IOWA HAS MORE COVID-19 TESTING CAPACITY. DURING A DAILY BRIEFING ON TUESDAY, STATE EPIDEMIOLOGIST CAITLIN PEDATI SAYS MORE TESTING WILL LEAD TO BETTER DECISIONS BY PUBLIC OFFICIALS, AND THOSE WHO MANAGE HIGH-DENSITY WORK OR LIVING ENVIRONMENTS. IOWA’S NUMBER OF POSITIVE COVID-19 TESTS HAS RISEN STEADILY – IN PART – DUE TO MORE TESTING. THE STATE HAS REPORTED AT LEAST 50 NEW POSITIVE CORONAVIRUS TESTS EVERY DAY THIS MONTH.
FORMER IOWA GOVERNOR AND CURRENT U.S. AMBASSADOR TO CHINA TERRY BRANSTAD SAYS HE DOESN’T BELIEVE BEIJING IS DELIBERATELY BLOCKING EXPORTS OF MASKS AND OTHER MEDICAL SUPPLIES TO FIGHT THE CORONAVIRUS. BRANSTAD ADDS THAT THE SHIPMENT OF 1,200 TONS OF SUCH PRODUCTS TO THE U.S. COULD NOT HAVE BEEN POSSIBLE WITHOUT CHINESE SUPPORT. THE U.S. HAS CONCERNS ABOUT HOW CHINA INITIALLY HANDLED THE VIRUS OUTBREAK IN THE CENTRAL CITY OF WUHAN. CHINESE OFFICIALS ARE BELIEVED TO HAVE DELAYED REPORTING THE OUTBREAK FOR SEVERAL DAYS IN JANUARY.
FORMER CLARKSVILLE MAYOR VAL SWINTON – WHO IS ALSO A CHURCH LEADER IN HIS COMMUNITY – IS GETTING OUT OF THE HOSPITAL AFTER SURVIVING A LIFE-THREATENING COVID-19 CASE WHICH PUT HIM ON A VENTILATOR. SWINTON IS STILL LIMITED IN MOBILITY AND SPEECH, BUT REPORTS INDICATE THAT HE IS IMPROVING. HE WAS FIRST HOSPITALIZED ON MARCH 26TH AFTER COLAPSING IN HIS HOME.
IOWA’S FIRST HEMP CROP IN DECADES WILL BE SEWN LATER THIS YEAR. INDUSTRIAL HEMP WAS LEGALIZED BY THE STATE LEGISLATURE LAST SPRING UNDER THE AUSPICES OF THE 2018 FEDERAL FARM BILL. STATE ENTOMOLOGIST ROBIN PRUISNER IS IN CHARGE OF OVERSIGHT FOR THE IOWA DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE AND TALKED ABOUT EXPECTATIONS. PRUISNER WAS A GUEST ON KXEL LIVE AND LOCAL EARLIER TODAY. IOWA’S FIRST HEMPGROWER LICENSES WERE ISSUED THIS WEEK AND ARE AVAILABLE THROUGH MAY 15. IT IS NOT CLEAR HOW MUCH PROCESSING CAPACITY WILL BE AVAILABLE FOR IOWA-GROWN HEMP AT HARVEST TIME THIS FALL.
THE STATE OF IOWA IS PROVIDING PANDEMIC INFORMATION IN A NEW FORMAT. ON TUESDAY, OFFICIALS UNVEILED THE HUB FOR ALL-THINGS-COVID19, WHICH CAN BE NOW BE RETRIEVED AT CORONAVIRUS.IOWA.GOV. THE NEW SITE OFFERS DEMOGRAPHIC INFORMATION ABOUT POSITIVE TESTS WHICH WAS NOT PREVIOUSLY AVAILABLE; IT ALSO DETAILS CASES BROKEN DOWN BY LONG-TERM CARE FACILITIES WHERE OUTBREAKS HAVE BEEN DISCOVERED. CORONAVIRUS.IOWA.GOV ALSO INCLUDES BASIC PREVENTION DETAILS, AS WELL AS GOVERNOR KIM REYNOLDS’ PROCLAMATIONS RELATED TO THE PANDEMIC.
MORE DETAILS ARE OUT ABOUT THE WATERLOO COMMUNITY SCHOOLS’ EDUCATION PLANS DURING THE COVID-19 SHUTDOWN. PAPER PACKETS FOR STUDENTS THROUGH FIRST GRADE WILL BE AVAILABLE, WHILE STUDENTS THROUGH FIFTH GRADE WILL FIND AT LEAST FOUR LESSONS PER WEEK ONLINE. MIDDLE SCHOOLERS WILL RECEIVE ASSIGNMENTS ON FRIDAYS, WITH A WEEK TO COMPLETE THEM. HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS ARE ASKED TO CHECK EMAIL TWICE DAILY, WITH A DIFFERENT SUBJECT RECEIVING FOCUS EACH DAY.
AIRPORTS ARE RECEIVING FEDERAL DOLLARS TO MITIGATE THE DRAMATIC DROP IN TRAVEL AND REVENUE. WATERLOO AIRPORT DIRECTOR KEITH KASPARI SAYS 1.1 MILLION DOLLARS WILL HELP KEEP SERVICES AVAILABLE FOR THOSE WHO NEED THEM. KASPARI WAS A GUEST TODAY DURING KXEL LIVE AND LOCAL; YOU CAN HEAR MORE AT KXEL.COM. MEANWHILE, THE EASTERN IOWA AIRPORT IN CEDAR RAPIDS WILL TAKE ADVANTAGE OF NEARLY 23 MILLION DOLLARS FROM THE SAME RELIEF PROGRAM. IN DUBUQUE, THE GRANT AMOUNT IS 1.2 MILLION.
LAW ENFORCEMENT IN GRUNDY COUNTY HAS MADE A HANDFUL OF ARRESTS RELATED TO AN ALLEGED BURGLARY RING. THE THEFTS HAPPENED OVER A THREE MONTH SPAN, ACCORDING TO GRUNDY COUNTY SHERIFF RICK PENNING. DEPUTIES RESPONDED TO A RURAL ADDRESS BEFORE DAWN ON TUESDAY MORNING AND TOOK FOUR SUSPECTS INTO CUSTODY. CHARGES HAVE BEEN FILED AGAINST FOUR PEOPLE IN THEIR 30S FROM GRUNDY CENTER, HOLLAND, WATERLOO, AND ELK RUN HEIGHTS.
ALTHOUGH THE IMMEDIATE FORECAST IS FOR COLD WEATHER – INCLUDING SNOW IN SOME PARTS OF EASTERN IOWA – THERE IS NO SEVERE WEATHER ON THE HORIZON. THAT’S FORTUNATE, BECAUSE THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE REPORTED YESTERDAY THAT WATERLOO’S WEATHER RADIO TRANSMITTER IS OFF THE AIR. THAT TRANSMITTER SERVES THE CEDAR VALLEY AND PARTS OF NINE NORTHEAST IOWA COUNTIES. IT’S NOT CLEAR WHEN THE WATERLOO WEATHER RADIO BROADCASTS WILL RESUME; MEANWHILE THOSE WITH WEATHER RADIOS ARE ASKED TO TUNE TO OTHER SURROUNDING FREQUENCIES.
