IT’S BEEN NEARLY TWO WEEKS SINCE RECORD STRAIGHT-LINE WINDS CHANGED LIVES AND THE LANDSCAPE IN CEDAR RAPIDS. AS OF THIS MORNING, ALLIANT ENERGY REPORTED THAT OVER 13-HUNDRED PEOPLE WERE STILL WITHOUT POWER. OUTAGES WERE INITIALLY REPORTED IN THE HUNDREDS OF THOUSANDS. ALLIANT SPOKESWOMAN CINDY TOMLINSON MADE A RECENT VISIT TO KXEL LIVE AND LOCAL. PERIODIC OUTAGES REMAIN POSSIBLE IN THE DAYS AHEAD AS UTILITIES PUT LONG-TERM FIXES IN PLACE.
MORE THAN A DOZEN CHANGES TO POLICY HAVE BEEN ENACTED BY THE WATERLOO POLICE DEPARTMENT SINCE THE ARRIVAL OF NEW CHIEF JOEL FITZGERALD. MAYOR QUENTIN HART TALKED ABOUT THE REORIENTATION OF THE CITY’S POLICE. HART’S COMPLETE INTERVIEW WITH KXEL’S JEFF STEIN IS AVAILABLE AT KXEL.COM.
STATE OFFICIALS HAVE CONFIRMED THE FIRST DEATH OF AN IOWA CHILD DUE TO COMPLICATIONS FROM CORONAVIRUS. THE IOWA DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC HEALTH SAYS THE STATE MEDICAL EXAMINER CONCLUDED ITS INVESTIGATION INTO THE JUNE DEATH EARLIER THIS MONTH. IT WAS REPORTED IN THE STATE’S OFFICIAL STATISTICS SATURDAY. THE DEPARTMENT SAYS IT NEEDED TO MAKE EFFORTS TO PROTECT THE CHILD’S IDENTITY AND NOTIFY THE FAMILY BEFORE RELEASING THE INFORMATION TO THE PUBLIC. THE CHILD WAS UNDER AGE FIVE HAD A PRE-EXISTING HEALTH CONDITION.
A WEEK AGO, THE WATERLOO CITY COUNCIL VOTED TO IMPLEMENT A MASK MANDATE. MAYOR QUENTIN HART RECENTLY TALKED ABOUT THE EFFORT TO GET PEOPLE TO MASK-UP WHEN THEY ARE IN PUBLIC. WATERLOO’S MASK MANDATE GIVES THE MAYOR BROAD DISCRETION TO ENFORCE THE POLICY. BLACK HAWK COUNTY HAS THE THIRD-HIGHEST TOTAL COVID-19 CASE COUNT AT OVER 35-HUNDRED, TRAILING ONLY POLK AND WOODBURY COUNTIES.
A CAR CHASE CROSSED COUNTY LINES ON SUNDAY AFTERNOON. AUTHORITIES SAY AN ALLEGEDLY STOLEN VEHICLE WAS SPOTTED IN CEDAR RAPIDS AROUND 3 O’CLOCK. POLICE TRIED TO STOP THE CAR ON ROCKFORD ROAD ON THE CITY’S SOUTHWEST SIDE. THE VEHICLE ROLLED ON, TRAVELING ALL THE WAY TO AN ADDRESS NEAR SOLON IN JOHNSON COUNTY. THAT’S WHERE THE DRIVER WAS ARRESTED. OFFICIALS DID NOT IMMEDIATELY RELEASE THE SUSPECT’S NAME OR OTHER DETAILS.
THE GENERAL MILLS OPERATION IN CEDAR RAPIDS IS MAKING A 37-MILLION DOLLAR UPGRADE TO ITS FACILITIES. LATE LAST WEEK, THE IOWA ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT AUTHORITY ANNOUNCED THAT THE COMPANY WILL RECEIVE SPECIAL TAX CONSIDERATIONS, BECAUSE THE PROJECT IS EXPECTED TO CREATE 50 JOBS. THE CEDAR RAPIDS GENERAL MILLS PLANT MAKES CEREAL, FRUIT SNACKS, AND FROSTING. THE PLANNED UPGRADES WILL MODERNIZE THE FACILITY’S PRODUCTION LINE AND EXPAND ITS CAPACITY.
AVERAGE GAS PRICES HELD STEADY OVER THE LAST TWO WEEKS. THE REGULAR GRADE AVERAGE NATIONWIDE IS $2.25 PER GALLON.
ALLIANT ENERGY IS HOPEFUL THAT LIGHTS WILL BE BACK ON FOR THE LAST OF SEVERAL HUNDRED CUSTOMERS WHO HAVE BEEN WITHOUT POWER FOR NEARLY TWO WEEKS SINCE A MAJOR WIND STORM AFFECTED CENTRAL AND EASTERN IOWA AND PARTS OF FIVE OTHER STATES ON AUGUST 10TH. ELECTRIC CUSTOMERS IN CEDAR RAPIDS AND SURROUNDING COMMUNITIES DEALT WITH THE MOST DAMAGE, SAYS ALLIANT ENERGY SPOKESWOMAN CINDY TOMLINSON. TOMLINSON SAYS ELECTRICAL WORKERS FROM AROUND THE COUNTRY HAVE COME TO IOWA TO ASSIST IN RESTORING POWER AND REPAIR MILES OF INFRASTRUCTURE.
A WHITE HOUSE CORONAVIRUS TASK FORCE RECOMMENDS IOWA SHOULD MANDATE FACE MASKS AND CLOSE BARS IN THE STATE’S LARGEST CITIES TO SLOW THE SPREAD OF COVID-19. IOWA GOV. KIM REYNOLDS HAS NOT ACTED ON THOSE SUGGESTIONS. THE NEW RECOMMENDATIONS WERE INCLUDED IN AN AUG. 9 REPORT. THE TASK FORCE’S LEADER IS DR. DEBORAH BIRX. SHE DISCUSSED THE RECOMMENDATIONS LAST WEEK WITH IOWA’S STATE EPIDEMIOLOGIST, DR. CAITLIN PEDATI. THE REPORT ALSO SAID GYMS SHOULD BE CLOSED OR LIMITED TO 25% OF CAPACITY, AND SOCIAL GATHERINGS SHOULD BE LIMITED TO 25 PEOPLE OR LESS IN OVER HALF OF IOWA’S COUNTIES.
A UNIVERSITY OF NORTHERN IOWA PHYSICS PROFESSOR HAS RECEIVED MORE THAN 230 THOUSAND DOLLARS IN GRANT FUNDING FROM THE NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION. PAVEL LUKASHEV SPECIALIZES IN SPINTRONICS – A COMBINATION OR MAGNETISM AND ELECTRONICS. HIS RESEARCH IS EXPECTED TO PROVIDE WAYS FOR ELECTRONIC DEVICES TO BE MORE EFFICIENT.
