News noon 080521
Updated national maps now show there aretwo areas of extreme drought in Iowa. Radio Iowa reports The state climatologist said the northwest and east-central Iowa areas have "missed out on widespread, heavier rains." According to the National Drought Mitigation Center, conditions deteriorated significantly in several large patches in Iowa and Minnesota over the past week.
The pace of vaccinations appears to be trending up slightly in Iowa as the number of patients hospitalized in Iowa with Covid grows. Governor Kim Reynolds says the vaccination rate is at 62% for Iowans and 66% for the same group with at least one single dose.
In the past 40 days, the number of Covid patients in Iowa hospitals has grown from 46 to more than 200 cases and that is a 77% increase. The Iowa Department of Public Health's weekly report shows the state averaged about 500 new cases of Covid in each of the past seven days. 
South Dakota health officials report coronavirus cases jumped by 68% last week as more cases of the delta variant of the coronavirus were identified. The Department of Health said 429 new cases statewide in its weekly virus report, bringing the number of active cases statewide to 657.
Crowds of bikers are rumbling towards western South Dakota, raising fears that COVID-19 infections will be unleashed among the 700,000 people expected to show up at the Sturgis Motorcycle Rally. The rally starts tomorrow. It's become a haven for those eager to escape coronavirus precautions.
