A MAN SHOT OUTSIDE A WATERLOO NIGHT CLUB EARLY SUNDAY MORNING HAD ONLY MINOR INJURIES. THE UNIDENTIFIED 60-YEAR-OLD SUFFERED A LEG WOUND WHICH WAS NOT BELIEVED TO BE LIFE-THREATENING. AUTHORITIES ARRIVING AT THE ESTABLISHMENT ON SUMNER STREET NEAR EAST 4TH FOUND EVIDENCE OF MULTIPLE SHOTS. POLICE ARE STILL SEEKING MORE DETAILS.
FIRST LIZ MATHIS AND ASHLEY HINSON…NOW TIFFANY O’DONNELL IS ABOUT TO ENTER POLITICS. O’DONNELL IS EXPECTED TO FORMALLY ANNOUNCE HER CAMPAIGN TO BECOME MAYOR OF CEDAR RAPIDS THIS WEEK. THE FORMER NEWS ANCHOR HAS BEEN PART OF THE ORGANIZATION IOWA WOMEN LEAD CHANGE SINCE 2015. O’DONNELL IS EXPECTED TO BE A GUEST DURING KXEL LIVE AND LOCAL LATER THIS WEEK.
A SUSPECT WANTED FOR KILLING A WOMAN IN AMES LAST MONTH IS NOW IN CUSTODY. 33-YEAR-OLD RICHARD FLECK ALLEGEDLY ATTACKED ANOTHER WOMAN IN DES MOINES BEFORE BEING ARRESTED EARLY SUNDAY. THAT VICTIM IS HOSPITALIZED WITH SERIOUS FACIAL INJURIES BUT IS EXPECTED TO SURVIVE. FLECK HAD BEEN SOUGHT FOLLOWING THE DEATH OF RANEA BELL IN AMES, AND IS CHARGED WITH FIRST-DEGREE MURDER IN THAT CASE. ATTEMPTED MURDER CHARGES ARE EXPECTED IN THE DES MOINES ATTACK.
THIS IS SEVERE WEATHER AWARENESS WEEK. LORIE GLOVER IS BLACK HAWK COUNTY’S EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT COORDINATOR. THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE AND IOWA HOMELAND SECURITY DEPARTMENT WILL FOCUS ON A DIFFERENT SEVERE WEATHER TOPIC EACH DAY THIS WEEK, STARTING TODAY WITH INFORMATION ABOUT SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS TODAY.
A RURAL HOME EAST OF WATERLOO WAS SERIOUSLY DAMAGED BY FIRE ON SUNDAY AFTERNOON. HIGH WINDS OUT OF THE SOUTH AMPLIFIED THE SITUATION, WHICH WAS STARTED WHEN AN OUTDOOR COOKING FIRE WENT OUT OF CONTROL. BESIDES THE SINGLE-STORY HOUSE, A VARIETY OF OTHER PROPERTY ON THE SCENE WAS ALSO DAMAGED OR DESTROYED. FORTUNATELY NO ONE WAS INJURED, ALTHOUGH FIREFIGHTERS WERE AT THE RESIDENCE IN THE 41-HUNDRED BLOCK OF GEORGE DRIVE FOR MORE THAN TWO HOURS.
LENT WILL OFFICIALLY END DURING EASTER WEEKEND IN THE FIRST DAYS OF APRIL. THAT IS ALMOST IN TIME FOR APRIL TO BE “MEAT ON THE TABLE MONTH,” AS DESIGNATED BY IOWA GOVERNOR KIM REYNOLDS LATE LAST WEEK. THE PROCLAMATION FOLLOWS A SIMILAR DECLARATION IN NEBRASKA, ALL IN RESPONSE TO A COLORADO EFFORT ENCOURAGING PEOPLE NOT TO EAT MEAT ON A SO-CALLED “MEAT OUT DAY.’ REYNOLDS’ ANNOUNCEMENT NOTED THAT MEAT PRODUCTION IN THE STATE WAS RESPONSIBLE 29 BILLION DOLLARS IN AGRICULTURAL PRODUCTION.
MANY RURAL AMERICANS ARE IN DANGER OF LOSING A PRIMARY SOURCE OF HEALTH SERVICES. JASON HARRINGTON IS PRESIDENT OF THE IOWA HOSPITAL ASSOCIATION AND WAS A GUEST TODAY DURING KXEL LIVE AND LOCAL. HARRINGTON TALKED ABOUT A STUDY WHICH LOOKED AT THE POTENTIAL CLOSURE OF 500 RURAL HOSPITALS NATIONWIDE. HARRINGTON ADDED THAT THE CLOSURE OF RURAL HOSPITALS HAMSTRINGS FUTURE ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT EFFORTS, IN ADDITION TO CREATING GREATER HEALTH CHALLENGES IN AFFECTED AREAS.
AN ACCIDENTAL SHOOTING IN MARION SUNDAY MORNING SENT A MINOR TO THE HOSPITAL. THE TEENAGER WAS REPORTEDLY HIT BY A BULLET WHEN A GUN FIRED AS IT WAS BEING CLEANED. THE WOUND WAS CHARACTERIZED AS SERIOUS. THE SHOOTING HAPPENED AT A HOME IN THE 1300 BLOCK OF 7TH STREET. AUTHORITIES ARE STILL INVESTIGATING THE ACCIDENT.
AS HOSPITALS AND HEALTH CARE HAVE COME INTO SHARP FOCUS DURING THE CORONAVIRUS PANDEMIC, HEALTH CARE LEADERS ARE WARNING THAT MANY RURAL HOSPITALS ARE IN TENUOUS FINANCIAL CONDITION. JASON HARRINGTON IS THE PRESIDENT AND CEO OF A HOSPITAL IN SPIRIT LAKE AND LEADS THE IOWA HOSPITAL ASSOCIATION. HARRINGTON SAYS A RANGE OF FACTORS FROM LOW REIMBURSEMENT RATES TO LOW PATIENT VOLUMES AND MORE MEAN THAT 40 RURAL IOWA HOSPITALS – AND 500 ACROSS THE COUNTRY – COULD CLOSE. DURING KXEL LIVE AND LOCAL, HARRINGTON TOLD KXEL LISTENERS THAT THE REPERCUSSIONS GO BEYOND HEALTH CARE. HARRINGTON SAYS A HIGHER RATE OF MEDICARE REIMBURSEMENT COULD HAVE A SIGNIFICANT POSITIVE IMPACT ON THE BALANCE SHEETS AT RURAL HOSPITALS.
IN SPORTS, THE IOWA STATE WOMEN’S BASKETBALL TEAM PLAYS THEIR FIRST GAME IN THE NCAA TOURNAMENT THIS EVENING. IOWA STATE MEETS MICHIGAN STATE AT 5 O’CLOCK. THEN TONIGHT, THE UNI PANTHER WOMEN LOOK FOR THEIR THIRD WIN IN THE WNIT AS THEY FACE ST. LOUIS. KXEL’S LIVE COVERAGE OF THE GAME IN ROCKFORD BEGINS AT 6:45.
