THE WATERLOO CITY COUNCIL SIGNED OFF ON JOEL FITZGERALD SR. AS THE COMMUNITY’S NEW POLICE CHIEF. AT THE COUNCIL’S MONDAY EVENING SESSION, THERE WAS NO OPPOSITION TO THE HIRING. FITZGERALD WILL START ON JUNE 1ST AFTER MOVING FROM PHILADELPHIA, WHERE HE IS CURRENTLY SERVING AS CHIEF DEPUTY IN THE SHERIFF’S DEPARTMENT. WATERLOO POLICE MAJOR JOE LEIBOLD HAS BEEN THE ACTING CHIEF IN THE INTERIM, FOLLOWING DAN TRELKA’S RETIREMENT IN NOVEMBER. FITZGERALD EARNED HIS DOCTORATE IN PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION ONLINE FROM NORTHCENTRAL UNIVERSITY IN 2013.
IN CEDAR FALLS, MAYOR ROB GREEN HAS BEEN WATCHING TO SEE HOW RESIDENTS ARE OBSERVING SOCIAL DISTANCING GUIDELINES. GREEN WAS A GUEST ON KXEL LIVE AND LOCAL AND EXPRESSED HIS FEELING THAT COMMUNITY LEADERS ARE RESPONSIBLE FOR MAKING SURE THEY KNOW WHAT’S HAPPENING. GREEN ALSO TALKED ABOUT DIFFERENCES WITH WATERLOO IN APPLICATION OF GOERNOR KIM REYNOLDS SOCIAL DISTANCING PROCLAMATION. GREEN SAYS MONITORING OF PUBLIC SPACES WILL HELP BOTH CITIES DETERMINE WHETHER THEY ULTIMATELY CAME TO THE RIGHT CONCLUSIONS FOR THEIR RESPECTIVE COMMUNITIES.
EVEN THOUGH IOWA PRISONS HAVE REDUCED THEIR POPULATION SLIGHTLY SINCE MARCH, THE SYSTEM IS STILL AT MORE THAN 120 PERCENT OF CAPACITY. THERE ARE OVER 83-HUNDRED INMATES, DOWN ONE PERCENT FROM LAST MONTH. PRISON SYSTEM ADMINISTRATORS ARE ADJUSTING HOW INMATES ARE CONFINED TO PREVENT THE SPREAD OF COVID-19.
IOWA SENATOR CHUCK GRASSLEY WEIGHED IN ON INCREASING NUMBERS OF COVID-19 CASES ASSOCIATED WITH IOWA MEAT PROCESSING PLANTS. SPEAKING SPECIFICALLY ABOUT PORK, GRASSLEY TOLD KXEL LIVE AND LOCAL LISTENERS THIS MORNING THAT CALLS TO CLOSE PACKING FACILITIES DON’T TAKE INTO ACCOUNT THE WAY THE SUPPLY CHAIN REALLY WORKS.
RESTAURANT CLOSURES DUE TO THE CORONAVIRUS HAVE CONTRIBUTED TO AN ESTIMATED $5 BILLION IN LOSSES THIS YEAR FOR THE U.S. PORK INDUSTRY. THE ASSOCIATED PRESS REPORTS SOME FARMERS HAVE RESORTED TO KILLING PIGLETS BECAUSE SALES DECLINES MEAN THERE IS NO ROOM TO HOLD ADDITIONAL ANIMALS IN INCREASINGLY CRAMPED CONDITIONS. PRIOR TO COVID-19, PORK PRICES HAD BEEN EXPECTED TO CLIMB THANKS TO A SURGE IN DOMESTIC AND FOREIGN DEMAND. THE U.S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE IS PROMISING TO SEND CASH AND BUY STORED PORK BUT INDUSTRY LEADERS SAY IT MIGHT NOT BE ENOUGH TO STOP DEVASTATING LOSSES.
OVER 180 LENNOX WORKERS IN MARSHALLTOWN WILL BE LAID OFF. THE CHANGE IN WORKER SCHEDULES GOES INTO EFFECT MONDAY. THE MARSHALLTOWN LENNOX PLANT STOPPED WORK BRIEFLY LAST MONTH WHEN POSITIVE COVID-19 CASES WERE REPORTED. THE SAME PLANT WAS ALSO DAMAGED IN MARSHALLTOWN’S 2018 TORNADO.
IT WASN’T A GOOD TIME FOR A PARTY. THE UNIVERSITY OF IOWA IS INVESTIGATING WHETHER THE SIGMA CHI FRATERNITY HELD ONE ON MARCH 28TH. THE LARGE GATHERING ALLEGEDLY BROUGHT TOGETHER 30 TO 50 PEOPLE, MORE THAN A WEEK AFTER SOCIAL-DISTANCING ORDERS WENT INTO EFFECT.
STREAMLINING SCHOOL FOOD PROGRAMS HAS MADE THE DIFFERENCE IN GETTING FOOD TO KIDS DURING THE COVID-19 SHUTDOWN. THAT’S ACCORDING TO U.S. AGRICULTURE SECRETARY SONNY PERDUE, WHO WAS A GUEST THIS MORNING DURING KXEL LIVE AND LOCAL. IOWA SCHOOLS HAVE BEEN OUT OF SESSION SINCE MID-MARCH, FIRST DUE TO SPRING BREAK IN MANY DISTRICTS, BUT THEN FOLLOWED IMMEDIATELY BY THE SUSPENSION OF CLASSES DUE TO THE CORONAVIRUS. LAST WEEK, INPERSON CLASSES WERE CALLED OFF FOR THE REST OF THE YEAR. WHEN SCHOOLS WERE SHUTTERED, DISTRICTS BEGAN TO DISTRIBUTE FOOD – IN SOME CASES DAILY – TO ENSURE THAT STUDENTS’ NUTRITIONAL NEEDS WOULD BE MET.
IN SOME PARTS OF THE COUNTY, FACE MASKS ARE REQUIRED ATTIRE WHEN VISITING GROCERY STORES AND OTHER LOCATIONS. CEDAR RAPIDS HAS NOT TAKEN THAT STEP, BUT MAYOR BRAD HART WOULD LIKE TO SEE MORE PEOPLE WEARING THEM. SPEAKING DURING A CORONAVIRUS BRIEFING, HART SAID CEDAR RAPIDS OFFICIALS ARE TRYING TO PROVIDE DONATED FACEMASKS TO ESSENTIAL EMPLOYEES. HE REMINDED THE COMMUNITY THAT COVID-19 HAS LIKELY BEEN SPREAD BY MANY PEOPLE WHO HAVE NOT SHOWN SYMPTOMS OF RESPIRATORY ILLNESS.
RENOVATIONS AT A FORMER MAYTAG BUILDING IN NEWTON WERE DONE WITHOUT PROPER INSPECTION FOR ASBESTOS. AS A RESULT, THE IOWA ATTORNEY GENERAL’S OFFICE WILL COLLECT $75,000 FROM TWO MILWAUKEE BUSINESSES: PHOENIX INVESTORS AND JB2 SERVICES. THE STATE’S LAWSUIT AGAINST JB2 ALSO REMAINS ACTIVE.
