Wayne Byers Show – Evening – Oct 15

CSi Weather…

REST OF TONIGHT…Partly cloudy. Isolated rain showers and snow showers early in the evening, then isolated snow showers after

midnight. Lows in the upper 20s. Northwest winds 10 to 15 mph. Chance of precipitation 20 percent.

.FRIDAY…Mostly sunny. A 30 percent chance of rain in the

afternoon. Highs in the mid 40s. West winds 10 to 15 mph.

.FRIDAY NIGHT…Cloudy. Chance of rain and snow in the evening, then snow likely after midnight. Snow accumulation around 1 inch in the Jamestown area, up to 2 inches in the Valley City area.  Lows in the lower 30s. Southeast winds 5 to 10 mph. Chance of precipitation 60 percent in the Jamestown area, 70 percent in the Valley city area.

.SATURDAY…Mostly cloudy. Chance of snow possibly mixed with rain in the morning, then slight chance of snow in the afternoon. Highs in the upper 30s. Northeast winds 10 to 15 mph with gusts to around 30 mph shifting to the northwest 15 to 20 mph with gusts to around 40 mph in the afternoon. Chance of precipitation 40 percent.

.SATURDAY NIGHT…Partly cloudy. Lows 15 to 20. Northwest winds

10 to 15 mph with gusts to around 30 mph.

.SUNDAY…Mostly sunny. A 20 percent chance of snow in the

afternoon. Highs in the lower 30s.

.SUNDAY NIGHT…Mostly cloudy with a 20 percent chance of snow.

Lows 15 to 20.

.MONDAY…Partly sunny with a 30 percent chance of snow. Highs in

the lower 30s.

.MONDAY NIGHT…Mostly cloudy with a 20 percent chance of snow.

Lows around 20.

.TUESDAY…Partly sunny. Highs in the mid 30s.

.TUESDAY NIGHT…Mostly cloudy. Lows in the lower 20s.

.WEDNESDAY…Partly sunny. A 20 percent chance of rain in the

afternoon. Highs in the lower 40s.

.WEDNESDAY NIGHT…Mostly cloudy. Slight chance of snow possibly

mixed with rain in the evening, then slight chance of snow after

midnight. Lows in the mid 20s. Chance of precipitation

20 percent.

.THURSDAY…Partly sunny with a 20 percent chance of snow. Highs

in the upper 30s.

 

High temperatures on Saturday will likely come from midnight Friday night until about 6 AM Saturday. As the low pushes across North Dakota strong cold advection blasts through in its wake, with falling temperatures and a change over from rain to snow. Windy also on Saturday. The question does not become if the precipitation on Saturday will be rain or snow, it will be snow.

The question is how much precpitation will there be.

Expect a cold night Saturday night and a cold day on Sunday with temperatures some 20 degrees below mid October normals. Most areas get back into the 40s for highs by the middle of next week.

 

North Dakota’s rate of positive tests for the coronavirus climbed over 10% for the second time in three days and active cases are nearing the 5,000 mark. The state Health Department report Thursday showed that 705 people tested positive after 7,121 tests were processed in the last day, a rate of 10.45%. A total of 29,653 people have been diagnosed with COVID-19 since the pandemic began. Cass County went over the 7,000 mark and Burleigh Country surpassed 5,000 in Wednesday’s update. Active cases jumped up by 188 to a total of 4,947, with Cass County going over 1,000 in the last day. Active infections have risen steadily since reaching the 1,000 mark on Aug. 18.

NDDoH COVID-19 Stats

Thurs. Oct, 15, 2020

Posted 10 a.m.

Barnes

New Positives  0

Total Positives 276

Active Cases 24

Recovered 251

 

Stutsman

New Positives 15

Total Positives 647

Active Cases 98

Recovered  545

More information as it becomes available

COVID-19 Test Results
The results listed are from the previous day. Additional data can be found on the NDDoH website.

