One of the on-going issues as the pandemic continues is the lack of child care for parents who want to go back to work. U.S. Sen. Joni Ernst spoke on one partial solution during a Senate Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship hearing last week, a bill she introduced to provide economic relief for child care businesses. The issue is especially of concern for minority-owned child care businesses.
Iowa’s three state universities will all operate on smaller budgets in 2021, thanks in large part to the coronavirus pandemic. New documents for the Board of Regents meeting scheduled for this week show all three face revenue shortages and an $8 million dollar cut in funding from state lawmakers. From that, Iowa and Iowa State will each absorb $3.2 million in cuts, while the University of Northern Iowa will experience $1.5 million in cuts. One of the reasons the schools all face revenue shortages is that all are keeping tuition rates flat because of the pandemic. The schools all expect smaller enrollment numbers, too. The Board of Regents says university operating budgets in fiscal year 2021 will be $65 million less than they were the year before.
We told you Friday that an inmate in the Linn County Correctional Center being held on an Immigration and Customs Enforcement detainer was found to be COVID-19 positive, although asymptomatic. Now we know a second ICE inmate tested positive for the COVID-19 virus. That inmate also was, and remains, asymptomatic. Both were placed in medical isolation and are being monitored for symptoms. All other inmates housed with the two positive-testing inmates have tested negative for the virus.
No new COVID-19 deaths have been reported by state officials since Saturday morning, the first 24-hour reporting period without a new fatality from the illness in almost three weeks. The Iowa Department of Public Health said that, as of late morning yesterday, 388 additional cases of COVID-19 were reported by the state in the previous 24 hours, pushing the total since the pandemic began to 42,016. The state’s death toll stands at 826.
Law enforcement officials are investigating after a report of shots being fired outside of an adult entertainment establishment on the southwest side of Cedar Rapids. Just before 4 o’clock yesterday morning, Cedar Rapids Police were sent to a report of gunshots at The Lumberyard. Officers located spent shell casings in the area, as well as damage to the building.
One person was killed following a single-vehicle accident Saturday morning…shortly after 11:30 a.m., the Allamakee County Sheriff’s Office was sent to a report of a motorcycle accident about 3 miles north of Harpers Ferry along County Road X52. Deputies arrived to find 69-year-old Gary Lee Thomforde of Redwing, Minnesota, who had been thrown from his motorcycle. Thomforde died from his injuries at a hospital. Deputies believe Thomforde lost control of his motorcycle while driving on a curve.
People in downtown Cedar Rapids were startled late Friday night when a portion of a downtown building came crashing down seven stories onto the sidewalk, the street and a parked car. It happened around 10:45 Friday night at the intersection of 3rd St. and 4th Ave SE. Investigators say the front brick and decoration on the building, known as the Iowa Building, came loose and fell from the seventh floor and above. The damage does not appear to be affecting the actual structure.
Marion firefighters responded to a call shortly before 3 o’clock yesterday afternoon regarding a house on fire at 2905 McGowen Blvd. The east end of the home was in flames. Fire crews were quickly able to knock down the fire. The home suffered fire and smoke damage to the exterior and attic. The next-door home also had siding damage due to heat. Three occupants were home at the time and were able to get out of the home safely, as did several cats. Cause of the fire was determined to be accidental, started by a gas smoker located at the east end of the home.
Gov. Kim Reynolds’ office has lifted a cap on the number of COVID-19 tests a Dubuque clinic will be able to perform. Last week, the governor’s office said Epic Health and Wellness could not conduct more than 100 tests per day. Officials said the clinic was not able to handle the volume of tests it was administering, leading to long lines and unusable samples. On Friday afternoon, the governor’s office said the cap would be lifted but testing would be done only by appointment, starting today. The governor’s office said the clinic had cooperated in making scheduling changes to improve its testing procedures.
Iowa Lottery ticket sales, revenue earned for the state and prize money awarded to players all dropped during the past fiscal year compared with the year before, but the lottery still met its budget targets despite the pandemic. Preliminary figures released Friday show the Iowa Lottery generated about $81.5 million in proceeds to state causes from $372 million in sales during the 12 months that ended June 30. Players collected about $236.3 million in prizes. The unaudited results also show that west-side Cedar Rapids Hy-Vee stores continue to be leaders in lottery ticket sales statewide. Scratch-ticket sales in Iowa, which have set annual records each year since fiscal 2015, did so again in fiscal 2020, totaling $262.4 million, an $11.8 million increase from the previous year. Officials say in recent months, Iowans who suddenly had large amounts of time at home made scratch tickets part of their hard-copy entertainment options.
