County approaching double digit COVID positivity rate
BY CHUCK VANDENBERGPCC EDITOR LEE COUNTY – Lee County is now just a half a…
Coronavirus
County COVID rates tick up, while vaccination rate stagnates
BY CHUCK VANDENBERGPCC EDITOR LEE COUNTY – With the Delta variant of the COVID-19 coronavirus…
County at 27.7% vaccination below state average
BY CHUCK VANDENBERGPCC EDITOR LEE COUNTY – The county continues to trail the state in…
Supervisors vote to hold onto mask mandate
BY CHUCK VANDENBERGPCC EDITOR LEE COUNTY – Lee County Supervisors voted on Monday to continue…
County sees slight uptick in positive COVID cases
BY CHUCK VANDENBERGPCC EDITOR LEE COUNTY – County health officials are reporting 86 new positive…
New state renters’ aid program launches Monday
BY CHUCK VANDENBERGPCC EDITOR DES MOINES – A new program to help renters and homeowners…
LCHD to open hotline to next tier for vaccines
LEE COUNTY – Lee County Health Department will be opening up their COVID Hotline number…
Iowa lab detects more U.K. COVID variant
DES MOINES – The Iowa Department of Public Health (IDPH) has confirmed 38 additional cases…
All Iowans may be eligible for vaccines starting April 5
BY CHUCK VANDENBERGPCC EDITOR DES MOINES – Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds said during her weekly…
LCHD head hopeful county winning COVID fight
BY CHUCK VANDENBERGPCC EDITOR LEE COUNTY – Despite very low positivity rates and vaccinations increasing…
Big Ten tourney kick started an arduous year
I was trying the other day to come up with a memory from one year…
State changes COVID data formula, but rates continue to fall
BY CHUCK VANDENBERGPCC EDITOR LEE COUNTY – As the state positivity rates for the COVID…
Lee County 16th in Iowa in vaccination starts
BY CHUCK VANDENBERGPCC EDITOR LEE COUNTY – According to information from state health officials, Lee…
State urging 80% vaccine usage in counties
BY CHUCK VANDENBERGPCC EDITOR LEE COUNTY – With Iowa lagging behind 46 other states in…
Burlington Walgreens gets extra vaccines for 65+
DES MOINES – The Iowa Department of Public Health (IDPH), in partnership with Walgreens and…
IDPH confirms 3 cases of UK COVID strain in state
DES MOINES – Today, the Iowa Department of Public Health (IDPH) has confirmed three cases…
Reynolds says state could see 16% bump in vaccines next week
BY CHUCK VANDENBERGPCC EDITOR DES MOINES – Iowa got some good news from the Biden…
IDPH director adds Capitol officials, staff to Phase 1b of vaccine rollout
BY CHUCK VANDENBERGPCC EDITOR LEE COUNTY – Iowa’s Interim Director of the Iowa Department of…
Vaccines easing pressure on health care providers
Officials still expect spike in local numbers after holiday season BY KATIE SCOVILLEPCC INTERN LEE…
Lee County health officials update vaccine protocols
(Editor’s Note: The following was received by the Pen City Current Wednesday afternoon and is…
Games look the same, but they’re still different
Melrose Avenue is one of the main arteries into the area around Iowa’s Kinnick Stadium.For…
States shorted on vaccine allocations
DES MOINES – According to a late release from the Iowa Department of Public Health,…
COVID vaccines to hit state next week
BY CHUCK VANDENBERGPCC EDITOR LEE COUNTY – Local health officials are encouraging residents to get…
Area care centers fighting stiffer battle with COVID
Several administrators say federal agencies were more help than state BY CHUCK VANDENBERGPCC EDITOR LEE…
Partners urges everyone to help keep us safe – Letter to the Editor
Dear Editor: As we move forward into 2021 amid the COVID-19 shadow, we must do…
Lee County COVID rate back over 20%