BY THE NUMBERS

7,121 – Total Tests from Yesterday*

738,020 – Total tests completed since the pandemic began

705 – Positive Individuals from Yesterday*****

29,653 – Total positive individuals since the pandemic began

10.45% – Daily Positivity Rate**

 

4,947 Total Active Cases

+188 Individuals from yesterday

513 – Individuals Recovered from Yesterday (373 with a recovery date of yesterday****)

24,336 – Total recovered since the pandemic began

138 – Curren­tly Hospitalized

+6 – Individuals from yesterday

5 – New Deaths*** (370 total deaths since the pandemic began)

INDIVIDUALS WHO DIED WITH COVID-19

• Woman in her 70s from Bottineau County with underlying health conditions.
• Woman in her 80s from Cavalier County with underlying health conditions.
• Man in his 70s from Mercer County with underlying health conditions.
• Woman in her 70s from Morton County with underlying health conditions.
• Man in his 90s from Ward County with underlying health conditions.

COUNTIES WITH NEW POSITIVE CASES REPORTED THURSDAY

• Adams County – 5
• Benson County – 7
• Billings County – 3
• Bottineau County – 8
• Bowman County – 11
• Burke County – 1
• Burleigh County – 134
• Cass County – 93
• Cavalier County – 1
• Dickey County – 18
• Divide County – 2
• Dunn County – 10
• Eddy County – 6
• Emmons County – 3
• Foster County – 10
• Golden Valley County – 7
• Grand Forks County – 40
• Grant County – 1
• Hettinger County – 5
• Kidder County – 3
• LaMoure County – 17
• Logan County – 1
• McHenry County – 3
• McIntosh County – 9
• McKenzie County – 9
• McLean County – 15
• Mercer County – 31
• Morton County – 67
• Mountrail County – 3
• Nelson County – 2
• Oliver County – 4
• Pembina County – 5
• Pierce County – 3
• Ramsey County – 3
• Ransom County – 10
• Renville County – 1
• Richland County – 12
• Rolette County – 3
• Sargent County – 1
• Sheridan County – 5
• Sioux County – 7
• Stark County – 17
• Stutsman County – 15
• Towner County – 9
• Traill County – 2
• Walsh County – 4
• Ward County – 54
• Williams County – 25

 

* Note that this does not include individuals from out of state and has been updated to reflect the most recent information discovered after cases were investigated.

**Individuals who tested positive divided by the total number of people tested who have not previously tested positive (susceptible encounters).

*** Number of individuals who tested positive and died from any cause while infected with COVID-19. There is a lag in the time deaths are reported to the NDDoH.
**** The actual date individuals are officially out of isolation and no longer contagious.

*****Totals may be adjusted as individuals are found to live out of state, in another county, or as other information is found during investigation.

 

For descriptions of these categories, visit the NDDoH dashboard.

 

For the most updated and timely information and updates related to COVID-19, visit the NDDoH website at www.health.nd.gov/coronavirus, follow on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram and visit the CDC website at www.cdc.gov/coronavirus.

 

 

Update…

Jamestown (CVHD)Due to the change of the weather, Central Valley Health District will be offering it’s free COVID-19 testing this week on Friday, October 16 indoors.  Indoor testing will occur on from 10am to noon in the Exchequer Room at the Jamestown Civic Center.  Those seeking to be tested should enter the building through the north entrance.  Face coverings are required. Testing will occur every Friday until further notice.

Those who wish to receive a test are required to complete the online screening questionnaire in advance, which can be found here: https://testreg.nd.gov/.  If you have completely pre-registration in the past, you do not have to do it again.

Questions regarding testing; please contact Central Valley Health at 252-8130.

Follow Central Valley Health District on Facebook for current and up-to-date information on local response information.

FARGO, N.D. (AP) — The host of a highly-rated radio talk show in North Dakota says he has tested positive for COVID-19. Joel Heitkamp is the longtime voice of News and Views on KFGO radio in Fargo. The 58-year-old Heitkamp told listeners on Thursday morning he began to show symptoms of the coronavirus last weekend. He said he’s lost his sense of taste and smell and is experiencing body aches. Heitkamp said he won’t leave home or return to work until he is cleared. Heitkamp also serves as operations manager for KFGO and 740 The Fan. His sister, Heidi Heitkamp, is a former U.S. senator from North Dakota.

