Masked and gloved to protect himself and others from the coronavirus, Greene County Middle School sixth-grade teacher Doug Brown reaches Friday into a vehicle with a Chromebook for a student to complete online learning activities while school is closed. The district last week made Chromebooks available for students to use while at home. The Greene County Community School District’s “GCCSD at Home” website at https://sites.google.com/greenecountycsd.net/gccsdathome/home will feature new activities every weekMiddle school guidance counselor Karen Shannon (left) speaks with a parent Friday who came to pick up a Chromebook. Staff members, all wearing masks and gloves, volunteered to pass out hundreds of Chromebooks, along with troubleshooting tips, to students to use during the shutdown. Packets of activities are being mailed home to students without access to the internet. ANDREW McGINN | JEFFERSON HERALD PHOTO

COVID-19: The latest

Local businesses earn coveted state support

Staff report

Four Greene County small-businesses have won a collective $56,500 in coveted grants from the Iowa Economic Development Authority to weather the COVID-19 pandemic, the state announced late last week.

The 30 Yard Line in Grand Junction will receive $25,000; Bett & Bev’s will receive $15,000; The Printer’s Box will receive $10,000; and Greene Bean Coffee will receive $6,500.

The Iowa Small Business Relief Grant program had $24 million available to allocate, but nearly 14,000 businesses applied, requesting a total of more than $148 million in assistance.

“The grant awards will provide critical short-term assistance to support Iowa small businesses in maintaining or reopening business operations impacted by the public health emergency,” IEDA Director Debi Durham said in a statement.

Any additional awards will be made from the current pool of applicants, according to the state.

Businesses with between two and 25 employees who had been economically impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic were eligible to apply. The grants range from $5,000 to $25,000. 

• More local events are being impacted by COVID-19.

The Bell Tower Festival, originally scheduled for June 12-13, has been postponed to a date later this summer, organizers announced.

The Impact Award board of directors on Monday followed with the suspension of this year’s award. The board cited the uncertainty of the next few months, including the fact that county libraries, where nomination papers are located, are closed.

The award is usually given in late May or early June.

“The Bell Tower Festival has been delayed and the Impact Award presentation is earlier than that. We felt it would not be appropriate to just announce a winner without a ceremony to honor an individual or group for years of volunteerism in the county,” said Mary Weaver, a member of the board.

The original deadline for nominations was to be April 18. Nominations will be held by the committee and considered by the board next year when the Impact Award resumes.

• Greene County Extension delivered 670 “4-H to Go” STEM kits last week to Greene County and Paton-Churdan schools to be handed out with school lunches.

Kits are sponsored by the Greene County 4-H Young Leader Team.

“This is a way for Greene County Extension to show our support to our youth during this difficult time and give back to our community,” said Kayla Willms, Greene County youth and 4-H coordinator.

The Extension office will be delivering “4-H to Go” kits to Paton-Churdan on Wednesdays and Greene County on Thursdays throughout the month of April.

Families are encouraged to share their results by using the hashtag #greenecounty4hstem. 

Extras are available in the foyer at the Extension office, 104 W. Washington St., Jefferson, between the hours of 9 and 11 a.m. Monday through Friday.

• Confirmed cases of COVID-19 continue to rise in Iowa, and were numbered at 1,995 as of Wednesday afternoon, according to the state, with 53 total deaths.

As of Wednesday, there were also a total of 17,874 negative tests.

• An additional 64,187 Iowans filed for unemployment benefits during the week of March 29 to April 4, Iowa Workforce Development reported April 9.

Total initial claims filed in Iowa was 67,334, which included 3,147 individuals who work in Iowa and live in another state.

A total of $27,565,232.79 of unemployment insurance benefits were paid to claimants that week.    

The number of continuing weekly unemployment claims was 92,962.

Health Care and Social Assistance was the industry reporting the most new claims in Iowa (9,632), with Manufacturing close behind (9,218).

Iowans can visit iowaworkorcedevelopment.gov to file an initial and weekly unemployment insurance claim. The state anticipated that CARES Act benefits would begin this week, including the additional $600 weekly benefit amount as well as unemployment claims for the self-employed. The $600 weekly benefit will be retroactive for claims effective March 29. Claims for the self-employed can be retroactive to Feb. 2.

• Iowa State University Extension and Outreach is urging farm and rural employers to think about labor contingency plans amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

Although food and agriculture has been designated a critical industry by the federal government, those who work in these industries should plan ahead, ISU Extension announced Monday in a press release.

ISU farm management specialist Melissa O’Rourke has authored a five-step guide to help agricultural and food workers of all kinds prevent and cope with possible labor disruptions due to the pandemic.

Each sector of agriculture is vulnerable if precautions are not followed, according to ISU. O’Rourke said dairy and livestock farmers are often short on labor even under good conditions.

She advises farm operators to plan ahead, so that if one or more workers are affected, there is still someone qualified to take care of the animals and see that necessary chores get done.

The article also discusses ways farmers can cross-train each other and rotate job duties, and the importance of keeping a written copy of standard procedures, so all workers will know and follow the same plan.

Crop producers are also encouraged to be prepared, making sure there are ample people who know how to plant and run farm machinery this spring.

One advantage, according to O’Rourke, is that there will likely be an increase in high school and college students unable to seek traditional summer employment, and therefore may be able to help on the farm.

Visit www.extension.iastate.edu/agdm/wdhumanresources.html to access O’Rourke’s full report.

• Boone-based Fareway Stores on Monday announced a $200,000 donation to the Iowa Chamber of Commerce Executives. The donation provides for $1,000-$2,000 in gift cards to ICCE chamber of commerce members in the communities Fareway serves.

“We hope this donation helps small businesses and their employees that are facing challenges during this crisis,” Fareway CEO Reynolds W. Cramer said.

ICCE will immediately work to distribute Fareway gift cards to its chamber of commerce members. The members will then work to distribute the cards to those in-need over the coming days.

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