Creston Police report 50-year old Lisa Kay Foster, of Creston, was arrested recently. Foster was taken into custody at her home, on a charge of Harassment in the 1st Degree. She was later released from custody on a $2,000 cash or surety bond.

The latest (24-hour) data from the Iowa Department of Public Health’s Coronavirus website show there were seven more deaths from COVID-19 over the past 24-hours, and 493 additional, Positive cases of the virus. That brings the total number of deaths to-date to 701, and the total number of Positive cases to 27,555. Health officials report of the persons who died from COVID-19, 492 had preexisting health conditions, while 6,954 of those who tested Positive also have preexisting conditions. The state set a new record for testing on Thursday, with 7,111 test results returned. Officials say 17,140 Iowans have recovered from the virus. Of the 282, 013 tests completed, 252,080 persons tested Negative.

The last seven days of data show an increase in positive cases in the state, with approximately 500 more positive cases in the last week. Overall, positive cases are still down, or relatively flat, from an apparent high reported around May 6. Iowa’s death rate from COVID-19 continues to show a steady decline since late May. The number of Long-Term Care facility (LTC) outbreaks continue to decline, with the COVID-19 website currently showing 26. Among Staff/clients of those facilities across the State, 813 have tested Positive for the virus, 476 have recovered, and 360 have died.

In hospitalization data, the State show: 141 are currently in a hospital for treatment of COVID-19; 42 are in an ICU; 18 were admitted over the past 24-hours, and 24 are on a ventilator. In southwest/western Iowa RMCC Region 4; One person was admitted to a hospital, for a total of six; two are still in an ICU, and one person remains on a ventilator.

Audubon County reports 16 positive cases of COVID-19, one more than on Thursday. Guthrie County also has one new case, for a total of 64. In Shelby County, four more people out of the 97 total reported yesterday, have recovered from the virus. Pottawattamie County’s numbers continue to show modest increases, with 655 cases Positive, and 457 recovered.

There are no changes to the number of positive cases and the number of persons recovered, in Cass, Adair, Adams and Montgomery Counties.

(Radio Iowa) – The Grandview Park bandshell is the latest Sioux City landmark defaced by vandals and a suspect was arrested on the scene. The damage was discovered early Thursday morning. Graffiti was spray-painted in the bandshell and along the front and sides of it. Kelly Bach (BOCK), of the city parks department, says repairs won’t be cheap. “Bandshell paint is a special paint that’s like a two-part epoxy,” Bach says. “Because of the nature of the construction, it’s over concrete so you can’t just use regular latex paint. Also, the removal is a little more difficult because of that paint.” 

Bach says it won’t be a quick fix, either, as another nearby area of Grandview Park was also damaged. “It may be a little longer process than normal but we will get that removed as quickly as we can,” he says. “We also have some spots on the concrete within the Rose Garden and that will have to be high-pressure washed with some heat to it to get that removed.”

Bach’s reaction to the damage was like most people’s would be as he surveyed what the vandals had done. “It’s disappointing but we’ll move on,” he says. “We’ll take care of what we need to do.” He says it’s too early for a total estimate on what the repairs will cost. Police report officers found a man hiding in the park who matched the description of a witness as one of the vandals. Officers arrested 23-year-old Esteven A. Avila of Sioux City, for criminal mischief and possession of a controlled substance.

Earlier this week, vandals painted racist graffiti on a building leading to the War Eagle Monument, an area that’s considered sacred in the Native American community as War Eagle and several members of his family are buried there.

A traffic stop in Red Oak, Thursday evening, resulted in the arrest of 35-year old Samantha Jolene Zimbelman, from Red Oak. She was taken into custody for Driving While License Suspended, a simple misdemeanor. Zimbelman was brought to the Montgomery County Jail and held on $566 bond.