The Iowa Senate sent Gov. Kim Reynolds’ “Make America Healthy Again” legislation to her desk Monday, a package that includes SNAP restrictions, over-the-counter ivermectin and several school health and nutrition policies. HF 2676, passed 30-16, seeks to make permanent the state’s currently implemented waivers restricting the purchase of unhealthy foods through the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance […]
coronavirus
Posted inArts & Entertainment
Film review: Ari Aster’s ‘Eddington’ depicts a small town spiraling in May 2020. It’s as bleak and familiar as you’d think.
“Don’t make me think. Post it.” Sevilla County Sheriff Joe Cross (Joaquin Phoenix) blurts out this line during his haphazard campaign against mayor Ted Garcia (Pedro Pascal) in Ari Aster’s latest film Eddington. Set in May 2020, pandemic panic slowly infects the titular New Mexican town before any nasal swabs come into play. Though our […]
Posted inCommunity/News
Biden administration restarts program that delivers free at-home COVID-19 test kits
The U.S. Postal Service will begin delivering free at-home COVID-19 tests again, the Biden administration announced on Thursday. Four tests will be available for every household and can be ordered online at covid.gov/tests. The tests can also be ordered by calling 1-800-232-0233. Other questions related to the test distribution can be answered at the phone […]
Posted inCommunity/News
Managers fired by Tyson for COVID-19 betting pool at Waterloo plant sue company
Six of the seven managers fired from the Tyson’s Food Plant in Waterloo in December 2020 for creating a betting pool to wager on workers getting COVID-19 are suing the company, claiming they earned incentive payments for meeting production goals they never received. The Des Moines Register reported on Tuesday that five fired managers filed […]
Posted inCommunity/News
You have until Friday to order free rapid COVID tests before the federal program ends
This week will be the last chance to get free rapid COVID-19 tests from the federal government. The program the Biden administration launched in January, using the post office to deliver the at-home test kits at no cost, will stop taking orders on Friday. “Ordering through this program will be suspended on Friday, September 2 […]
Posted inCommunity/News
Tyson asks U.S. Supreme Court to shield it from COVID-19 lawsuits in Iowa courts
Faced with court rulings that say a Trump administration directive doesn’t protect Tyson Foods from liability caused by workers’ deaths due to COVID-19, the food giant is now asking the U.S. Supreme Court to weigh in on the matter. Arguing that recent court rulings against the company will have “drastic consequences for the next national […]
Posted inCommunity/News
Gov. Reynolds signs ban on COVID-19 vaccine requirements at schools, child care centers and universities
No public or private school, college or university, nor any licensed child care center in the state of Iowa will be able to require anyone attending it — from preschooler to graduate student — to be vaccinated against COVID-19 under a bill Gov. Kim Reynolds signed into law on Tuesday. The CDC currently recommends everyone […]
Posted inCommunity/News
State senator calls COVID-19 vaccines ineffective before committee approves bill to ban vaccine requirements in schools and daycares
A Republican state senator falsely claimed COVID-19 vaccines are ineffective and called the idea of requiring them the “political belief of authoritarians who want to force their belief in… the hive-mindset,” just before the Iowa Senate Judiciary Committee approved a bill that bans COVID-19 vaccine requirements at schools, universities and child care facilities. Sen. Jason […]
Posted inCommunity/News
Auditor concludes Gov. Reynolds has failed to justify almost $450,000 in pandemic relief spent on staff pay
Just hours before Gov. Kim Reynolds boasted about her handling of the pandemic (“we honored your freedoms”) in the Republican response to the State of the Union address on Tuesday, Iowa Auditor Rob Sand published a report that reiterated his finding from last October that the governor had misappropriated almost $450,000 in federal pandemic relief […]
Posted inCommunity/News
The Iowa City Public Library wants to know what the heck you experienced during the pandemic
For Candice Smith, the pandemic blurred the last few years. “It has wiped my sense of time from my brain,” she said. The pandemic was another heavy stone tied to the heels of an already terrible year. Smith was diagnosed with stage three breast cancer on April Fool’s Day in 2019. At the same time, […]
Posted inCommunity/News
Following new CDC guidance, Iowa City lifts mask mandate
Starting on Tuesday, Iowa City will no longer have mask mandates for city buildings or other public spaces. According to a news release, the city is acting based on updated masking guidelines issued on Friday by the CDC. “We want to give people a break from things like mask-wearing,” CDC Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky said […]
Posted inCommunity/News
As national GOP leaders praise Gov. Reynolds’ handling of the pandemic, Iowa COVID deaths surpass 9,000
One day after national Republican leaders praised Gov. Kim Reynolds as “a national leader in effectively balancing lives and livelihoods” during the pandemic, the Iowa Department of Public Health disclosed that more than 9,000 Iowans have died from COVID-19. In its update on Wednesday, IDPH reported another 137 deaths from the virus, bringing the state’s […]