Seven-day positivity rating is 4th highest in the state. BY CHUCK VANDENBERGPCC EDITOR LEE COUNTY…
Reynolds calls on Congress to “step up and do their job”
BY CHUCK VANDENBERGPCC EDITOR DES MOINES – Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds called on Congress Tuesday…
Things aren’t so different this year – Beside the Point
So… how are the leftovers? I read a lot before Thanksgiving about people celebrating in…
Former Iowa State Senator Gene Fraise dead at 88
BY PCC STAFF FORT MADISON – Former southeast Iowa State Senator Gene Fraise has passed…
Schmitz Funeral Home obituary – Eugene S. Fraise, 88, Fort Madison
Eugene Stace Fraise, 88, of Fort Madison, Iowa, passed away at 3:34 p.m. Friday, November 27,…
LCHD officials offer tips for holidays during virus surge
Submitted article LEE COUNTY – When records are broken, we often celebrate. But when that…
Great River Health CEO asks for resiliency
BY CHUCK VANDENBERGPCC EDITOR BURLINGTON – Great River Health System CEO Matt Wenzel said discussion…
FMCH CEO says accountability will ease health care pressures
BY CHUCK VANDENBERGPCC EDITOR FORT MADISON – Iowa is closing in on 200,000 positive cases…
Moving forward is better than alternative
I get it.If you’re the parent of a high school athlete, I understand if you’re…
County health board issues new strongly worded directives
BY CHUCK VANDENBERGPCC EDITOR LEE COUNTY – Following Monday’s live televised address to the state…
Reynolds makes passioned plea for Iowans help
Governor takes more limited steps to try to rein in rampant virus DES MOINES –…
Reynolds to give live COVID address to Iowans tonight
BY PCC STAFF DES MOINES – With the coronavirus spreading at record levels across the…
Central Lee to transition to hybrid model starting Friday
BY CHUCK VANDENBERGPCC EDITOR DONNELLSON – Due to increased positive testing and staff shortages, Central…
Reynolds nudges mitigation as COVID washes over state
YMCA halts youth programming through November; Central Lee District status quo BY CHUCK VANDENBERGPCC EDITOR…
FM schools to revert to virtual learning Wednesday
BY CHUCK VANDENBERGPCC EDITOR FORT MADISON – With more than 130 new cases of COVID-19…
COVID forces changes to community Thanksgiving
BY CHUCK VANDENBERGPCC EDITOR FORT MADISON – The committee that puts on the annual Community…
FMCSD central office closed due to COVID
BY CHUCK VANDENBERGPCC EDITOR FORT MADISON – The Fort Madison Community School District administration office…
Ferentz: Nothing about this year is normal
Kirk Ferentz dreads hearing the “bing.”It’s never been something the Iowa football coach wanted to…
Reynolds says election shows Iowans approve of state’s handling of COVID crisis
BY CHUCK VANDENBERGPCC EDITOR DES MOINES – Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds said Thursday that election…
Virus activity continues to climb in Lee County
BY CHUCK VANDENBERGPCC EDITOR FORT MADISON – Coronavirus activity is almost at an all-time high…
Reynolds commits $2 million to nanovaccine partnership
DES MOINES – Governor Kim Reynolds today announced she has set aside $2 million in…
County surpasses 1,000 positive COVID cases
BY CHUCK VANDENBERGPCC EDITOR FORT MADISON – Lee County surpassed 1,000 positive cases of coronavirus…
County sees 165 news COVID cases in the past 14 days
BY CHUCK VANDENBERGPCC EDITOR FORT MADISON – Despite a 14-day average that is fluctuating between…
County hits 700 positive cases over weekend
BY CHUCK VANDENBERGPCC EDITOR LEE COUNTY – Positive COVID tests in Lee County surpassed the…
Donnellson Marine home after five-month COVID battle
BY CHUCK VANDENBERGPCC EDITOR DONNELLSON – Jerry Krogmeier is a 71-year-old Marine who just fought…