The state of Iowa reporting another 15 people have died of complications of COVID-19, including one more in Woodbury County, for 94 in all.
There were more than 1,400 confirmed new cases of the virus statewide.
Health officials reported 530 people were being treated in Iowa hospitals for the virus, down slightly from the 535 people hospitalized on Wednesday.
Siouxland District Health says Sioux City’s two hospitals are treating 70 patients with COVID-19.
The number of people hospitalized with the coronavirus in Nebraska continued to set new records as the total number of virus cases surged above 60,000 Wednesday with almost 900 new cases and 11 deaths.
400 people were hospitalized with COVID-19, up from the previous day’s record of 380.
The state has offered $40 million to help hospitals add capacity as needed.
The rate of new cases in the state remains fifth-highest in the nation.
The number of people hospitalized by COVID-19 has climbed to a new high in South Dakota as 332 people received hospital care. Health officials also reported three more deaths from the virus, along with 582 more cases. The state has ranked second in the country for new cases per capita in the last two weeks, according to Johns Hopkins researchers. There were 1,086 new cases per 100,000 people. The surge in cases has prompted the Department of Health to scale up its staff for contact tracing, activating National Guard members to work as contact tracing investigators.
Officials in western Iowa’s Monona County are working to remove a vehicle adorned with campaign flags that’s parked too close to a voting location.
A photo of the military-style truck from yesterday shows it parked right outside the county courthouse with a large “Trump 2020” sign and two Trump flags.
Monona County Auditor Peggy Rolph says the truck first appeared yesterday morning (Wednesday), was moved in the afternoon, and was back this morning with more flags on it. She says it’s parked within the 300-foot zone where campaign signs are illegal under state law, and she’s concerned about the message it sends to voters.
“We are working on trying to come up with a solution to this as soon as possible, but it seems every road we take, there’s a roadblock.”
Rolph says the county attorney is trying to figure out if they can tow the truck, and they’re also waiting for information from the ethics board.
However, the ethics board says it doesn’t have jurisdiction over signs for federal candidates.
A new poll shows Democratic candidates leading in three of Iowa’s four U.S. House races.
The poll, released by Monmouth University shows the race in the 2nd Congressional District shifted to the Democrats while a lead by a Republican in the 4th district that includes Siouxland is dwindling.
That is the contest between State Senator Randy Feenstra, a Republican and Democrat J.D. Scholten.
Feenstra beat incumbent Steve King in June. The poll shows Feenstra with a 48 to 43% lead.
A poll back in August, showed a 10-point difference between Feenstra and Scholten.
The groups pushing for South Dakota to legalize marijuana in the November election have a large cash advantage over opponents of the proposal as the campaigns enter their final days. The Argus Leader reports that a pair of committees pushing for recreational and medical marijuana ballot measures have raised a combined $787,270, according to campaign finance reports filed this week. A group opposing recreational marijuana reported raising about one-fifth of that, with its contributions totaling just under $130,000. South Dakota voters will decide on two marijuana proposals this year, a constitutional amendment to legalize recreational cannabis and a program for medical marijuana.
South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem reported a relatively large haul of campaign cash this year as she vaulted to prominence in conservative circles nationwide for her hands-off approach to the pandemic. The Republican governor’s state is currently suffering through one of the worst surges in the country. She has downplayed the severity of the virus and campaigned across the country as a surrogate for President Donald Trump. The Argus Leader reports that Noem has cashed in on her nationwide appearances, with her gubernatorial campaign committee raising more than $850,000 between May 17 and Oct. 14. That’s a big uptick from earlier fundraising.
The Big Ten will start playing football at what normally would be midseason. Don’t expect the teams to be in midseason form. The coronavirus pandemic limited or eliminated most spring practices. Positive COVID-19 tests and precautions, along with uncertainty about whether there would even be a season, caused disruptions in summer workouts and preseason practices. As a result, conferences that started their seasons before the Big Ten saw a lot of early games filled with gaffes on special teams and poor tackling, among other problems
