SPM News

Vaccinations continue in Iowa as the Iowa Department of Public Health reports another nine COVID-19 deaths and an additional 404 confirmed cases today. In Woodbury County, there have been 25 new cases added to the total count in the last 24 hours. Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds announced yesterday that all adult Iowans will be eligible for COVID-19 vaccination starting April 5. During her weekly news conference, the governor said so long as vaccine supplies from the federal government keep up with

This week on The Exchange, we have a preview of what to expect when Downtown Live! returns this June with organizer Brent Stockton. Also, we talk with Ryan Haskins of the Sioux City Symphony Orchestra about its return to stage and its streaming service as well. Local historian Russ Gifford presents "Eleanor Roosevelt: A Woman Who Made A Difference," Monday, March 22, from 6:30-8:00 p.m. live on Zoom, as part of Western Iowa Tech Community College's Lifelong Learning Program. Here is a preview.

Two Siouxland-area health departments have now disclosed cases of the UK variant of the novel coronavirus. The director of Siouxland District Health confirmed one case of the variant was reported to health officials in Woodbury County at the beginning of March. No other cases have been recorded. Meanwhile, the Northeast Nebraska Public Health Department coverage area recently saw its first case. The health department covers the counties of Cedar, Dixon, Wayne, and Thurston. The new variant

The Nebraska Department of Health reports the COVID-19 variant from the United Kingdom has been found in Siouxland somewhere in the counties covered by the Northeast Nebraska Public Health Department. This includes the counties of Cedar, Dixon, Thurston, and Wayne. The variant is more infectious and could cause more severe illness. The Iowa Department of Public Health reports eight more Iowans have died of complications of COVID-19, with almost 200 additional test results with 16 new cases today

A local advocate for the immigrant community says there is concern people who speak other languages are not hearing factual updates about the COVID-19 vaccine. Becky Carlson is the Executive Director of the Mary J. Treglia Community House in Sioux City. “There is a lot of rumors, and misinformation that is floating around for everybody because everything is so confusing. We just want to make sure people get access to that information.” A vaccination clinic has been scheduled for next Wednesday,

304 031221 The state health department reports nearly 5 thousand additional deaths in 2020 compared to previous years' numbers. This number could be another indicator of the COVID-19 pandemic's impact on Iowa. According to preliminary data, Iowa had more than 35 thousand deaths reported in 2020. That's higher than the past four years when that number hovered around 30 thousand deaths per year. The state has confirmed more than 56 hundred Iowans have died from COVID-19 so far. The CDC says excess

The Siouxland Community Health Center will be invited to join the Health Center COVID-19 Vaccine Program in the next six weeks. This program directly allocates vaccines to supported health centers to ensure underserved communities and those disproportionately affected by COVID-19 are equitably vaccinated. The invitation was extended after 4 th district Representative Feenstra and members of the Iowa House delegation sent a letter to the Health Resources and Services Administration and the

304 031121 On Thursday, the Iowa Department of Public Health reported 19 additional COVID-19 deaths and a further 412 confirmed cases. The department says in Woodbury County, there have been 31 new cases added to the total case count in the last 24 hours. Woodbury County has a 14-day COVID-19 positivity rate of 6.4 percent, which was unchanged from yesterday. Another Crawford County resident has succumbed to the novel coronavirus, according to state statistics. As of 1 p.m. today, 7,687 people

404 03.10.21 Jurors have acquitted an Iowa journalist who was pepper-sprayed and arrested by police while covering a protest. Critics have derided the case as an attack on press freedom and an abuse of prosecutorial discretion. A jury found Des Moines Register reporter Andrea Sahouri not guilty on misdemeanor charges of failure to disperse and interference with official acts. It also acquitted her former boyfriend, Spenser Robnett, of the same charges, which carried the threat of fines and even

304 031021 A Polk County jury has found Des Moines Register reporter Andrea Sahouri not guilty of violating police orders during a racial justice protest last summer. Sahouri testified that she was pepper-sprayed and arrested at the protest near Merle Hay Mall in Des Moines, as she was trying to move away from police who were using tear gas to break up a crowd. In his closing statement, defense attorney Nick Klinefeldt told the jury Sahouri was at the protest to cover it for the Register, not to