Cedar Rapids police say a man died after he was ejected from a sport utility vehicle in a single-vehicle accident on Interstate 380 yesterday afternoon. I nformation indicates the vehicle lost control just before 3:30 p.m. on the interstate, struck a pole, rolled over and ended up in the ditch. Police said the victim was pronounced dead at the scene.
Dozens of students in Iowa schools were quarantined after both staff and students tested positive for the coronavirus. The superintendent for the Hartwick-Ladora-Victor Community School District, HLV, says kindergarten through sixth grade students are in quarantined after a staff member tested positive Tuesday. High school students in North Scott switched to online instruction since Friday after nearly a quarter of students were absent.
Meanwhile, the 8th grade volleyball team is quarantined after a teacher/coach tested positive for COVID-19, according to the Oelwein Community School District. The district notified staff and parents connected to two pods in the 4th grade classrooms that have been impacted by this exposure. 31 students exposed or considered in close contact will be quarantined for 14 days and learning opportunities will be made available until they’re able to return.
Iowa regulators have issued their first citation to a meatpacking plant with a large coronavirus outbreak that sickened its workforce. The $957 fine was for a minor record-keeping violation. Inspection records show the outbreak at the Iowa Premium Beef Plant in Tama in April resulted in 338 of the plant’s 850 workers testing positive for the virus. The plant is owned by Kansas City-based National Beef. The Iowa Occupational Safety and Health Administration said on June 1 that it had launched inspections at the Tama plant and four other meatpacking plants where thousands of workers had tested positive.
Tomorrow is National Public Lands D ay in the U.S., and according to Nancy Corona of the Neal Smith National Wildlife Refuge near Des Moines, more people are using public lands. Corona spoke to KXEL’s Tim Harwood for KXEL Live & Local yesterday; listen to the full podcast at kxel-dot-com.
Iowa is known for wrestling…but many do not think of women wrestlers, but an Olympic bronze medalist recently spoke with KXEL’s Tim Harwood about her career and preparation for world competition. More with Randi Miller during the 9 o’clock hour of KXEL Live & Local today.
The Iowa State Cyclones will have fans in the stands the next time they take the field in Ames on October 3rd against Oklahoma. The Cyclones had previously planned to welcome fans to their home opener earlier this month but scrapped the plan due a surge in COVID-19 cases in Story County. ISU has since had a marked decrease in new COVID-19 cases. But it will be a much smaller crowd than usual, only 25 percent of stadium capacity.
UNI Football opens the 2021 spring football season with a home game against Illinois State on Feb. 20 at the UNI-Dome. The game is the first of eight Missouri Valley Football Conference games for the Panthers in a schedule released yesterday by the league. Whenever and wherever they do play, you’ll hear the games on News/Talk 1540 KXEL, the Home of the Panthers.
The 30th annual Especially for You Race Against Breast Cancer will be held virtually this year, on Sunday, October 11. Over the years, more than 11,000 individuals have accessed nearly 24,000 services through the EFY Fund…the race is the primary fundraiser each year for the fund, according to race director Jeff Decker. In place of the annual health and wellness fair, a prevention lunch-and-learn event will be held today at noon via Zoom. Go to especiallyforyourace.org for information or to sign up.
Jill Biden and Doug Emhoff, the spouses of presidential nominee Joe Biden and his running mate Kamala Harris, are heading to Iowa tomorrow. The two will be in Cedar Rapids for a drive-in rally supporting the Biden-Harris ticket. The location is only being made known to those who sign up on the campaign website.
Vice President Mike Pence will be speaking at an event called “Faith in Leadership, America’s Need for Revival” in Des Moines next Thursday. It is not a campaign rally, but an opportunity to educate and inspire Christians toward active, civic engagement and leadership, sponsored by The FAMiLY Leader. The event will also feature Bob Vander Plaats, U.S. Secretary of Housing and Urban Development Ben Carson, New York Times bestselling author Joel C. Rosenberg, and MyPillow’s Mike Lindell.
Officials with University of Iowa Health Care are reporting that inpatients are sicker and staying longer. The 800 bed hospital typically stays around 90 percent full. The difference now is that inpatients are staying 10 percent longer. Officials say many Iowans chose not to go to the hospital when the pandemic hit. Now, they’re all coming at once, which makes it harder to accommodate all the patients.
