (81+)
Johnson County, 1 adult (18-40 years), 4 middle-aged adults (41-60 years), 1 older (61-80 years)
Linn County, 1 adult (18-40 years), 3 middle-aged adults (41-60 years), 1 older adult (61-80 years)
Mahaska County, 1 older adult (61-80 years)
Monona County, 1 older adult (61-80 years)
Page County, 1 middle-aged adult (41-60 years)
Polk County, 1 adult (18-40 years), 2 middle-aged (41-60 years), 1 older (61-80 years)
Pottawattamie County, 1 middle-aged adult (41-60 years)
Scott County, 1 elderly, 3 middle-aged (41-60 years)
Sioux County, 1 older adult (61-80 years)
Washington County, 2 older adults (61-80 years)

Riverside School District Superintendent Dr. Tim Mitchell reports, the District will distribute school meals on Monday March 30th. All children Birth to 18 years of age will receive enough food to have 5 Breakfasts and 5 Lunches for the week. Mitchell says this past week, they served 375 meals last Monday and Tuesday.  Approximately 490 meals will be available next week. Mitchell says “We are doing everything we can to meet the demand.”

Meals are available at four distribution points each school day from 9:00 AM until 11:00 AM.  If someone wants a meal delivered, please call 712-249-7312 and meals can be delivered to the home. This is a “Grab and Go Service”. Menus will consist of a fully reimbursable meal.

Once again, the four distribution centers are:

• Oakland Elementary School-Door F-East Door on North Side of Building
• Riverside Middle/High School-Front Doors
• Carson Elementary School-Door C on West side of building
• Post Office in Macedonia on Main Street-School Vehicle will be park on Main Street

After Monday March 30th, the next Distribution Date for Meals will be Monday April 6th.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Lottery jackpots are going to shrink as the coronavirus pandemic tamps down lottery sales. The group that oversees the Powerball game announced Wednesday night that it would cut minimum jackpots in half, from $40 million to $20 million, after there is a winner of the current big prize. The jackpot also could grow more slowly, with minimum increases of $2 million instead of the normal $10 million after each twice-weekly drawing.

The other national lottery game in the United States, Mega Millions, is considering a similar move. The move by Powerball won’t affect the current $160 million jackpot.

(Radio Iowa) -The largest emergency aid package in U-S history, worth two-point-two trillion dollars, unanimously passed the U-S Senate last (Wednesday) night. Iowa Senator Joni Ernst says the Senate “stepped up in this time of crisis and delivered critical relief.” The package is dubbed the CARES Act, for Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security. Ernst, a Republican from Red Oak, says it includes 12-hundred dollar checks for individuals. “Secretary (of the Treasury Steven) Mnuchin was very adamant about making sure that Americans are seeing relief as soon as possible,” Ernst says. “To get those checks out, direct assistance from the federal government, we want to see those checks going out in a matter of weeks, not months.”

In addition to the individual checks, the package includes 130-billion dollars to hospitals and 367-billion in loans and grants to businesses. The U-S House is expected to take up the measure on Friday. “By getting the bill passed and signed into law by the president, that’s just the first step,” Ernst says. “We have a lot of agencies that will be working with the additional monies and additional requirements on programs. They will have to bear that burden as we move forward.”

Ernst is urging House members to quickly approve the measure so the massive and complicated process of sending out hundreds of billions of dollars can begin to jump-start the economy in the midst of the pandemic. She says it will be an enormous undertaking involving multiple federal departments. “We are going to be working very hard with those agencies to make sure that Americans are seeing relief as soon as possible,” Ernst says. “I don’t want to be a ‘Debbie Downer,’ I want to be very optimistic. I know they are working as hard as they can to get those dollars out the door once the package is signed, but Americans need to understand, relief is on the way.”

Iowa Senator Chuck Grassley issued a statement last night: “This health crisis is quickly becoming an economic crisis. This bipartisan legislation rapidly delivers recovery checks to help individuals and families cover their immediate expenses. It also helps businesses of all sizes keep employees on the payroll throughout the crisis and ensures that those who are furloughed or laid off have access to beefed up unemployment insurance. The bill also provides a much-needed infusion of cash to our health care professionals who are fighting the pandemic on the front lines.”

The Mills County Sheriff’s Office reports one arrest. At around 2:20-p.m. Wednesday, 40-year old Brian James Johnson, Jr., of Plattsmouth, NE, was arrested at the Polk County Jail in Des Moines, on a Mills County warrant for two counts of Violation of Probation. His bond was set at $20,000.