Late on Tuesday afternoon, Sen. Chuck Grassley announced on Twitter he had tested positive for COVID-19. The 87-year-old, who is the longest serving Republican in the U.S. Senate, said he is “feeling good + will keep up on my work for the ppl of Iowa from home” as he self-quarantines. I’ve tested positive for coronavirus. […]
Community/News
Gov. Reynolds sends mixed messages on face masks as Iowa surpasses 2,000 COVID deaths
Gov. Kim Reynolds began her news conference on Tuesday by repeating much of what she said during her televised speech on Monday night, when she introduced some new, limited COVID-19 restrictions. “Over the last two weeks, the number of hospitalizations have climbed daily,” Reynolds said. “And at times the increases have been significant.” There were […]
Linn County Board of Health approves regulation requiring face coverings in public
The Linn County Board of Health unanimously approved a regulation on Monday that requires individuals in the county to wear a face covering when out in public. The Board of Health’s approval came just hours before Gov. Kim Reynolds announced a new emergency public health proclamation that included a limited statewide mask mandate. Various jurisdictions […]
Gov. Reynolds says ‘the pandemic in Iowa is worse than it has ever been,’ as she imposes new restrictions
After refusing since March to mandate face masks to limit the spread of COVID-19, Gov. Kim Reynolds reversed her stance on Monday evening and issued a new emergency public health proclamation requiring face masks in public. It is, however, a much more limited mandate than public health experts in Iowa and the White House Coronavirus […]
Gov. Reynolds to give a primetime speech on COVID-19 Monday, as virus hospitalizations continue to surge
Gov. Kim Reynolds’ office announced on Monday morning the governor “will give a live address to Iowans on COVID19” at 6:05 p.m. Reynolds speech will be live-streamed on Facebook and carried on PBS. “Iowa governors deliver an inaugural address and, every January, Iowa governors give a formal speech to legislators, but this is the first […]
Maurice Davis couldn’t find a book about entrepreneurship featuring children of color. So he wrote one.
Cedar Rapids entrepreneur Maurice Davis was looking to get a book for his little sisters about entrepreneurship. He wanted to work with them on problem-solving and introduce them to entrepreneurial thinking. While he found a handful of children’s books that touched on the subject, the characters in those books didn’t look like his sisters. “Education […]
Experts fear Iowa healthcare system’s ‘collapse’ as one-day cases surpass 5,000 for the first time
Iowa had its worst day for new COVID-19 cases on Friday, with the Iowa Department of Public Health reporting 5,065 more confirmed cases of the virus during the 24-hour period ending at 10 a.m. The new cases included 141 residents of Johnson County and 356 residents of Linn County. The previous one-day record for new […]
Miller-Meeks maintains 47-vote lead in 2nd Congressional District after Lucas County recounts
A machine recount of all the votes in Lucas County on Thursday, and a hand recount of the ballots from the precinct that covers the city of Russell on Friday, confirmed the amended vote totals for the Nov. 3 election post by the Lucas County Auditor’s Office on Monday night. The votes in the Russell […]
The derecho destroyed one-fourth of the trees in Iowa’s forests
The Aug. 10 derecho destroyed approximately a quarter of the trees in Iowa’s forests, according to Pete Hildreth, administrator of the Iowa Department of Natural Resources’ Conservation and Recreation Division. Hildreth told the Natural Resource Commission during its Thursday meeting that the hurricane-force winds of the storm felled or irreparably damaged 724,000 acres of trees […]
‘It’s a means to an end’: CR City Councilmember Ashley Vanorny shares experience in Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine trial
Cedar Rapids City Councilmember Ashley Vanorny said her decision to participate in Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine trial was “a very calculated risk but one that was good and necessary to take.” Vanorny is one of 270 volunteers enrolled at the University of Iowa’s study site. Overall, there are more than 40,000 people participating in the international […]
Iowa City Transit suspending Eastside Loop service while schools go all online
Iowa City transit will temporarily suspend the AM and PM Eastside Loop bus service starting on Monday, Nov. 16. “The service suspension is being done due to the Iowa City Community School District decision to resume off-site learning,” Iowa City Transit said in a statement. “Service for these two routes will not return until on-site […]
COVID-19: Iowa has another day of more than 4,000 new cases; Gov. Reynolds defends her record fighting the virus
Iowa had its sixth consecutive day with more than 4,000 new cases of COVID-19 on Thursday. During the 24-period ending at 10 a.m., the Iowa Department of Public Health reported 4,337 more confirmed cases of the virus in the state. Among those new cases were 164 residents of Johnson County and 375 residents of Linn […]

