SPM News

091820 432 Two more people have died from COVID-19 in the Siouxland metro area. The two people were women older than 80 years old in Woodbury County. Today, the county's death toll from COVID-19 now stands at 61, according to the Siouxland District Health Department . The county also reported 61 new positive test cases of the novel coronavirus today. Overall, there have been 4,802 cases in Woodbury County. Yesterday marked the largest single-day Woodbury County increase in some time with 87 new

091820 404 Iowa has reported more than 11 hundred new confirmed coronavirus cases and 15 new deaths in the past 24 hours, as a federal report says the state has one of the nation’s highest infection rates. The state Coronavirus website says there are more than 78 thousand confirmed cases of coronavirus, an increase of 1,259 since 10 a.m. yesterday. Iowa can attribute almost 13 hundred deaths to COVID-19 since March. Woodbury County has 116 new cases of COVID-19 and one recent death. There has

Iowa’s unemployment rate for August dropped to 6%. That is continuing a decline from April amid an economic slowdown caused by the coronavirus outbreak. Today, Iowa Workforce Development says that the August rate was down from 6.8% in July and 11% in April. There were more than 96 thousand people listed as unemployed in August, and this is a decline. There were more than 110 thousand in July. Iowa’s unemployment ranked 12th nationally. Iowa has reported more than 11 hundred new confirmed

New cases of COVID-19 are on the rise in Siouxland, as local health officials say there is a significant increase in Woodbury County. Siouxland District Health recorded 87 new infections in the past 24 hours. A post on social media says the cases are not concentrated in any specific age or demographic. Officials urge people do their part in preventing the spread of the virus. Stay home when sick, even if only mildly ill, physical distance, wear masks in public, and wash hands frequently. Dakota

Along Interstate 29 today and yesterday, volunteers flagged down truck drivers at DOT weight stations near Salix, Iowa and Jefferson, South Dakota. It’s Truck Driver Appreciation Week and men and women behind the wheel hauling freight across the country have experienced a rough six months or more. So, Great West Casualty Company and Joe Morten & Son, Inc. teamed up to say "thank you" to the millions of professionals out on the road each day. They handed out free meals and goodie bags to the

The White House Coronavirus task force is again recommending Iowa establish a statewide mask mandate. The White House task force says Iowa should establish a statewide mask mandate, and notes that COVID-19 is being brought into nursing homes through community transmission. Last week’s White House report said masks should be required in Iowa metro areas and places where schools have coronavirus cases. Governor Kim Reynolds has repeatedly dismissed calls for a statewide mask mandate. She hasn’t

Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds is allowing bars and night clubs to reopen tomorrow in four of the six counties where they’ve been closed because of high coronavirus rates. Bars in Polk, Linn, Black Hawk and Dallas counties can reopen at 5:00 pm tomorrow Wednesday. Bars in Story and Johnson counties—the homes of Iowa State University and the University of Iowa—must remain closed for now. For the past several weeks, the White House Coronavirus Task Force has recommended that Iowa close bars in the

091520 Noon News

Former Iowa Governor Terry Branstad, the U.S. Ambassador to China, will step down early next month. This will end a three-year tenure marked by a trade war and increasingly bitter relations between the world’s two largest economies. The U.S. Embassy in Beijing says Branstad confirmed his decision in a phone call with President Donald Trump last week. It did not give a reason for his departure. Trade relations soured under Trump, and other disputes followed over technology, human rights and the

A Sioux City man faces charges of 1 st Degree Murder and Willful Injury after a double stabbing in Sioux City overnight. First responders found a 37-year-old man and 43-year-old woman with several stab wounds. Both went to MercyOne where the man died and the woman is being treated for serious injuries. The suspect was found about an hour-and-a-half later walking near 21 st and Nebraska near the location of the suspected attack. Fifty-four-year-old Michael Landrum is behind bars this afternoon at