LINN MANOR CARE CENTER IN MARION IS THE SITE OF LINN COUNTY’S SECOND FATAL LONGTERM CARE FACILITY COVID-19 OUTBREAK. ON MONDAY, HEATHER MEADOR OF LINN COUNTY PUBLIC HEALTH PROVIDED THE DETAILS ABOUT THE DEATHS OF TWO RESIDENTS. THE CASES AT LINN MANOR FOLLOW A WIDER OUTBREAK AT HERITAGE SPECIALTY CARE IN CEDAR RAPIDS, WHERE THERE WERE 17 FATAL CASES AND 76 RESIDENTS AND STAFF MEMBERS WHO TESTED POSITIVE. LINN COUNTY HAS HAD IOWA’S HIGHEST NUMBER OF POSITIVE CORONAVIRUS TESTS.
DISRUPTIONS AT MEAT PROCESSING PLANTS IN TAMA AND COLUMBUS JUNCTION ARE JUST THE BEGINNING. SICKENED WORKERS IN THOSE LOCATIONS AND MANY OTHERS AROUND THE COUNTY HAVE LED TO SOME SHUTDOWNS. THAT IS RAISING SUPPLY CHAIN CONCERNS. THE MEAT SUPPLY CHAIN IS ESPECIALLY VULNERABLE SINCE PROCESSING HAPPENS AT MASSIVE PLANTS. FOR EXAMPLE, ONE CLOSED PORK FACILITY IN SIOUX FALLS PRODUCES ROUGHLY 5% OF THE U.S. PORK SUPPLY EACH DAY. PLANT CLOSURES COULD MEAN MEAT AND POULTRY SHORTAGES AT GROCERY STORES.
RESIDENTS UNHAPPY WITH A PLAN TO PUT A NEW DOLLAR GENERAL STORE ON WATERLOO’S SOUTH END HAVE CONVINCED THE CITY COUNCIL TO VOTE DOWN THE PLAN. A SECOND READING OF A ZONING CHANGE TO CLEAR THE WAY FOR THE DISCOUNT STORE WAS DEFEATED 6-1 MONDAY DURING THE COUNCIL’S WEEKLY MEETING. LAST WEEK, THE CITY COUNCIL APPROVED THE FIRST READING, 4-3. THE STORE WOULD HAVE BEEN NEAR THE INTERSECTION OF HIGHWAY 218 AND BOTH SHAULIS AND DYSART ROADS.
GOVERNOR KIM REYNOLDS TOOK A MOMENT MONDAY TO RECOGNIZE HEALTH CARE WORKERS – PARTICULARLY THOSE WORKING IN LONGTERM CARE FACILITIES DURING THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC. COVID-19 HAS BEEN PARTICULARLY CHALLENGING FOR HEALTH FACILITIES DUE TO THE VULNERABILITY OF THEIR POPULATIONS. APPROXIMATELY 40 PERCENT FATAL CORONAVIRUS CASES IN IOWA ARE ASSOCIATED WITH OUTBREAKS IN LONGTERM CARE FACILITIES
VISITORS WILL NOT BE ALLOWED AT UNIVERSITY OF IOWA HOSPITALS AND CLINICS BEGINNING TOMORROW. THE HEALTH SYSTEM ANNOUNCED THAT CHANGE TO LIMIT POTENTIAL SPREAD OF COVID-19. SOME EXCEPTIONS WILL BE IN PLACE FOR CHILDREN IN THE HOSPITAL, AS WELL AS MATERNITY AND SOME END-OF-LIFE SITUATIONS WHICH AREN’T RELATED TO CORONAVIRUS.
OMEGA CABINETS IN WATERLOO HAD A WORK-STOPPAGE ON MONDAY, BUT IT WAS NOT RELATED TO COVID-19. THE COMPANY SAID IT HAD TO PUT ITS OPERATIONS ON HOLD DUE TO COMPUTER PROBLEMS. OMEGA IS A SUBSIDIARY OF INDIANA-BASED MASTERBRAND CABINETS.
THE FLOW OF MONEY TO SMALL BUSINESSES UNDER THE GOVERNMENT’S $349 BILLION CORONAVIRUS RELIEF PLAN IS PICKING UP. MONEY WAS HELD UP BY TECHNOLOGICAL CHALLENGES, LEGAL ISSUES AND THE SHEER VOLUME OF APPLICATIONS. FUNDS HAVE STARTED ARRIVING; MORE THAN 941,000 APPLICATIONS HAD BEEN APPROVED FOR OVER $226 BILLION FROM THE PAYCHECK PROTECTION LOAN PROGRAM.
BLACK HAWK COUNTY SHERIFF TONY THOMPSON UNDERSTANDS THE FRUSTRATION SOME PEOPLE ARE STARTING TO FEEL RELATED TO SOCIAL DISTANCING AND OTHER LIFESTYLE CHANGES CAUSE BY COVID-19. THOMPSON INDICATED STICKING WITH STAY-AT-HOME RECOMMENDATIONS AND OTHER MEASURES TO LIMIT THE VIRUS ARE THE WAY TO MAKE THE EFFORT TO THIS POINT WORTHWHILE AND LIMIT THE SPREAD OF NEW CORONAVIRUS INFECTIONS.
A CEDAR RAPIDS COUPLE IS DOING THEIR PART (AND MORE) TO HELP KEEP PEOPLE SAFER WHEN THEY HAVE TO GO OUT FOR GROCERIES OR OTHER ESSENTIAL SERVICES. WILL AND DEB CHRISTIANSEN ARE CUTTING THE PIECES FOR HUNDREDS OF FACEMASKS THAT CAN BE SEWN TOGETHER FROM KITS. THE OPERATION IS BEING CONDUCTED FROM THE CHRISTIANSEN’S GARAGE USING A DIE-CUTTING MACHING. THEY ARE LOOKING FOR MORE WRINKE-FREE, 100 PERCENT COTTON FABRIC TO KEEP THE EFFORT GOING.
THE WATERLOO EAST ATHLETICS AND ACTIVITIES DEPARTMENT WILL BE LED BY ONE OF ITS OWN. TROJAN ALUM TIM MOSES WILL TAKE OVER AS ATHLETICS DIRECTOR BEGINNING NEXT SCHOOL YEAR. MOSES HAS BEEN TEACHING IN THE WATERLOO COMMUNITY SCHOOL DISTRICT AT CENTRAL MIDDLE SCHOOL AND IS A 21-YEAR TEACHING VETERAN IN THE COMMUNITY. MOSES GRADUATED FROM EAST IN 1982, THEN ATTENDED THE UNIVERSITY OF NORTHERN IOWA, WHERE HE WAS A MEMBER OF THE PANTHER FOOTBALL TEAM.
