Iowa’s unemployment rate for August dropped to 6.0%…Iowa Workforce Development reported Friday that the August rate was down from 6.8% in July and 11% in April at the height of the coronavirus pandemic. There were 96,500 people listed as unemployed in August, a decline from 110,300 in July. Iowa’s unemployment ranked 12th nationally. The U.S. unemployment rate for August was 8.4%
The federal government says it will give farmers an additional $14 billion to compensate them for the difficulties they’ve experienced selling their crops, milk and meat because of the coronavirus pandemic. The U.S. Department of Agriculture released details of its plan Friday, saying it will provide “financial assistance that gives producers the ability to absorb increased marketing costs associated with the COVID-19 pandemic.” President Donald Trump first mentioned the aid in a speech Thursday night in Wisconsin, a state that is considered vital for his chances to win a second term. The additional payments also illustrate the importance of farmers as a voting block and a force in the U.S. economy.
An Iowa City high school teacher has been placed on leave for assigning students to “pretend you are a black slave.” The assignment asked students to write four sentences about what they would do if they were a slave who was freed. The assignment was for an Iowa City school district online learning program for students assigned to different schools. The district says the teacher was placed on administrative leave and the assignment was removed. The district called the assignment “inappropriate.”
Iowa health officials say Iowa now has confirmed more than 80,000 cases of COVID-19 since the pandemic began six months ago. The state also has 1,265 deaths linked to the coronavirus. Iowa had an 8.7% positivity test rate over the past 14 days, but ten Iowa counties reported positivity rates over 15% over that time…all in western and southern Iowa. That means public schools in those counties may be able to apply for a state waiver to provide instruction entirely online.
Iowa City officials are asking for public assistance into learning what led to a woman suffering a gunshot wound yesterday morning. Just before 10 o’clock, police were called on a report of someone hearing a gunshot in the 1100 block of Oakcrest Street. Officers discovered a woman with a gunshot wound, who was then taken to a hospital. No arrests have been made in connection with the incident. Police said they do not believe the general public is at risk.
Meanwhile, the Fort Dodge Police Department is investigating a shooting early yesterday morning that left an 18-year-old woman hospitalized with life-threatening injuries. Police say they received a report around 2:15 a.m. regarding a woman who arrived at a hospital by private vehicle with at least one gunshot wound. Police learned the woman was shot while inside a vehicle in the 400 block of South 14th Street, and that at least one person shot at the vehicle from their own vehicle. No other injuries were reported.
One person was killed Saturday during an accident in rural Cerro Gordo County. The Iowa State Patrol said a vehicle was traveling northbound on Balsam Ave., when the driver passed other traffic and then lost control. The vehicle entered the west ditched and rolled. The incident happened just south of county road B14 on Balsam Ave.
The Des Moines Register/Mediacom Iowa Poll released Saturday night shows no change over the summer in the race for U.S. Senate. The latest survey shows Democrat challenger Theresa Greenfield with a three point advantage over Republican incumbent, Senator Joni Ernst, the same as in a June poll. But that is within the poll’s margin of error, making the race a dead heat. Some 7 percent remain undecided. An AARP Iowa poll last week showed Ernst ahead by 5 points, outside the margin of error.
A 31-year-old Waterloo man was arrested just after 4 o’clock early yesterday morning, accused of breaking windows at two houses, stealing from a car and assaulting officials who stopped him. Police believe Justin Chihak was on drugs when arrested. Police say Chihak had a severe laceration when taken into custody. It is unclear how he was injured. Chihak had a personal weapon on him when damaging two residential properties during the extended incident.
Some people are concerned after a blade of a wind turbine broke off and landed in a corn field in rural Adair county. It crushed the corn but no one was injured. The blades measure more than 150 feet long and weigh 18 thousand pounds. MidAmerican crews are working to find the cause of the wing failure.
One man has been arrested after a reported knife attack Friday night in Howard County. Authorities were called to KCD’s Bar and Grill in Lime Springs a little before midnight. Sheriff’s deputies found a 34-year-old Lime Springs man had been cut in the upper arm. He was treated and released from a hospital. 21-year-old Marckus Nelson-Timm of Lime Springs has been charged with willful injury.
