Linn County residents facing eviction or falling behind on rent can apply for financial assistance through the county’s Emergency Rental Assistance Program (ERAP). The county announced on Monday it is working with Waypoint and HACAP to administer rent and utility payments to those who are eligible for up to 18 months. Individuals must be able […]
COVID-19
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With COVID cases hitting ‘high’ mark, face masks are now required in Johnson County municipal buildings
Johnson County now requires anyone entering a county-owned building to wear a face mask in response to the surge in new COVID-19 cases in Iowa caused by the highly contagious Delta variant. The county joins Linn County, Cedar Rapids, Iowa City, Coralville and North Liberty, which had already enacted mask mandates for their municipal buildings. […]
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‘I’m not a scientist’: Gov. Reynolds on face masks; the Iowa State Fair opens as COVID cases keep climbing
The Iowa State Fair opened its 11-day run on Thursday with limited COVID-19 precautions, even though new data from the Iowa Department of Public Health showed new cases of the virus are continuing to increase rapidly and the number of hospitalized COVID-19 patient took a dramatic jump. In its weekly update issued on Wednesday, IDPH […]
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‘Give it to the people’: Iowa City holds public discussion on how to spend $18 million in pandemic relief
Advocates for immediate action to assist marginalized members of the community made their voices heard in Mercer Park on Wednesday evening, as city officials held a public input session on how to spend the $18.3 million dollars in federal aid being provided to Iowa City under the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA). President Biden signed […]
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Masks and vaccines ‘strongly recommended’ for Cedar Rapids students and teachers
The Cedar Rapids Community School District (CRCSD) is “strongly recommending” students wear masks when returning to school this fall and is requiring masks on district buses. School districts in Iowa can no longer require mask-wearing in their schools, due to a law Gov. Kim Reynolds signed in May. Students and staff who test positive for […]
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Coralville and North Liberty will require face masks in city buildings
Coralville and North Liberty are joining Iowa City and Cedar Rapids in requiring everyone entering city-owned buildings to wear face masks, regardless of their vaccination status. The requirements will take effect Wednesday, the two cities announced in written statements on Tuesday. Because of the rapid spread of the highly infectious Delta variant, the CDC updated […]
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Sit-in planned at Iowa Capitol to push Gov. Reynolds to allow school COVID-19 mandates
A sit-in at the Iowa State Capitol is scheduled for Wednesday to protest Gov. Reynolds’ refusal to allow school districts to require face masks or have the Iowa Department of Public Health monitor COVID-19 in schools. The “Safe at School” sit-in is being sponsored by Safe at School and the Disability Caucus of the Iowa […]
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The Hall Mall is dead, long live the Hall Mall!
“I came up with the Hall Mall name,” Kirk Stephan said through chuckles as he recalled opening what would become Iowa City’s original incubator of small businesses in the early 1970s. “I wanted to have a longer one, but it turned out that advertisers charged more money the more letters you had!” More than a […]
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Iowa City is requiring face masks in city buildings again, as COVID-19 rates rise in Johnson County
Face masks will be required in all city-owned buildings in Iowa City starting on Friday, regardless of visitors’ vaccination status. “The decision to require that masks be worn in City facilities was made for the health and safety of visitors to public facilities and for the staff who serve them,” the city said in a […]
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Iowa Department of Public Health sued for failing to produce public records related to Test Iowa
The Iowa Department Public Health is being sued for not complying with the state’s Open Records Act by failing to produce documents on Test Iowa requested by a Utah attorney. In her lawsuit filed in Polk County District Court on Thursday, Attorney Suzette Rasmussen of Draper, Utah, asked the court to compel IDPH to produce […]
Posted inCOVID-19
Cedar Rapids requires mask wearing in city-owned buildings
The City of Cedar Rapids is requiring all visitors to city-owned buildings to wear a mask, regardless of vaccination status. The change is in line with the most recent guidance issued by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention last week, the city said in a news release. The CDC’s pivot about fully vaccinated individuals […]
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Gov. Reynolds scorns CDC guidance as ‘not grounded in reality,’ blames immigrants for rising COVID infections
The CDC issued new COVID-19 guidance on Wednesday, modifying its previous announcement regarding mask-wearing. Because of lagging vaccination rates in parts of the country, and the rapid spread of the virus’s Delta variant, the agency said it was now recommending that even fully vaccinated people wear masks indoors in public areas with “high” or “substantial” […]