Jamestown  (CSi)  The Jamestown City Promotion Capital Construction Fund, and Grant Executive Advisory Board met Thursday, at the Jamestown Civic Center Exchequor Room, also by the Zoom virtual platform.  Board Members were: President, Matthew Woods, Frank Balak, Tena Lawrence, Taylor Barnes, Paulette Ritter, along with Pam Phillips on hand. ExOffcio Member Jamestown Area Chamber of Commerce Executive Emily Biven, who gave a Chamber update.

Goals and Objectives of Capital Construction Fund were discussed.  Also available on the Jamestown Tourism web site.  The funds are available with applications due on March first and October first each year.

Conflict of Interest Disclosure, Board Member Tena Lawrence was allowed to participate in the discussion, but not allowed to vote, being employed by the University of Jamestown, an agenda item., later in the meeting.

On the agenda was funding requests by:

The Jamestown Arts Center for a  Banner Installation, and,

Jamestown Motorsports, Inc for a Foam Ranger, fire suppressant tool.

 

With the Arts Center Banner Installation, Arts Center Director, Mindi Schmitz said, the Newman Signs quote was in the amount of $3521.25, to replace the banner on the Two Rivers Performing Arts building with a permanent billboard type frame.  She said the Downtown Arts Market billboard lists all of the sponsors throughout the summer is swapped out in the off-season to promote the Arts Center, Two Rivers Performing Arts and Top of the Stairs Dance Studio.  The request pointed out the sign supports promotion of the arts, downtown, and to make tourists aware of more opportunities in Jamestown, and Downtown Jamestown.

She said Top of the Stairs has committed $250 toward the project, and Two Rivers Performing Art $250 and in-kind use of their building.

The board voted to, fund the request of $3521.25.

 

The request from Jamestown Motorsports Foam Ranger, for the fire suppressant tool,  was for $3800, for the skid unit, that fits in the back of a pickup box, with a 60 gallon, water tank, and a 15 gallon foam tank with hose reel.  The skid would be used at several racing events, to fight gas and alcohol fires in race cars, presently not available, to the organization.   A 501-C-3 non-profit organization designation has been granted.  Donations are welcome, as it can not charge the public.  The goal of the group is to promote track safety, and economic development.

The board voted to, request of $3800.

The next meeting will be held in March, as the next round of requests is due, March 1, 2021.

 

At the Grant Board Meeting, requests were made by the University of Jamestown Basketball Shootout, represented by Thad Sankey.

Also, the University of Jamestown NAIA Women’s Wrestling Tournament, by UJ Athletic Director, Sean Johnson.

 

University of Jamestown Basketball Shootout, represented by Thad Sankey, requested  $5,000.  The Shootout  is a high school basketball event for boys and girls teams, to be held, December 19, 2020 at the University of Jamestown campus.  It has become an elite Class B event because of the location, competition venue and fan experience.  He said COVID-19 stringent safety protocols will be in force.

Last year 64 percent of the spectators traveled over 50 miles to Jamestown.

Another source of funding is $1,000 generated from local advertising.

The economic impact is estimated at $75,000.

Information Item:  Reimbursement of $3910, 30 percent of the  unused portion of last year’s advertising requirement, was previously approved,  with a winter storm hampering the event, and the minimum requirements of advertising were not met, thus the $3910 in reimbursement.

The board voted to, make a grant not to exceed $5,000, to support the expense of the officials, athletic trainer, and COVID protocol.

 

University of Jamestown NAIA Women’s Wrestling Tournament was represented by UJ Athletic Director Sean Johnson, with a request of $10,000 for adverting. The Tournament will be held on the University of Jamestown Campus on March 12, 13, 2021.  32 teams will compete including UJ., representing 17 states   The participants will be accompanied by coaching staffs and fans, some will come two to three days before the tournament, adding to hotel stays in Jamestown.

