THE FORM AND SPECIFIC DETAILS OF FEDERAL COVID-19 RELIEF ARE WHAT HAVE SLOWED NEW LEGISLATION FROM WASHINGTON. IOWA SENATOR JONI ERNST SPOKE TUESDAY ABOUT HER PRIORITIES TO HELP MOVE THE COUNTRY THROUGH AND BEYOND THE CORONAVIRUS PANDEMIC. ERNST CONTRASTED THE TROUBLING FINANCIAL SITUATION FACED BY INDIVIDUALS AND BUSINESSES WITH THE SUCCESS OF EFFORTS TO CREATE A VACCINE FOR COVID-19. SHE EXPRESSED HER THANKS TO ALL INVOLVED IN RESEARCHING AND DISTRIBUTING THE INNOCULATIONS.
THE STATE OF IOWA WILL SOON HAVE A NEW DIRECTOR OF HOMELAND SECURITY AND EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT. JOYCE FLINN HAS HELD THAT POST AND WILL RETIRE AT THE END OF JANUARY. BY THAT POINT, SHE WILL HAVE BEEN LEADING THE DEPARTMENT FOR OVER TWO-AND-A-HALF YEARS. FLINN’S TIME WORKING IN THE STATE’S EMERGENCY RESPONSE ORGANIZATION BEGAN IN 1997.
IF YOU PLANNED TO SPEND YOUR SATURDAY WATCHING IOWA STATE FOOTBALL IN THE AFTERNOON AND THE IOWA-MICHIGAN GAME AT NIGHT, NOW YOU’LL HAVE SOME EXTRA TIME ON YOUR HANDS. THE HAWKEYES AND WOLVERINES ARE OFF DUE TO A COVID OUTBREAK IN THE MICHIGAN PROGRAM. IOWA WILL END ITS BIG TEN SCHEDULE AT 6-2, AND WAIT FOR A BOWL ANNOUNCEMENT. BY THE WAY, IOWA STATE’S APPEARANCE IN THE BIG 12 CHAMPIONSHIP GAME AGAINST OKLAHOMA BEGINS AT 11 SATURDAY.
IT HAS BEEN FOUR MONTHS SINCE THE DERECHO WHICH CHANGED LIVES AS IT CAUSED DESTRUCTION THROUGHOUT THE REGION. IN CEDAR RAPIDS, THE VOLUNTEER DERECHO RESOURCE CENTER IS STILL VERY ACTIVE, ASSISTING 1,500 PEOPLE EACH WEEK. THE ORGANIZATION IS NOW OPERATING UNDER A NEW NAME: “TOGETHER WE ACHIEVE” AND IT MOVED TO A NEW FACILITY THIS WEEK IN THE SOUTHWEST QUADRANT OF THE CITY. RAYMOND SIDDELL IS ITS PRESIDENT AND SPOKE TO OUR COVERAGE PARTNERS AT TV9. SIDDELL SAYS MANY PEOPLE ARE DRAINING RETIREMENT AND OTHER SAVINGS PLANS TO MAKE ENDS MEET. THE “TOGETHER WE ACHIEVE” GROUP IS STILL DISTRIBUTING FOOD, PERSONAL CARE ITEMS, AND OTHER NECESSITIES.
SOME POPULAR CAR MODELS ARE BEING RECALLED IN AREAS LIKE IOWA WHERE SALT IS USED ON ROADS DURING WINTRY CONDITIONS. HONDA SAYS IT NEEDS TO FIX DRIVE SHAFTS ON 430,000 LATE-MODEL CIVIC HYBRIDS, FITS AND ACCORDS, AND THE ACURA ILX IN 22 WINTER STATES. THOSE ISSUES ARE AMONG SEVERAL WHICH WILL LEAD HONDA TO RECALL A TOTAL OF 1.4 MILLION VEHICLES IN THE UNITED STATES. OTHER PROBLEMS WHICH HAVE BEEN OBSERVED INCLUDE SOFTWARE FLAWS WHICH CAN CAUSE THE REAR CAMERA, TURN SIGNALS AND WINDSHIELD WIPERS TO MALFUNCTION, AS WELL AS PROBLEMS WITH POWER WINDOW SWITCHES.
AND IF YOU’RE DRIVING A HONDA – OR ANYTHING ELSE – AND HAVEN’T BEEN IN TO RENEW YOUR LICENSE DUE TO THE PANDEMIC, TIME IS RUNNING OUT. RENEWAL DEFERMENTS ARE PART OF GOVERNOR KIM REYNOLD’S COVID-19 HEALTH PROCLAMATION. HOWEVER, THOSE ARE SET TO EXPIRE JANUARY 8TH. MANY IOWA DRIVERS LICENSES MAY BE RENEWED ONLINE THROUGH THE DOT WEBSITE.
IOWA SENATOR JONI ERNST REFLECTED ON THE DEVELOPMENT OF A COVID-19 VACCINE AS THE STATE’S FIRST INNOCULATIONS WERE ADMINISTERED THIS WEEK. DISTRIBUTION AND ADMINISTRATION OF THE VACCINE DURING THE COMING MONTHS IS EXPECTED TO BE THE LARGEST PROJECT OF ITS KIND, EVER. MEDICAL WORKERS HAVE BEEN AT THE FRONT OF THE LINE TO GET THE FIRST DOSES OF THE SHOTS. HEAR MORE FROM SENATOR ERNST ABOUT CONGRESSIONAL EFFORTS AT ANOTHER ROUND OF FEDERAL COVID-19 RELIEF DURING NEXT HOUR’S KXEL NEWSCAST.
DRUGS AND WEAPONS WERE COLLECTED BY AUTHORITIES AS THREE MEN WERE ARRESTED THIS WEEK. CEDAR FALLS RESIDENT JOHN STEFAN, ETHAN PALMER OF OELWEIN, AND TRAVIS RAMSBACHER FROM MINNESOTA ARE ALL ACCUSED OF BEING PART OF AN EFFORT TO DISTRIBUTE METHAMPHETAMINE IN THE CEDAR VALLEY. AUTHORITIES SAY TWO GUNS WERE SEIZED DURING A TRAFFIC STOP, AS WELL AS A LARGE QUANTITY OF THE DRUG. FURTHER INVESTIGATION UNCOVERED MORE ITEMS ASSOCIATED WITH THE ALLEGED CONSPIRACY.
A FORMER IOWA POET LAUREATE AND EDUCATOR HAS DIED. THIS WEEK, MARVIN BELL PASSED AWAY AT AGE 83 IN IOWA CITY. IN ADDITION TO BEING IOWA’S FIRST POET LAUREATE, BELL WAS A PROFESSOR AND ACTIVE IN THE UNIVERSITY OF IOWA’S WRITER’S WORKSHOP. HE WAS A FINALIST FOR THE NATIONAL BOOK AWARD IN POETRY IN 1977. BELL’S FIRST COLLECTION OF WRITINGS WAS PUBLISHED IN 1966, FOLLOWED BY MORE THAN 20 ADDITIONAL VOLUMES DURING HIS CAREER.
