(Radio Iowa) – Tourism traffic in the Iowa Great Lakes area appears to have rebounded this spring, compared to the second quarter of 2020. Hotel/motel taxes for the city of Arnolds Park this April, May and June were 52% higher than the same period a year ago. Milford saw a 31% increase in hotel/motel tax payments this spring compared to last spring. Rebecca Peters, director of Okoboji Tourism, says she wasn’t surprised by the rebound. “All of our indicators throughout the entire summer and leading up to the summer showed that our businesses were going to have a great season and that we were going to see a big influx of visitors this year,” she says, “so it was nice to see that that all came true.”

The City of Okoboji’s hotel/motel tax revenue for this April, May and June was up 37% from the spring of 2020, however, it’s a few thousand dollars short of the amount collected in the pre-pandemic spring of 2019. Spirit Lake was the only city in corridor to collect more in hotel/motel taxes in the pandemic spring of 2020 compared to 2019.

Photo from the Iowa Great Lakes Association website.

Peters says some of the hotel/motel tax revenue collected by cities surrounding the Great Lakes is used to promote tourism in the area. “But also a lot of the hotel/motel tax revenue goes right back into the city’s general budget so that it can be used for infrastructure to improve our parks, to improve our streets, to help support our police and fire departments,” she says, “so really that money that comes from a lot of our visitors really helps the whole community just thrive.”

At least half of the hotel/motel taxes collected in Arnolds Park are to be used to build, repair, or enlarge recreational, convention, cultural or entertainment facilities.

(Des Moines, Iowa) – The Iowa Department of Public Health, today (Wednesday), released new COVID-19 data. The data shows an 64 additional COVID-19 deaths occurred in the last seven days. The statewide total is now 6,401 since the start of the pandemic. Positive tests over the last 7 days are up 2,421, to 11,588. The 14-day positivity rate is up from 8.9% to 9.1%. The largest age group of positive tests over the last 7 days, are those under the age of 18, at 29%. However, only 7% of those hospitalized are in that age range.

The health department reports 578 Iowans hospitalized with COVID-19, up from 549 on Monday. Those ages 70-79 account for the most hospitalized, at 23%. State data shows 78.3% of those hospitalized with COVID-19 are not fully vaccinated, while 87.3% of those listed in intensive care are not fully vaccinated. Iowa reports 3,374,538 vaccine doses administered in the state, with 64.8% of those 18 and older fully vaccinated. The state reports 67.4% of those 12 and older have had at least one vaccine dose.

There are now 23 long-term care facilities reporting outbreaks, up from 20 at last report.

The Harlan Police Department reports two arrests. On Sunday, 40-year-old Angela Marie Torkse, of Council Bluffs, was arrested following a traffic stop, and charged with OWI, Driving While Suspended, and for having no proof of insurance. And, on Sept. 9th, Harlan Police arrested 53-year-old Brian Alan Sorensen, of Harlan, on an active Shelby County warrant. He was transported to the Shelby County Jail.

(Council Bluffs, Iowa) – The Pottawattamie County Sheriff’s Office reports three recent arrests. A little before 4-a.m. today (Wednesday), 36-year-old Mathew Allen Pokorny, of Omaha, was arrested following a traffic stop, after a Deputy noticed a 2014 Hyundai Sonata traveling 93 mph in a 55 mph construction zone on I-29. Following the traffic stop, Pokorny was arrested for Operating While Intoxicated 2^nd Offense. His bond was set at $2,000.

Tuesday afternoon, 54-year-old Michael Dwayne Weaver, of Council Bluffs, was arrested in Council Bluffs, for being a Fugitive from Justice. And, late Monday morning, 57-year-old Cary Kallhoff was arrested, after Deputies were dispatched to the 13900 block of Wabash Avenue, where two males were involved in a disturbance, and one of the men had struck the other. Kallhoff was charged with Assault Causing Bodily Injury or Mental Illness.

(Atlantic, Iowa) – Willow Heights, a 43-bed private, non-profit Residential Care Facility (RCF) on Atlantic’s southwest side, is closing, with officials working to find suitable housing for its residents, who are 18 and older, and unable to live independently because mental illness, intellectual disability, a pattern of substance abuse or other disabling conditions. The nearly 50-year old building, which is leased and run by Partnership for Progress, Inc., is owned by Cass County. It first opened as a County Care Facility in about 1973, and was privately leased to a non-profit agency in the early 1990’s.

Willow Heights RCF (photo via Partnership for Progress)

Cass County Board of Supervisors Chair Steve Baier told KJAN the news did not come as a complete surprise to him.

He says the model for mental health care is changing, and the funding streams for large settings such as Willow Heights, is not what it used to be. The finances are a lot better, he said, if those clients are placed in houses, but it’s not without a certain level of risk.

Baier says he doesn’t know what will become of the facility, what the property might be used for, or even if the County wants to continue to own property of that size. He said it’s a good, solid building, and has received consistent upgrades and a new roof.

Suzanne Watson, CEO & Director of Southwest Iowa Mental Health Disability Services (MH/DS) Region, based in Council Bluffs, told KJAN News SWIMS will be working closely with Willow Heights to find placement for the affected clients in Atlantic and surrounding communities. They hope to make it an easy transition for them as possible.

She said while in most of the cases where RCF’s are closing is simply due to downsizing from larger to smaller settings, the current employment situation in Iowa and across the country is another factor.

She said the main thing she wants people to know, is that Willow Heights residents will not be homeless and left to fend for themselves. KJAN News reached out to Willow Heights Administrator Julie Steffen for additional details on exactly when the RCF will close, but had not heard back as of the time of this post.