Gov. Kim Reynolds has ordered residents in northeastern Iowa to stay home for all but work and essential errands amid growing concerns about coronavirus outbreaks at meatpacking plants and nursing homes. The governor said yesterday she was banning “all gatherings” for social, community, recreational and leisure purposes in the region that includes Waterloo/Cedar Falls, Cedar Rapids and Dubuque. Previously, the governor had banned all gatherings statewide of larger than 10 people. Reynolds said that residents can only gather with household members, with few exceptions, and they must do everything possible to stay six feet away from others in public. People in the affected area can leave for work and essential errands.
Unemployment claims continued to climb last week in Iowa as more workers lost their jobs due to efforts to curb the spread of COVID-19, but the numbers came in lower than the previous week’s record high. The U.S. Department of Labor reported Thursday that 46,356 people in Iowa filed for unemployment benefits last week. While high, the 46-thousand number is a drop from the record 67-thousand people who filed in the first week of April and the 58-thousand who filed the week before that. Pandemic-related layoffs in several industries, from health care to manufacturing and food services, were key factors behind Iowa’s claims.
The number of cases of COVID-19 in the northeast Iowa section as designated by the state has reached a high enough level that Gov. Kim Reynolds is ordering residents in the area, including Waterloo/Cedar Falls, Cedar Rapids, and Dubuque, to stay home for all but work and essential errands. This means northeast Iowa residents can only gather with household members, with few exceptions, and they must do everything possible to stay six feet away from others in public while going to work and doing essential errands.
Part of the spike is due to an outbreak at the Tyson processing plant in Waterloo, and Black Hawk County Sheriff Tony Thompson yesterday was clear about the blame he feels should be placed on that facility.
Both of Iowa’s U.S. senators are joining the bipartisan task force dedicated to re-opening America following the current public health crisis. The task force includes Democrat and Republican members of both the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives. Senators Charles Grassley and Joni Ernst joined the task force at the invitation of President Donald Trump and will provide advice and input on potential steps the government can take to safely restart business and re-open public activity while safeguarding the health of all Americans. Apparently all but one Senate Republican was invited…the one left out was Utah’s Mitt Romney.
Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds refused to say whether she was asked to join with other Midwest governors in coordinating the reopening of their state economies. The governors of seven Midwestern states announced yesterday they had agreed to work together to restart their economies amid the coronavirus pandemic. The Midwest agreement includes Illinois, Ohio, Michigan, Indiana, Wisconsin, Minnesota and Kentucky. Five of the governors are Democrats and two are Republicans. Reynolds’ spokesperson Pat Garrett says she will continue to have conversations with other governors but didn’t respond when asked if she was asked to join the Midwest group.
Authorities have obtained search warrants as they investigate the suspicious death of a 15-year-old boy whose body was found over the weekend in a lake near Iowa City. The Gazette reports that the Johnson County Sheriff’s Office is not commenting on what led authorities to look in Coralville Lake for Noah Herring, who was last seen in nearby Tiffin on April 7. Johnson County Sheriff’s Office Detective Sgt. Brad Kunkel told The Gazette on Thursday that Herring’s body was found Saturday with assistance from the Iowa Department of Natural Resources and the Army Corps of Engineers.
Police in western Iowa say an 8-year-old boy has died after being run down in a hit-and-run crash. Council Bluffs police say in a statement that the crash happened around 6:30 p.m. Wednesday when a car hit the boy, then fled. Police say officers called to the scene found the car suspected in the crash a short distance away and arrested the 36-year-old male driver. Police say medics rushed the child to a hospital in Omaha, Nebraska, where he died. His name has not yet been released. Police say they are investigating whether the driver who was arrested was impaired at the time of the crash.
