From the KCRG-TV9 Newsroom:
Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds is requesting a Major Disaster Declaration for the state due to severe weather and torrential rains last month. The Governor says the storms from July 1-4 created a deluge the National Weather Service described as a 1000-year rain event. The Governor is requesting public assistance for people in the hardest hit counties–Jasper, Polk, Story, and Warren in central Iowa. She’s requesting hazard mitigation throughout the rest of the state.
The Governor was joined by Trump Administration leaders yesterday as the state introduced the nation’s first Workforce Pell Grant program. That grant was created as part of the Working Families Tax Cuts Act last year. It allows Pell Grants to be used for workforce training programs that prepare students for jobs in as little as eight weeks. Iowa was the first state to open applications for the funds.
Advocacy group Escucha Mi Voz says three immigrants from Haiti were detained at check-ins yesterday with the Department of Homeland Security. Demonstrators met outside the DHS office in Cedar Rapids to accompany them and more than 50 other people. The group says more than 200 people, including more than 20 clergy members and Catholic sisters, accompanied 55 immigrant families for the mandatory ICE check-ins.
A Cedar Rapids catering company says data center construction is leading to a busy schedule. Those with Dostal Catering Service say the business’s schedule has been mostly booked since last year, with construction companies requesting things like lunch boxes and holiday meals. Anyone planning to book services for a weekend event should call at least two months in advance, and book at least a year out for a wedding.
Iowa City says it kept almost 13,000 pounds of waste out of the landfill during last month’s drive-through donation event at the Chauncey Swan parking ramp. That included almost 4,000 pounds of furniture, 3,000 pounds of clothing, 2,200 pounds of books, and 1,200 pounds of mattresses. Many of the items went to non-profits like Habitat for Humanity, Crowded Closet, and the Antelope Lending Library.
