Shelter House’s winter emergency shelter has opened after a month of delays caused by staffing issues and COVID-19 infections. The winter shelter, located at on 340 Southgate Ave, opened Jan. 4. Seventy-nine people took shelter that night, with 72 staying at the main emergency shelter at 429 Southgate Ave, and seven staying at the winter […]
COVID-19
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Condition of the State: COVID cases and hospitalizations near record levels; Gov. Reynolds avoids mentioning pandemic in speech to legislature
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 […]
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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 […]
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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 […]
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Goodbye 2021: A brief look back at moments from a long year
Like 2020, this year was dominated by COVID-19 and bad decisions by state officials regarding the pandemic. Like last year, 2021 ends without the Iowa Department of Public Health hiring a full-time director, but now it is also lacking a medical director and state epidemiologist. Also like 2020, the year comes to end with the […]
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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 […]
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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 […]
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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 […]
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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 […]
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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 […]
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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 […]
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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 […]
