THE IOWA STATE PATROL DID NOT IMMEDIATELY RELEASE A NAME…AND HAS NOT SAID WHY A PERSON WAS CROUCHED IN FRONT OF A CAR BEFORE A FATAL ACCIDENT LAST NIGHT IN OELWEIN. THE INCIDENT HAPPENED SHORTLY BEFORE 6 O’CLOCK TUESDAY EVENING IN THE PARKING LOT OF THE AMERICAN LEGION POST. STATE TROOPERS SAY THE VEHICLE PULLED FORWARD OUT OF A PARKING SPOT, STRIKING AND KILLING THE 54-YEAR-OLD VICTIM.
IOWA SENATOR JONI ERNST WANTS THE UNITED STATES AND OTHER NATIONS TO PRESS CHINA ON THE ORIGINS OF COVID-19. ERNST IS AMONG SEVERAL REPUBLICAN LAWMAKERS SUGGESTING THERE COULD BE CONNECTIONS BETWEEN THE VIRUS AND MILITARY TESTING. SHE SPOKE TO “FOX AND FRIENDS”. MEDICAL EXPERTS IN THE U.S. AND ELSEWHERE SAY IT IS LIKELY THE CORONAVIRUS WAS TRANSMITTED FROM ANIMALS TO HUMANS THROUGH THE SALE OF WILD MEAT. THE WORLD HEALTH ORGANIZATION HAS SAID IT DOES NOT BELIEVE THE VIRUS WAS FORMULATED IN A LAB.
AN IOWA STATE UNIVERSITY ECONOMIST SAYS EFFECTS OF THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC ARE NOT THE ONLY ECONOMIC HURDLES IOWA IS TRYING TO OVERCOME. DAVE SWENSON SPOKE TO OUR COVERAGE PARTNERS AT TV-9. SWENSON NOTED THAT IOWA WAS EXPERIENCING A LABOR SHORTAGE PRIOR TO THE CORONAVIRUS AS MANY RECENT COLLEGE GRADUATES LEAVE THE STATE.
MID-AMERICAN ENERGY WORKERS AND FIRST RESPONDERS WERE CALLED TO THE SCENE OF A HAZARDOUS SITUATION ON WATERLOO’S WEST SIDE TUESDAY EVENING. OFFICIALS SAY THE NATURAL GAS SUPPLY LINE TO A HOUSE ON ANSBOROUGH AVENUE WAS RUPTURED WHEN A VEHICLE DROVE INTO THE FRONT WALL OF THE RESIDENCE. IT HAPPENED WHEN THE DRIVER REPORTEDLY LOST CONTOL AS SHE TURNED INTO HER DRIVEWAY. SEVERAL NEARBY NEIGHBORS WERE ASKED TO TEMPORARILY LEAVE THEIR HOMES AS A PRECAUTION. NO ONE WAS INJURED, AND TECHNICIANS WERE ABLE TO TURN OFF THE LEAKING NATURAL GAS WITHOUTH INCIDENT.
THE IOWA DEPARTMENT OF NATRUAL RESOURCES EXPECTS A BREEDING POPULATION OF BLACK BEARS WILL LIKELY RETURN TO THE STATE NATURALLY DURING THE DECADE AHEAD. WISCONSIN AND MINNESOTA ARE HOME TO APPROXIMATELY 45 THOUSAND WILD BLACK BEARS, WITH SOME OF THOSE ANIMALS FINDING THEIR WAY INTO OUR STATE IN RECENT YEARS. IOWA SITINGS HAVE BECOME REGULAR, PARTICULARLY IN THE STATE’S NORTHEASTERN COUNTIES. THE DNR SAYS BEARS WERE ONCE COMMON IN IOWA, BUT THE DEPARTMENT HAS NO AUTHORITY TO REGULATE THEM, BECAUSE THEY WERE GONE AT THE TIME STATE ANIMAL STATUTES WERE CREATED.
DRY CONDITIONS COULD BECOME A BIGGER PROBLEM AS THE GROWING SEASON CONTINUES. PRAIRIEBURG FARMER JIM GREIF TALKED WITH OUR COVERAGE PARTNERS AT TV-9. HEAR ABOUT THE CHANCES FOR RAIN DURING THE DAYS AHEAD JUST 30 SECONDS FROM NOW WITH THE LATEST FORECAST FROM THE TV-9 WEATHER LAB.
MEDICAL RESEARCHERS DO NOT BELIEVE THE THEORY THAT COVID-19 WAS CREATED AT A LABRATORY IN WUHAN, CHINA. HOWEVER, IOWA SENATOR JONI ERNST WOULD LIKE TO KNOW MORE ABOUT HOW AMERICAN MONEY MIGHT HAVE FUNDED STUDIES THAT WERE HAPPENING THERE. ERNST SPOKE ON THAT TOPIC WHEN SHE APPEARED ON THE “FOX AND FRIENDS” PROGRAM. SENATOR ERNST INDICATED THAT SHE WAS UNCONVINCED BY CHINESE DENIALS ABOUT MILITARY INVOLVMENT IN THE ORIGINS OF THE VIRUS. ONE WEEK FROM TODAY, ERNST IS ANTICIPATED TO BE A GUEST DURING THE KXEL LIVE AND LOCAL PROGRAM.
MARSHALLTOWN WILL RECEIVE 300 THOUSAND DOLLARS FROM THE FEDERAL ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY. THE FUNDING WILL BE USED FOR ASSESSMENT OF SO-CALLED “BROWNFIELDS”…INDUSTRIAL AND COMMERCIAL PROPERTIES THAT CONTAIN HAZARDOUS SUBSTANCES, POLLUTANTS OR CONTAMINANTS. MARSHALLTOWN WAS ONE OF 151 COMMUNITIES AROUND THE COUNTRY TO RECEIVE GRANT MONEY ANNOUNCED TUESDAY. SIOUX CITY WAS THE ONLY OTHER LOCATION IN IOWA. THE EPA ESTIMATES THAT THERE ARE 450 THOUSAND BROWNFIELD SITES AROUND THE COUNTRY, INCLUDING ABANDONED INDUSTRIAL FACILITIES, FORMER GAS STATIONS, AND WASTE DISPOSAL LOCATIONS.
UNIVERSITY OF NORTHERN IOWA WRESTLING COACH DOUG SCHWAB WILL CONTINUE TO BRING HIS INTENSITY TO WEST GYM THROUGH AT LEAST 2028. THE UNI ATHLETIC DEPARTMENT ANNOUNCED A CONTRACT EXTENSION FOR SCHWAB TUESDAY. SCHWAB’S NEW DEAL IS PART OF A TREND WHICH HAS SEEN SEVERAL OTHER UNI COACHES AGREE TO CONTRACTS LASTING FOR MUCH OF THE DECADE AHEAD.
