(Radio Iowa) — During a debate last (Thursday) night, Congressman Steve King and his four challengers in the Republican primary for Iowa’s 4th district congressional seat talked about trying to move the country forward from the COVID-19 pandemic. King says President Trump was put in a bad situation in responding to the pandemic.  “I do think we’ve gone a little overboard with that. I think we’ve gone past the point of diminishing returns and it’s time to get this country back to work.” King says the United States needs to hold China and the World Health Organization accountable with a comprehensive review of the origins of coronavirus while gathering testing data in an attempt to reopen the economy. “We need to do more, and one of those things is to gather all the demographic data for everyone who has tested positive so that we can identify if you were pre-existing condition the outcomes for each of them so we can go on a database with the query and identify what are risks are to give ourselves the courage to go out into the public again and get this nation rolling again economically.”

State Senator Randy Feenstra of Hull praised the job done by President Trump and Governor Reynolds. “It’s such a difficult situation that we’re living through right now, but we have to continue to get on with life. We have to continue to have an economy. We have to continue to have life. It’s our responsibility that we have to make sure we watch for those who are vulnerable and help those out. We have to help our neighbors.”  Feenstra says he doesn’t want healthcare workers to rely on foreign-made personal protective equipment. “I think we have to buy America and build America. PPE should be made in America. We have to embrace America because this is a great place.”

Steve Reeder, a commercial real estate broker from Arnolds Park, says Trump and Reynolds were put between a rock and a hard place, but the COVID-19 curve is flattening and the hospitals aren’t overwhelmed with coronavirus cases. “We know that this virus is more contagious than the flu, but it’s not harming that many more people right now. We just have to protect our elderly and those who have a compromised immune system. It’s now up to people to take personal responsibility and move on with their lives and not live in fear or reliance on government.” Reeder wants to see businesses and schools move forward to get the economy back on track. He accused Democratic governors of using draconian measures and does not want to see contact tracing of COVID patients.  “These liberals are taking advantage of a crisis and those are things I will protect, our U.S. Constitution. I don’t want to see this contact tracing or anything along those lines.”

Former Woodbury County Supervisor Jeremy Taylor thanked Trump for ordering meat packing plants to stay open but Congress has stalled in helping out producers.  “We are in a real struggle. I just heard yesterday from a producer who said, ‘Where is Congress right now?’ We need to make sure there’s a sense of urgency. We have producers that are euthanizing their hogs. We have those who need direct help.” Taylor blasted House Democratic leaders for last week passing a $3 trillion bill that wasn’t all about pandemic relief.  “Where is the U.S. House? The U.S. House is under the so-called leadership of Nancy Pelosi, is implementing elements of the New Green Deal that have nothing to do with getting back on their feet. We need to have direct assistance to those so that we have not only our food supply chain but also the long-term health and safety of the American people.”

Former Irwin Mayor Bret Richards says there’s always lessons to be learned after situations like pandemics. “We look at the governors around the country. There’s some governors that did a great job, and some governors that did not. That’s the beauty of our system. We have 50 experiments out there to see how we can best address this. Any problem actually, whether it be this, our budgets, how does each state do that better.” Richards says one of the positives of the pandemic was deregulation. “CMS actually came out and they waived a bunch of regulations, especially with telemedicine. A dermatologist told me it works great for them because their patients don’t have to take off time, to get off work to wait in their office. The doctor can get on and say ‘I can see what your problem is….’. One thing that shows is how complicated government makes it, and it doesn’t need to be that way.”

The debate was sponsored by KGLO Radio and the Cerro Gordo County Republicans.

(Radio Iowa) — Three of the candidates seeking the Democratic Party’s U.S. Senate nomination took aim at perceived front-runner Theresa Greenfield during the final T-V forum before the June primary. Michael Franken, a retired Navy Vice Admiral from Sioux City, brought up the Senate Majority PAC which has spent more than six MILLION dollars on ads supporting Greenfield’s candidacy. “Enormous amounts of outside money, manipulating the voters’ thought processes. We should stop this. There should be an outcry. This is a travesty,” Franken said. Greenfield interrupted: “You know what? Unfortunately, the thing you haven’t done that I have done is build the strongest grassroots team across this state and I am thrilled to have 70,000 union members endorse my campaign.”

Greenfield says she has no control over outside groups campaigning on her behalf and she accused Franken and her other competitors of reciting Republican talking points. Des Moines businessman Eddie Mauro accused Greenfield of being “well coached.” “The problem with this race that we have and I know we’re supposed to be ‘Iowa Nice’ right now, but we need to be honest and genuine with people,” Mauro said, “and you can’t tell people, smile at people and tell them you aren’t taking corporate PAC money,” Mauro said. Greenfield was quick to respond. “I haven’t taken one dime of corporate PAC money and I’m not going to,” Greenfield said.

“And I believe ‘dark money’ groups should disclose who is donating to their ‘dark money’ groups and how they’re influencing our campaigns.” Candidate Kimberly Graham, an attorney from Indianola, says Greenfield has accepted more than a 150-thousand dollars in campaign donations from people who are corporate lobbyists. “I guess I would just ask why that was necessary and why that money couldn’t have been refused,” Graham said.