A promotional video produced last year was shown. A static ad was on CSi Cable.

The marketing plan includes expenditures with various agencies, that will promote not only  the event, but also the Jamestown community.

The economic impact is estimated at $181,800.

The board voted to fund expenses for the officials in an amount not to exceed, $10,000.

The NAIA cancelled the 2020 event due to the COVID-19 pandemic.  (In 2019 the event was interrupted by blizzard.)

The Financial Report was given by Taylor Barnes, and was approved by the board.

The Executive Director evaluation survey was noted, to be returned.

Searle reported that of the $148,000 committed, in the fund, before today’s allocations, $57,000 remained in the fund.  In November this year additional funding requests are expected.

 

Bismarck  (CSi) The North Dakota Aeronautic Commission report, in September this year there were  385 airline boardings, compared to  824 in September of 2019, a decrease of 53-percent.

Through September this years there were 4223 boardings compared to 8295 through September 2019, a decrease of 49-percent.

Statewide, North Dakota’s eight commercial service airports posted a total of 39,451 passenger boardings during the month of September. This amounts to a 44% retention rate of the passengers that the state experienced during the same month last year and is the highest monthly retention rate that the North Dakota has experienced since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic.  However, this is also the first month since April that the state has experienced a lower passenger volume than the previous month as there were 4,000 fewer passengers in September than in August.

Kyle Wanner, Executive Director of the North Dakota Aeronautics Commission, says, “September is seasonally one of our slowest months for air travel in the state of North Dakota and so as expected, we experienced a small dip in passenger volume from August. Our commercial service airports have now been successfully operating during the COVID-19 pandemic for seven months and during that time they have worked hard to ensure that a safe environment exists for the traveling public. Since air transportation is also one of the safest modes of transportation, it is critical that it continues to remain a viable option for our travelers.”

Jamestown  (CSi)  The pandemic has given the Jamestown Arts Center, the opportunity to creatively change some of their signature Arts Center programs to safely enjoy all that culture and the arts have to offer.

On Thursday’s Wayne Byers Show on CSi Cable 2 Arts Center Director Mindi Schmitz said, over the next five months, in association with the opening of each new exhibition we will be offering an “exclusive” wine and cheese tasting for up to 25 participants aptly named Perfectly Paired, because what’s better than curated wine and cheese parings coupled with art. Sommelier Karla Sandness will be choosing each exhibition’s pairings which may be inspired by the art or other common theme. To be sure, the wine and cheeses will delight your palate.

This program is first-come-first-served. To sign up for participation give the office a call at 701-251-2496. Perfectly Paired: October 15, November 19, January 28, March 5 and April 22 at 7:00 pm in The Arts Center gallery. Call soon to reserve your spot as we are limiting attendance to 25 guests.

Tickets are $25 AND look for a discounted book of tickets for the
future wine and cheese events at the October 15 event.

Mindi added that the next Open Mic Night is Thursday Oct 22,  from 7-p.m., to 9-p.m. Poets, writers, musicians, comedians, solos, duos, and any and all performers are welcome to share your talent with the community at our monthly open mic night. There will be a sign up sheet at the door. Please limit your piece to 10 minutes. A P.A. system, bass amp, guitar amp and music stands will be provided and facilitated by local musician Steve Kuykendall. Open mic night is back on The Arts Center gallery stage. Due to the Covid-19 pandemic, social distancing is in place and masks are highly encouraged. ENJOY (as safely as possible)!!

If you haven’t yet found the courage to get up on stage, you are welcome to just sit back and take in the show.

The next exhibit is October 15- November  13, Sculptures by Patrick Luber

She added that “This Fall we host University of North Dakota sculpture professor, Patrick Luber. His impeccable installation and sculptural work is sophisticated, thought provoking, and distinctive. When you visit the gallery be prepared to consider the variety of themes Luber is addressing while admiring the artist’s mastery over his materials.

