STATE LEGISLATORS RETURNED TO DES MOINES LAST WEDNESDAY TO FINISH UP A SESSION INTERUPTED BY THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC. DURING A RECENT EDITION OF KXEL LIVE AND LOCAL, LEE ENTERPRISES DES MOINES BUREAU CHIEF ERIN MURPHY EXPLAINED HOW LONG HE EXPECTS LEGISLATIVE WORK TO CONTINUE–HE SAYS THEY HOPE TO FINISH LATER THIS WEEK. MURPHY ALSO SAYS HE EXPECTS SOME LEGISLATION ON ISSUES RAISED IN THE WAKE OF WIDESPREAD PROTESTS FOR SOCIAL JUSTICE; BILLS RELATED TO ADDRESSING THE VARIOUS CHALLENGES CREATED BY THE CORONAVIRUS HAVE ALSO BEEN DISCUSSED BY LEGISLATORS.
OVER THE WEEKEND, BUCHANAN COUNTY HAD ITS FIRST COVID-19 DEATH. AS OF SUNDAY, THE STATE OF IOWA WAS REPORTING 265 CURRENT HOSPITALIZATIONS RELATED TO THE ILLNESS. 602 IOWANS HAVE DIED DUE TO THE DISEASE, AND 21,589 CASES OF THE VIRUS HAVE BEEN CONFIRMED SINCE THE OUTBREAK BEGAN. THE NUMBER OF RECOVERED CORONAVIRUS PATIENTS IS APPROACHING 13-THOUSAND. NEARLY HALF OF IOWA’S CORONAVIRUS CASES ARE LOCATED IN FOUR COUNTIES: POLK, WOODBURY, BLACK HAWK AND BUENA VISTA.
POLICE HAVE ARRESTED A LEADER OF PROTESTS THAT BEGAN IN IOWA CITY LATE LAST MONTH. 20-YEAR-OLD MAZIN MOHAMEDALI IS CHARGED WITH A PROBATION VIOLATION, AS WELL AS DISORDERLY CONDUCT AND UNLAWFUL ASSEMBLY. MOHAMEDALI HAD PREVIOUSLY BEEN ARRESTED IN JANUARY FOR ALLEGEDLY HAVING POSSESSION OF MARIJUANA. HIS SO-CALLED IOWA FREEDOM RIDERS GROUP HAS HELPED ORGANIZE DEMONSTRATIONS WHICH HAVE MARCHED FROM THE UNIVERSITY OF IOWA TO OTHER PARTS OF THE COMMUNITY.
ONE PERSON IS BELIEVED TO HAVE DROWNED SUNDAY ON LAKE MACBRIDE. RESCUE CREWS WERE SEARCHING THE LAKE THROUGHOUT THE EVENING UNTIL AFTER 9 PM. AS OF THAT TIME, NO REMAINS HAD BEEN RECOVERED. THE STATE PARK WAS VERY BUSY SUNDAY DUE TO THE WARM WEATHER, WITH ENTRANCES REPORTEDLY CLOSED AT ONE POINT DUE TO THE VOLUME OF VISITORS.
STATE SENATOR JOE BOLKOM WAS AMONG THE POLITICAL FIGURES IN IOWA CITY TO SPEAK TO PROTESTORS THERE OVER THE WEEKEND. BOLKCOM TALKED TO OUR COVERAGE PARTNERS AT TV-9 AND SAYS THE ISSUES WHICH HAVE LED TO A RECENT OUTPOURING OF UNREST GO FAR BEYOND THE DEATH OF GEORGE FLOYD IN MINNEAPOLIS. BOLKCOM REPRESENTS IOWA CITY FROM SENATE DISTRICT 43.
