Linn County officials have identified a driver killed in an accident after reaching speed of 115 mph while trying to get away from a traffic stop. The Sheriff’s Office said yesterday that 38-year-old Matthew Earl Cox of Cedar Rapids died in the early morning incident Wednesday. Investigators say the chase began when a Linn County deputy tried to pull over a car that Cox was driving in Atkins. Investigators say Cox’s speeding car drove off a Benton County road and crashed into a culvert. Officials say a woman also in the car and later identified as 33-year-old Mary Jeanette Ridenour of Cedar Rapids was seriously injured and flown to an Iowa City hospital.
Authorities have identified two people killed in an eastern Iowa collision that also injured three others earlier this week. It happened Tuesday morning north of Davenport on Highway 61 near Long Grove, killing 47-year-old Gary Warren and 45-year-old David Muller, both of Maquoketa. Investigators say Warren was driving and Muller was a passenger in a car that was hit when an oncoming van crossed the median. Another passenger in the car, a 19-year-old man, remains hospitalized in Iowa City in critical condition. Police say the 18-year-old driver of the van was taken to a Davenport hospital with serious injuries and faces charges. The van also hit a pickup truck, and the truck’s 59-year-old driver suffered minor injuries.
February ended the annual 4-month period in which Iowa typically sees its most unemployment claims…and as the month ended last week, new unemployment claims increased while continuing claims decreased. The number of new claims last week was 740 than the week before…but continuing claims dropped by 382. November through February are typically the months Iowa Workforce Development sees the most claims due to seasonal layoffs.
Gov. Kim Reynolds says she received the single-dose Johnson & Johnson coronavirus vaccine during her weekly news conference Wednesday to encourage Iowans to get vaccinated as soon as they can. The governor, her husband, and Iowa Department of Public Health Administrator Kelly Garcia were vaccinated during the event. Reynolds says she wanted to wait to get vaccinated until after nursing home residents and staff, essential workers and other priority groups had the chance to do so.
More than 100 students are currently under quarantine due to exposure to COVID-19 cases at Northwest Junior High in Coralville. A statement was sent to families and staff members on Wednesday about the uptick in cases, and said four students and one staff member tested positive for the virus. All individuals who came in contact with those testing positive were contacted and placed under quarantine. According to the Iowa City Community School District dashboard, 113 students are currently under quarantine.
A decision by the superintendent of Iowa’s largest school district to stick with remote learning in the midst of the pandemic could end up costing him his job. The Iowa Board of Educational Examiners is seeking to strip Des Moines Public Schools Superintendent Dr. Thomas Ahart of his administrator license. The board says it found probable cause that Ahart failed to submit or implement a lawful plan to return students to the classroom for the 2020-21 school year as required by state education officials. The license is a requirement to hold the position of school superintendent in Iowa.
This year is shaping up to be drier than normal throughout the Missouri River basin, and the risk of flooding is generally below normal throughout the region because conditions remain dry and snowpack levels are below average. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers said yesterday officials expect only about 84% of the normal amount of water will flow down the Missouri River this year. The Corps said it has increased the amount of water flowing out of Gavins Point Dam on the Nebraska-South Dakota border slightly, but the river remains at a low level heading into spring.
