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SOLON– Elissa Lewis found out about Gov. Kim Reynolds’s decision to close florists in a series of rapid phone calls.
Other panicked businesses were calling her.
“At that point, I had already closed my shop, but was still doing business, either at the curb or making deliveries,” she said. “I guess I was already prepared for it.”
Reynolds had closed restaurants and bars, fitness centers, barbershops and salons, theaters and casinos earlier in the month in response to the community spread of COVID-19.

OXFORD– “The doors are down, all is quiet, but we still stand ready.”
So said Solon firefighter Greg Morris in a Facebook post announcing a special response for Wednesday, March 25. At 7 p.m., the Solon Tri-Township Fire Department was going to raise the doors of the apparatus bays and turn on the emergency lights on the trucks as a sign of strength and hope for all during the ongoing war against the COVID-19 virus.

SOLON– Concerns over volunteers prompted a one-day closure of the Solon Community Food Pantry.
But things are back on track and the pantry is continuing to partner with the Solon Community School District (SCSD) to provide food in response to the COVID-19 outbreak.
Pantry organizer Sandy Hanson said a concern for needed volunteers prompted the decision, but the pantry quickly regrouped after a showing of community support.
“It didn’t last more than a day, not even a full day,” Hanson reported.

SWISHER– The COVID-19 pandemic has led to store shelves being emptied as worried shoppers grab supplies they think they need in case of being quarantined or ordered to remain at home.
Among the items being hoarded is hand sanitizer.
While not a replacement for soap and water, it is a product recommended to help minimize the spread of illnesses, including COVID-19, and recently people most at-risk have had great difficulty in finding hand sanitizer to purchase.

IOWA CITY– Farmers tend to have a knack for fixing things from fences to tractors, and anything in-between. Johnson County’s farmers have been itching for an opportunity to fix problems they see with the county’s Unified Development Ordinance (UDO), which was passed in December by the board of supervisors and implemented on Jan. 15. The Johnson County Farm Bureau took the first step in making repairs and adjustments to the UDO by submitting an application to amend the UDO’s text, at a cost of $750.