Gov. Kim Reynolds said on Wednesday she doesn’t expect COVID-19 to be an obstacle to the University of Iowa playing football this fall, because the UI community will observe restrictions imposed to mitigate the spread of the virus. “I think that the universities, the university presidents, the students, the Greek systems, I think understand the […]
Gov. Kim Reynolds
Posted inCommunity/News
Big 10 reverses course, schools will play football starting next month
The Big 10 Conference announced on Wednesday morning its football teams will play this fall in an abbreviated season that starts on Oct. 23. The announcement comes 36 days after the conference declared it had canceled the fall season due to concerns over the health of student athletes during the COVID-19 pandemic. “The mental and […]
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Gov. Reynolds: Bars in Linn County can reopen on Wednesday, bars in Johnson County will remain closed
Bars in Linn County and three other counties closed by order of Gov. Kim Reynolds on Aug. 27 can reopen at 5 p.m. on Wednesday, according to a new public health proclamation signed by the governor on Tuesday. Limitations on restaurants serving liquor will also be removed. “Bars, taverns, wineries, breweries, distilleries, [and] night clubs” […]
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Iowa City schools receive a second waiver, will allow for an additional two weeks of all online classes
The Iowa City Community School District (ICCSD) received a second two-week waiver on Friday, allowing schools to offer keep offering less than 50 percent in-person instruction. District schools are currently holding all their classes online due to the spike of COVID-19 cases in Johnson County. Following recommendations from district staff, the ICCSD Board of Directors […]
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Ernst privately apologizes to Iowa Medical Society for suggesting doctors are faking COVID-19 deaths
Sen. Joni Ernst privately apologized to members of the Iowa Medical Society (IMS) for her suggestion that doctors are faking COVID-19 deaths to make money, but declined to say if she’d issue a public statement withdrawing her suggestion, Iowa Starting Line reported. Ernst made her remarks about doctors falsely attributing deaths to COVID-19 during an […]
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As more Iowa cities and counties fall into the ‘red zone,’ Reynolds makes another call for ‘normalcy’
“I would continue to say, as we learn to live with COVID-19 until we have a vaccine, we have to learn to live with it,” Gov. Kim Reynolds declared at her news conference on Thursday. “And we have to start to bring some normalcy into our lives.” Reynolds said this in response to a question […]
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Judges reject requests from Iowa City and Des Moines school districts for injunctions against Reynolds’ school mandates
Judges in Johnson County and Polk County denied requests from school districts for temporary injunctions blocking the state from enforcing Gov. Kim Reynolds’ mandate that schools provide at least 50 percent in-person instruction, unless the Iowa Department of Education (DOE) decides the spread of COVID-19 in a school district is severe enough to allow more […]
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COVID-19: Fauci says Iowa is at risk of a post-Labor Day surge; more than 1,000 new cases and 23 deaths reported
Iowa was one of seven states Dr. Anthony Fauci singled out as needing to take precautions over the Labor Day weekend to prevent a further surge in COVID-19 cases. “There are several states that are at risk for surging, namely North Dakota, South Dakota, Iowa, Arkansas, Missouri, Indiana, Illinois,” Fauci said in an interview with […]
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Gov. Reynolds defends ISU plan to have 25,000 fans at football opener just before ISU reverses decision
Iowa State University announced on Wednesday afternoon it will not be permitting spectators to attend its first home football game on Saturday, Sept. 12. The university had been widely criticized for its previous decision to allow 25,000 spectators to attend the game despite a spike in COVID-19 cases in Ames. The change in policy was […]
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Cedar Rapids Mayor Brad Hart issues face covering mandate
Nearly everyone in Cedar Rapids is now required to wear a face covering in public, according to a proclamation signed by Mayor Brad Hart on Wednesday. “For several months, I have been encouraging, even begging, for the voluntary use of masks by all residents in public in order to protect our residents and get us […]
Posted inCOVID-19
White House Coronavirus Task Force: Iowa has the country’s highest rate of new COVID-19 cases, and should have statewide mask mandate
Johnson County had another triple-digit increase in its number of COVID-19 cases on Tuesday, with the Iowa Department of Public Health reporting 138 residents had tested positive for the virus during the 24-hour period ending at 10 a.m. The department’s official 14-day average daily positivity rate for Johnson County increased to 23.4 percent on Tuesday. […]
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Elizabeth Moen debuts song criticizing Gov. Kim Reynolds’ disconnection from small-town Iowans
A new song shared by Elizabeth Moen on Monday afternoon takes aim at Gov. Kim Reynolds’ response (or lack thereof) to the needs of Iowans. It is the Iowa City singer-songwriter’s first “blatantly political” track, she told Little Village. “A Red State Handshake,” which Moen performs in a video posted to her Facebook and Instagram […]
