From the Associated Press:
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Iowa is expected to receive 695 Afghan evacuees from the first group of arrivals to be resettled in the United States. The Biden administration on Wednesday began notifying governors and state refugee coordinators across the country about how many of the nearly 37,000 arrivals from that first wave are slated to be resettled in their states. A spokesman for the Iowa Department of Human Services says the evacuees coming to Iowa will be going to the major populated area such as the Des Moines and Cedar Rapids metro areas where there are resources and jobs and support systems for them.
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — The number of new coronavirus cases in Iowa in the past seven days surged 51% compared to the previous week, and new COVID-19 hospital admissions also increased along with the number of patients requiring intensive care. The Iowa Department of Public Health reported Wednesday there were 11,588 new positive cases in the past seven days. Another 64 deaths raised the total number of COVID-19 deaths in Iowa to 6,401. Iowa’s seven-day moving average of cases is at 1,487 new cases per day, a level not seen since the middle of last January. The 14-day rolling total of people in intensive care reached 2,107, the most since last Christmas. About 87% of ICU patients are not fully vaccinated.
ANAMOSA, Iowa (AP) — A judge has sentenced a second inmate to life in prison for the beating deaths of two workers at an Iowa prison during a failed escape attempt in March. Michael Dutcher, 28, pleaded guilty Wednesday to two counts of first-degree murder in the deaths of Anamosa State Penitentiary correctional officer Robert McFarland and nurse Lorena Schulte. He also pleaded guilty to kidnapping another prison worker during the failed escape and to attempted murder for the beating of an inmate who tried to stop the attack. Judge Fae Hoover-Grinde sentenced Dutcher to back to back life sentences plus another 50 years behind bars for the crimes. Last month, she sentenced inmate Thomas Woodard to life for his role in the attacks..
BETTENDORF, Iowa (AP) — An Iowa man accused of suffocating his brother to death has been charged with attempted murder. Todd Alan Laing Sr. of Bettendorf, Iowa, was arrested Tuesday. The the Quad-City Times reports an arrest affidavit alleges he put his hands over his brother’s mouth on Nov. 11, expecting and intending to cause his death. Scott County First Assistant Attorney Amy DeVine says Laing wasn’t charged with murder because those charges require the perpetrator to have had “malice aforethought” and state prosecutors didn’t feel they could prove such malice. A charge of attempted murder doesn’t have the same requirement.
AMES, Iowa (AP) — Two Iowa State University alumni have provided a $42 million gift commitment to build a new facility for industrial engineering students. The university said in a news release that C.G. “Turk” and Joyce A. McEwen Therkildsen’s gift to the university’s Department of Industrial and Manufacturing Systems Engineering is part of their long-standing relationship with Iowa State. The Iowa Board of Regents Property and Facilities Committee recommended on Wednesday the approval for the building to be named “Therkildsen Industrial Engineering” in honor of the Therkildsens. The full board will consider the proposed naming on Thursday.
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds has set a special legislative session for Oct. 5 to approve redrawn legislative and congressional district maps. And the chief justice of the Iowa Supreme Court has signed an order giving lawmakers extra time to complete their task. Reynolds signed a proclamation Tuesday convening the special session to take up redistricting. The once-a-decade process was complicated this year by a delay in releasing U.S. Census Bureau data blamed on the coronavirus pandemic. Also Tuesday, Iowa Supreme Court Chief Justice Susan Christensen signed an order allowing the nonpartisan Legislative Services Agency to submit maps to the Legislature as outlined in Iowa law even though they will be completed after the legally mandated deadline.
