Leaders in the U.S. House and Senate will meet later today to discuss the prospects for another trillion-dollar measure along the lines of the CARES Act passed earlier this year. One of the sticking points may be extending the $600-per-week unemployment bonus provided by an earlier measure…something that U.S. Sen. Charles Grassley told me is a dis-incentive to getting the workforce back up and running. You can hear more of my conversation with Iowa’s senior senator during the 9 o’clock hour of KXEL Live & Local today.
Iowa’s other U.S. Senator, Joni Ernst, is running for re-election this year…during a visit to our studio last Thursday, Sen. Ernst criticized her Democrat opponent Theresa Greenfield for refusing to respond to her call for six debates to be held between now and November’s election day. You can hear the full interview with Sen. Ernst in her role as a candidate later today in the 10 o’clock hour of KXEL Live & Local.
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The rhetoric is getting sharper as the summer moves along…November’s general election is barely 100 days away and one of the spotlight races nationally is the race for U.S. Senate in Iowa. First term incumbent Republican Sen. Joni Ernst has called for six debates with her Democrat opponent Theresa Greenfield, but so far, there’s been no word from the Greenfield camp. Ernst told me that denies voters a chance to hear where Greenfield stands on the issues. More of my conversation with Sen. Ernst, in her role as a candidate, during the 10 o’clock hour of KXEL Live & Local today.
We now know the identity of the person who died in a collision between and SUV and a semi Sunday afternoon. 42-year-old Rebecca Hall-Fencl of Waterloo was operating an SUV which failed to stop for a stop sign at the intersection of West Ridgeway Avenue and Hudson Road in Cedar Falls shortly after 12 noon Sunday. Her vehicle collided with the side of a semi operated by 70-year-old Michael Martin of Florida. He was not injured. Hall-Fencl was taken to a hospital where she died from her injuries.
In the most recent 24-hour period, state officials say only one person died as a result of COVID-19, bringing the state total to 793…another 343 positive tests were reported, for a pandemic total in Iowa of 38,907.
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Investigation continues into possible wrongdoing by FBI officials during the 2016 campaign as well as the first months of the Trump Administration. A prosecutor has been working on the case, but there is some doubt indictments or information will be ready before Election Day. U.S. Senator Charles Grassley told me yesterday that regardless of any charges that may be filed, the information about what really happened needs to be released before citizens vote this fall. You can hear the full interview with the New Hartford Republican on KXEL Live & Local later today…the program starts at 9.
The Fayette County Sheriff’s Office has arrested five persons responsible for an armed robbery at Echo Valley Park on June 19th of this year. They’ve been identified as 19-year-old Michael Root, 18-year-old Drake Thompson, 16-year-old Tayton Messler, 17-year-old Jerome Sargent—all of whom will be tried as adults—and a 15-year-old juvenile. All were charged with first degree armed robbery, a class B felony that carries a 25-year prison term. Officials say the five held a car with passengers at gun point and demanded money. A pair of search warrants were executive in West Union; officers seized BB guns that appeared to be firearms.
School districts are planning to reopen classrooms soon, and having to determine whether to require that teachers and students wear face masks. The issue has divided urban and rural schools, often along political lines. Democrat-leaning cities like Des Moines and Iowa City are requiring masks in hopes of limiting the spread of coronavirus; smaller, rural schools are leaving the decision up to parents. The state education department says it will not issue a mandatory mask order for the state’s school districts.
