CEDAR RAPIDS POLICE ARE INVESTIGATING A FATAL SHOOTING WHICH HAPPENED JUST AFTER MIDNIGHT THIS MORNING. MULTIPLE SHOTS WERE HEARD IN THE 200 BLOCK OF 15TH STREET NORTHWEST…THAT’S JUST BLOCKS FROM CLEVELAND PARK. EMERGENCY RESPONDERS FOUND A MAN WHO HAD BEEN SHOT; THE VICTIM DIED AT THE SCENE. AN INVESTIGATION IS CONTINUING.
A WIND SHIFT MAY HAVE CAUSED A HELICOPTER CRASH AT THE INDEPENDENCE MUNICIPAL AIRPORT EARLIER THIS YEAR. A STUDENT PILOT FROM THE UNIVERSITY OF DUBUQUE WAS INJURED IN THE JANUARY ACCIDENT. THAT PILOT WAS FLYING FROM MONTICELLO TO INDEPENDENCE AT THE TIME. THE NATIONAL TRANSPORTATION SAFETY BOARD HAS SHARED ITS CRASH REPORT, WHICH DID NOT DEFINITIVELY NAME A CAUSE OF THE ACCIDENT, BUT DID CONFIRM THE HELICOPTER WENT OUT OF CONTROL WHILE HOVERING AT A LOW ALTITUDE. THE CRAFT DRIFTED INTO A NEARBY BUILDING; THERE WERE NO INJURIES ON THE GROUND.
GRADUATION CEREMONIES AND OTHER END-OF-THE-SCHOOL-YEAR TRADITIONS WILL EITHER BE CANCELED OR VERY DIFFERENT THIS YEAR. IOWA STATE UNIVERSITY EXTENSION HUMAN SCIENCES FAMILY LIFE SPECIALIST CINDY THOMPSON TALKED ABOUT OPENLY ADDRESSING THESE CHANGES, WHICH COULDN’T HAVE BEEN EXPECTED JUST A MONTH AGO. THOMPSON WAS A GUEST TUESDAY DURING KXEL LIVE AND LOCAL. SHE SUGGESTED THAT MANY MILESTONES CAN STILL BE CELEBRATED IN MODIFIED WAYS AFTER PARENTS AND CHILDREN HAVE AN OPEN EXCHANGE ABOUT WHAT THEY ARE MISSING.
TYSON FOODS IS TEMPORARILY CLOSING ITS WATERLOO OPERATION DUE TO THE COVID-19 OUTBREAK. THE PORK PLANTS 28-HUNDRED EMPLOYEES WILL HAVE THE OPPORTUNITY TO BE TESTED LATER THIS WEEK. IN A STATEMENT, THE COMPANY SAID THE COMBINATION OF ABSENT WORKERS AND COMMUNITY CONCERN ABOUT THE VIRUS LED TO THE DECISION. ON TUESDAY, BLACK HAWK COUNTY HEALTH OFFICIALS PASSED A RESOLUTION ASKING THE COMPANY TO SHUT DOWN VOLUNTARILY FOR DISINFECTING. A SUBSTANTIAL INCREASE IN POSITIVE BLACK HAWK COUNTY COVID-19 TESTS SINCE LAST WEEK HAS BEEN ASSOCIATED WITH THE TYSON OPERATION. THE TYSON WATERLOO SHUTDOWN IS DESCRIBED AS BEING ‘UNTIL FURTHER NOTICE.’
A BIG BOOST IN TESTING IS EXPECTED TO HELP THE STATE MOVE THROUGH – AND EVENTUALLY BEYOND – THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC. IOWA GOVERNOR KIM REYNOLDS ANNOUNCED A $26 MILLION TESTING PROGRAM TUESDAY. ALL OF IOWA’S 3.2 MILLION RESIDENTS WILL BE ASKED TO COMPLETE AN ONLINE HEALTH ASSESSMENT. THOSE WHO HAVE SYMPTOMS OR WHO HAVE BEEN EXPOSED TO THE CORONAVIRUS WILL BE ELIGIBLE FOR FREE TESTS AT DRIVE-THRU SITES. IOWA HAS SIGNED A CONTRACT TO PURCHASE 540,000 TESTS OVER THE NEXT SIX MONTHS.
A POSTVILLE HIGH SCHOOLER HAS WON A STUDENT FILM CONTEST. ALEESA LAVRENKO HAD THE TOP ENTRY FOR THE FILM LOUNGE 2020 STUDENT CHALLENGE. HER THREE MINUTE FILM IS CALLED PRESSURE POINTE AND LOOKS AT THE PREPARATION LEADING UP TO A BALLET PERFORMANCE. PRESSURE POINTE AND A DOZEN OTHER STUDENT PROJECTS WILL BE SCREENED ONLINE THIS SATURDAY.
AS A 26 MILLION DOLLAR COVID-19 TESTING PROGRAM IS IMPLEMENTED IN IOWA, THERE WILL BE FAR MORE DATA AVAILABLE SO THAT STATE HEALTH OFFICIALS CAN LEARN ABOUT HOW THE VIRUS SPREADS. DR. CAITLIN PEDATI IS IOWA PUBLIC HEALTH MEDICAL DIRECTOR AND EPIDEMIOLOGIST. SHE SPOKE YESTERDAY ABOUT HOW THE STATE WILL USE ALL OF THAT NEW INFORMATION. WHEN THE NEW TESTING CAPACITY COMES ONLINE, IOWA WILL HAVE THE ABILITY TO TEST 3,000 ADDITIONAL PEOPLE DAILY. MORE THAN 27 THOUSAND TESTS HAVE ALREADY BEEN PROCESSED IN THE STATE SINCE THE VIRUS WAS FIRST IDENTIFIED.
HIS SON WAS SHOT AND KILLED IN IOWA CITY ON MONDAY MORNING. NOW TYRIS WINTERS FACES ATTEMPTED MURDER CHARGES FROM A DIFFERENT SHOOTING IN CORALVILLE LATER THAT DAY. POLICE IN CORALVILLE AND IOWA CITY ARE WORKING TOGETHER ON THE TWO CASES, AND SAY THE SECOND SHOOTING WAS PART OF AN ALLEDGED CONFRONTATION RELATED TO THE MURDER OF 21-YEAR-OLD KEJUAN WINTERS. TYRIS WINTER WAS ARRESTED ON MONDAY EVENING SHORTLY AFTER THE SECOND INCIDENT. THAT CONFRONTATION RESULTED IN AN UNIDENTIFIED PERSON BEING SHOT IN THE HEAD AND FOOT, BUT THE INJURIES WERE NOT LIFE-THREATENING.
THOUSANDS OF SMALL BUSINESS OWNERS APPLYING FOR FEDERAL ASSISTANCE MAY HAVE HAD THEIR PERSONAL INFORMATION EXPOSED LAST MONTH ON A GOVERNMENT WEBSITE. THE SMALL BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION SAYS DATA FROM MORE THAN 7,000 BUSINESS OWNERS WAS POTENTIALLY SEEN BY OTHER LOAN APPLICANTS ON THE SBA WEBSITE ON MARCH 25. THE SBA SAYS THE PROBLEM WAS NOT RELATED TO THE PAYROLL PROTECTION PROGRAM, WHICH DID NOT START UNTIL THE NEXT WEEK.
