Nick Johnson, Public Information Officer (PIO) for the Mills County Emergency Management Agency, said Friday, that on Thursday, April 9th, Mills County officials received notification through Iowa Homeland Security Emergency Management Division (HSEMD) that the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) had approved Mills County’s application through the Hazard Mitigation Grant Program (HMGP).

The approval is the next step in the buyout process for those individuals in the unincorporated area of Mills County that were affected by the 2019 flood.Property owners that signed up and were included in the application will be notified in the coming weeks by the Mills County Auditor’s Office.

Johnson says “As we enter into the next step of the process, property owners should anticipate a thirty to forty-five day time frame to receive an official offer to purchase.”

CORALVILLE – The Iowa Dept. of Corrections reports officials were informed Friday by a Correction Officer at the Iowa Medical and Classification Center, that their results from a COVID-19 test came back positive.  The department has implemented pre-established action steps and procedures for identifying COVID-19 contacts with staff and offenders and quarantining those exposed. The department is taking every appropriate measure to ensure that the impact on staff and inmates can be mitigated as much as possible.

The “adult” officer (age 18-40) began experiencing symptoms between Wednesday, April 8 and Thursday, April 9, and consulted with their medical provider who told them to take a test for COVID-19. The last day they were at work was Wednesday, April 8, which is when symptoms began to be present.

The officer is currently at home recovering. The department posts regular updates, as well as other information such as the steps the department has been taking to mitigate the impacts of COVID-19 on at doc.iowa.gov/covid19.

At this point, the department has not had any inmates test positive for COVID-19.

In a statement released late Friday evening, Mills County Public Health officials said they were notified a second case of COVID-19 was confirmed in Mills County. The person is a female, between the ages of 41-60, and is self-isolating. Mills County Public Health is conducting contact tracing investigation for this case to identify close contacts who should monitor their health symptoms and self-isolate. There is no additional general public guidance that would result from providing more information about the specific case.

Iowa Code states, “A report or other information provided to or maintained by the department, a local board, or a local department, which identifies a person infected with or exposed to a reportable or other disease or health condition, is confidential and shall not be accessible to the public.” ALL residents are urged to stay home as much as possible, stay away from groups of people and maintain a 6-foot distance from other individuals.

Officials say “This is needed by everyone, regardless of a confirmed case, because we know there is community spread of COVID-19 throughout the country and Iowa. We remind all residents to continue to practice social distancing, wash your hands frequently with soap and water for at least 20 seconds, cover coughs and sneezes with a tissue or elbow/upper arm and stay at home when you are ill.”

SIOUX CITY, Iowa (Sioux City Journal) — A Nebraska man who intentionally rammed an Iowa police officer’s car has been sentenced to 20 years in prison. Thirty-year-old Douglas St. Cyr, of Winnebago, Nebraska, was sentenced Friday for his actions in July in Sioux City. Prosectors say officers were trying to arrest St. Cyr on an outstanding warrant and had his car boxed in, when he intentionally rammed into the undercover officer’s car. The officer fired one shot at St. Cyr’s car. Cyr, who was not hit, tried to flee on foot but was arrested. He was found guilty last month of assault on a police officer and three other counts.

The Audubon County Sheriff’s Office has released the names of two men who died during in the crash of a helicopter, March 31st. Both men were from Minnesota. The pilot was identified as 30 year old, Ryan Doolittle of Minneapolis, Minnesota, originally from California, and the passenger was identified as 23 year old, Benjamin Peterson of Marshall, Minnesota, originally from Des Moines. Peterson was employed by Western EcoSystem Tech and they were performing an aerial wildlife survey of raptor nests in the area when the accident occurred.

Authorities were notified about the crash at approximately 4:27-p.m. March 31st. The accident happened in the area of 240th and Robin, and involved a 2004 R44 Raven II, 4-passenger helicopter, registered to MN Helicopters, Inc of Sioux Falls, South Dakota and leased by Ride the Sky Helicopters, Inc. also of Sioux Falls, South Dakota. Witnesses said the copter hit some powerlines before falling to the ground and bursting into flames.

The investigation is ongoing with the FAA and NTSB.