DYERSVILLE, IA (IRN) – Dyersville police are investigating after a woman was shot and injured by her 2-year-old child. Police determined the child accidentally shot the 21-year-old woman with a handgun that was left unsecured. IOWA (IRN) – Officials at the state’s largest hospital systems are warning Iowans that if the current COVID-19 infection rate continues, they will be overwhelmed with patients. Their preparations for the surge are forcing them to curtail other medical procedures, shift personnel from surgical duties to intensive care and expand ICU beds. DES MOINES, IA (IRN) – The Iowa Department of Public Health will hire its third spokesperson since the COVID-19 pandemic began following the departure of legislative liaison Amy McCoy. McCoy took over as the Iowa Department of Public Health’s spokesperson after it fired longtime public information officer Polly Carver-Kimm. Carver-Kimm is suing the state and Gov. Kim Reynolds claiming she was improperly fired for her willingness to respond to media requests. DUBUQUE, IA (IRN) – The Dubuque County Board of Health became concerned after they learned people in one of Dubuque’s low-income neighborhoods have been sharing masks. The board is now passing out free masks in the neighborhood. JASPER COUNTY (IRN) – Democrat Rita Hart has now taken the lead in the race for Congress in Iowa’s 2nd District after Jasper County election officials identified and corrected a data reporting error, according to the County Auditor and Iowa Secretary of State Paul Pate.

JASPER COUNTY, IA (IRN) – Iowa Secretary of State Paul Pate says there were errors in unofficial election results in one Jasper County precinct. Iowa’s tight race for U.S. House District 2 had shown Republican Mariannette Miller-Meeks ahead of Democrat Rita Hart by just 282 votes. The Secretary of State’s website now shows Miller-Meeks’ total has gone down by 328 votes, and Hart’s has increased by 166. The total now stands at 196,603 for Hart and 196,441 for Miller-Meeks, a difference of 162 votes. Hart is now the apparent winner, but there will be a recount. IOWA (IRN) – The number of Iowans hospitalized with COVID-19 topped 900 for the first time last night, pushing the state to another record-high for hospitalizations. There have been 14 additional deaths for a total of 1,815. Of those who’ve died, 879 were residents of long term care facilities. There are currently 87 outbreaks at long term care facilities in Iowa affecting 2,709 residents. DES MOINES, IA (IRN) – Medical leaders from the two largest hospitals in the Des Moines metro pleaded with Iowans to do their part to bring the outbreak under control. They say their hospital staffs are in rough shape after eight months of treating COVID-19 patients and they fear some very dark days are ahead with the huge increase of positive cases. Dr. Rossana Rosa, with UnityPoint, says “there will be more deaths, and there will be more suffering from a disease that remains preventable.” DES MOINES, IA (IRN) – Gov. Kim Reynolds on Thursday hosted her first news conference dedicated to Iowa’s coronavirus response in nearly a month. Reynolds pleaded with Iowans to take additional steps to slow the spread of the virus but declined to enact any further mitigation efforts as new cases and hospitalizations continue to spike. AMES, IA (IRN) – Iowa State University athletic officials said Thursday that a “very limited” number of spectators will be allowed to attend men’s and women’s basketball games at Hilton Coliseum due to coronavirus concerns. Seating capacity will be limited to 1,373 fans per game, less than 10% of Hilton’s seating capacity. ARLINGTON, IA (IRN) – Despite the constant calls from health leaders and signs at just about every store to wear a mask, one business in Arlington is discouraging mask wearing. KCRG-TV reports 6 Corners Gas, the only gas station in the Fayette County town, has a sign in the front window that reads “No masks required, please remove before entering. Thank you.”