CRIMINALS ARE BENEFITING FROM THE SURGE IN JOB LOSSES AND STEALING UNEMPLOYMENT BENEFITS. U.S. LABOR DEPARTMENT OFFICIALS SAY AT LEAST $26 BILLION WILL LIKELY BE SWIPED BY FRAUD. MANY OF THE ILLEGITIMATE FILINGS ARE THE RESULT OF CYBER-CRIMINALS USING STOLEN DATA TO MAKE CLAIMS USING SOMEONE ELSE’S IDENTITY. WITH ROUGHLY 21.5 MILLION PEOPLE RECEIVING JOBLESS AID, IT CREATES ADDED OPPORTUNITY FOR CRIMINALS, AND AN EXTRA $600 IN WEEKLY BENEFITS MAKES IT EVEN MORE LUCRATIVE DURING THE COVID-19 OUTBREAK.
IN SPORTS, UNI PANTHER ATHLETES WILL BE BACK IN CEDAR FALLS STARTING TODAY. VOLUNTARY WORKOUTS WILL BEGIN FOR UNI FOOTBALL UPPERCLASSMEN. THE SCHOOL SAYS ALL PARTICIPANTS WILL HAVE TO LEARN ABOUT PROCEDURES FOR PREVENTING THE SPREAD OF THE CORONAVIRUS BEFORE THEY BEGIN USING CAMPUS FACILITIES. ATHLETES FROM SOME OTHER PANTHER SPORTS PROGRAMS WILL BE ABLE TO RETURN STARTING NEXT WEEK.
FLOODING IS A CONCERN IN EASTERN IOWA THIS WEEK. SIGNIFICANT RAIN IS EXPECTED TUESDAY AS THE REMNANTS OF A TROPICAL STORM MAKE THEIR WAY INTO THE MIDWEST. WITH SOME PARTS OF THE STATE LIKELY TO SEE FOUR INCHES OF TUESDAY RAIN IN A SHORT PERIOD OF TIME, FLASH FLOODING IS POSSIBLE TOMORROW. THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE ALSO WARNS THAT RIVER LEVELS ARE LIKELY TO BE ON THE RISE AS THE WEEK CONTINUES. A FLASH FLOOD WATCH FOR TOMORROW HAS ALREADY BEEN ISSUED COVERING DECORAH, INDEPENDENCE, VINTON, GRINNELL, AND POINTS EAST.
WEEKEND PROTESTS IN IOWA CITY INCLUDED BROADER REPORTS OF VANDALISM AND GRAFFITI. AREAS WHICH WERE SPRAY PAINTED WITH PROTEST SLOGANS OR OTHERWISE DAMAGED INCLUDED KINNICK STADIUM, THE NILE KINNICK STATUE, AND THE UNIVERSITY OF IOWA HOSPITAL. PROTESTERS WERE IN THOSE AREAS ON SATURDAY EVENING. ANGER WAS DIRECTED AT THE UNIVERSITY OF IOWA FOOTBALL PROGRAM AFTER FORMER PLAYERS USED SOCIAL MEDIA TO REVEAL ALLEGATIONS OF RACIST BEHAVIOR BY STRENGTH COACH CHRIS DOYLE, WHO HAS BEEN PLACED ON ADMINISTRATIVE LEAVE. IN A STATEMENT OF HIS OWN, DOYLE SAYS HE DOES NOT MAKE RACIST STATEMENTS AND DOESN’T TOLERATE THOSE WHO DO.
THE ROBERT D. AND BILLIE RAY CENTER HAS RECOGNIZED A PAIR OF ORGANIZATIONS FOR ADHERING TO THE CHARACTER COUNTS MODEL. WATERLOO EAST HIGH SCHOOL’S JUNIOR ROTC PROGRAM AND SERVEPRO OF BLACK HAWK COUNTY WERE EACH HONORED. BRUCE CLARK OF CEDAR VALLEY CHAMPIONS OF CHARACTER TALKED ABOUT BOTH ENTITIES DURING AN INTERVIEW ON KXEL LIVE & LOCAL, WHICH YOU CAN HEAR BY GOING TO THE PODCAST SECTION OF KXEL.COM
