Mayor Bruce Teague began the Iowa City Council meeting on Tuesday night by addressing the killing of George Floyd by Minneapolis police officers on May 25, and the protests that have followed. Teague, who spoke at a protest over Floyd’s killing and the problems of racism and police violence, talked about “shock and horror” people […]
COVID-19
Posted inCommunity/News
Almost 40 days after Test Iowa opened its first site, the state has now hit its daily testing goal for the second time
Gov. Kim Reynolds announced on Tuesday the state met its goal of processing 5,000 tests a day on both Saturday and Monday. When Reynolds announced the creation of Test Iowa in April, she said the testing it would perform would give the state a 5,000-test-a-day capacity. The governor has repeatedly used that capacity as a […]
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Iowa City doctors launch COVID-19 safety program for businesses nationwide
A winking yellow smiley face, complete with mask, grins from the front window of Iowa City downtown anchor store Active Endeavors. Inside, customers find a skeleton crew of masked employees who, after completing a daily health-related self-certification, spend the day waiting on customers, meticulously wiping down frequently touched surfaces, steaming clothing from the dressing rooms […]
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Aime Wichtendahl, Iowa’s first trans elected official, reflects on coming out, her run for Hiawatha City Council and Iowa’s COVID-19 failures
Aime Wichtendahl didn’t run for office until 2015, but she’s been intrigued by politics for more than three decades. “When I was 8 years old, I remember following the ’88 presidential election between Bush and Dukakis,” she said. “And interestingly, I was really mad at my parents for voting for Dukakis. Which is weird now […]
Posted inCommunity/News
Most of Iowa’s remaining COVID-19 restrictions have now expired
More COVID-19 restrictions were lifted in Iowa on Monday, in accordance with orders issued over the past two weeks by Gov. Kim Reynolds. As of today, only three types of businesses remain closed by the governor’s public health proclamation — theaters that feature live performances indoors, including any indoor performance venue other than a restaurant […]
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Coralville imposes a curfew, which Gov. Reynolds says are needed to stop ‘distractors’ from causing chaos
The city of Coralville announced a curfew on Monday afternoon, in response to a confrontation between the police and a crowd of approximately 150 near Coral Ridge Mall on Sunday night, as well as other acts of vandalism and theft that occurred. According to the Coralville Police Chief Shane Kron the persons involved in the […]
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Where to go and what you’ll need to vote in Tuesday’s primary, and the changes you’ll see due to COVID-19
Polls open at 7 a.m. on Tuesday for the June 2 primary election to fill the vacant seat and remain open until 9 p.m. Candidates for federal, state and county offices will be on the ballot, but unlike the general election, only voters registered as either Democrats or Republicans will be able to vote. Iowa […]
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Two lawmakers call for an oversight committee investigation of Test Iowa, as the Iowa legislature prepares to reconvene
When the Iowa legislature reconvenes this week, the House of Representatives’ Government Oversight Committee will have to consider a request from two lawmakers to investigate Test Iowa. The legislature suspended its 2020 session on March 16 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Lawmakers will return to the capitol on Wednesday, June 3 to complete work left […]
Posted inCOVID-19
‘When is enough enough?’ Hundreds gather in Iowa City to remember George Floyd and other victims of racism and police violence
It was obvious before you reached the Pentacrest on Saturday that the protest rally scheduled for noon was going to be different. Clinton Street was blocked off from Washington to Jefferson, and a traffic barrier at Dubuque Street kept cars off Iowa Avenue. The streets weren’t blocked for a march, but to allow the hundreds […]
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Another 344 Iowans test positive for COVID-19 as bars reopen
On Saturday, the Iowa Department of Public Health reported another 344 Iowans had tested positive for COVID-19, including four residents of Johnson County and four residents of Linn County. The new cases bring the total number of Iowans who have tested positive for the virus to 19,135 as of 10 a.m. on Saturday. IDPH also […]
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Iowa’s new eviction and foreclosure aid program excludes many potential applicants
On Friday, Iowa launched a program to help people facing eviction or foreclosure due to hardship caused by COVID-19, Gov. Kim Reynolds announced at her daily press conference. But very few currently receiving unemployment benefits will likely qualify for help from the Iowa Eviction and Foreclosure Prevention Program. The program is being administered by the […]
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Cedar Rapids announces eviction protection program
The city of Cedar Rapids launched an eviction protection program on Friday that will assist low- to moderate-income households with rent and utility payments. The city allocated $623,757 to establish the program. Gov. Kim Reynolds announced in March that she was suspending most evictions as part of an additional State Public Health Emergency Declaration due […]
