The Montgomery County Board of Supervisors will begin re-opening County facilities on Monday, May 4, 2020, with restrictions. The Supervisors will take a phased approach to help combat the COVID-19 virus and help reduce the spread. Anyone needing in-person services with a County office will be by appointment only. Auditor Stephanie Burke says “We strongly encourage residents to continue doing business through email, phone, mail or drop box.”

There will be new safety procedures in place. Anyone that must do business in-person is required to make an appointment with the corresponding office prior to coming into the building. Visitors will be met at the door, and they must wear a mask or face covering to enter the building and are subject to other PPE requirements. The visitor will also be screened by a County employee with assessment questions that are recommended by the Center for Disease Control.

Burke said “We have to protect our employees from the public, and we have to protect the public coming in.” Only customers that are directly required to complete the transaction will be allowed. (Examples: only one parent per minor for consent, no other guests including children, etc.)

The Montgomery County Board of Supervisors will re-evaluate procedures on May 14 to see if the County needs to extend or soften the practices. The Montgomery County Board of Supervisors and all County departments thanks the community for their patience and understanding during this difficult time.

Assessor’s Office: 712-623-4171 General Assistance: 712-623-3848
Auditor’s Office/Board of Supervisors: 712-623-5127 Veteran’s Affairs: 712-623-3180
Treasurer’s Office: 712-623-3292 Option #2 Public Health: 712-623-4893
Driver’s License: 712-623-3292 Option #1 Conservation: 712-623-4753
Recorder’s Office: 712-623-4363 Secondary Roads: 712-623-5197
Clerk of Court: 712-623-4986 Mental Health: 712-623-6541

A Nebraska man was arrested Thursday following a pursuit that began when a Trooper from the Iowa State Patrol tried to initiate a traffic stop. The chase entered Tabor on Waubonsie Avenue.  Deputies located the vehicle, abandoned behind a church located at the intersection of South Street and Center Street in Tabor.

Shawn Tesori, of Omaha. (Fremont County S/O photo)

Tabor Police located a man running north between residences in the area of the Tabor City Park and he was taken into custody without incident. He was later identified as 25-year old Shawn Tesori, of Omaha. Tesori was found to be in possession of an items stolen from a vehicle in Tabor, as well as items reported stolen from a vehicle in Omaha, Nebraska.  The Fremont County K9 was deployed and located more items found to be stolen from both Tabor and Omaha.

The vehicle was found to be reported stolen out of Omaha. Tesori was placed under arrest for Theft 2^nd Degree, Eluding, Reckless Driving, Speeding, Fail to Obey Stop Sign, Burglary, and two counts of Theft 5^th Degree.  Additional charges are pending. The Mills County Sheriff’s Office, Iowa State Patrol, Tabor Police Department, Fremont County Sheriff’s Office, and Fremont County K9 Unit all participated in the arrest.

Firefighters from Tabor and Sidney battled a fully engulfed detached garage fire, Thursday, just south of Tabor. According to the Fremont County Sheriff’s Office, at blaze happened in the 1300 block of 280th Ave. Tabor Fire extinguished the flames a short time later.

The homeowner advised she believed the fire started near a four-wheeler located in the garage.  The garage and its contents were a total loss.  A nearby home also received heat damage from the fire.

(Radio Iowa) – The state’s small business grant program that handed out 24 MILLION dollars earlier this month has been revived with federal economic stimulus money. Iowa Economic Development Authority director Debi Durham says hundreds of small business owners shut out of the initial run are being notified by email that they ARE getting a grant. “We know that every day that goes by right now is a critical one for so many Iowans,” Durham says.

About 14-thousand Iowa small businesses submitted applications for 148 MILLION dollars in grants from the Iowa Small Business Relief Program. Durham says applications were “triaged” and more than 12-hundred business owners received grants in early April. Hundreds more have just been notified they’re getting grants. “As of today, a total of more than 2600 restaurants, breweries, florists, salons, boutiques, gyms and a wide array of other small businesses that line the streets of communities in all 99 counties have been awarded Small Business Relief Grants for a total of approximately $50 million,” Durham says.

Durham says the governor is seeking more federal money for the program. “I can tell you that the spirit of our business owners remains resilient, strong and hopeful for tomorrow,” Durham said, her voice breaking with emotion as she continued. “Our team is fueled from the notes that have been pouring in from all over our state from business that are telling us they are hanging on and hope they see us upon their reopening.”

Businesses are notified by email that a check is in the mail.

