(Radio Iowa) – Senator Joni Ernst says she is skeptical about the number of Covid cases and deaths being reported in the United States. During an interview with The Waterloo Courier, Ernst said: “That should be discussed because I heard the same thing on the news traveling across the state today is that they’re thinking there may be 10,000 deaths or less that were actually singularly Covid-19,” Ernst told the newspaper. “Now, no doubt that there are deaths and it creates complications with those that have other illnesses certainly, but those that are just attributable to Covid-19, I’m just really curious. It would be interesting to know that.”

President Trump recently tweeted about the lower Covid death count Ernst is citing. White House Coronavirus Task Force member Dr. Anthony Fauci said yesterday (Tuesday) it is accurate to say more than 180-thousand Americans have died of Covid-19 since the pandemic began. Ernst spoke with Waterloo Courtier reporter Amie Rivers after meeting with a crowd on a farm in rural Waterloo. Ernst suggested in remarks to the crowd that coronavirus counts may be inflated by the health care industry, due to higher reimbursement rates for care of Covid patients.

“I can’t actually look at that information, but I have heard it from health care providers that they do get reimbursed higher amounts if it’s a Covid-related illness or death, so because of the additional expense for PPE and the treatment that might be necessary for Covid-19,” Ernst said.

Radio Iowa has asked the Iowa Hospital Association and the state’s largest private insurer for comment on Ernst’s assertion. A spokesperson for the state has not replied to questions about whether the government’s reimbursement rates for Medicaid patient care are higher if the patient has Covid compared to some other illness.

The Audubon County Sheriff’s Office says they have received numerous reports of individuals stealing campaign signs out of residential yards. The Sheriff’s Department asks all members of the community to understand it’s an election year. Respect each other’s rights to express their political affiliation freely, and respect others’ property. Lastly, they advise you to remember that taking property from somebody else is theft and you could be charged.

The Union County Sheriff’s Office reports one arrest and one accident took place recently. Late Tuesday morning, 34-year old Michael Edward Baker, of Creston, was arrested at the Union County Law Enforcement Center on two Union County warrants for probation violation. Baker was released from the Union County Jail on $4,000 bond.

And, at around 3:20-p.m. Saturday, a 2010 Honda Civic driven by 65-year old Dorthea Raue Ellis, of Murray, was traveling northbound on Yellow Rose Avenue in Union County, when the vehicle went out of control on the gravel, just south of 130th Street. The car entered the west ditch and rolled onto its passenger side. The damage was estimated at $3,500. Ellis – who wearing her seat belt – was extricated from her vehicle by mechanical means. She complained of pain, but was not treated at the scene or transported to a hospital.

The Creston Police Department reports two men were arrested on separate charges, Tuesday. 43-year old Ronald Spurgin, of Osceola, was arrested at the Union County Law Enforcement Center (LEC) on a Union County Warrant for Failure to serve jail time as ordered, on the original charge of Violation of a No Contact Order. He was being held in the Union County Jail to serve balance of sentence. And, 43-year old Travis Wambold, of Fontanelle, was arrested at the Union County LEC on a Union County Warrant for Violation of Probation, on the original charge of Harassment 1st . He was being held in the Union County Jail on a $500 bond.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — A longtime special education teacher with Des Moines Public Schools has died of complications from the coronavirus. District spokesman Phil Roeder said the teacher at the Ruby Van Meter School for intellectually disabled students fell ill after an out-of-state trip and died this week. He did not release the teacher’s name or gender for privacy reasons.

The death is believed to be among the first of an Iowa educator during the pandemic. A 73-year-old gym teacher at Iowa City Regina High School died in April, and the state’s coronavirus website lists only one known death of an educator. Roeder said the teacher had not been in the classroom for several months.