SPM News

032520 432 Monona County has its first case of the novel coronavirus, or COVID-19. This is the fourth such case in Northwest Iowa. Woodbury County was the first in the region to have a positive case announced over the weekend, followed by Sioux Countynthe following day. A second case was confirmed in Woodbury County this week. The Monona County individual is self-isolating at home, according to a press release from Burgess Public Health in Onawa. The age and gender of the person are not known,

The state of Iowa reports 21 more confirmed cases of COVID-19 for a total of 145. This comes the day after Governor Kim Reynolds announced the state's first death linked to the coronavirus outbreak. The victim is a resident of Dubuque County who was between 61 and 80 years old. Another news conference is planned for 2:30 this afternoon. Gov. Pete Ricketts is urging Nebraska residents to quarantine themselves for at least two weeks if they've recently traveled anyplace that has seen a big

Because of concerns surrounding the new coronavirus, Iowa’s Secretary of State Paul Pate pushed back the date of a special election for Woodbury County Supervisor. Supervisor Jeremy Taylor, a Republican, stepped down after residency issues. Two candidates vying for the seat, Democratic State Representative Tim Kacena and Republican Justin Wright, a teacher at North High, will face off in an election pushed back from April to July 7 th . Woodbury County Election Commissioner Pat Gill talked to

Before the threat of the new coronavirus, the biggest concern of school districts this time of year might be “how do you make up snow days”? Snow days are nothing compared to the current reality facing students, staff, teachers and administrators. The head of Sioux City Community Schools, Superintendent Dr. Paul Gausman, gives us more information about what the area’s biggest school district faces right now. He starts his conversation with Siouxland Public Media’s Sheila Brummer by answering a

The COVID-10 pandemic has forced many local governments and groups to find creative ways to conduct official business. On Monday, the Sioux City council held a meeting with social distancing. Council Member Alex Watters chose to attend the meeting by phone. He is in self isolation and shares his thoughts on the new coronavirus, the state’s response and what issue is keeping him up at night. Siouxland Public Media’s Sheila Brummer reached him by phone the day after the council meeting. Watters

There are 19 more confirmed cases of COVD-19 in Iowa for a total of 124. None of the new cases involve anyone in the Siouxland area. Governor Kim Reynolds is planning a news conference for 2:30 this afternoon that you can hear her on Siouxland Pubic Media, More COVID-19 cases have been reported in five Nebraska counties, bring the state total to 61. One of the new cases involves a woman in her 30s from Madison County who has underlying medical conditions. She has not left her home since symptoms

The COVID-10 pandemic has forced many local governments and groups to get creative when it comes to conducting official business. As Siouxland Public Media’s Sheila Brummer reports, Sioux City leaders briefly talked about the virus during a social-distancing meeting on Monday. Sioux City Mayor Bob Scott says he has heard concerns over the city not issuing an order forcing people to stay home during the COVID-19 pandemic. Scott says it’s not legally possible. “And, for those of you who think the

Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds says the State Hygienic Lab now has the capacity of conducting 620 tests. The announcement comes as public health officials announced one new case of coronavirus in the state, bringing the total positive cases here to 45. There has been a shortage of tests nationwide. Reynolds says the state is working with private companies to try and come up with solutions for shortages in medical supplies. Reynolds admits she doesn’t know the number of ventilators available in the state

032020 Noon Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds has signed an emergency declaration designed to offer an array of relief to state residents as efforts to slow the spread of the coronavirus also slow the economy. The state public health emergency declaration, among other things, temporarily suspends collection of property taxes, some home evictions, and certain regulation fees and penalties. It also allows bars and restaurants to sell unopened bottles of alcohol for consumption off-premises. The declaration

031820 504 Siouxland District Health said this morning that, so far there are no confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Woodbury County. At a news conference at Western Iowa Tech, Deputy director Tyler Brock was asked about the limited supply of tests for the virus. “The focus is getting people tested who need it the most. O.K. Folks with mild system are going to be told they don’t need to be tested, ok?” Brock said he couldn’t put an exact number on tests conducted in Woodbury County. But, says all