From the Associated Press (11:20 a.m.):
NEWTON, Iowa (AP) – About 700 people are losing their jobs this week in Newton, Iowa. TPI Composites is ending wind turbine manufacturing. The company had been Jasper County’s largest employer. About 50 workers in TPI’s field services operation will remain. The job losses were announced in October. A recent job fair for the soon-to-be displaced workers brought more than 100 companies. Frank Liebl of the Newton Development Corp. says unemployment is low and jobs are plentiful, so he’s hopeful those losing their jobs can find new work.
DAVENPORT, Iowa (AP) – Employees and all of the animals are OK after carbon monoxide leaked into a Quad Cities animal shelter, but the facility now faces a costly bill. KWQC-TV reports that employees of the Humane Society of Scott County in Davenport recently noticed something was amiss and called firefighters, who found the leak, caused by a problem with the furnace. The furnace must be replaced at a cost of $60,000. Development Coordinator Celina Rippel says it’s “a big chunk of change” for the nonprofit. The Humane Society is seeking public donations of money for the furnace, as well as blankets and dog beds for the animals.
PORTAGE, Wis. (AP) – A semitrailer driver from Iowa faces charges in Wisconsin after he allegedly led state troopers on a wild interstate chase. The Portage Daily Registers reports that Kyle Futrel was charged Dec. 21 in Columbia County with fleeing an officer, reckless endangerment, possession of methamphetamine and possession of narcotics. According to a criminal complaint, state troopers received calls from motorists on Dec. 17 reporting a semitrailer was all over the road on Interstate 39-90-94. A trooper caught up to the truck and followed with emergency lights activated. The truck deviated from the right lane onto the shoulder multiple times, turned off its lights and nearly crashed into multiple vehicles. The truck eventually stopped and blocked the northbound lanes.
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) – The rate of coronavirus spread in Iowa has increased in the past week as state health officials posted 10,162 positive tests in the past seven days. While hospitalizations dropped slightly the state reports increased hospitalizations among children. The Iowa Department of Public Safety says in it’s weekly update posted Wednesday that 16 children under the age of 17 were hospitalized with COVID-19. All are unvaccinated. The Iowa vaccination rate among young children remains low with just 14% of those between ages 5 and 11 fully vaccinated. Iowa is averaging 1,566 cases per day and the state posted an additional 59 deaths on Wednesday for a total of 7,858 COVID-19 deaths.
DENVER (AP) – Democratic lawmakers in California, Maryland and Washington passed far-reaching policing reforms this year in response to the 2020 killing of George Floyd in Minnesota. But the first full year of state legislative sessions since the killing sparked a summer of racial justice protests produced a far more mixed response in the rest of the country. A number of states implemented incremental reforms, such as banning chokeholds or tightening rules around use of body cameras. But several Republican-led states responded by granting police even greater authority and passing laws that cracked down on protesters. Police reform legislation also hit a wall in Congress.
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) – Iowa has reached a milestone – 175 years as a state. Gov. Kim Reynolds signed a proclamation on Tuesday declaring Iowa Statehood Day. President James Polk signed the bill that made Iowa the 29th state on Dec. 28, 1846. Fewer than 100,000 people lived in Iowa at the time. Now, the state has nearly 3.2 million residents. Iowa became part of the United States with the Louisiana Purchase in 1803 and became its own territory in 1838, separating from the Wisconsin Territory.
