IOWA (IRN) – The Iowa Department of Public Health is reporting a record 879 more positive COVID-19 cases in the state as well as the deaths of five more Iowans. 782 Iowans have now died from COVID-19. IOWA (IRN) – Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds said Friday that Iowa schools must prioritize in-person learning when classes resume this fall. Reynolds did not specify to what extent her proclamation would allow remote learning. Iowa schools switched to online lessons last spring as the coronavirus pandemic began. Some Iowa school districts have said they plan to start the fall term partly or completely online. JOHNSON COUNTY, IA (IRN) – Charges have been filed against three juveniles and one adult following the investigation tied to the search for a missing teen in April. KCRG-TV reports officials say witnesses provided investigators false information. Fifteen-year-old Noah Herring was reported missing on April 8. His body was later found on April 11 at the Coralville Reservoir. An autopsy found the cause of death was drowning and the manner of death was undetermined. But officials said the investigation was hindered by false information given by defendants who were present on the day Herring drowned. Officials said no one present that day called 911 for help. DES MOINES, IA (IRN) – A longtime spokesperson of the Iowa Department of Public Health said Thursday she believes she was forced out of the department because she advocated for open communication with reporters during the COVID-19 pandemic. Polly Carver-Kimm had spent more than 12 years with the department. IOWA CITY, IA (IRN) – School board members in Iowa City say they are disappointed in some members of the public after the district chose to move to online classes to start the school year. School board members received multiple emails that they say were targeted and racist. DES MOINES, IA (IRN) – The number of initial unemployment claims filed in Iowa between Sunday, July 5, and Saturday, July 11, was 11,125, according to Iowa Workforce Development. That’s an increase of more than 1,000 from the previous week. BALLTOWN, IA (IRN) – The Dubuque County community of Balltown has a 100% participation rate in the 2020 census. This makes it the first city in Iowa and the second in the United States where everyone has completed the survey. The population of Balltown? 68.

IOWA CITY, IA (IRN) – A federal judge has denied an Iowa drug kingpin’s requests to delay his execution, which is scheduled for Friday. Dustin Honken’s spiritual advisor asked for the execution to be delayed because of the coronavirus pandemic. Honken is facing execution for the 1993 slayings of five people in the Mason City area. Prosecutors say Honken killed them in an attempt to thwart an investigation into his methamphetamine trafficking business. DES MOINES, IA (IRN) – Two adults were found dead on Des Moines’ south side Wednesday after a child called 911 to report an injury in a home. The minor told dispatch that they believed their mother was injured. The child is OK. CORALVILLE, IA (IRN) – Coralville Mayor John Lundell has issued a proclamation about COVID-19 mitigation efforts. Lundell is asking that individuals wear face masks and practice social distancing and asking for businesses to comply with these recommendations. DES MOINES, IA (IRN) – The Des Moines Airport is getting improvements. The airport board approved spending $3.9 million to improve the Fleur Drive entrance to the airport. That includes a new entry road that is longer than the current road. This will give drivers more time to figure out which directions to go.

USA (IRN) – Walmart on Wednesday announced the policy requiring all shoppers to wear face masks, which will apply to all of its 5,000-plus retail outlets in the United States, including Sam’s Club locations. The requirement begins Monday. ANAMOSA, IA (IRN) – Two corrections employees in Anamosa were injured in an incident on Tuesday. According to the Iowa Department of Corrections, an inmate allegedly hit an officer multiple times from behind with a pointed piece of aluminum. The officer and a counselor who responded to the incident received minor injuries. The inmate was uninjured. IOWA (IRN) – Coronavirus test results from the Test Iowa program are not being immediately reported to the Iowa Department of Public Health as required by law, State Auditor Rob Sand said Tuesday. Instead, once the test results are analyzed by the State Hygienic Laboratory in Coralville, they are sent to two private, Utah-based companies involved in the Test Iowa program and then to a separate state office, making the public health department the fourth entity to receive them. Sand says that’s illegal, and a security risk. DES MOINES, IA (IRN) – Iowans planning trips to Chicago will soon be required to quarantine for two weeks. The Chicago Department of Public Health’s updated Emergency Travel Order mandates that people traveling from states with surging COVID-19 cases quarantine for 14 days. Starting Friday, residents from Iowa and Oklahoma will have to abide by the travel quarantine. SACRAMENTO, CA (IRN) – Sacramento Kings forward and former Ames High School standout Harrison Barnes announced Tuesday that he has tested positive for COVID-19. He says he’s primarily asymptomatic and is doing well.

DES MOINES, IA (IRN) – Iowa Department of Public Health data continues to show rising trends in coronavirus hospitalizations in the state. As of 10 a.m. Tuesday, IDPH reported 368 new positive cases and 3 additional deaths. IDPH reports 35,830 total positive cases and 755 total deaths since the pandemic began. DES MOINES, IA (IRN) – The Des Moines City Council is requiring everyone in city buildings to wear a face mask to fight the spread of COVID-19. The resolution also encourages businesses owners to enact their own face mask policies. FORT DODGE, IA (IRN) – Sixty-seven more inmates and seven more staff members at the Fort Dodge Correctional Facility have tested positive for COVID-19 in the last two days. Four staff members are listed as recovered. No inmates are considered recovered. CEDAR RAPIDS, IA (IRN) – A former counselor at Four Oaks residential treatment facility for minors in Cedar Rapids has been charged with sexual abuse and exploitation of one of the facility’s residents, according to KCRG-TV. Danielle Hook, 29, is charged with third-degree sexual abuse, sexual exploitation by a counselor, and harboring a runaway. Hook was fired from her job but was later discovered to be living with the 14-year-old boy in Marion while he was on the run from juvenile court officials. Hook gave birth to a child, and the boy is the father. CEDAR FALLS, IA (IRN) – The pandemic has led to a much greater need for face masks and one woman is doing her part. KWWL-TV reports 81-year-old Shirley Thode, of Cedar Falls, has been making and donating cloth masks since the pandemic began. She has made over 2,000 masks. She says she has lots of material, and likes to sew.

DES MOINES, IA (IRN) – Iowa Department of Public Health data continues to show a rise in positive coronavirus cases and hospitalizations. As of 10 a.m. Monday, IDPH reported 460 new positive cases and 3 additional deaths. IDPH reports a total of 35,462 positive cases and 752 deaths in Iowa. CEDAR RAPIDS, IA (IRN) – Cedar Rapids police are looking for a man they say shot a young woman during a fight Sunday. Investigators believe the woman and the 24-year-old man, who is still at large, were arguing when the man allegedly shot the woman. DES MOINES, IA (IRN) – The President and CEO of Make-a-Wish Iowa has been dismissed over financial irregularities. Jennifer Woodley has served in the position since August. IOWA (IRN) – The number of women having abortions in Iowa climbed last year, after plummeting for more than a decade. The state recorded 3,566 abortions in 2019, 8% more than the year before. Last year’s increase came after the number of Iowa abortions dropped 56% from 2008 to 2018. The turnaround came in the wake of Iowa’s controversial 2017 decision to withdraw from a federally funded family planning program, and defunding Planned Parenthood. HARRISBURG, PA (IRN) – State health officials in Pennsylvania have imposed a travel quarantine recommendation aimed at stemming the spread of COVID-19 in the commonwealth. People who have travelled to 19 states, including Iowa, are being asked to self-quarantine for 14 days upon their return to Pennsylvania.