As several confirmed cases of COVID-19 have reached Indianola, as well as a Public Safety Officer being tested positive for the virus, the City of Indianola continues to stress the importance of following the guidelines set forth by the CDC and Iowa Department of Public Health. City Manager Ryan Waller tells KNIA News being on top of getting the news out to the public, as well as proper planning ahead, has helped the city get through this while still providing essential services.

“Dating back to February, I had a conversation with Chief Chia about our communication plan. So at the end of February, we started communicating out what COVID is, getting it on the website, getting it out to the public from a reliable source. Then we started to have conversations internally, what are staffing plans, what are our supply needs, what happens if this happens, how do we bring people into the building, when do we close the building and parks, all of these actions that we have taken over the last several weeks have all been planned out beforehand.”

Waller also said the timetable on the plans hasn’t always followed current events completely, but the city is prepared to handle the next steps.