Linn County was once again the winner for most snow in yesterday’s storm…6.5 inches fell in both Cedar Rapids and Marion. Dubuque logged just over five inches, a similar amount in New Hampton. But only 2.5 inches was recorded in nearby Charles City. Officially, four inches in Waterloo. But as noted, it was the wind that was the big factor. Linn County secondary road plows were pulled off the roads not long after sunset last night due to the adverse conditions; they resumed their work around 4 o’clock this morning.
Interstate 380 just north of the County Home Road exit in Linn County was closed in both directions for a time last night, due to multiple jackknifed semis blocking all lanes. A detour was set up, but there was a significant backup of traffic.
Meanwhile, the worst conditions hit central Iowa around midday. A snowy section of Interstate 80 was closed yesterday afternoon after a massive accident involving roughly 40 vehicles. Authorities closed the eastbound lanes of the interstate west of Newton after the chain-reaction collision happened shortly before noon. The Iowa State Patrol said two troopers were in the middle of assisting with several multicar accidents in the area when the larger pileup happened. An Iowa DOT spokesperson said several serious injuries were reported.
Secretary of State Paul Pate announced a plan to provide grants of $10,000 to each Iowa county for election cybersecurity enhancements. The grants will build upon Iowa’s cyber defenses. The vast majority of Iowa’s county election websites have moved to DotGov domains after Secretary Pate authorized payments to reimburse counties for the transition. The DotGov domain assures voters they are receiving election information from a trusted source.
Iowa continues to have the third-worst coronavirus vaccination rate per capita in the nation. At a news conference yesterday, Gov. Kim Reynolds says she is working on improving vaccination efforts. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says Iowa has 6,315 people per 100,000 given the first vaccine dose. That is worse than all other states except Idaho and Missouri. Public health officials reported 58 additional deaths yesterday, increasing the state total to 5,033 since the beginning of the pandemic nearly a year ago.
The Iowa Attorney General’s Office says the state will receive nearly $4.7 million over five years as part of a multistate settlement with a firm that worked with opioid manufacturers to promote addictive painkillers. Iowa Attorney General Tom Miller says the settlement will be used to address problems caused by opioids, including paying for substance abuse treatment services for Iowans. Iowa is part of a coalition of attorneys general who collectively won $573 million in a settlement with McKinsey & Company, one of the world’s largest consulting firms. The settlement will be split among 47 states, five U.S. territories and the District of Columbia.
The amount of water being released into the Missouri River from a key dam on the Nebraska-South Dakota border will likely remain low this month because conditions remain dry and snowpack levels are below average throughout that region. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers said yesterday it will keep the amount of water flowing out of Gavins Point Dam at the winter release rate of 17,000 cubic feet per second. That means river levels will remain low headed into spring. Officials say it still appears that 2021 will be somewhat drier, and that only about 89% of the normal amount of water is expected to flow down the Missouri River.
Officials at Blank Park Zoo in Des Moines have announced the name of a male giraffe born there in January: Raza. The zoo says the name was the overwhelming pick of thousands of people who voted among three names selected as possible choices. The zoo says Raza means “hope.” The calf was on public display for the first time yesterday.
