SIOUX CITY, Iowa — Both Congress and President Trump are taking broad strides to try and contain the coronavirus and mitigate the damage the outbreak is doing to the national economy.

At the state level, all three governors in the tri-state area are working to contain the virus with big decisions being handed down on Friday.

NEBRASKA

Nebraska Governor Pete Ricketts announced two more COVID-19 cases in the state on Friday morning and then declared a state of emergency Friday night.

I am declaring a State of Emergency in Nebraska as we continue to work to be the best prepared state in the nation for COVID-19,” said Governor Ricketts. “All across the state, individuals, businesses, employers, and churches are stepping up to make plans to mitigate the impact of the virus. There is a role for each one of us in this as we work together to keep people healthy.

Ricketts said officials at Nebraska Medicine are working to slow down the spread of the virus and track and determine how each person became ill.

"Nebraska public health is working very diligently with our cases to be able to trace back how those people got it. And it's primarily related to travel," Ricketts said.

At this time, there are no cases of community spread in Nebraska but Ricketts says they have a plan in place once that changes.

"As we approach 1% of the population having the virus, that is when we at the state will make the decision to close down schools and large public gatherings," he said. "When we have cases that we can't track in a community, we will be closing school for 6-8 weeks."

Ricketts says closing schools in the state is about protecting those who are at risk for serious complications should they catch the virus.

Currently, the state of Nebraska has the capability to test 200 more people.

SOUTH DAKOTA

In South Dakota, Governor Kristi Noem held two statewide updates. In her first, Noem declared a state of emergency in South Dakota in response to COVID-19.

"I just signed a state of emergency order which will direct the Department of Health and other agencies to seek and to accept funding or other resources from government or private entities to treat, control and to stop the spread of COVID-19," Noem said.

Noem also ordered all public K-12 schools in the state to close the week of March 16th and urged private schools to close as well.

"I am recommending that schools use this time to clean their facilities and prepare for the following week."

All state basketball tournaments and extracurricular activities have been postponed in the state as well.
Noem has also asked all nursing homes in the state to restrict visitors.

IOWA

In Iowa, Governor Kim Reynolds says 10 of the Iowans quarantined from the Grand Princess cruise ship will be home Friday with 10 more home Saturday.

"And throughout the week, we have assembled teams to address the immediate public health needs and protect the people of the great state of Iowa," Reynolds said.

Governor Reynolds also said that at this time, there is no community spread in the state and she does not advise schools to close but says they should be prepared.

"The Department of Education issued guidance for Iowa's K-12 schools. Now is the time for Iowa schools to be putting their plans in place for when community spread occurs," Reynolds said.

15 of Iowa's current cases of COVID-19 are from the same Egyptian cruise ship.

To stay up to date with the latest announcements from your state, you can follow each governor on social media.

RICKETTS: Facebook, Twitter, Website
NOEM: Facebook, Twitter, Website
REYNOLDS: Facebook, Twitter, Website

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SIOUX CITY, Iowa — It's been an unprecedented day in the sports world, with collegiate and professional organizations suspending or canceling seasons as concern over COVID-19 grows.
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Wednesday, after just one day of gameplay, the NAIA canceled the remainder of the winter tournaments, including the NAIA DII Women's Tournament taking place this week at the Tyson Events Center.

"There are a lot of conferences around the country," GPAC Commissioner Corey Westra told us following the announcement. "The big Power 5's all the way down into the other divisions doing the exact same thing. We are not in an isolation here. We are doing what a lot of people are doing."

The teams found out Thursday afternoon as games were currently being played about the decision made by the NAIA.

"My first reaction was disbelief," said Florida's Southeastern College Athletic Director, Drew Watson. "During the second half... we were monitoring the ACC, SEC, those tournaments being canceled. My hope was that since this was a national tournament... that the NAIA would have allowed this to continue. But I think the NAIA did what they thought was best and I can't argue with that because our student-athletes are our No. 1 priority.

The first sports league to suspend play was the NBA, calling off the remainder of the season Tuesday after a player tested positive for COVID-19.

In the 24 hours since the NBA made that call, Major League Baseball has suspended spring training and delayed opening day by two weeks.

Major League Soccer has also suspended its season for 30 days, effective immediately.

The motorsports industry is also making changes, with NASCAR running its next two race weekends without fans in the stands.

And just a day after announcing its annual "March Madness" tournaments would be held without fans, the NCAA has now canceled the events entirely.

But here in Sioux City, the cancellation of the NAIA tournament isn't the only sporting event impacted: the United States Hockey League has also suspended the current season, which means the end for the Sioux City Musketeers current schedule for the time being.

"We need to hit the pause button," said Musketeers Owner Lloyd Ney. "Obviously when you have athletes crisscrossing the country nightly and interacting with tens of thousands of people nightly, it doesn't take much to see that it could spread quickly."

The NHL has also suspended the remainder of its season. There were 189 games and three and a half weeks remaining in the regular season and 10 games slated for Thursday.

"This is a tough situation for everybody and we just try to make the best decisions we can," Watson said about the decision athletic leagues are making to cancel.

The canceling of the tournament comes as other national and professional leagues call off games and cancel the remainder of seasons.

This was set to be the final NAIA DII tournament before the league moves into a single division next year.

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DAKOTA DUNES, S.D. — With spring and summer around the corner, it's important to get your skin checked before heading out into the sun.
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It also means it's the perfect moment to see a doctor and get a skin cancer screening.

