CEDAR RAPIDS PLANS TO USE SOME COVID-19 RELIEF MONEY TO COVER A LONGSTANDING NEED. DURING A THURSDAY MEDIA EVENT, MAYOR BRAD HART OFFERED DETAILS. SINCE THE 2008 CEDAR RIVER FLOOD, ATTENTION HAS BEEN FOCUSED ON MITIGATING FUTURE DISASTERS, ALTHOUGH THE CITY HAS OCCASIONALLY STRUGGLED TO GAIN FEDERAL INVESTMENT FOR ITS RIVER CONTROL PROJECTS. CEDAR RAPIDS WILL RECEIVE 28 MILLION DOLLARS OF CORONAVIRUS RELIEF BY 2022.
IT HAS BEEN NEARLY A YEAR SINCE A SINGLE-VEHICLE ACCIDENT NEAR JESUP KILLED 9-YEAR-OLD ACE REAVES. REAVES’ MOTHER, ROBYN, WAS AT THE WHEEL, AND BLOOD TESTS ALLEGEDLY FOUND METHAMPHETAMINE. THAT LED TO ROBYN REAVES’ ARREST LAST WEEK. SHE IS CHARGED WITH MULTIPLE CHILD ENDANGERMENT COUNTS. REAVES HAS ASKED THE COURT TO RECONSIDER HER 250 THOUSAND DOLLAR BOND.
DRY CONDITIONS HAVE PUSHED PEOPLE TO USE MORE WATER THIS SUMMER. WATERLOO WATER WORKS GENERAL MANAGER CHAD COON TALKED TO KXEL ABOUT THE INCREASED DEMAND. COON SAYS HE HAS NO CONCERNS CURRENTLY ABOUT AVAILABILITY OF THE RESOURCE, DESCRIBING CEDAR VALLEY GROUNDWATER AS VERY ABUNDANT.
STATE AUDITOR ROB SAND HAS BEEN THE SUBJECT OF REPUBLICAN CRITICISM SINCE QUESTIONING GOVERNMENT MONEY SPENT ON A CORONAVIRUS PUBLIC SERVICE MESSAGE. SAND CLAIMED THE SPOT PROMOTED GOVERNOR KIM REYNOLDS. REPUBLICANS, LIKE PARTY CHAIR JEFF KAUFMANN, ARGUE THAT SAND IS PLAYING POLITICS WITH THE AUDITOR’S OFFICE. IN CEDAR RAPIDS THURSDAY, OUR COVERAGE PARTNERS AT CBS2 ASKED FOR SAND’S RESPONSE. SAND IS CONSIDERED A LIKELY CANDIDATE TO SEEK THE DEMOCRATIC NOMINATION TO CHALLENGE REYNOLDS NEXT YEAR.
JUST OVER 60 PERCENT OF BLACK HAWK COUNTY ADULTS HAVE RECEIVED AT LEAST ONE DOSE OF THE CORONAVIRUS VACCINE. COUNTY HEALTH OFFICIALS HOPE TO PUSH THAT NUMBER TO 75 PERCENT BY THE END OF THE MONTH. DURING KXEL LIVE AND LOCAL THIS MORNING, THE HEALTH DEPARTMENT’S JOSHUA PIKORA SAYS, HE HOPES THOSE WHO HAVE NOT BEEN VACCINATED WILL TALK TO THEIR DOCTORS. VACCINE SHOTS ARE WIDELY AVAILABLE FOR FREE AT LOCAL PHARMACIES AND MEDICAL OFFICES.
MONTHS OF WORK WILL BRING DOWN A CEDAR RAPIDS OFFICE COMPLEX. DEMOLITION CONTRACTORS EXPECT TO BE ON THE SCENE AT THE FORMER TRANSAMERICA FACILITIES ON EDGEWOOD ROAD THROUGH MID-AUTUMN. THE BUILDINGS WILL BEGIN TO BE DISMANTLED ONE WEEK FROM MONDAY.
ADVANCES IN TECHNOLOGY HELPED TO MAKE CORONAVIRUS VACCINES AVAILABLE WITHIN A YEAR OF COVID-19’S FIRST CONFIRMED APPEARANCE IN THE UNITED STATES. THIS MORNING DURING KXEL LIVE AND LOCAL, JOSHUA PIKORA OF THE BLACK HAWK COUNTY HEALTH DEPARTMENT SPOKE ABOUT SOME MISCONCEPTIONS RELATED TO THE SPEEDY DEVELOPMENT OF THE SHOTS. THE PFIZER AND MODERNA VACCINES ARE BOTH CONSIDERED MORE THAN 90 PERCENT EFFECTIVE AGAINST COVID-19. PIKORA RECOMMENDS THAT THOSE WITH QUESTIONS OR CONCERNS ABOUT THE SHOTS SPEAK WITH THEIR HEALTH CARE PROVIDER.
FOR NEARLY A YEAR, CEDAR RAPIDS POLICE HAVE BEEN ABLE TO GET FEDERAL DATA WHILE INVESTIGATING GUN CRIMES. AUTHORITIES HAVE HAD ACCESS – AND ALSO HAVE BEEN CONTRIBUTING TO – THE NATIONAL INTEGRATED BALLISTICS INFORMATION NETWORK. THE RESOURCE HELPS IDENTIFY FIREARMS WHICH MIGHT HAVE BEEN USED ILLEGALLY IN OTHER PARTS OF THE COUNTRY THROUGH SHELL CASINGS AND OTHER EVIDENCE. ON THURSDAY, CEDAR RAPIDS POLICE SAID THEY HAVE USED THE SYSTEM AS PART OF 20 INVESTIGATIONS THIS YEAR.
TYSON FOODS IS RECALLING ALMOST 45 HUNDRED TONS OF READY-TO-EAT CHICKEN AFTER FINDING THE PRODUCTS MAY BE TAINTED WITH LISTERIA. THE U.S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE ANNOUNCED THE NATIONWIDE RECALL THURSDAY AFTER TWO PEOPLE BECAME ILL. THREE DOZEN PRODUCTS CONTAINING PRE-COOKED CHICKEN MARKETED UNDER TYSON AND OTHER LABELS ARE INVOLVED, ALL WITH ESTABLISHMENT NUMBER “P-7089”.
