DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — The head of Iowa’s largest hospital says he’s worried a surge in coronavirus cases is burning out many nurses and other staffers. Suresh Gunasekaran, the chief executive officer of the University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics in Iowa City, told reporters Wednesday that the hospital has hundreds of openings not only in nursing, but also for people in food service, housekeeping, maintenance and nursing assistance. The Iowa Department of Public Health says hospitalizations across the state jumped by more than 10% in the past week, to 638, which is the highest number since December. The agency reported 81 additional deaths, bringing the state’s COVID-19 death toll to 6,482.
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — The Iowa Department of Public Health medical director and state epidemiologist is leaving the job next month. The agency announced Wednesday that Dr. Caitlin Pedati, a pediatrician, will “pursue new opportunities.” Pedati has been in the job since 2018 and was a visible adviser to Gov. Kim Reynolds in the early months of the coronavirus pandemic last year, appearing in numerous news conferences. Pedati has not been a visible presence recently as the state has experienced a surge in cases involving the delta variant. The agency says it plans to quickly fill the position.
WINDSOR HEIGHTS, Iowa (AP) — Federal officials say a California man suspected of fatally shooting two people in Long Beach has been arrested in a suburb of Des Moines, Iowa. The U.S. Marshals Service says police arrested 29-year-old Joshua Wells, of Long Beach, last week near a family member’s home in Windsor Heights, Iowa. Wells was wanted for the Sept. 4 shooting deaths of 44-year-old Maricela Honorato and 39-year-old Juan Guizar-Gutierrez. Police in Long Beach say officers who responded that evening to reports of a fight found the couple on the street and sidewalk suffering from gunshot wounds to their upper bodies. Investigators believe the shooting stemmed from some kind of altercation and say Wells did not know the victims.
CEDAR FALLS, Iowa (AP) — Cedar Falls firefighters responded to a house fire and found the body of a man in the home’s kitchen. Crews were called just after 4 a.m. Wednesday to the home and found smoke pouring out of the structure and flames in the kitchen. Firefighters extinguished the fire and found a body later identified as Timothy Hersey, 62. An investigation is continuing into how Hersey died.
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — More than 18 months after Iowa’s first coronavirus case, the state finds itself in a protracted argument over the value of wearing masks, especially in schools. Even as the COVID-19 death toll in Iowa tops 6,400 people, discussions have shifted away from vaccination efforts and more toward masks following a federal judge’s ruling temporarily blocking a state law banning mask mandates in schools. In the courts, the state has been seeking to have the mask mandate ban restored. In school districts, officials have been holding often-heated meetings about whether to require masks. Efforts to question the value of masks in Iowa and elsewhere have left some health officials frustrated.
CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa (AP) — A judge has given an 18-year-old Cedar Rapids man probation for a botched drug robbery that ended in the shooting death of his cousin. The Gazette reports that Tyrell Gaston was sentenced Tuesday to three years’ probation for his conviction of second-degree robbery. His sentencing on the robbery was delayed a year so he could complete his probation for other charges in juvenile court, including conspiracy to deliver a controlled substance-marijuana, carrying weapons and obstructing prosecution. Prosecutors say Gaston was 16 on Jan. 24, 2020, when he went with his 18-year-old cousin Andrew Gaston rob a 17-year-old during a marijuana deal. Police say the 17-year-old pulled a gun and fired after he was attacked, killing Andrew Gaston and injuring Tyrell Gaston.