"So with a screening, what we do is we look at people's skin and we do a quick check, either head-to-toe if people desire, or if they have just one spot that they want looked at, we will look at that one lesion and have it evaluated.

Dr. Michelle Daffer is a dermatologist at Midlands Clinic in Dakota Dunes and she says a full-body screening can take as little as 10 minutes.

"We see literally thousands and thousands of spots and we get pretty good at knowing which ones are harmless and which ones are potentially harmful," Dr. Daffer said. "They don't take very long. We do kind of head to toe looks and really within 5-10 minutes we can look at really all of your skin."

Meteorologist Vivian Rennie volunteered to undergo a quick screening so Dr. Daffer could show us just how simple they are.

"Just kind of looking at their skin, we talk about the ABC's of skin cancers," Dr. Daffer said. "So we look for things that have asymmetry, we look for border changes, we look for color changed and we look for diameter. Something bigger than 6 millimeters to a centimeter in size. We say E, which is evolving, something that has changed."

Early diagnosis is important before any cancer can spread to other organs. If detected early, the 5-year survival rate for skin cancer is 99%.

According to the American Cancer Society, skin cancer was one of the top five cancer diagnoses in Iowa, Nebraska and South Dakota in 2019. Also, one in five Americans will develop skin cancer by the age of 70. Symptoms include:

• A = asymmetrical moles or skin spots
• B = border that is jagged or irregular
• C = color that is uneven
• D = diameter larger than a pea
• E = evolved/changed over weeks or months

Having 5 or more sunburns doubles your risk for skin cancer. The American Academy of Dermatology Association recommends checking your skin regularly and reporting changes to your doctor and says the best screening is a full skin examination with a dermatologist.

While it's important to see a dermatologist for a screening every year, there are steps you can take at home to make sure nothing goes unnoticed.

"We really recommend every few months, at least twice a year, to do kind of a head-to-toe look. With the age of cell phones, it's nice to take pictures to see if there are any new spots that have developed. Keep track of any spots that are new and that are growing."

And if you think something might be out of the ordinary, see your doctor.

"Some skin cancers will be red, some skin cancers will be flaky. They are not all brown and kind of fit into that classic pattern," Dr. Daffer said. "So really, if something is changing, something doesn't want to heal, something is itchy or sore, it's always best to have it checked out."

One of the most important things you can do for your skin is to get annual screenings.

Dr. Daffer will be taking part in the free skin cancer screenings in March at the June E. Nylan Cancer Center. While all spots for this free screening are full, you can schedule your appointment to get checked at Midlands Clinic by visiting their website.

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SIOUX CITY, Iowa — If you have driven around Singing Hills on any given weekend recently, you might notice a lot more traffic than in months past.

Part of that is due to a new youth sports facility, and it's having a positive impact on local businesses.
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"It was amazing just to see the atmosphere as far as the number of kids in basketball uniforms running around with their families," said Justine Sponder, sales and growth manager at Chick-fil-A on Sergeant Road. "That visual for me was really powerful because that says, they're here. They are being in the economy. They are coming out and seeing what Sioux City has to offer."

Local restaurants in Sioux City, especially in Singing Hills, have seen a boost in sales and patrons over the last four months.

"Our economy is booming from it," said Kendra Wood, manager at Wheelhouse, which sits in the same shopping complex as the sports academy. "I talked to a few other restaurant managers that are over in Lakeport Commons and they are just seeing growth, major growth."

Even businesses outside the Singing Hills area are seeing a growth in business on the weekends.

"It seems like every month we are getting more and more new people along with out of towners coming into town and enjoying what Sioux City has," Eric Martin, who created Marto Brewing said.

The boost in business for local restaurants like Marto Brewing Co. can be attributed to a number of things, but they all have one component in common: The Arena Sports Academy.

Hundreds of people from across Iowa, Nebraska, South Dakota and beyond have been making their way to Sioux City over the past four months to attend youth sports tournaments at The Arena Sports Academy, which opened up in December of 2019.

During each tournament weekend, their parking lot has been filled with people, most of them looking for somewhere to chow down.

"We opened up with an 80 team youth basketball tournament and have kind of hit the ground running and we haven't looked back since then," said The Arena's Dustin Cooper.

One important item for the team behind The Arena, is their work with the businesses around them.

"It was always our mission to pick a location that had the most impact, not only on the youth in our community but also on businesses in our community," The Arena's Jeff Carlson said.

"People from the area that are coming into town, not only to shop but to participate in these events like The Arena has and other organizations do in town, and it just brings people out and lets them see what Sioux City has to offer," said Sergeant Road Chick-fil-A owner, Chad Eisenga.

Chesterman Company has also witnessed the growth firsthand with their customers around Sioux City.

"I think we've seen growth in all categories basically around the area," said Chesterman's Jerry Pederson. "All of the other businesses that we service around the area, everyone is seeing lots of extra growth and it's been very good for the community."

For Cooper and Carlson and the rest of The Arena team, they hope to continue to work with local business owners to help boost Sioux City up along the way.

"We want to be the tip of the sword for Sioux City. We want to go out there and we want to draw people to our area because I think sometimes, Sioux City is a little misrepresented a little bit," Cooper said. "There are flyover states, we are kind of a drive-by city, not anymore, we're not."

"We want people to leave thinking, 'Wow, that was Sioux City? We're coming back.' And that is always our mission," Carlson said. "The experience doesn't stop when they leave The Arena. We want to ensure that the entire weekend that they are here, they are getting the best thT Sioux City has to offer, and our business leaders and partners have really brought it."

For more on The Arena, visit their Facebook Page and website.

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