From the Associated Press:
WATERLOO, Iowa (AP) — A 45-year-old woman has been given two life sentences for setting a fire that killed a 9-year-old boy and his mother in Waterloo. Susanna O’Brien was sentenced Monday for the deaths of 32-year-old Ashely Smith and her son, Jaykwon Sallis, in April 2018. Prosecutors said O’Brien set the fire because she was upset her boyfriend was staying with another woman at Smith’s home. The boyfriend and the second woman escaped. While handing down the sentence, the judge said O’Brien set fires at the home’s front and back doors in order to trap everyone inside. O’Brien’s attorney said she continues to maintain her innocence.
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — State public health data indicates Iowa is beginning the new year with a large surge in coronavirus cases. The state Department of Public Health on Monday posted 17,773 confirmed positive tests in the past seven days. That rate of about 2,500 cases a day is a significant jump from the 1,300 to 1,400 daily average during December. The surge pushed Iowa’s 14-day positivity rate to 13.5%, a rate that signifies a high rate of spread. Hospitalizations fell slightly to 768 from 773 reported on Friday. The state reported 163 COVID-19 patients in intensive care, a slight drop from 170 reported Friday. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says 59% of Iowa’s population is fully vaccinated.
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — When outgoing Iowa Cubs chairman and owner Michael Gartner gathered the team’s 23 full-time employees last week in Principal Park’s Betfred Sports Lounge, he told them he was handing out new business cards. What he handed out instead were bonus checks to the tune of $600,000. The Des Moines Register reports the money came from profits from the recent sale of the team, and Gartner and his four associates wanted to share those profits with staff members. Everyone, including the club’s custodian, got a check — $2,000 for every year they had been employed, even as interns. The longest tenured employee received a check for $70,000.
DAVENPORT, Iowa (AP) — Schools in Davenport surprised parents Monday with an announcement that classes for the day had been cancelled because there weren’t enough drivers to run school bus routes. The Davenport Community School District informed parents early Monday that classes were cancelled because of a school bus driver shortage. All Saints Catholic School and Trinity Lutheran School also announced closures Monday because of the shortage. Edward Flavin, a spokesman for Durham School Services that provides school bus service to the districts, blamed “varying reasons,” including absences due to COVID-19 infections and quarantining following exposures. Flavin said the company anticipates that all its routes will be covered for the rest of the week.
OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — The final 2021 report on a monthly survey of business leaders in nine Midwest and Plains states shows the region’s economy continues to improve going into the new year, with confidence in the economy over the next six months soaring. The overall index for December of the Creighton University Mid-America Business Conditions released Monday grew to 64.6 from November’s 60.2. Any score above 50 on the survey’s indexes suggests growth. The survey’s business confidence index, which looks ahead six months, rocketed from a weak 46.2 in November to 64.0 in December. The monthly survey covers Arkansas, Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, Oklahoma and South Dakota.
