This week on The Exchange, we have a taped forum with the 4th District Congressional candidates. They are Republican Randy Feenstra of Hull and Democrat JD Scholten of Sioux City. Siouxland Public Media's Mary Hartnett is the moderator. First, the candidates introduce themselves. Below is a link to the Zoom forum: https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=380182183113674

State officials in South Dakota today offered a few of their investigative findings surrounding state Attorney General Jason Ravnsborg hit and killed a pedestrian. The say Jason Ravnsborg had no alcohol in his bloodstream when he was tested the day after his car struck and killed a pedestrian. Ravnsborg initially told a county sheriff that he thought he struck a deer the night of Sept. 12 on U.S. Highway 14 near Highmore in central South Dakota. The 911 call made that night was released today.

Three more people have died in Woodbury County due to complications of COVID-19. Siouxland District health says the deaths include a man and woman between the ages of 61 and 80, and an elderly man. The death toll since the start of the pandemic is now 81 for Woodbury County. More than 100,000 Iowans have tested positive for the coronavirus according to the Iowa Department of Public Health. More than three-quarters have recovered. There were more than 400 cases added today and a total of 1,472

All three Siouxland States are seeing record levels of hospitalizations due to COVID-19. In Iowa, there are 449 patients with Siouxland District Health reporting 72 getting treatment at Sioux City’s two hospitals. There were 31 in the middle of September. Siouxland District Health recorded two more deaths in Woodbury County for a total of 76. There were more than 100 new cases. Even as Nebraska sees an all-time high in patients, with 288, some medical officials in the state insist they can

Gov. Kim Reynolds acknowledged Iowa is seeing surging numbers of coronavirus cases and record hospitalizations, but she says the health care system could handle the increase and no further action was needed to reduce infections. There were 444 people being treated for the coronavirus in hospitals as of Wednesday morning, and in the past 24 hours the state had 919 new confirmed positive cases and 15 more deaths. The biggest increase comes from increased hospitalizations in northwest Iowa,

Chris Janicek is running for U.S. Senate in the State of Nebraska. Janicek, a baker from Omaha, made headlines when the Democratic Party of Nebraska withdrew support and resources in June and called for him to pull out of the race. Janicek visited Siouxland and sat down for an interview about the text-message controversy that put him on the outs with his party, the uphill battle he faces against incumbent Republican U.S. Senator Ben Sasse, health care, agriculture and the environment. The

A suburban Des Moines educator has died from complications of COVID-19, but it's unclear if she contracted the virus at school or elsewhere. The principal of Indian Hills Junior High School says special education assistant Jennifer Crawford, died Monday. The school is in West Des Moines. Iowa has the fourth-highest coronavirus positivity rate in the nation. Only 10 of Iowa's 99 counties are below the 5% threshold at which public health experts recommend measures to slow the spread of the virus,

Republican groups are asking the Iowa Supreme Court today to stay a judge's ruling blocking the enforcement of a state order. That order has been used to invalidate tens of thousands of absentee ballot requests. The Republican National Committee, President Trump's campaign, and other GOP groups said that Iowa's election administration could be thrown into "chaos" if the ruling stands. At issue is yesterday's ruling by Judge Robert Hanson. Hanson's ruling would block Iowa Secretary of State Paul

Health officials in Nebraska say the state has entered a dangerous period during the COVID-19 pandemic. Deaths in Nebraska have topped 500 according to the latest update from Sunday night with more people hospitalized with the virus than ever before. There were 400 new cases, for a total of more than 47,800 since the state of the pandemic. Nebraska health officials say a third of the state’s intensive care beds remain available. A group of scientists and experts from the University of Nebraska

The Sioux City Community School District reports a decrease of new COVID-19 cases involving students and staff. Last week were 32 cases; this week - 26, with more staff than students being impacted. (10 students – 16 staff). New cases were identified in 14 buildings in the district. One third grade class at Leeds Elementary was put in emergency response virtual learning. Last week, there were five classes. The school district provides an update every Friday and says contract tracing was done in