(Radio Iowa) – If the skies are clear, a partial solar eclipse will be visible over Iowa tomorrow (Thursday) morning. The moon is at its farthest point from the earth so it’s an “annular” eclipse as it won’t completely cover the sun. Linda Burkhart, director of the Sanford Museum and Planetarium in Cherokee, says other parts of the country will have a better view but it’ll still be interesting to see. “What people in Iowa are seeing is called a partial eclipse, only a bite of the sun will disappear for us,” Burkhart says. “If you live west of Des Moines, that bite gets smaller and smaller and smaller and where we are, sunrise will be at 5:40 and the partial eclipse that we are able to see ends at 5:45.”

She says areas to the east-northeast of Des Moines will see bigger sections of the sun fall into shade. Burkhart reminds, don’t look directly at the sun, but use eclipse-specific glasses or a pinhole viewer, so as not to risk eye damage. She notes there are other things to see in the sky this month. “If you look over in the west-northwest corner of the sky, you can see Venus and Mars in the early evening, about an hour after sunset,” Burkhart says. “Then, in the morning sky, if you look in the south-southwest corner of the sky, you’ll see Jupiter and Saturn.”

June 20th is the first day of summer and marks the summer solstice, a day where there will be equal parts of light and darkness. After the 20th, we’ll start to lose a little bit of light each day.

The Iowa Department of Public Health (Wednesday, June 9th) reported 141 additional, positive cases of COVID-19 from over the previous 24-hours. The Coronavirus dashboard shows there are a pandemic total of 402,747 positive cases, and five additional deaths, for a pandemic total of 6,078. Deaths at Iowa’s Long-Term Care facilities are 2,370.

There remain four LTC outbreaks in Iowa, with 30 positive cases among patients and staff, and one person recovered. Iowa’s 14-day positivity rate is down to 1.9%, while the 7-day positivity rate is holding steady at 2.0%.

Iowa’s hospitalization data show: 85 people are hospitalized with COVID-19; 18 patients are in an ICU; 16 COVID patients were admitted to a hospital, and eight patients are on a ventilator. In RMCC Region 4 (hospitals in western & southwest Iowa), there are now three people hospitalized with COVID-19, and one person in an ICU. There was one person admitted over the previous 24-hours, and no one was on a ventilator.

In the immediate KJAN listening area, here are the current number positive cases by County (since the beginning of the pandemic) and the total number of deaths (Since the beginning of the pandemic) in each county to date:
Cass, 1,477 cases; 54 deaths
Adair, 993; 32
Adams, 355; 4
Audubon, 546; 10
Guthrie, 1,311; 32
Harrison County, 1,935; 73
Madison County, 1,787; 19
Mills County, 1,797; 24
Montgomery, 1,115; 38
Pottawattamie County, 12,337;173
Shelby County, 1,373; 37
Union County, 1,380; 35

(Radio Iowa) – The owner of a pair of small food markets in southwest Iowa is opening two sets of refrigerated lockers in nearby communities that no longer have grocery stores. Theo Ramsey, who runs Ramsey’s Market, with grocery stores in Lenox and Manning, is now offering the locker service in Shelby and Walnut. Ramsey says it’s a simple system. “Folks would shop online and if they get in their order by 5 PM, we guarantee it the next day by 5 PM, usually much earlier,” Ramsey says. “Folks would get a notification when we deliver their stuff to the locker, punch in the code, pop open the doors, grab their stuff and go home.”

Each of the outlets has 30 lockers, 15 refrigerated and 15 for frozen foods. For people who plan ahead a little, he says it’s a cost-effective, convenient way to get your groceries. “We have delivery fees as low as free for orders of $100 or more, and then if it’s $90, there’s a $1 fee, if it’s $80, a $2 fee and so on,” Ramsey says. “It’s also a membership service similar to Amazon Prime where you have a membership monthly or an annual membership.” Ramsey is calling the new venture “Fresh Out of the Box,” and he anticipates it will quickly become very popular.

It’s not just about the groceries, he says, but it’s also about keeping people in their rural communities and helping those towns continue to grow. “Rural grocery stores have been closing at an alarming rate and we looked around and thought what could we do to help,” Ramsey says. “We’ve been working on this for about three years. It’s bringing convenience back to communities that have lost their grocery stores. It is a safe, socially-distanced way to shop.”

The lockers are part of a pilot program funded through Iowa Economic Development Authority’s rural initiative program. Ramsey was awarded a Catalyst Grant of $100,000 and an Empower Rural Iowa grant of $20,000 to kick start the estimated $1.9 million project.

Red Oak Police report two arrests late Tuesday. Authorities say a little after 10-p.m., 22-year-old Michael Wade Hamilton, of Red Oak, was arrested on an active Montgomery County warrant for Harassment in the 2nd Degree. He was being held in the Montgomery County Jail on $1,000 bond. And, at around 7:30-p.m. Tuesday, 64-year-old Marcia Elaine Lehman, of Griswold, was arrested on an active warrant for 3rd Degree Harassment. She was being held in the Montgomery County Jail on a $300 bond.

(Radio Iowa) – Davenport Mayor Mike Matson says the level of gun violence in his city is escalating and he’s asking for state and federal assistance. “But ultimately our community must be willing to take a hard look,” Matson says. “What can you do to prevent this violence?” Davenport Police say at least 80 shots were fired early Sunday morning in a Davenport parking ramp. Windows at the nearby Figge Art Museum were blown out, but none of the witnesses police interviewed would identify those involved. Davenport Pastor Stephen Echols of Davenport’s Peace Group says hush mode needs to end.

“After while, we’re not going to be able to walk down the street because there’s going to be so much craziness going on,” Echols said. “We have to make a stand. We have to get sick and tired of this stuff.” Echols says it’s time for a unified community response. “We march against police brutality. We get so enraged in that, but when are we going to get enraged about our 14-year-old men and women dying?” he asked.

Reverend Melvin Grimes, chair of community relations for the local N-Double-A-C-P chapter, says the level of gun violence in Davenport makes no sense. “I don’t want to have to do any more funerals,” he said. “I’m tired of writing condolences to parents who have lost children and young people who are part of this violence and victims of this violence.” Grimes says standing behind a gun is the coward’s way of resolving disagreements.  “It does not solve anything,” Grimes said, “and it doesn’t make you any more of a man or a woman if you’re going to hide behind a pistol if you have a disagreement.”

Davenport’s mayor has assembled an anti-violence task force that will meet for the first time next week. Davenport’s police department investigated 279 incidents last year in which gun shots were reported — an all-time high — and the pace has continued this year. In one Davenport homicide last year, nearly 100 shots were fired from nine different guns.