(Radio Iowa) – The state medical director whose public profile has been elevated during the pandemic has gotten a big pay boost. Dr. Caitlin Pedati’s boss is Department of Human Services director Kelly Garcia, who is now the interim director of the Public Health Department, too. Garcia says she raised the medical director’s salary by nearly 45 percent for a variety of reasons — including new responsibilities for Dr. Pedati in the Department of Human Services.

Dr. Caitlin Pedati (File photo)

“This decision was really focused around retention,” Garcia says, “but also really focused around the job we’ve asked her to do in those dual roles.” Pedati has been the state epidemiologist as well as the state medical director since late 2018. Pedati’s new, 265-thousand dollar annual salary is higher than that of Dr. Patricia Quinlisk, her predecessor who retired nearly two years ago after 24 years in the job. Garcia says she’s quite comfortable with Pedati’s new salary compared to what other physicians in state government are making.

“I did poll a variety of other salaries for positions both internal to the Department of Human Services, the Department of Public Health as well as the Department of Corrections,” Garcia says, “and this salary adjustment is actually below what those other salaries are in comparison.” The Bleeding Heartland blog first reported Pedati’s salary adjustment, as well as the 55-thousand dollars Pedati was paid for overtime work this spring. Garcia says Pedati is not only being asked to be the state’s top clinician, she’s had to do her work in the spotlight and — in Garcia’s words — “under a microscope” during the pandemic.

“She’s worked at the CDC,” Garcia says. “She’s worked in another state and she is paramount to our ability to sustain this response over the course of the next year.” Pedati worked in the Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services before taking the job in Iowa’s Department of Public Health.

Here is the latest Iowa news from The Associated Press at 3:40 a.m. CDT

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Iowa’s Republican governor has rejected two-thirds of the Democratic state attorney general’s requests to join multistate lawsuits. Gov. Kim Reynolds’ actions were made possible by an unusual compromise that has allowed her to repeatedly block the state’s involvement in challenges to Trump administration policies. Iowa Attorney General Tom Miller agreed in May 2019 to seek Reynolds’ approval before he would join multistate lawsuits, and Reynolds in turn vetoed a Republican-backed bill that would have prevented the state’s top lawyer from joining any multistate suit unless the governor or Legislature requested it. Miller says the compromise importantly is temporary and won’t hamstring future Iowa attorneys general.

DAVENPORT, Iowa (AP) — Police have arrested a suspect accused of shooting a man in the parking lot of an eastern Iowa funeral home where he was attending the funeral of his 8-year-old son, who died of cancer. The Quad-City Times says 26-year-old Jeramie Shorter, of Davenport, was shot Saturday morning outside Weerts Funeral Home in Davenport and later died. Shorter was there to attend the funeral of Jermier Leon Shorter, of St. Paul, Minnesota. A possible motive for the shooting wasn’t immediately known. Police later arrested 24-year-old Nuemonei Tre Vonne Laster, of Davenport, who appeared in court Sunday on charges of first-degree murder, eluding and weapons counts. He is being held on a $300,000 cash bond.

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — A new survey of business leaders released Monday suggests the economy continues to recover in nine Midwest and Plains states, but businesses are still cutting jobs amid the ongoing impact of the coronavirus outbreak. Creighton University economist Ernie Goss says the economy still remains weaker than before the virus outbreak began. The overall index for the region improved to 57.4 in July from June’s 50.3. Survey organizers say any score above 50 suggests growth. A score below 50 suggests decline. The monthly survey covers Arkansas, Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, Oklahoma and South Dakota.

PELLA, Iowa (AP) — Two workers installing internet cables in Pella, Iowa, died after striking an underground, high-voltage electrical cable. Pella Police Lt. Paul Haase said the workers died Saturday morning after striking the electrical line. Haase said residents nearby reported hearing a loud boom at the time. A third worker for Excel Utility Contractors suffered minor injuries and was treated at a local hospital. The crew was installing internet cables for Pella Fiber. Haase said 35-year-old Genis Urgell Rueda and 20-year-old Nelson Joani Figueroa died. They were both from Richmond, Virginia. People who lived near where the electrical line was struck were evacuated for about an hour

(Radio Iowa) – A northwest Iowa man is accused of illegally getting coronavirus relief money from other states. Sixty-one-year-old Alvin Rex, of Schaller, is charged with one count of mail fraud. The complaint against Rex alleges he received approximately 19-thousand dollars in unemployment claim deposits to his bank in Storm Lake in the names of individuals from Massachusetts and Arizona.

The complaint says Rex then made a series of cash withdrawals from his account and mailed the cash to at least one other person in Maryland. The money included Federal Pandemic Unemployment Compensation Benefits. Rex appeared in federal court in Sioux City and was released on bond pending further court proceedings.

The Mills County Public Health Department reports four more, positive cases of COVID-19 confirmed in Mills County. One of the newly confirmed cases is a person 18-to 40-years of age, the others are age 41-to 60. One individual contracted the virus through close contact, while the others contracted it through community spread.

The latest cases bring the total to 79 in Mills County, with 38 persons having recovered. Officials say 2,655 residents of the county have been tested. And, “Going forward Mills County Public Health and [the] Mills County Emergency Management Agency will only be sending out weekly reports, following a briefing of the Mills County Board of Supervisors during their regular meetings on Tuesday morning, and NOT for every confirmed case.

Officials continue to encourage residents be safe, practice social distancing and hand washing procedures, along with other measure to help prevent the spread of COVID-19.