45-YEAR-OLD JEREMY BERG OF ELKPORT WAS THE MAN WHO WAS FATALLY SHOT DURING A CONFRONTATION WITH POLICE AND DEPUTIES AT THE SCENE OF A FIRE IN RURAL JONES COUNTY LATE TUESDAY. BERG WAS PUBLICLY IDENTIFIED BY AUTHORITIES WEDNESDAY. AT LEAST FIVE LAW ENFORCEMENT OFFICERS FIRED AT BERG WHO WAS REPORTEDLY HOLDING A KNIFE AND REFUSED TO DROP IT. TWO JONES COUNTY SHERIFF’S DEPUTIES, ANOTHER FROM LINN COUNTY, AND THREE ANAMOSA POLICE OFFICERS WERE ALL AMONG THOSE WHO RESPONDED AND HAVE BEEN PLACED ON ADMINISTRATIVE LEAVE. THE IOWA DIVISION OF CRIMINAL INVESTIGATION IS MANAGING THE SHOOTING INQUIRY.
RECENT CORONAVIRUS INFECTIONS IN THE STATE HAVE HAD A DISPROPORTIONATE IMPACT ON YOUNG PEOPLE. THE IOWA DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC HEALTH SAYS THAT LAST WEEK, MORE THAN 40 PERCENT OF CONFIRMED CASES WERE FOR RESIDENTS IN THEIR 20S OR YOUNGER. MORE THAN 89 HUNDRED NEW CASES AND 29 NEW DEATHS WERE CHARTED IN A WEEKLY REPORT RELEASED WEDNESDAY. EARLIER THIS YEAR, HEALTH OFFICIALS SWITCHED FROM DAILY TO WEEKLY COVID-19 UPDATES.
ECONOMIC GROWTH REMAINS THE EXPECTATION FOR IOWA AND THE MIDWEST. ERNIE GOSS TALKED ABOUT THE LATEST RESULTS FROM A SURVEY OF BUSINESS LEADERS IN NINE STATES. THE CREIGHTON ECONOMIST SAYS THERE ARE STILL SOME ISSUES WHICH COULD PREVENT THE ECONOMY FROM REACHING ITS FULL POTENTIAL. GOSS SAYS SURVEY PARTICIPANTS WERE SOMEWHAT LESS OPTIMISTIC THIS MONTH, COMPARED WITH THE RESULTS OF A SIMILAR SURVEY IN JULY. HEAR MORE FROM GOSS DURING NEXT HOUR’S KXEL NEWSCAST.
MORE EASTERN IOWANS ARE ROLLING UP THEIR SLEEVES FOR A CORONAVIRUS VACCINATION. OUR COVERAGE PARTNERS AT TV-9 TALKED TO ROGER THOMPSON, WHO MANAGES A CHAIN OF LOCAL PHARMACIES. THOMPSON COMPARED RECENT DEMAND WITH WHAT HE WAS SEEING EARLIER THIS SUMMER. THE INCREASE IS ATTRIBUTED TO FULL FDA APPROVAL OF THE PFIZER VACCINE, GROWING INFECTION RATES DUE TO THE DELTA VARIANT, AND INOCULATION REQUIREMENTS IMPLEMENTED BY SOME EMPLOYERS.
IN APRIL OF LAST YEAR, THE OUTLOOK FOR THE BUSINESS CLIMATE IN THE MIDWEST WAS AS LOW AS IT HAS EVER BEEN. SINCE THAT POINT, OPTIMISM HAS SHOWN THROUGH, AND THE LATEST EDITION OF THE REGIONS BUSINESS CONDITIONS INDEX CONTINUES THAT SENTIMENT, ACCORDING TO CREIGHTON ECONOMIST ERNIE GOSS. NEW SURVEY DATA WAS RELEASED YESTERDAY. HEAR IN-DEPTH ANALYSIS OF THE NUMBERS FROM GOSS DURING THE IOWA BUSINESS REPORT SATURDAY MORNING AT 7 ON KXEL.
RETIRED UNIVERSITY OF NORTHERN IOWA STAFFER CAROLE YATES ANNOUNCED HER CITY COUNCIL CANDIDACY WEDNESDAY. YATES IS SEEKING TO REPRESENT CEDAR FALLS’ THIRD WARD. IN HER ANNOUNCEMENT, YATES NOTED HER INVOLVEMENT ON THE CEDAR FALLS RESILIENCE COMMITTEE, WHICH PLANS FOR A VARIETY OF POTENTIAL COMMUNITY CHALLENGES.
A VETERAN FROM WATERLOO OFFERED HIS PERSPECTIVE ON HELPING CURRENT AND FORMER MEMBERS OF THE ARMED FORCES AS THE UNITED STATES LEAVES AFGHANISTAN. KRIS JONES WAS A MARINE AND SERVED IN THE PERSIAN GULF WAR THREE DECADES AGO. HE SPOKE TO OUR COVERAGE PARTNERS AT CBS-2. JONES IS THE FOUNDER OF COFFEE AND CAMARADERIE. THE MONTHLY BREAKFAST GATHERINGS BRING DOZENS OF VETERANS TOGETHER IN AN ENVIRONMENT WHERE THEY CAN TALK WITH OTHERS WHO HAVE HAD SIMILAR EXPERIENCES IN THE MILITARY.
ADD MITCHELL COUNTY AND THREE OTHERS TO AREAS WHICH HAVE BEEN DECLARED STATE DISASTER AREAS AFTER RECENT STORMS. WITH MITCHELL, WORTH, KOSSUTH, AND POCAHONTAS COUNTIES, A TOTAL OF 17 IOWA COUNTIES HAVE NOW BEEN IDENTIFIED IN DISASTER PROCLAMATIONS. THE AREA STRETCHES CONTIGUOUSLY FROM THE MISSISSIPPI RIVER TO INTERSTATE 35 ACROSS THE NORTHERN PART OF THE STATE.
THE LATEST RIVER LEVELS ON THE WAPSIPINICON SHOW INDEPENDENCE FALLING BELOW FLOOD STAGE. BY TOMORROW, HIGH WATER IS FORECAST TO ARRIVE IN ANAMOSA, WITH AN EXPECTED SATURDAY CREST CHARACTERIZED AS REACHING A MODERATE FLOOD LEVEL.
THE WATERLOO SCHOOLS FOUNDATION HAS A NEW LEADER. HANNAH LUCE HAS BEEN NAMED TO THE POST AFTER SERVING AS INTERIM EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR. LUCE IS A RECENT GRADUATE FROM THE UNIVERSITY OF NORTHERN IOWA.
