Members of the Griswold School Board met during a special session Monday evening and approved separate mask mandates for inside the school and during activities. Superintendent Dave Henrichs said there have been two positive cases of COVID-19 in the Griswold School District. One case the district was notified of came in at around Noon on Friday that affected a student in quarantine, and one notification after school about an affected staff member. 35 students and two staff were essentially affected by the results, or a total of 37.

Henrichs said some of the students were previously exposed due to outside exposure. “If we had the mask mandate,” Henrichs said, “In theory, if it’s worn consistently and properly, our number of people impacted would potentially be zero.” He said the question is, “Do we want to keep our school open, and do we want to provide our kids as many opportunities as possible?”

After considerable discussion, Board Member Ryan Askeland made a motion to “Require all students, staff, and visitors to wear CDC approved face coverings while inside school facilities during the hours of 7:45 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. during school days, when social distancing is not possible, extending to school transportation,

Griswold School Board mtg. 10/5/20 (Ric Hanson, photos)

regardless of the time of day or if school is in session including required mask breaks for a minimum of 5 minutes not to exceed 10 minutes each hour, while also allowing students one week or until October 14, to determine their virtual learning status.” The mandate goes into effect this Wednesday, October 7th, 2020 and continues through the end of the semester to be revisited at the December Board meeting.

The motion was seconded and approved by a vote of 6-to 1, with Scott Peterson the lone “nay” vote. The Board then continued with discussion on a mask mandate with regard to school-related activities for PARTICIPATING students and staff. Board member Scott Hansen motioned to require masks for activities, “Including both practices and competitions, when social distancing is not possible.” There is an exception however for football, due to mouth guard requirements.

That portion of the mask mandate is also effective as of Wednesday, October 7, 2020, and continuing through the end of the semester. It will be revisited at the December Board meeting. It was agreed also, “The district will follow the conference activity guidelines for spectators.” The motion passed unanimously.

In other business, the Griswold School Board approved a virtual format for Parent-Teacher Conferences, via Google Meet during the same time as previously scheduled, but the meetings will be booked so that sessions do not overlap or multiple parents are not conferencing at the same time. Parents who absolutely must have a face-to-face conference with a teacher, should contact the district and work out a time to do so.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Five Des Moines Black Liberation Movement protesters have filed a lawsuit in federal court seeking to block Iowa State Patrol troopers from arresting them for trespassing if they return to the Iowa State Capitol or property surrounding it. The four women and man were among 17 people protesting in support of the Black Lives Matter movement at the Capitol on July 1.

They were arrested after a scuffle broke with officers. They were told by troopers they couldn’t return, some for six months and others for a year. They claim the ban blocks their fundamental constitutional rights of free speech and assembly. A spokesman for the Iowa Attorney General’s office, which will represent the troopers, says they will respond in court.

IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) — A judge blocked Iowa’s secretary of state Monday from enforcing an order that barred counties from sending absentee ballot applications to voters with their identification information already filled in. Judge Robert Hanson ruled in favor of state and national Democratic Party groups, who contended that Secretary of State Paul Pate exceeded his authority when he told counties that absentee ballot request forms must be blank when mailed to voters.

Hanson ordered Pate to put enforcement of his directive on hold. Local elections officials said they were studying the ruling to determine the impact, including whether they could take steps to mail ballots to thousands of voters whose requests were previously invalidated based on Pate’s directive.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Police have confiscated a 9mm handgun discovered by Transportation Security Administration workers at the Des Moines International Airport. WHO-TV reports that the gun, loaded with five bullets including one in the chamber, was in the man’s carry-on luggage when it was discovered Saturday. Police took the gun.

The man, a resident of Guam, was issued a weapons citation. The TSA says four guns have been discovered at checkpoints at the airport this year. That’s down from 2018 and 2019, when TSA officers discovered 12 guns through security screenings.