Over the span of Patrick Luber’s career he has explored the serious and humorous intersection of religion, national identity, popular culture, and folk art as they relate to American culture. His sculptures are unified by his use of referential objects as sculptural form, especially familiar objects, such as beds, books, architectural forms, or liturgical objects. Through the manipulation and combination of these ordinary objects, a visual language emerges which expresses the idiosyncratic experiment called America.”

Fargo  (CSi)   Senators John Hoeven and Kevin Cramer and Congressman Kelly Armstrong Thursday  announced that the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) will expand and extend the Fargo VA’s participation in its hyperbaric oxygen therapy (HBOT) clinical demonstration program and increase the number of veterans who can be referred for this alternative treatment option for post-traumatic stress (PTS). The program is being extended through September 30, 2021, expanded to allow veterans to be treated at Jamestown Regional Medical Center and increasing to allow more veterans to be served.

Earlier this year, the delegation urged the VA to extend the Fargo VA’s HBOT demonstration program, which would have expired at the end of September. Fargo was selected as the fifth location for the VA’s HBOT demonstration program last year. The HBOT program provides veterans with PTS in North Dakota and western Minnesota, who have yet to experience positive outcomes from other treatments, access to HBOT through a partnership between the Fargo VA and Healing with Hyperbarics, a Fargo-based facility, and now with Jamestown Regional Medical Center.

BISMARCK, N.D. (AP) — A federal judge has dismissed a civil lawsuit filed by a man who alleged two Bismarck police officers used excessive force when they shot him in 2016. The Bismarck Tribune reports that Travis Clark Jr. also named the city of Bismarck in the suit. Clark said the officers had not been properly trained and that the department had policies in place that fostered unconstitutional conduct. Officers Dan Salander and Michael Carlson shot Clark in January 2016 after authorities said he ignored the officers’ commands and reached for what the officers believed was a weapon. A state investigation cleared the officers of all wrongdoing. Clark’s February 2018 suit asked for money damages for past and future medical expenses, and for pain and suffering.

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — A majority of bankers surveyed in rural parts of 10 Plains and Western states are showing more enthusiasm for the state of their local economies than they have since the coronavirus pandemic began. The Rural Mainstreet Survey’s overall index surged to 53.2 in October, up from 46.9. in September and well ahead of the 35.5 reading in March, when the index bottomed out as the outbreak began. Any score above 50 suggests a growing economy, while a score below 50 suggests a shrinking economy. Bankers from Colorado, Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, South Dakota and Wyoming were surveyed.

In sports…

Jamestown  (JRMC)  Jack Talley is, by all definitions, a good kid.

He made the dean’s list at the University of Jamestown. He’s a member of the homecoming court. He’s a captain of the UJ basketball team and even made the school’s all-decade team last year.

When he isn’t in class or on the court, he’s also a member of the UJ Student Senate and an active participant in Samaritans Feet which provides shoes to children who would otherwise go without.

He’s also an in-shape kid. Or, an adult rather as he turns 22 in November.

This summer, his exercise regimen included three workouts each day — a workout in the morning, team practice in afternoon and in the evenings, another workout or weightlifting. Some days, he also attended active recovery, a demanding form of physical therapy.

After his diagnosis, however, all that changed.

Talley tested positive for the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) in September.

Since then, the state has topped nationwide lists, reporting some of the highest numbers of new cases per capita in the country.

Fewer than 20% of North Dakota’s population is 20-29 years old, yet, that age group makes up more than 28% of the positive COVID-19 cases in North Dakota. Of more than 23,000 positive COVID-19 cases in North Dakota, more than 6,000 have occurred in individuals ages 20-29.

Despite what some might say about college students and their after-school social activities, Talley and other athletes formed a pledge: for their safety and the safety of their teammates, they would limit their physical interactions with others. Talley said he avoided parties and mass gatherings, though he continued to practice with the team and attend class in person.

“Parties and those things are going on but as athletes, we made a deal that we wouldn’t participate. I tried to hold true to that to the best of my ability,” Talley said, saying he doesn’t know how he contracted the virus.

His initial recovery met expectations. He quarantined for 14 days. He followed the athletic department’s protocol of incrementally returning to practice with medical clearances. Life moved always forward, as they say in the Talley home.

