(Des Moines) – Iowa’s COVID-19 positivity rates and hospitalizations are on the decline once again. The Iowa Department of Public Health on Friday reported 491 new positive COVID-19 cases and five additional deaths. At 10 a.m., IDPH reported 391,616 total positive tests, 343,617 total recoveries and 5,904 total deaths since the start of the pandemic. IDPH reported 391,125 total positive tests and 5,899 total deaths 24 hours earlier. In the KJAN listening area, there were two more COVID-related deaths in Pottawattamie County, for a pandemic total of 164.

State data shows 2,141,871 vaccine doses have been administered in Iowa, with 930,565 individuals completing the series. Iowa’s positivity rates are continuing to decline slowly. The 7-day average declined from 4.3% to 4% and the 14-day average declined from 4.4% to 4.2%. Virus hospitalizations are back down after showing an increase the previous day. There are now 217 Iowans hospitalized with COVID-19, down from 235 a day earlier. There are 51 patients in ICU and 24 patients on ventilators.

In RMCC Regional 4 (hospitals in western/southwest Iowa): 29 COVID patients are hospitalized (down from 31 the previous day); 10 are in an ICU (down 1 from Thursday); 3 were admitted with symptoms of the virus, and there remain four persons on a ventilator.

Urbandale Health Care Center is the only long-term care facility in the state reporting a virus outbreak There are 18 positive cases and eight recoveries among residents and staff within that facility. Iowa reports 2,309 total COVID-19 deaths in care facilities.

In the KJAN listening area, here are the current number positive cases by County; The # of new cases since yesterday {+} if any; and the total number of deaths in each county to date:

Cass, 1,436 cases; {+1}; 54 deaths
Adair, 970; {+2}; 32
Adams, 342 {+1}; 4
Audubon, 513 {+0}; 9
Guthrie, 1,266 {+0}; 29
Harrison County, 1,904; {+8}; 73
Madison County, 1,699; {+7; 19
Mills County, 1,759; {+3}; 20
Montgomery, 1,095 {+2}; 37
Pottawattamie County, 11,924; {+25}; 162
Shelby County, 1,349 {+0}; 37
Union County, 1,315; {+0}; 32

(Radio Iowa) – It’s time again to check those prescription pill bottles that have been sitting around for a while to see if you still need the medication inside. The director of the Governor’s Office of Drug Control Policy, Dale Woolery, says Saturday is another “National Drug Take Back Day.” “In hundreds of different communities across Iowa this Saturday from 10 until 2, there will be special collection sites,” Woolery says. He says there’s been progress in not overprescribing painkillers that can end up in the wrong hands — but he says there are still cases of leftover medications. “And Iowans can dispose of those unused medications as part of their spring cleaning,” Woolery says.

Woolery says if you miss the chance to take back your prescription drugs Saturday, there are now many other ways to safely dispose of them. “We have nearly 400 year-round permanent sites in law enforcement centers and pharmacies across Iowa now where all of us can take these medications back on a regular basis,” according to Woolery. “That will prevent the diversion and misuse of opioids and other medications — and it is good for the environment as well.” Woolery says you can go to the Office of Drug Control Policy website and find a list of takeback sites.

More information at https://odcp.iowa.gov/rxtakebacks

The Cass County Sheriff’s Office, Friday (Today), said four arrests had taken place over the past week. Yesterday (Thursday), 21-year-old Travis Joseph Osborn, of Council Bluffs, was arrested on a Cass County warrant for Theft in the 2nd, and Burglary in the second-degrees Osborn was transported from the Pottawattamie County Jail to the Cass County Jail where he was held on $5,000 bond.

On Wednesday, Cass County Deputies arrested 29-year-old Shialea Kay Cozad, of Anita, for Driving While Barred. Cozad was transported to the Cass County Jail and later released on her own recognizance. Last Sunday (April 18), 26-year-old Daniel Albert Ward, of Lewis, was arrested for Domestic Abuse Assault/1^st Offense. Ward was transported to the Cass County Jail where he was held on bond. He plead guilty the following day and was released.

And, on April 17th, 21-year-old David Confere, of Atlantic, was arrested on a Cass County warrant for Harassment 3^rd Degree. Confere was transported to the Cass County Jail and later released after posting $300 bond.

(Greenfield) – The Adair County Board of Supervisors, Friday morning, set May 5^th at 7-p.m., as the date and time for a Public Hearing on a proposed Utility-Scale, Solar Energy System Ordinance (Commercial Solar Farms). Publication of the Ordinance for public review will be in area newspapers April 28^th and 29^th. One last tweak to the Ordinance came from Board Members Jodie Hoadley, and it pertained to the setbacks, where the fence will be for solar farms.

Other Supervisors said they had received calls requesting the fence line be established at the setback. A motion to that effect was approved by a vote of 4-to-1, with Supervisor Steve Shelley a “No” vote. Adair County Attorney Melissa Larson clarified also the answer to a question from Hoadley about the acreages and how they are divvied-up to attain the 400 acre maximum.