VIRUS OUTBREAK-IOWA

Virus possibly cause of Iowa inmate death as cases rise

FORT DODGE, Iowa (AP) — Prison officials say pathologists will determine whether coronavirus killed an inmate in a northwestern Iowa prison as the state deals with increasing numbers of people infected with the virus. A news release from the Iowa Department of Corrections says 62-year-old Ronald Eugene Holdworth died Saturday morning as he was being taken from the prison to a hospital. Officials say the State Medical Examiner will conduct an autopsy to determine whether COVID-19 was a factor in his death. The Fort Dodge Correctional Facility has reported more than 100 inmates and nine employees have tested positive for the virus.

BC-IA-MAKE-A-WISH IOWA-CEO

CEO of Make-A-Wish Iowa dismissed over financial issues

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — The board chairman of Make-A-Wish Iowa says the charity’s CEO and president has been fired after the organization discovered financial irregularities during an internal audit. Board chairman Joshua Norton said a statement late last week that Jennifer Woodley had been dismissed. Norton says Rachel Reams, a vice president with the organization, will serve as the interim CEO while the board conducts a search for a new leader. Norton declined to give details on the nature of the financial irregularities. Woodley was named CEO of the group less than a year ago, in August 2019. A publicly listed telephone number for Woodley could not be found Monday.

KAYAKER RESCUED

Crew rescues kayaker stranded on Cedar River in Iowa

CEDAR FALLS, Iowa (AP) — Crews rescued a kayaker who swamped his boat on the Cedar River, authorities said.Responding rescue workers responding to a call at about 4:20 p.m. Sunday found the boater sitting on the top of a wing dam, a barrier that only extends partway into a river, the Waterloo-Cedar Falls Courier reported.  Fire Chief John Bostwick said crews launched a Zodiac boat from Washington Park and brought him to safety without injury.

IOWA ARREST INVESTIGATED

Iowa arrest reviewed after handcuffed Black man has seizure

DUBUQUE, Iowa (AP) — Authorities are investigating an eastern Iowa arrest after video posted on social media showed a handcuffed Black man having a seizure and apparently struggling to breathe after officers used pepper spray on him. Dubuque officials say an internal investigation will review the Friday night arrest of Yoosuf Moment. Police say Moment resisted officers before pepper spray was used. Moment was treated at a local hospital and released after he was ticketed on suspicion of driving without a valid license and interfering with police. City Manager Mike Van Milligen said in a statement that officials are aware of concerns about the incident and a thorough investigation will be conducted.

FEDERAL DEATH PENALTY-HISTORY-Q&A

Q&A: US government not as prolific an executioner as states

CHICAGO (AP) — President Donald Trump’s administration wants to restart federal executions this month, 17 years after the last one. Executions carried out by federal authorities have stopped, restarted and stopped again for long stretches since the first one in 1790, when U.S. marshals hanged a mariner in Maine for fatally shooting the captain of a slave ship. The federal government has never been a prolific executioner, putting to death just a few hundred people since the 1700s. States, meanwhile, have executed more than 15,000 people. The vast majority of executions in recent decades have been by lethal injection. That’s the only method authorized for federal executions.

IOWA-ABORTIONS

Number of Iowa abortions climb after plummeting for decades

The number of women having abortions in Iowa climbed last year, a turnaround that critics blame on the state’s controversial decision to withdraw from a federally funded family planning program. After decades of plummeting abortion numbers, the state last year recorded 3,566 abortions. That is 25% more than the previous year. The Des Moines Register reports last year’s increase came after the number of Iowa abortions dropped 56% from 2008 to 2018.