Officials say tens of thousands of health care workers, plus nursing home residents and staff, will be the first people in Iowa to get COVID-19 vaccines, likely in the next few weeks. Officials said yesterday that Iowa expects to receive 172,000 doses of vaccines produced by Pfizer and Moderna over the next month, assuming they receive emergency use authorization from the Food and Drug Administration. Iowa will use a portion of its initial allocation for health care workers, storing the vaccines at six health care sites across the state. The state will reserve the rest for a federal program that will use pharmacies to vaccinate residents and employees at skilled nursing facilities across Iowa. I’ll be talking to Gov. Kim Reynolds about the state’s plan later today; you can hear the conversation Monday morning during KXEL Live & Local.
A former Cedar Rapids nurse has entered a plea of not guilty to federal charges after being accused of stealing the powerful painkiller fentanyl from a surgery clinic where she worked. Prosecutors say 52-year-old Sabrina Thalblum has been charged with two federal counts in the case, with trial set for next February. Prosecutors say that for a year starting in 2018, she used fine gauge needles to withdraw the opioid from unopened vials of the drug, then used a needle to replace the missing painkiller with a clear substance. A settlement agreement filed in June with the Iowa Board of Nursing says Thalblum admitted to taking the fentanyl from the surgery center and to having a substance abuse problem.
As you heard on News/Talk 1540 KXEL last night, UNI men’s basketball coach Ben Jacobson said junior guard AJ Green will miss tonight’s game against St. Ambrose due to a hip injury. Multiple doctors are being consulted, but at this point the options are to rest and then play through the injury, or have season-ending surgery. The Panthers take on St. Ambrose in the home opener in Cedar Falls tonight, with pregame at 5:30 and tipoff at 6 on KXEL. In addition, sophomore guard Antwan Kimmons is taking a leave of absence from the team to to return home to Minnesota; that’s because of family issues due to COVID-19.
U.S. Sen. Charles Grassley says he supports a federal funding package for coronavirus relief but made it clear he does not support large amounts of money to shore up state and local government budgets. The influential chair of the Senate Finance Committee talked to reporters this week as negotiations picked up speed in Washington. The New Hartford Republican said Congress must pass long overdue relief to help families, businesses, schools and communities. He says he could support a bill with items that have bipartisan support at around $500 billion and that he’d consider something less than $1 trillion. He resisted spending a massive amount of money for state and local government budget relief but said it likely wouldn’t cause him to reject a package including it. I’ll talk with Sen. Grassley Monday afternoon; you can hear the conversation Tuesday morning on KXEL Live & Local.
A Waterloo woman has been arrested for her role in the robbery of a Waterloo man who was fatally shot in August. 40-year-old Tonkeya Vaniece Jackson was charged with second-degree robbery. She is accused of helping plan an armed robbery that ended in the shooting death of 49-year-old Vincent Hemenway. She is the third suspect arrested in the case. Court records say police found evidence that Jackson’s cell phone had been used to plan the robbery, sending a map of the target area and a message to bring guns.
The Waterloo Black Hawks’ game versus the Sioux Falls Stampede at 7:05 p.m. tonight will be played for an exclusive audience of season ticket holders only. The team created a new seating map this week to provide greater social distancing during the COVID-19 situation. Season ticket holders were contacted by email with full information regarding tickets and seating.
The Cedar Rapids Community School District is reopening its schools to in-person learning next week, a week ahead of schedule. That’s due to a decrease in COVID-19 positive cases in Linn County, fewer staff being absent, and local health care systems gaining stable capacity. All elementary schools; Harding, Roosevelt and Wilson middle schools; Metro high school, and Polk alternative education will be open for in-person learning Monday. Franklin and McKinley middle schools will reopen to in-person learning Wednesday, after suffering derecho damage. Jefferson and Washington high schools were also damaged by the derecho and will also reopen Wednesday, but for hybrid learning. All high school athletics and activities can resume tomorrow.
American Airlines has announced its January flight schedule from the Waterloo Regional Airport to O’Hare in Chicago…there will be one incoming, and one out-going flight each afternoon, seven days a week…the incoming flights from Chicago will arrive in the 2 o’clock hour each afternoon, while the departing flights from Waterloo will leave just before 4 p.m. on Tuesdays, Wednesday and Saturdays…and around 5:45 p.m. the remaining four days of the week.
No. 12 ranked Iowa State’s most remarkable accomplishment this football season might not be beating Oklahoma and Texas in the same season for the first time. Or reaching the conference championship game, if they beat West Virginia in Ames tomorrow. It could be staying on the field in a season dominated by the pandemic. The Cyclones are one of three Big 12 teams set to finish their 10-game regular season tomorrow. While the Big 12 has only had to reschedule three games so far, there are still the weekly and even daily COVID-19 issues for every team. For the first time in weeks, a limited number of fans will be allowed in the stadium in Ames.
Losing can have an upside. Just ask Rep. Abby Finkenauer, Sen. Doug Jones and Rep. Donna Shalala. The list goes on. So does the age-old practice of an incoming president offering losing politicians a place in a new White House. As Biden fills out his administration, his team is looking to recently defeated members of Congress. Finkenauer, of Iowa, is being considered for labor secretary. Jones, an Alabama senator who earlier prosecuted Klansmen for murder, is in the mix for attorney general. And Shalala, of Florida, is perhaps the most administration-ready, having already served eight years as secretary of health and human services under Bill Clinton.
A woman has been sentenced to 50 years in prison for fatally stabbing another woman in April 2018 in Sioux City. Melissa Camargo-Flores was sentenced Thursday in the death of 24-year-old Kenia Alvarez-Flores. Prosecutors say 22-year-old Camargo-Flores, of Dakota City, waited outside Alvarez-Flores’ house and stabbed the victim as she left for work. Camargo-Flores was originally charged with first-degree murder but pleaded guilty in October to the lesser charge. The reason for the stabbing wasn’t made clear Thursday but police said Camargo-Flores told them she had been involved with Alvarez-Flores’ boyfriend. The two women were not related.