IOWA (IRN) – The state of Iowa has set another record for the number of patients hospitalized with COVID-19 and for new cases reported in a single day. The deaths of 20 more Iowans are also being reported in the last 24 hours. A total of 1,801 Iowans have died of the virus, and 48% of deaths have been in long-term care facilities. ALTA VISTA, IA (IRN) – The Iowa Court of Appeals has upheld the conviction of a northeast Iowa man found guilty of murdering his four-month-old son, who was found dead in a maggot-filled diaper in 2017. Zachary Koehn, 31, was convicted in 2018 of first-degree murder and child endangerment resulting in death. Koehn’s son, Sterling, was found dead in a baby swing. DES MOINES, IA (IRN) – The unofficial results from Tuesday’s race for Iowa’s second U.S. Congressional seat lean slightly to the right. Republican State Senator Mariannette Miller-Meeks leads former Democratic State Senator Rita Hart by 282 votes. Iowa Secretary of State Paul Pate says he expects a recount. DES MOINES, IA (IRN) – Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds announced Wednesday that she is allocating another $28 million in relief to Iowa hospitals and local county health departments because of needs related to the pandemic. The funding comes from the $1.25 billion in federal CARES Act funds allocated to the state. DES MOINES, IA (IRN) – According to a special investigation into district operations for the Iowa City Community School District from July 2017 to June 2019, Iowa State Auditor Rob Sand reports proper procedures were not followed. The report released on Wednesday showed the district did not follow its own policies requiring competitive bidding for contracts or agreements costing more than $135,000.

DES MOINES, IA (IRN) – Coronavirus hospitalizations continue to surge in Iowa as the state reported three new records Wednesday. The Iowa Department of Public Health reported 2,818 new positive cases and 26 additional deaths for a total of 1,781 deaths since the pandemic began. The three coronavirus hospitalization records set were the number of Iowans admitted to hospitals, the number of patients in intensive care, and the number on ventilators. IOWA (IRN) – While votes are still being counted in several key states, and the presidential election is still in play, President Donald Trump kept Iowa in the red column defeating former Vice President Joe Biden 53% to 45% here. IOWA (IRN) – Sen. Joni Ernst is keeping her seat in the U.S. Senate for another term earning 51.91% of the vote. Her opponent, Democratic candidate Theresa Greenfield had 45.06% of the vote with 93.68% of precincts reporting. Ernst, a Red Oak native, was first elected into the Senate in 2015. IOWA (IRN) – Republican state representative Ashley Hinson defeated Rep. Abby Finkenauer, the Democratic incumbent in Iowa’s first congressional district. In the second congressional district, the race is too close to call, as Republican state senator Mariannette Miller-Meeks leads state senator Rita Hart by 282 votes. Democratic Representative Cindy Axne will continue to serve Iowa’s third congressional district, beating former Congressman David Young. Republican Randy Feenstra has been elected into the U.S. House of Representatives for Iowa’s fourth district seat, defeating J.D. Scholten. IOWA (IRN) – Iowans have voted against having a Constitutional Convention by approximately 70% to 30%. The ballot asked voters whether they would want a convention held to change the current state constitution. The question is required on the ballot every 10 years. In recent decades, the question about the constitutional convention has been rejected by voters.

DES MOINES, IA (IRN) – Polls are open for those who are opting for traditional Election Day voting after Iowans cast roughly a million ballots early. Polls opened at about 1,200 polling places at 7 a.m. Tuesday and voting will continue until 9 p.m. The Secretary of State’s Office reports just over 2 million Iowa residents are registered to vote, and about half of them already cast an absentee ballot. IOWA (IRN) – The number of people being treated for the coronavirus in Iowa hospitals continued to soar Tuesday, prompting hospital officials to warn that their facilities could be overwhelmed without serious efforts to curtail the virus spread. More than half of Iowa’s counties now report a high coronavirus positivity rate as the state has set two more hospitalization records. The Iowa Department of Public Health on Tuesday reported 1,516 new positive COVID-19 cases and 22 additional deaths. There have been 1,755 total deaths since the pandemic began. AMES, IA (IRN) – Iowa State University alerted students Monday to the second reported sexual assault on campus in two days. It’s not known if the cases are related. WEST DES MOINES, IA (IRN) – Smoke filled the air and could be seen for miles in West Des Moines Monday as firefighters worked to extinguish flames at a vacant office building. The building was in the beginning stages of demolition and nobody is expected to have been inside when the fire began. WATERLOO, IA (IRN) – The Waterloo City Council discussed Monday a proposed housing incentive of $5,000 for future and current city employees. The hope is the incentive would encourage more employees to live within city limits. Employees would qualify by buying and living in a home in Waterloo for at least five years.