Until one day, it didn’t.

Talley didn’t feel well at practice one day, something he attributed to returning to shape after a less rigorous workout routine. Ever the athlete, he pushed through the pain.

“Jack is like any senior, he wants to be back in the game,” said Head Basketball Coach Danny Neville.

The next few minutes of practice are hazy, Jack said, however he remembers a teammate tapping him on the shoulder, “Are you going in, man?”

Talley shook his head.

He took a chair instead, sitting down and holding his chest.

“My heart rate was really, really fast and I couldn’t get it to slow down. I couldn’t breathe either.”

A coach drove him to the Emergency Department at Jamestown Regional Medical Center where the medical team treated his symptoms.

Lasting repercussions like Talley’s are the concern, said Dr. Kent Diehl, JRMC Emergency Department Physician.

Adhere to the guidelines from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Dr. Diehl said, like hand washing and physical distancing.

“Wear your mask,” he said. “It’s amazing to me that we’re at the COVID numbers and that people aren’t paying attention. This young man is in peak physical condition and now he doesn’t know if he can play again this season.”

Most people will recover but 10%-20% will have lasting implications, Dr. Diehl said, saying every day the JRMC Emergency Department sees COVID patients struggling to breathe or with severe chest pain.

“JRMC took great care of me. It was fast and quick,” Talley said.

Tests followed as well as a trip to see a cardiologist in Bismarck. Doctors diagnosed him with Pericarditis and Costochondritis, inflammation of the heart and lungs, respectively.

“If this can happen to a starting forward of an award-winning collegiate basketball team, think how it could impact any of us,” said Mike Delfs, JRMC President & CEO. “We may have a quick recovery and we may not – you just don’t know.”

Talley wasn’t the only one on the basketball team to contract the virus, though he did have one of the most challenging recoveries.

“Even though you’re sitting out or not healthy, you have guys that lift you up,” Neville said, saying the culture of the team is equally important as the athleticism of the team.

UJ Men’s Basketball has a lot to live up to this year. After receiving the Great Plains Athletic Conference title in 2018-19, the team has high expectations for 2020.

Medication should help and doctors expect Talley to regain his strength – they just don’t know when. The UJ Basketball season begins Oct. 23 and Talley is still unsure whether he’ll get to play.

His heart is struggling in more ways than one.

COVID’s impacts on his athletic and academic career are “heartbreaking for sure,” Talley said, for him and his classmates.

The other heartbreaking part? While he was diagnosed and in hospitals, awaiting tests, he had to do it alone.

Talley’s parents live in Sioux Falls, S.D. Driving up to support their son would have added to the potential risk, said Dave Talley, Jack’s father.

“Of course we’re very worried. As a parent removed in this way, it is hard to help. It is more dangerous to go and help than to not,” Dave said. “If your kid had a broken foot, you’d go up there and you’d do what you could. Anything that is not transmissible, you would be up there. You would help them.”

Whatever the impacts of Jack’s diagnosis on his season, the athlete says he’ll remain positive. He intends to graduate this year with a degree in political science. He hopes to travel the world and serve his country. He also hopes to earn a doctorate one day.

“We’re disappointed about his basketball season because the sport has been his life,” Dave said. “Even still, I think his greatest successes are yet to come.”

Moving forward, Jack says he realizes the response to COVID-19 can be a controversial one.

“The best I can say as a college kid – don’t make something that’s scientific become political. Listen to healthcare professionals. They only have your best interest in mind.”

No matter a person’s beliefs, Jack said, all people can get behind protecting the vulnerable.

“You don’t want to be selfish. It’s one thing if you don’t care about getting sick. What happens if you get a little kid sick or an old person sick? They don’t deserve it just because you don’t think something is real. Take care of yourself, take care of others. Everything will be alright.”

To learn more about COVID-19, visit the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. To learn more about JRMC, visit www.jrmcnd.com. View the UJ Men’s Basketball schedule.