Greenfield’s campaign has announced raising one-and-a-half million dollars, with contributions from more than 15-thousand Iowans in all 99 counties. Last night’s 90-minute debate was broadcast on WHO-TV in Des Moines. It was the third debate this week among the four Democratic candidates who hope to face Republican Iowa Senator Joni Ernst in November.

A traffic stop at around midnight Thursday in Red Oak, resulted in the arrest of an Adams County man. Red Oak Police say 18-year old Treynor Michael Dixon, of Corning, was taken into custody for OWI/1st offense. He was being held in the Montgomery County Jail on $1,000 bond.

Here is the latest Iowa news from The Associated Press at 3:30 a.m. CDT

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds is expanding the state’s coronavirus testing program to include anyone who believes they need a test. Reynolds says additional testing is important as more Iowans return to work. She said Thursday Iowans can go to the TestIowa website and fill out the assessment. Previously the state restricted testing to essential workers. Reynolds on Wednesday announced the opening of movie theaters, museums and zoos on Friday and bars next week. The state posted 19 additional deaths Thursday boosting the state total to 400 and recorded more than 400 new positive cases in the last 24 hours.

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Federal recommendations meant to keep meatpacking workers safe as they return to plants that were shuttered by the coronavirus have little enforcement muscle behind them. That is fueling anxiety that working conditions could put employees’ lives at risk. Extensive guidance issued last month by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention calls for meatpacking companies to erect physical barriers, enforce social distancing and install more hand-sanitizing stations, among other steps. But the guidance is not mandatory. OSHA’s general guidance plainly says the recommendations are advisory and not a regulation or a new legal obligation.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Fewer people filed for unemployment last week in Iowa compared to the week prior, but remained historically elevated as the country deals with the economic fallout of coronavirus pandemic. A report released Thursday the by U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics showed 13,040 new claims filed between May 10 and May 16. That was drop from the previous week, when 16,735 people filed unemployment claims in Iowa. Officials say more than 187,000 have filed for unemployment since the outbreak began, and nearly $51 million in unemployment insurance benefits has been paid out. Those industries with the most claims last week included manufacturing, which saw nearly 4,700 claims, health care and social assistance, with 1,216 claims and retail, with 827.

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — A new survey of bankers in rural parts of 10 Plains and Western states inched upward in May from April’s record low, but still remained profoundly low as efforts to stop the spread of COVID-19 wreaked havoc on the rural economy. The overall index for the region rose slightly to 12.5 from April’s record low of 12.1. Any score below 50 suggests a shrinking economy. Creighton University economist Ernie Goss says nearly three of every four bankers surveyed reported restructuring farm loans to deal with weak farm income. Bankers from Colorado, Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, South Dakota and Wyoming were surveyed.

Two people in a semi tractor trailer were said to have been injured during a collision with a pickup truck Thursday evening on I-80, near Marne. According to dispatch reports, the accident happened at around 4:31-p.m. at mile marker 53 of I-80 eastbound. Traffic was flowing at last report, albeit slowly and at times, stop-and-go.

Marne Fire and Rescue, Atlantic Fire and Rescue, Medivac Ambulance, the Cass County Sheriff’s Office and Iowa State Patrol responded to the scene. As of 5:30-p.m., emergency crews were still on the scene conducting traffic control.

Additional information is not available.

Here’s the latest COVID-19 information from some of the area Public Health Departments (Some counties have stopped reporting their data, since much of it is available on the State COVID-19 dashboard):

Cass County:

• 308 tested
• 6 positive
• 284 negative
• 18 pending test results
• “At this point, there is community based spread throughout Iowa and surrounding states, and Cass County is no exception to that. While we understand there is a great deal of curiosity and anxiety about the source of COVID-19 cases, the bottom line is that regardless of where the cases originated, we all have to understand that the virus is here in our county. We encourage everyone to practice social distancing, frequent hand washing or sanitizing, wearing masks as a considerate gesture to those around you, and staying home as much as possible.”

Adair County: 6 positive cases; 2 recovered/

Adams County: 3 positive cases

Audubon County: 11 positive, 8 recovered.

Dallas County: 816 positive, 494 recovered.

Fremont County: 4 & 2

Guthrie County: 42 positive, 27 recovered.

Harrison County: 18 & 17

Madison County: 21 positive, 11 recovered.

Montgomery County: 5 positive, 5 recovered

Page County: 10 & 9

Shelby County: 27 & 22.

Taylor County: 5 & 1.

Union County: 4 & 1

Mills County:

• 1 new confirmed case (an adult, 41-to 60 years of age who contracted the virus through a known exposure to COVID-19 symptomatic person.)
• 14 total confirmed cases
• 11 recovered cases
• 546 tested.

Pottawattamie County:

On May 21, Pottawattamie County Public Health (PCPH) reports 10 new COVID-19 cases. Nine of the individuals are residents of Council Bluffs and one is from Carter Lake. Three of the cases are 18-40 years old, four are 41-60 years old, and three are elderly adults (81>). These individuals were tested between May 18 and May 19. Thus far, 2,421 Pottawattamie County residents have been tested for COVID-19, and a total of 199 have tested positive. An additional four people have recovered, bringing the total of recoveries to 100. Currently, six individuals are hospitalized and 86 individuals are self-isolating. Based on PCPH contact tracing investigations, a total of 61 Pottawattamie County COVID-19 cases are the result of community spread.