It’s been 15 nights since the derecho hit Cedar Rapids…and some residents still did not have electricity last night, following a day when heat indices neared triple digits. The number of customers without power now numbers in the hundreds instead of thousands…but a great deal of Mediacom data customers are still waiting for their service to be restored, even though they have power.
Iowa State Patrol investigators say three people – including a child – have died in two vehicle collision in Hardin County. It happened Sunday evening on U.S. Highway 20 near Alden, when a pickup truck traveling the wrong way collided with a sport utility vehicle carrying two adults and two children. Officials say 44-year-old Cristy Gutierres, who was driving, and 38-year-old Mario Zubia and 11-year-old Jessie Gutierres died in the accident. All were from Story City. Officials say a 6-year-old child in the SUV was flown to a Des Moines hospital with serious injuries. The patrol says the driver of the pickup going the wrong way, 25-year-old Spencer Bultman of Hampton, was also injured.
Cedar Rapids has ended the nightly curfew that was imposed after the derecho caused widespread destruction there two weeks ago. However, a burn ban in the city does remains in effect, according to fire department officials…the exception is outdoor fires for cooking.
Tree debris removal continues within Cedar Rapids…city public works director Jen Winter said at a city news conference yesterday that they are bringing in help so the next phase of removal can be faster.
Iowa’s only nuclear power plant will begin its decommissioning process about 10 weeks ahead of schedule, due to damage suffered in the August 10th derecho. The Duane Arnold Energy Center was set to be decommissioned at the end of October, but will be closing now due to damage to the facility’s cooling towers. Officials say it’s not feasible to replace the towers given the timetable for closing the plant. The cooling towers are not required to cool critical nuclear components. There was also damage to the outside of the building, but none of the damage impacted safety systems or critical components.
Officials are expressing concern after University of Iowa students without masks were seen crowded shoulder-to-shoulder outside and within several Iowa City bars only a day before university classes were to start yesterday. Iowa City police took a complaint just after 1 o’clock Sunday morning that several bars were over capacity and not enforcing a mask mandate issued by the mayor. Similar concerns were raised about students at the University of Northern Iowa visiting the campus bar district over the weekend, as well.
The head of the federal Small Business Administration and Gov. Kim Reynolds will be in Cedar Rapids today to announce help for those affected by the derecho. Cedar Rapids Mayor Brad Hart outlined the aid during yesterday’s city news conference.
As temperatures are forecast to be in the 90s, with heat indices nearing 100, all week…a number of “cooling centers” have opened in Linn County for those without power or without working air conditioning. In Cedar Rapids, the U.S. Cellular Center is open from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. each day…the Hiawatha Community Center is open weekdays from 7:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. …and Lowe Park in Marion is open weekdays from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m.
The Salvation Army of Cedar Rapids and the American Red Cross continue to provide hot meals to those in need in Linn County. Hot meals will be available today from noon until 2 p.m., and from 5 to 7 p.m., at Ladd Library, Metro High School, and St. Paul’s Methodist Church, all in Cedar Rapids, and Nixon Elementary in Hiawatha…and from noon until 2 p.m. today at Taylor Elementary School and the Northwest Recreation Center.