 

 

In world and national news…

(AP)  Coronavirus cases around the world have climbed to all-time highs of more than 330,000 per day as the scourge comes storming back across Europe and spreads with renewed speed in the U.S. Many places are being forced to reimpose tough restrictions they had eased just a few months ago. Well after Europe seemed to have largely tamed the virus, newly confirmed infections are hitting record daily highs in Germany, the Czech Republic, Italy and Poland, and most of the rest of the continent is seeing similar danger signs. In the United States, new cases per day are on the rise in 44 states, with the biggest surges in the Midwest and Great Plains. Deaths per day are climbing in 30 states.

 

NEW YORK (AP) — Three Rockland County Jewish congregations have filed a lawsuit accusing Gov. Andrew Cuomo of engaging in a streak of anti-Semitic discrimination with a crackdown on religious gatherings. The Manhattan federal court lawsuit filed Wednesday says Cuomo has made numerous discriminatory statements about the Jewish Orthodox community. Cuomo, a Democrat, has blamed the state’s growing infection rate on so-called “red zone” areas that are home to 2.8% of the state population. The state said six coronavirus clusters have appeared in Brooklyn and Queens, and Broome, Orange and Rockland counties. In those COVID-19 hot spots, the state says houses of worship can have 25% capacity, or a maximum of 10 people. Cuomo told reporters Thursday he was not targeting Orthodox Jewish communities.

 

WILMINGTON, Del. (AP) — Democratic vice presidential nominee Kamala Harris is suspending in-person events until Monday after two people associated with the campaign tested positive for coronavirus. Joe Biden’s campaign said Thursday that he had no exposure, though he and Harris spent several hours campaigning together in Arizona on Oct. 8. Biden and Harris have both had multiple negative COVID tests since then. Harris had been scheduled to travel Thursday to North Carolina and Friday to Ohio. The campaign told reporters Thursday morning that Harris’ communications director and a flight crew member tested positive after a recent campaign trip.

 

WASHINGTON (AP) — With less than three weeks until Election Day, majorities of Americans are highly critical of President Donald Trump’s handling of both the coronavirus pandemic and his own illness. That’s according to a new poll from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research. The survey also shows that few Americans have high levels of trust in the information the White House has released about Trump’s health. Initial accounts of the Republican president’s condition were murky and contradictory. The White House is also still refusing to say when the president last tested negative for COVID-19 before his infection became public.

 

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump has added new material to his campaign rally speech: his teenage son Barron’s recent coronavirus infection. Trump has worked the 14-year-old’s medical condition into his rally speech since the first lady disclosed Wednesday that their son had tested positive. She said he didn’t have any symptoms and has since tested negative. Mrs. Trump has fiercely guarded the ninth-grader’s privacy, but the president is now using his son’s case to bolster his argument for why schools should fully reopen. At a rally Thursday in North Carolina, Trump said: “My beautiful Barron had it. He recovered so fast.” Trump and the first lady also recovered from the coronavirus.

 

FORT COLLINS, Colo. (AP) — One of two Rocky Mountain wildfires that have been pushed by strong winds has become the largest in Colorado’s history. The Cameron Peak Fire has burned 256 square miles in northern Colorado as of Thursday. That’s about 40 square miles bigger than one in western Colorado that held the previous record and was fully contained Sept. 15. Meanwhile, the Mullen Fire in southeastern Wyoming and northern Colorado has burned 276 square miles. Forecasters expect dry air and strong wind to pose a challenge for firefighters into the weekend. The burning is occurring much later in the year than usual.

 

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — More than 50,000 California utility customers are without power because of a fall heat wave that has brought another round of extreme wildfire danger. Warnings of hot, dry, windy weather continue through Friday. Winds up to 55 mph are expected in the San Francisco Bay Area and elsewhere in the northern part of the state. Pacific Gas & Electric began cutting off power to thousands of customers throughout Northern California Wednesday night. The outages are aimed at preventing wildfires if winds damage power lines. A new fire erupted before dawn Thursday near the inland Southern California city of Redlands but firefighters have it about 30% surrounded.