The surge in COVID-19 continues in Iowa, with the Iowa Department of Public Health reporting weekly totals for new cases and hospitalization not seen since the worst of the pandemic in late 2020. IDPH reported 31,748 new cases in its weekly update on Wednesday, a 58 percent increase from the 20,075 new cases in its […]
coronavirus
Posted inCommunity/News
After more than a century serving Iowa City, Varsity Cleaners is closing
After 106 years in Iowa City, Varsity Cleaners is closing. “Obviously COVID is one of the deciding factors here,” owner Dave Geasland told Little Village. “It’s totally destroyed the dry cleaning business, and the dry cleaning business had already been in decline for the last 10 years.” Indeed, dry cleaners across the country and around […]
Posted inCommunity/News
Washington Post highlights strain on Iowa hospitals; 40% of Iowa’s COVID-19 deaths occurred in 2021
In its final weekly COVID-19 update for 2021, the Iowa Department of Public Health reported another 11,234 new cases on Wednesday, bringing the total number of the new cases confirmed by the department in its weekly updates during the month of December to 54,619. IDPH also disclosed another 59 deaths from the virus, bringing the […]
Posted inCommunity/News
President Biden unveils plan to help hospitals and increase testing; Gov. Reynolds wants Supreme Court to block federal vaccinate mandate
The Iowa Department of Public Health said another 10,381 cases of COVID-19 had been confirmed in the state during the most recent seven-day reporting period in its weekly update on Wednesday. The department also disclosed another 119 deaths from the virus. Those newly reported deaths brought Iowa’s official COVID-19 death toll to 7,799. For the […]
Posted inCommunity/News
Omicron detected in more Iowa counties, indicating community spread of the COVID variant
The Iowa Department of Public Health announced on Friday the highly contagious Omicron variant of COVID-19 had been confirmed in seven counties, including Johnson and Linn. According to an IDPH spokesperson, not all the people who tested positive for Omicron had traveled recently or been in close contact with those who had, so it is […]
Posted inCommunity/News
COVID-19: Cedar Rapids hospitals suspend elective surgeries; Gov. Reynolds wants National Guard vaccination requirement canceled
The surge in COVID-19 is continuing, according to the latest weekly update from the Iowa Department of Public Health. IDPH reported on Wednesday another 10,476 Iowans had tested positive for the virus during the most recent seven-day period. At the beginning of this reporting period, IDPH announced the State Hygienic Laboratory had detected the first […]
Posted inCommunity/News
Dr. Caitlin Pedati, who oversaw Iowa’s COVID-19 response, gets a new job
Dr. Caitlin Pedati, the former medical director of the Iowa Department of Public Health and state epidemiologist, who oversaw the Reynolds administration’s minimal approach to COVID-19 mitigation, has found a new job. Pedati, who announced in September she would be stepping down from her Iowa positions in “late October” has been hired by the Virginia […]
Posted inCommunity/News
Cedar Rapids schools will allow volunteers and visitors in buildings during class hours again, starting in January
Volunteers will once again be allowed in the buildings of the Cedar Rapids Community School District during school hours starting on Monday, Jan. 3, the district announced on Friday. Volunteers and most visitors had been banned from the school buildings while classes were in session, as part of the district’s COVID-19 mitigation efforts. The prohibition […]
Posted inCommunity/News
The first case of the Omicron variant in Iowa has been detected
The first case of the Omicron variant was confirmed in Iowa on Thursday, according to the Iowa Department of Public Health. The State Hygienic Laboratory (SHL) detected the COVID-19 variant in a sample for an unvaccinated resident of Black Hawk County, who is under the age of 18. The person has no symptoms, but was […]
Posted inCommunity/News
Rob Sand is running for a second term as state auditor, squashing speculation he’d seek higher office
Almost as soon as Rob Sand was elected Iowa State Auditor in 2018, political writers and the Iowa Republican Party began publicly speculating on what office he would run for in 2022. Would Sand, the only Democrat elected to statewide office that year who wasn’t already a longtime incumbent (Treasurer Mike Fitzgerald has been in […]
Posted inCommunity/News
Gov. Reynolds says she’s ‘proud’ of COVID numbers ahead of Thanksgiving; IDPH reports more than 10,000 new cases in the last week
“I’m proud of where our numbers are at,” Gov. Kim Reynolds said regarding COVID-19 during a photo-op with two turkeys at the governor’s mansion on Tuesday, “and we’re going to continue to make vaccines available and encourage people to get them if they want to.” According to the Iowa Department of Public Health’s latest data, […]
Posted inCommunity/News
Gov. Reynolds’ COVID approval ratings rise; IDPH reports new cases, hospitalizations and deaths continue to grow
A majority of Iowans approve of the job Kim Reynolds is doing as governor, according to a new Iowa Poll published by the Des Moines Register on Wednesday. A majority also approve of how the governor is handling the COVID-19 pandemic. The poll was published on the same day the Iowa Department of Public Health […]