DES MOINES, Iowa (KETV-TV) — A Spirit Airlines fight was forced to land in Des Moines after a fight onboard that police say started because a passenger who wanted to sleep was upset with people being too loud. Des Moines police say a flight from Los Angeles to Detroit landed at Des Moines International Airport early Thursday.

KETV reports the plane was on the ground for about two hours and a passenger was taken off before it continued to Detroit. Sgt. Paul Parizek says no one was arrested. He says the passenger who was removed from the plane was allowed to leave. The investigation is continuing.

Officials with the Pottawattamie County Public Health Department have reported six new, positive cases of COVID-19, bring the total number of cases to 42. The information released today (Thursday) said 20 of the 42 individuals have recovered, 19 are self-isolating at home, one is hospitalized, and as previously mentioned, there have been two deaths.

The six new cases are residents of Council Bluffs and include two females and four males. Two are between the ages of 61-and 80. Three are between 41-and 60 years of age, and one is age 18-to 40. Four have pre-existing conditions. All six cases were the result of “Community spread, ” and all six are self-isolating at home.

Officials say as testing capacity increases, the number of positive cases reported will also increase. Contact tracing investigations are conducted any time a case of COVID-19 is confirmed.  That includes an assessment of risk to the general public. If there is no risk, Pott. County Public Health will communicate directly with specific contacts identified in the investigation.

If and when a risk to the general public is identified, public health officials will identify the location and communicate any plan of action those who may have been in the area, should take.

(Radio Iowa) — Governor Kim Reynolds says she’s confident in the results from the COVID-19 test kits that Utah companies are providing for the “Test Iowa” program. The Salt Lake Tribune reports medical experts are questioning the accuracy of the “Test Utah” program the same companies are running. Reynolds says the state lab processing Test Iowa kits is taking all precautions necessary to validate results.

“Test Utah is located at a regional hospital. We decided to bring ours into the State Hygienic Lab through the University of Iowa,” Reynolds says, “….to make sure that we can assure Iowans that the results we are getting are accurate and what they should be.” Reynolds suggests the high number of negative COVID-19 test results in the Test Utah program is related to the expanded amount of testing in that state.

“They’ve opened it up to anyone who wants to test,” Reynolds says. “We’re still keeping ours very narrow.” Iowa is limiting testing to essential workers in health care and meatpacking, as well as Iowans who have symptoms or who’ve been around someone who’s tested positive for COVID-19. Reynolds says the test kits the Utah companies developed are F-D-A approved, but the governor suggests Utah’s process of confirming test results may be different from what’s happening at the lab in Coralville.

“I can assure you, because we’re on the phone with them every day, that they’re taking every measure and taking every step that they can to make sure that they are doing the validation process accurately and they can be confident in the results they’re reporting out to Iowans.”

Test Iowa drive-through sites are operating in Des Moines and Waterloo. State officials do not intend to break out Test Iowa results in their daily reports of COVID-19 data.

(Atlantic) – A new program is available in Cass County to assist with food needs during COVID-19. Cass County COVID-19 Mobile Food For All will deliver food to anyone in Cass County who needs food at this time. The program is the result of an $86,580 grant Cass County received from the Iowa Economic Development Authority.

The county applied for the funding to assist with food delivery during COVID-19 in partnership with the Cass County Local Food Policy Council, Cass County Public Health, Cass County ISU Extension, and SWITA. The program is designed to help people stay home and social distance while supplementing the work of the Cass County food pantries.

Cass County Wellness Coordinator Brigham Hoegh shared the project team is keeping in close contact with Cass County food pantries working to build on the services those pantries provide.Food delivery is a critical component of the project. By offering food delivery to people’s doors, Mobile Food For All keeps residents safe and mitigates the spread of COVID-19.

“It’s very important for the safety and health of Cass County that people continue to stay home and avoid being out and about as much as possible,” commented Cass County Public Health Director Beth Olsen. Cass County COVID-19 Mobile Food For All is available to anyone in Cass County who needs assistance affording food at this time. No proof of need is required, but the project team asks that only people needing the additional support register so that resources can be channeled to those who need them most.

For more information on Cass County COVID-19 Mobile Food For ALL, and to register for the program visit https://www.extension.iastate.edu/cass/content/cass-county-covid-19-mobile-food-all or call Cass County Public Health at (712) 243-7443. Please note: if you are signing up within three days of scheduled delivery, you may not receive your first order until the following week due to supplier delivery schedules