Gov. Kim Reynolds announced yesterday morning she’s lifting the 50% capacity limit for businesses starting at 8 a.m. Friday. Her new proclamation allows businesses like restaurants, bars, fitness centers, casinos, senior citizen centers, adult daycare facilities, salons & barbershops, medical spas, theaters and performance venues, race tracks, and malls (excluding indoor play areas) to reopen without capacity limits. The proclamation also allows certain mass gatherings of more than ten people as long as the gathering implements social distancing between each group or individual attending alone. This would include farmers markets, conventions, religious gatherings and some recreational sporting events. Reynolds cited the overall downward trend of COVID-19 in Iowa as well as fewer hospitalizations around the state as reasons for the change.
Records show an Iowa prison warden abruptly retired last month after state officials began investigating whether his facility ignored guidelines intended to slow the spread of the coronavirus. James McKinney sent a one-sentence email on May 8 to state Department of Corrections Director Beth Skinner saying he was retiring that day as warden of the Iowa Medical and Classification Center in Coralville. His email was sent two hours after Skinner named a new interim warden of the facility. A coronavirus outbreak among Coralville inmates and staff began in April.
The University of Northern Iowa announced plans for its fall semester, which includes an early return to campus and modifications to classrooms and other spaces to allow social distancing. The fall semester will begin one week earlier than scheduled, with classes running from August 17 to November 20. Classes will be held on Labor Day and final exams will be held November 21 through 25. There will be no exams on Sunday, November 22…and the semester including exams will end the day before Thanksgiving. Classes will be a mixture of in-person, online and hybrid formats. Each classroom will have a reduced number of students, and students and staff will be expected to wear face coverings. UNI is postponing study abroad opportunities through January 2021. Residence halls and dining centers will be open but reconfigured to keep students safe. Iowa State announced a similar schedule Wednesday, as well…but the University of Iowa announced yesterday it will not change its schedule, and will start the fall semester on August 24.
The Waterloo Police Department is hosting an opportunity for the public to meet new Police Chief Joel Fitzgerald. The event will be held at Sullivan Park on Thursday, June 11th from 4 to 6 p.m. Several other members of the Waterloo Police Department will also be present. The public, media and community stakeholders are invited. There will be grilled hamburgers and hot dogs, chips and drink. Waterloo Police asks those that attend to maintain social distancing and follow COVID-19 mitigation strategies. The event is sponsored by Tyson Foods, Waterloo Police, the Waterloo Police Foundation and Waterloo Police Protective Association.
The Iowa State Fair has been going on since 1854, and other than during World War II, it’s been held every year…but not in 2020, thanks to the COVID-19 pandemic. The governing board of the Fair voted 11-2 yesterday to not hold the fair. And not just experiences will be lost…cancelling the fair will mean loss of a lot of money. According to the September 2019 audit, the Fair Authority reported revenues for the prior fiscal year $29.5 million, an increase of more than 10% over the previous year. Approximately 90% of all business revenues were generated from 11-day fair, while the other 10% is from off-season rental of facilities.
Now that last week’s Iowa primary elections are over, the focus shifts to November’s general election…and Republican Party of Iowa chair Jeff Kaufmann says he likes how his party’s candidates shape up against their Democrat opponents in each of Iowa’s four congressional districts. There were contested Republican primaries in each of Iowa’s four congressional districts last week, which Republican Party of Iowa chair Jeff Kaufmann said was actually healthy for the party. Kaufmann was a guest on KXEL Live & Local yesterday; hear the full interview by going to kxel-dot-com.
Black Lives Matter protesters rallied inside the Iowa Capitol building yesterday, shouting “I can’t breathe” and “Justice now” in an effort to convince lawmakers and the governor to take action on issues of racial inequality. A group of about two dozen protesters loudly gathered in the public space between the main entrances of the House and Senate. Sen. Brad Zaun, a Des Moines Republican, met with the group’s leader and promised to work on issues the group raised. Protesters also banged on the office door of Republican Gov. Kim Reynolds and asked for a meeting. They were disappointed when they were told by staffers to schedule a meeting…because she was holding a previously scheduled news conference at the time.
