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 […]
COVID-19
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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 […]
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Best of the CRANDIC Spotlight: How Dr. Eli Perencevich uses Twitter to fight COVID-19 misinformation
Best of the CRANDIC winner: Best Defender of Science Most people who don’t work in public health first heard of Dr. Eli Perencevich seven months into the pandemic, when the “metrics” (a word Gov. Reynolds repeated endlessly in 2020) underlying the Iowa Department of Public Health’s plan to manage the spread of COVID-19 finally became […]
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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, […]
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Free mobile clothing closet helps locals in need bundle up, dress for school or jobs
Around 40 people picked out clothes on Thursday, when the Corridor Community Action Network’s (CCAN) brought its free mobile clothing closet to Pepperwood Plaza in Iowa City. The event was the first test drive for CCAN Clothing Cruise’s RV, which was packed door-to-door with winter, professional and school clothes. Plans for the Clothing Cruise began […]
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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 […]
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Audit: Gov. Reynolds misused almost $450,000 of COVID aid to pay her office staff
Gov. Kim Reynolds misappropriated almost $450,000 in federal pandemic relief funds to cover the salaries and benefits of 21 employees in her office, according to a report published by the Iowa State Auditor’s Office on Monday. This is not the first time Auditor Rob Sand has issued a report alleging Reynolds misused CARES dollars meant […]
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Iowa joins another lawsuit against vaccine mandates; new COVID cases spike, pushing Iowa over half a million total cases
Gov. Kim Reynolds announced on Wednesday that Iowa is suing the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid (CMS) to stop the requirement that all workers at healthcare facilities that accept Medicare and Medicaid be vaccinated against COVID-19. The action came just six days after the governor said the state would take “immediate legal action” to stop […]
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Gov. Reynolds says Iowa will sue to stop federal vaccine requirements; more than 7,000 Iowans have died of COVID, IDPH says
Iowa “will take immediate legal action to challenge” new workplace standards on COVID-19 vaccinations issued by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration on Thursday, Gov. Kim Reynolds said. In a written statement after OSHA published the new standards, Reynolds called the effort to increase vaccination rates and protect workers in congregate settings from being exposed […]
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Iowa City schools will host COVID-19 vaccine clinics for students between the ages of 5 and 11
Iowa City schools will hold COVID-19 vaccination clinics for students between the ages of 5 and 11 starting next week, the Iowa City Community School District announced on Wednesday. The CDC and FDA gave final approval to the use of the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine on Tuesday. Statewide, there are approximately 284,000 children in that age […]
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Cedar Rapids unveils mural featuring local healthcare workers
A new two-story mural appeared almost overnight in Cedar Rapids to recognize the courage and sacrifice of healthcare workers. “This project is meant to be a tribute. A tribute to our local healthcare workforce,” said Jesse Thoeming, executive director of the Downtown District, which is part of the Cedar Rapids Metro Economic Alliance. “For these […]
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Roughly two out of five COVID-19 deaths in Iowa were preventable, former UI Public Health dean postulates
The Iowa Department of Public Health reported another 117 deaths from COVID-19 in its weekly update on Wednesday, increasing the state’s pandemic death toll to 6,965. The number of deaths from the virus reported by IDPH has increased in every weekly update in October. “It is instructive to compare Iowa and Minnesota, which have nearly […]
