Kelly Dunn won yesterday’s runoff election for the Cedar Falls City Council At Large position…Dunn tallied 3,087 votes to LeaAnn Saul’s 2,494. Saul had been the top vote getter in a five-way election last month. Dunn will assume the seat originally vacated by Rob Green following his election as mayor last year.
At least two school districts in the Des Moines metro area are refusing to follow a state mandate that they return students to classrooms, saying they don’t agree that the state can override what local officials believe is the safest way to educate their students as coronavirus spreads in their counties. Gov. Kim Reynolds said at a news conference yesterday the state is working with local districts to resolve any disputes. A podcast of the full news conference can be found at kxel.com.
It appears more jobs are being eliminated at Deere and Company as part of a company restructuring, but no confirmation on how many. The decision Monday comes immediately after a second round of buyouts for salaried employees ended last Friday. As we previously told you, 35 production workers in Waterloo were laid off effective this week. Deere reports is financial earnings later this month.
More people now qualify to get assistance from a special program designed to offer relief to Iowans on the brink of eviction or foreclosure. The Iowa Finance Authority will now allow Iowans who had been receiving $600 a week in federal unemployment stimulus benefits to apply for assistance through the the COVID-19 Iowa Eviction and Foreclosure Prevention program. Previously, those people receiving extra federal help did not qualify for the program, which offers rent or mortgage assistance for up to four months with payments going directly to the landlord or mortgage lender. To apply for assistance, visit the Iowa Finance Authority website.
Gov. Reynolds announced at a Tuesday news conference that the state will allocate $125 million in federal CARES Act funds to local governments to assist with direct expenses incurred in response to the COVID-19 pandemic…$100 million will go toward reimbursement for COVID-19 expenses, with 60 percent going to cities, and 40 percent going to counties, based on population using 2019 census data. Reynolds said the funding will go toward medical supplies and equipment, PPE, sanitizing products, testing supplies, and ventilators. It could also go towards other COVID-19 related expenses like payroll costs for public health and safety personnel or emergency staffing.
The spokesperson for the Des Moines Police Department says he was refused service at a Dunkin’ Donuts location in Des Moines Saturday. Sergeant Paul Parizek says he was out of uniform but was wearing a ‘blue line’ hat when he walked up to the counter. He says he has been a regular customer at that location for years and is known to be a police officer. Parizek says two to three employees were working when he walked up to the counter. One employee stepped forward to inform him no one at the restaurant was willing to serve him. He left without further incident, but did report the matter to Dunkin’ Donuts, which notified the franchise holder…who says the two employees behind the refusal to serve no longer work there.
Police in suburban Des Moines say a pregnant teenager and her unborn child both died in an overnight shooting at an Ankeny hotel. Police say the shooting happened around 11 p.m. Monday at WoodSpring Suites, near Interstate 35. Officers found 17-year-old Mia Holmes of Ankeny suffering from a gunshot wound to the chest. Holmes and her child died at a hospital. Investigators say they are searching for an 18-year-old Des Moines man, and say the shooting is not believed to be random.
Some school districts are squabbling with the state over Return to Learn plans, in particular a new state law requiring at least half of a school’s instruction to be held in a classroom with the state deciding when K-12 schools can send students home based on community virus spread and student illnesses. At a news conference yesterday, Gov. Kim Reynolds said the state will enforce the law. Those rejecting the state mandate will not be credited for days of home learning not approved in advance by the state and school administrators may be subject to “licensure discipline.”
One of the workers at Bremer County Courthouse appears to have the illness caused by the novel coronavirus. The Bremer County Board of Supervisors said Tuesday the employee has a presumptive positive case of COVID-19, but has not been inside the Courthouse for about a week. Courthouse officials are taking steps recommended by state and federal public health authorities. The board said that any people that need to enter the courthouse should wear a mask and continue to follow social distancing guidelines. They also reminded that most county services can be dealt with online.
North Iowa country music fans will have to wait until next year for the return of Country Thunder. Organizers say the Forest City concert festival which was postponed from June until September due to the coronavirus pandemic has now been delayed until June 11-13, 2021. Country Thunder organizers say Lynyrd Skynyrd, Old Dominion, and Kane Brown have all re-confirmed as performing in 2021 and Morgan Wallen has been added as a co-headliner.
