Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds said in her news conference yesterday that the state will receive a five percent increase in COVID-19 vaccines…she said she learned this during the White House’s weekly COVID-19 update call with governors across the country the day before. Iowa’s allocation will increase to 49,900 total doses, which Gov. Reynolds says could arrive as soon as the end of the week. She says an issue with Iowa’s vaccine rollout has to do with the number of long-term care facilities in the state.
Meanwhile…after more than 90 of Iowa’s 99 counties reported a 14-day COVID-19 positivity rate higher than 15% in November, there are now no counties with a rate that high. The 14-day positivity average statewide is 8.6%, while the seven-day rate is 6.4%. The Iowa Department of Public Health reported 1,035 new positive COVID-19 cases and 29 additional deaths yesterday.
A jury has convicted a 42-year-old Creston man, charged in the murder of a man found face down in a rural Madison County road last summer. Gerald Parker was found guilty of first-degree murder in connection with the death of Jonathan Hoffman. Deputies said Hoffman was shot multiple times and left on the side of a rural Madison County road on July 21. A delivery driver later found him in the intersection. The trial was held in a building on the Madison County Fairgrounds to allow for social distancing.
Marshalltown Police yesterday announced charges in a March 2020 shooting that killed a 22-year-old Marshalltown man and injured another. 37-year-old Robert Thomas has been charged with one count of attempted murder and one count of first-degree murder in a shooting that killed 22-year-old Johnqwez Lewis and injured 27-year-old Devonte Brooks. Police said Thomas was already being held in the Marshall County Jail on unrelated charges and remains in custody pending an initial court appearance.
The bill to ban teaching the controversial “1619 Project” in Iowa schools is moving forward. State Republicans voted Tuesday night to advance the bill out of a subcommittee. The proposal would reduce funding for any Iowa school district whose teachers use the discredited New York Times-authored project on the impact of slavery and black Americans on U.S. history as part of their curriculum. During Tuesday’s meeting, the bill’s founder, Representative Skyler Wheeler, claimed the project “seeks to tear down America, and will turn students into activists for leftist policies. The bill is now eligible for consideration by the full Iowa House Education committee.
A resolution that would give Iowa voters a chance to amend the state constitution to say there is no fundamental right to abortion, or public funding for it, has passed an Iowa Senate committee. The Iowa Senate Government Committee approved the resolution yesterday. The full Iowa Senate passed a similar resolution last year, but the House did not support it. However, this year, on Jan. 27, the Iowa House did advance a similar resolution. Those in favor of the amendment say it is needed to correct judicial overreach by activist judges who struck down an abortion limit in 2018. Organized opponents to the bill say this could lead to a ban on abortions in Iowa.
One of the largest St. Patrick’s Day celebrations in Iowa has been canceled for a second straight year. The Friendly Sons of St. Patrick of Central Iowa announced yesterday afternoon that the 2021 St. Patrick’s Day Parade and Celebration is canceled. In a statement the group said the organization could not in good conscience host the event due to the coronavirus. The event draws crowds of thousands to downtown Des Moines. The 2020 parade was also canceled as the COVID-19 pandemic grew. Organizers of the parade are asking Central Iowans to show their Irish pride by donating their time or money to a local food pantry. We already know that the annual SaPaDaPaSo parade in Cedar Rapids will be different–a drive-by parade at Hawkeye Downs on Saturday, March 13, where attendees will drive around the track and see parade entries parked in the infield.
