THE IOWA DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC HEALTH SAYS THE STATE’S NEW COVID-19 CASE COUNT WAS 227 ON TUESDAY. STORY COUNTY HAD THE HIGHEST NUMBER OF POSITIVE TESTS IN THAT TIME WITH 32, FOLLOWED BY DUBUQUE, POLK, AND JOHNSON COUNTIES, ALSO EACH IN DOUBLE FIGURES. THERE WERE A DOZEN NEW CASES IN BLACK HAWK COUNTY. HOWEVER, NO NEW DEATHS HAD BEEN REPORTED, AND 218 PEOPLE WERE NOW CLASSIFIED AS RECOVERED. IOWA’S TOTAL CASE COUNT DURING THE PANDEMIC IS OVER 26 THOUSAND, INCLUDING NEARLY 700 FATALITIES.
MANY INDIVIDUAL CITIES AND THE STATE OF IOWA HAVE PUT POLICE REFORMS IN PLACE SINCE THE DEATH OF GEORGE FLOYD IN MINNEAPOLIS NEARLY A MONTH AGO. RECENTLY DURING KXEL LIVE AND LOCAL, STATE REPRESENTATIVE RAS SMITH TALKED ABOUT CHANGES IN WATERLOO UNDER NEW POLICE CHIEF JOEL FITZGERALD. SMITH WAS AN IMPORTANT CONTRIBUTOR TO STATE LEGISLATION WHICH LIMITS THE USE OF CHOKE HOLDS LIKE THE ONE WHICH KILLED GEORGE FLOYD. THE BILL WHICH PASSED EARLIER THIS MONTH ALSO PREVENTS OFFICERS FIRED FOR SERIOUS MISCONDUCT FROM BEING HIRED BY ANOTHER DEPARTMENT.
WATERLOO SCHOOLS WILL HAVE MORE TECHNOLOGY FOR STUDENTS DURING THE COMING SCHOOL YEAR. THIS WEEK, THE DISTRICT APPROVED MONEY FOR 2,000 NEW CHROMEBOOK COMPUTERS. THE DEVICES WILL GO TO STUDENTS IN FIRST THROUGH FIFTH GRADE. OLDER STUDENTS ALREADY HAD CHROMEBOOKS. FEDERAL FUNDING MADE IT POSSIBLE PROVIDE THE GEAR TO YOUNGER GRADES.
A WIDE VARIETY OF IOWA BUSINESSES HAVE BEEN RESUMING THEIR OPERATIONS OVER THE LAST SIX WEEKS. STATE REPRESENTATIVE SANDY SALMON OF JANESVILLE SAYS THE PACE OF RECOVERY SHOULD BE HELPED BY COVID-19 LAWSUIT PROTECTIONS PASSED IN THE LEGISLATURE EARLIER THIS MONTH. SALMON SAYS THE LAW REMOVES THE LIKELIHOOD OF FRIVOLOUS LAWSUITS BY APPLYING A STANDARD OF GROSS NEGLIGENCE. HEAR MORE FROM REPRESENTATIVE SANDY SALMON LATER THIS MORNING DURING KXEL LIVE AND LOCAL.
TWO ORGANIZATIONS FILED A LAWSUIT TO STOP A 24-HOUR WAITING PERIOD FOR ABORTIONS THAT WAS APPROVED BY IOWA LAWMAKERS IN THE CLOSING HOURS OF THE LEGISLATIVE SESSION. PLANNED PARENTHOOD OF THE HEARTLAND, AND A DOCTOR REPRESENTED BY PLANNED PARENTHOOD AND THE AMERICAN CIVIL LIBERTIES UNION OF IOWA, FILED THE SUIT TUESDAY. THE ACTION SEEKS TO BLOCK THE MEASURE AND TO IMPOSE A TEMPORARY INJUNCTION TO STOP IT FROM TAKING EFFECT JULY 1.
MANY ROADS HAVE BEEN AFFECTED BY FLOODING EARLY THIS WEEK. HOWEVER, DRIVERS IN NORTHWEST BLACK HAWK COUNTY MIGHT BE AFFECTED BY A PLANNED ROAD CLOSURE ON THURSDAY. CEDAR-WAPSI ROAD IS SCHEDULED TO BE CLOSED OVER THE CEDAR RIVER ALL DAY TOMORROW DUE TO BRIDGE WORK. THERE WILL NOT BE A MARKED DETOUR FOR THE AREA AFFECTED BETWEEN UNION AND WAVERLY ROADS. THE BLACK HAWK COUNTY ROAD DEPARTMENT IS PLANNING FOR THE CEDAR-WAPSI ROAD BRIDGE TO BE BACK OPEN ON FRIDAY.
THURSDAY WILL MARK ONE MONTH SINCE GEORGE FLOYD WAS KILLED BY MINNEAPOLIS POLICE, TOUCHING OFF DEMONSTRATIONS THROUGHOUT THE COUNTRY, INCLUDING SEVERAL IOWA CITIES. RECENTLY DURING KXEL LIVE AND LOCAL, STATE REPRESENTATIVE RAS SMITH OF WATERLOO TALKED ABOUT THE REACTION HE SAW FIRSTHAND. WATERLOO SAW ONLY A SMALL NUMBER OF ARRESTS DURING SEVERAL NIGHTS OF PROTESTING. SMITH SAYS AN EFFORT TO MODERNIZE POLICE PRACTICES SHOULD NOT BE CONSIDERED AN ATTACK ON LAW ENFORCEMENT.
AMES-BASED RENEWABLE ENERGY GROUP GAVE AN UPDATE ON ITS EXPECTED RESULTS DURING THE CURRENT QUARTER. ON TUESDAY, THE MAKER OF BIODIESEL SAID IT WILL LIKELY LOSE BETWEEN TWO AND 12 MILLION DOLLARS DURING THE CURRENT EARNINGS PERIOD. THAT’S A REVISION FROM LATE APRIL WHEN RENEWABLE ENERGY GROUP EXPECTED A PROFIT OF 20 TO 35 MILLION DOLLARS. R-E-G BLAMED A CALCULATION ERROR, AS WELL AS VOLATILE MARKET CONDITIONS. C-E-O CYNTHIA WARNER SAID IN A STATEMENT THAT MARGINS ARE BEGINNING TO IMPROVE FOR THE CONTINENT’S LARGEST BIODIESEL MAKER.
SALES OF NEW HOMES ROSE A SURPRISINGLY STRONG 16-AND-A-HALF PERCENT IN MAY, SUGGESTING THAT THE REOPENING OF MAJOR PARTS OF THE COUNTRY WERE GIVING A BOOST TO THE HOUSING MARKET. MANY ECONOMISTS HAD FORECAST THAT SALES WOULD FALL LAST MONTH. SALES OF EXISTING HOMES PLUNGED 9.7% IN MAY, DOWN TO THE SLOWEST PACE IN NEARLY A DECADE.
