COVID-19 updates

LE MARS — Retail businesses have had to adjust to a different landscape since the onset of the coronavirus pandemic. At Get Branded 360, owners Tom and Lori Schuch were putting together a nice first quarter at their business until the final few weeks of March when the coronavirus shutdown arrived...

PLYMOUTH CO. — While COVID-19 has changed the way the 23rd annual Life Skill Quilt Auction is being conducted, it didn’t stop the sewing machines, needles and fingers of area quilters. “This year the quilt auction is going to be done a bit differently,” said Shelly Thomson, Life Skills marketing development coordinator...

DES MOINES — The Iowa Department of Public Health, along with Gov. Kim Reynolds, is asking the public to #StepUpMaskUpIA.  This new outreach campaign encourages Iowans to follow important public health mitigation measures such as wearing a cloth face covering when in public. ...

DES MOINES — Iowa’s nursing home inspectors have reported no infection-control issues in some of the facilities with the biggest COVID-19 outbreaks, newly disclosed state records show. The records indicate more than 2,584 Iowa nursing home residents and workers have been infected with COVID-19, with outbreaks confirmed at one of every six Iowa nursing homes...

LE MARS — Local restaurants have been riding the wave of uncertainty during the COVID-19 pandemic. From the governor’s closure of dine-in to now trying to get back to some sense of normal, restaurant owners are facing the pressures of keeping their businesses open while also serving their customers in the safest way possible...

VAN METER — Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds spoke Friday about the return to learning for the state’s K-12 schools. She said that in-person learning should be the goal for schools this fall. “Iowa’s approach to returning to school must be in the best interests of students and families,” Reynolds said. “We’ve heard from hundreds of Iowa parents who want their children to return to a structured, safe and enriching academic environment.”...

LE MARS — The Le Mars Community School District is weighing their options for a return to learning this fall. All learning will be required by state mandate, not voluntary as in the spring, and the school district is looking at three different models to provide instruction to students. Those include on-site learning, remote learning and a hybrid of in-person and online instruction...

DES MOINES — Businesses in the West Des Moines area received the most loans from the federal Paycheck Protection Program compared to other Iowa ZIP codes, according to an analysis of data released by the Small Business Administration. Medical companies and developers have based their headquarters in the 50266 area, which encompasses both Polk and Dallas counties. It is also home to the Jordan Creek Town Center area, where a high number of retailers and dining establishments are based...

LE MARS — Positive cases of COVID-19 continue to climb in Plymouth County. The previous peak of active positive cases came on May 15 when 70 individuals were confirmed positive. While that number dropped to a low of 42 active cases by May 29, the numbers have been trending upward since the Memorial Day weekend as July 1 saw a high reaching 90 active cases within the county...

DES MOINES — The State of Iowa has announced the closure of two Test Iowa sites this week. The Sioux County site closed 6 p.m., Tuesday (June 23). A second site in Wapello County will close at 6 p.m., Wednesday, June 24 (today). The Sioux County site opened on May 27 in Sioux Center, and the Wapello County site in Ottumwa opened May 13...

MARCUS — The MMCRU softball team is the latest local team to have their season shut down due to a positive case of COVID-19. In a statement released Monday morning, the school district stated that a student-athlete on the high school softball team tested positive for COVID-19 on Sunday...

LE MARS — The Gehlen Catholic baseball team has suspended their season for two weeks with the remainder of the season in question after that following a positive case of COVID-19 from a team member. “We found out today that we need to basically stop anything for 14 days,” Gehlen Catholic baseball coach and athletic director Kirk Kronaizl said on Friday. “That’s no practices or no games.”...

DES MOINES — Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds is focused on getting the state’s economy back up and running at full strength after months of closures and partial openings due to the COVID-19 pandemic hampered economic progress. “Although COVID-19 as a public health concern is not over and we continue to manage it every day, we’re well into the recovery phase,” Reynolds said. ...