(Radio Iowa) — The state’s bars and casinos are still waiting to get the okay from the governor to reopen after restrictions were lifted on restaurants and many other businesses. Iowa Racing and Gaming administrator Brian Ohorilko says the 19 state-licensed casinos will follow a thoughtful, slow process when they are given the green light. “It’s not just a situation where when they can open that we’ll see the doors spring open and lots of people come in and we’re back to how things used to be that will certainly not be the case,” Ohorilko says.

Ohorilko says he expects there will be limits on how many people will be allowed at each property. “So customers may not be able to touch the cards as much as they used to, we’ll see seating removed to promote social distancing,” he explains. Buffet meals have been a staple at the casinos and he says they will likely have a new look too. “Many of the food and beverage outlets, I do not believe we’ll see customers being able to get their own food like you would see at a normal buffet,” Ohorilko says.

The casinos saw thousands of customers come through their doors every day before they were shut down.

Creston Police report the arrest on Friday morning, of 27-year old Miah Lynn Caron. The Belton, IA woman, was taken into custody on a Montgomery County warrant for Probation Violation. Caron was turned over to Montgomery County Deputies.

And, a Creston woman residing in the 600 block of Grand Avenue, reported Friday, that sometime between 10-a.m. and Noon that day, someone stole a B.F. Goodrich 275 R 16 tire and rim from her property. The loss was estimated at $180.

AMES, Iowa – May 18, 2020 – The development of a long-range plan for public transit in Iowa is nearly complete. This plan supports the current state transportation plan, Iowa In Motion 2045, and will provide input into the future development of Iowa in Motion 2050. The intent of these efforts is to efficiently plan and manage resources for an effective statewide public transit system within Iowa’s multi-modal transportation system.

A key part of the plan update is collecting public input. Stakeholder and public feedback have been considered throughout the planning process and is being sought once more to help refine the final draft of the Iowa Public Transit Long-Range Plan.

A copy of the Plan can be reviewed at https://iowadot.gov/iowainmotion/Modal-Plans/Public-Transit-Plan. Any comments, feedback, or input can be submitted by following the instructions found at the top of the webpage. The public comment period is open now through Wednesday, July 1.

Once the public comment period concludes, the feedback will be considered and incorporated into the plan. The plan will then be presented to the Iowa Transportation Commission prior to its final publication. For questions, please contact the Systems Planning Bureau, Iowa Department of Transportation, 800 Lincoln Way, Ames, Iowa 50010, telephone 515-239-1520, email Iowa.Motion@iowadot.us.

(Radio Iowa) — An expert on insects says there’s no evidence so-called “murder hornets” are in Iowa and it’s entirely possible they’ll -never- buzz this far inland. Donald Lewis, an extension entomologist at Iowa State University, prefers to use the wasp’s proper name, Vespa mandarinia, or the Asian giant hornet. “That’s the official name,” Lewis says. “It was a good enough name in its home country of Japan. It should’ve been a good enough name here, but it got called something else which tends to add a little alarmism to the whole process.”

Vespa Mandarinia (AKA the “Murder Hornet”)

The hornets were found in recent months in Washington state and in British Columbia, Canada in very small numbers and their nests were quickly destroyed. “The possibility of the Asian giant hornet in Iowa is very slim,” Lewis says. “There’s a long history of insects finding their way to the North American continent and establishing and becoming invasive species. The chances for this one are slim but it’s worth watching.” The hornets got their murderous nickname because they can brutally wipe out honey bee colonies by decapitating the smaller, beneficial insects. About a dozen people -are- killed by the giant hornets every year in Japan, while in the U-S, about 50 people die every year from getting stung by various insects.

In addition to being the world’s largest hornet at up to two inches long, their coloring is very distinctive. “This is a huge wasp and it’s typical of all wasps with an elongated, slender body,” Lewis says. “They have four wings. The abdomen has a black-and-orange stripe. The head is orange, but the eyes are very black, which makes the eyes very prominent.”  For the most part, if you don’t mess with the hornet, it won’t mess with you, Lewis says, but it will attack if provoked and its sting can be very painful and potentially fatal. If you encounter one, he says the best defense is simply to steer clear.

(Radio Iowa) — Almost 400-thousand Iowans have asked for an absentee ballot for the June 2nd Primary and early voting for the primary is likely to set an all-time record. Secretary of State Paul Pate, the state’s commissioner of elections, says “People have listened and they heard. They got the message: let’s vote safe, let’s vote from home right now.”  His office mailed absentee ballot request forms to every registered Iowa voter, encouraging Iowans to ask their county auditor for the vote-by-mail option rather than in-person voting on Primary Day.  “I think the pandemic has put a much stronger emphasis on voting,” Pate says. “People are at home. They’re paying attention to what the government’s doing.” we’re going to probably be a record, if not already, as far as primaries go.”

The deadline for requesting an absentee ballot is Friday at 5 p.m. Officials suggest any request sent through the U.S. Postal Service should be mailed today (Monday) to ensure it gets to the county auditor on time. Polk County Auditor Jamie Fitzgerald says in Iowa’s largest county, an average of about nine-thousand people typically ask for an absentee ballot for a Primary. His office has already processed 10-thousand requests.  “And we still have 54,000 requests,” Fitzgerald says. While there will be in-person voting available on Primary day, election officials like Fitzgerald are encouraging Iowans to use this vote-at-home option. “We are in the pandemic,” Fitzgerald says. “You have people now that are voting safely, making sure they don’t spread the virus.”

Pate says Iowa National Guard soldiers distributed personal protective equipment and cleaning supplies to county auditors last week that will be used by poll workers at precinct voting sites on June 2nd. Each voting booth will be cleaned between uses. Some counties plan to offer voters gloves. In Polk County, each Primary Day voter will be given their own pen to use and take with them after they cast their ballot. “We want Iowans to be able to vote,” Pate says. “We want them to be able to vote safely and we want our poll workers to be safe.” Fitzgerald says in Polk County — and most others — the number of precincts have been reduced, to ensure there’s enough space inside for social distancing and to make sure there are enough poll workers. “I don’t want to wake up like they did in Wisconsin and find out that 400 people have quit, so we’re constantly training,” Fitzgerald says. “We’re constantly talking to our poll workers.”

Pate predicts as many as 70 percent of ballots cast in the June Primary, however, will be absentee ballots. He says Iowans can track their absentee ballots on www.voterready.iowa.gov. “When the auditor’s office receives your request it’ll show that. It’ll show when the auditor sends (the absentee ballot) out. It’ll show when it got back to the auditor’s office, Pate says, “so you know it got there.”

The two election officials made their comments this weekend on the “Iowa Press” program on Iowa P-B-S. They both are urging Iowans voting by mail to avoid a common mistake — and remember to sign and date the ballot.