November 2020

Fri
06
Nov

Humboldt County tops 20 percent positivity rate

The Iowa Department of Public Health and Humboldt County Public Health identified another 15 new positive cases of COVID-19 in Humboldt County on Thursday. That brings the total number of positive cases since the pandemic began to 453 in the county. Of that number, 365 have recovered with three deaths reported. There are 85 active positive cases.
Of the cases reported Thursday, two are in the 0-17 age range, four are in the 18-40 age group, three are ages 41-60, five are ages 61-80. And one is age 81 or older.
Humboldt County is 18th highest among Iowa Counties for the positivity rate for the past 14 days, at 20.8 percent. There are 28 Iowa counties with rates at 20 percent or higher, including Hancock (22.8), Webster (20.7) and Wright (20.0). Pocahontas is at 19.4 percent.

Thu
05
Nov
Thu
05
Nov

HCMH announces COVID-19 rapid test site


Humboldt County Public Health continues to be besieged by COVID-19 cases in the community, 23 more were reported on Wednesday.

With novel coronavirus cases escalating rapidly in Humboldt County and throughout Iowa, Humboldt County Memorial Hospital (HCMH) has announced a new rapid COVID-19 testing site in Humboldt.
Individuals looking for rapid COVID-19 testing will have a convenient new option, which began this past Monday, Nov. 2.
The new testing site, located on the north side of the hospital between the Emergency Room and Surgery Center, will be accepting symptomatic patients by appointment only.
Patients will need to call 515-332-7665 Monday–Friday, 9 a.m.–4 p.m., to make an appointment. Upon arrival, patients will need to call from their car to complete the registration process and be notified when they can come in. All patients will be required to wear a face covering and practice social distancing.

Thu
05
Nov

Bringing families together in chat room


Richard Zeman (right), the oldest son of Mim Zeman (second from right) enjoys a face-to-face visit with his mother via speaker phone in the new HCMH Long-Term Care chat room. An idea precipitated by the COVID-19 pandemic. Photos submitted.

One of the toughest things about dealing with the novel coronavirus has been the inability or limited ability to visit loved ones in long-term care facilities. It’s something the management and staff of Humboldt County Memorial Hospital (HCMH) Long-Term Care have had to deal with during the spring, summer and early fall.
That’s why HCMH put its maintenance department in charge of constructing a chat room indoors where visitors can see residents behind a glass window and can speak to each other over a speaker phone. The room is located before the main doors to the Long-Term Care unit. When utilizing the indoor chat room, guests do not enter LTC. If the visitors need help while in the chat room they can call LTC at 332-7685 or go back to the front desk.

Wed
04
Nov

Erickson, Lee capture contested races

Winners of Humboldt County's GOP primary races last June sailed to victory Tuesday during the 2020 general election in the county. In the only contested races locally, David Lee topped John D. (JD) Myers for Supervisor District 5, which includes all of Lake and Grove townships, the eastern third of Vernon Township and the northern half of Norway Township, along with the city of Dakota City. Lee collected 572 votes to 385 for Myers, 60 percent to 40 percent.
The only other contested race was for County Auditor, where Republican primary winner Trish Erickson captured 69.6 percent of the votes cast with 3,418. Chris Freund (pronounced Friend) gathered 1,258, or 25.6 percent and Cody Lawman gained 226 votes or 4.6 percent.

Wed
04
Nov
Tue
03
Nov

DONALD S. MADSEN

DONALD S. MADSEN, 89, of Bradgate, died Thursday, Oct. 29, 2020, in Humboldt. Those wishing to send online condolences can send them to www.masonlindhart.com and we will see that it gets to the family. Be sure to put the deceased’s name in the subject line.

Tue
03
Nov

Osage sidelines Humboldt in state tourney opener

Humboldt’s story book volleyball season came to an end Monday night (Nov. 2) in the first round of the Class 3A state tournament in Cedar Rapids as top-seed and number one ranked Osage upended the Wildcats by scores of 25-16, 25-20 and 25-11.

Humboldt’s season ends at 33-4. Osage, 32-2, advances into a Wednesday semifinal.

See full story in the Humboldt Independent. Subscribe today for print and digital access to the Independent by selecting the link on this page to get started.

Mon
02
Nov

Limited number of tickets on sale for HHS fall play

See this photo and more in this week's Humboldt Independent and at www.humboldtnews.com.

Humboldt High School will present “The Wonderful World of Oz” on Friday and Saturday, Nov. 6-7, with 7 p.m. performances for the public at the R. Wesley Carlson Auditorium. It will be done in a Readers Theatre style adapted from the book (Baum) by Laramie Dean.
Tickets, which are available at the high school office through Thursday at 5:30 p.m., are $6 for adults and $3 for students. Mitigation strategies are in place (masks required) and social distancing between family groups.
The audience will be limited to 150 people each night. No parents will be turned away. The Parent Dress Rehearsal performance will be Thursday, Nov. 5, at 7 p.m. Tickets will be available for sale prior to the Parent’s Dress Rehearsal in the auditorium lobby.

Mon
02
Nov

JAMES E. LOWE

JAMES E. LOWE, 71, died Thursday, Oct. 8, 2020, in Des Moines.

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