At the beginning of her Tuesday afternoon press conference on the state’s response to COVID-19, Gov. Kim Reynolds talked about what a good job her administration has done keeping her constituents up to date on the latest developments with the disease. “I made a commitment to do my part to keep Iowans informed,” she said […]
Gov. Kim Reynolds
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‘This question is on everyone’s mind’: Linn County, Cedar Rapids officials weigh issuing a local shelter-in-place order
Gov. Kim Reynolds has repeatedly said the state is not ready to issue a shelter-in-place, even though the governors of neighboring states like Illinois and Wisconsin have issued such orders. “At this point we are not in a place where we would order a shelter-in-place or a stay-at-home,” Reynolds said during her Monday press conference […]
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Gov. Reynolds announces assistance for small businesses hurt by COVID-19, as Iowa reaches 105 confirmed cases
Gov. Kim Reynolds announced new assistance for the state’s small businesses during her Monday afternoon press conference on the state’s response to COVID-19. “All the necessary actions we’ve taken at the state level [to limit the spread of the disease] have come with consequences for Iowans, including our small businesses,” the governor said. Those actions […]
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Gov. Reynolds suspends foreclosures, says state is being ‘proactive’ in supplying medical needs, as UIHC asks the public for donations of protective gear
Gov. Reynolds suspended all foreclosures on residential, commercial and agricultural properties on Sunday. The suspension, which lasts through April 16, was included in a new State Public Health Emergency Declaration. The new declaration also closes businesses not covered in the emergency declarations the governor issued on March 17 and 19. “Effective at 10 p.m. today, […]
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Iowa has an ‘unprecedented number’ of unemployment claims and another new case of COVID-19, but testing remains limited
“We are seeing an unprecedented number of claims,” Iowa Workforce Development Director Beth Townsend said when asked about unemployment in Iowa at Gov. Kim Reynolds’ Friday afternoon press conference on COVID-19. “It’s pretty staggering to see the number of claims that we’re receiving,” Townsend said.
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Gov. Reynolds suspends most evictions in Iowa, cancels property tax deadline
On Friday morning, Gov. Kim Reynolds signed an additional State Public Health Emergency Declaration, which will temporarily stop most evictions in Iowa. The suspension of evictions applies to all rental properties, including those in manufactured home communities or mobile home parks. The change took effect as soon as the governor signed the declaration, and is scheduled to last until 11:59 p.m. on April 16.
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Gov. Reynolds seeks to reassure the public about the state’s response to COVID-19, as the number of cases in Iowa rises to 44
Almost the only new information presented at Gov. Kim Reynolds’ Thursday afternoon press conference on COVID-19 was the number of infected people in the state. “So, through this afternoon, we have 44 cases positive,” the governor said, almost halfway through the half-hourlong press conference at the State Emergency Operations Center in Johnston.
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Gov. Reynolds declares immediate closure of restaurants, fitness centers, theaters, casinos and more
At her late Monday afternoon press conference, Gov. Kim Reynolds was still insisting it was too soon for her to take major actions to stem the spead of COVID-19 in Iowa, despite recommendations from the Centers for Disease Control that public gatherings should be limited to 10 people, and states with community spread of the […]
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Gov. Reynolds confirms ‘substantial community spread’ of COVID-19, will not order business closures (yet)
During a late Monday afternoon press conference on COVID-19, Gov. Kim Reynolds said it was too soon for the state to impose restrictions on large public gatherings or on public spaces such as bars or restaurants, even though she acknowledged “substantial community spread [of COVID-19 in Iowa] was confirmed.” The governor said she would prefer […]
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Community spread of COVID-19 detected in Johnson County, Gov. Reynolds recommends closing schools in the state
Update: Following Gov. Reynolds’ announcement, the Cedar Rapids Community School District announced it would follow the governor’s recommendation that schools “close for 4 weeks in response to community spread of COVID-19.” According to CRCSD Superintendent Noreen Bush, following the governor’s Monday press conference, “we will communicate with families again… with details regarding how we will […]
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Gov. Reynolds says ‘we now have community spread’ of COVID-19 in Iowa, but still thinks it’s too soon to take major actions
On Saturday night, Gov. Kim Reynolds announced COVID-19 has entered the “community spread” phase in Iowa. “This afternoon, the Department of Public Health was informed of one additional positive case of an Iowa with COVID-19,” the governor told reporters at a hastily-called press conference. “The individual is an older adult, age 61 to 80, and […]
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Gov. Reynolds encourages social distancing, is cautious about ‘disruptive’ closings in COVID-19 update
The first number Gov. Kim Reynolds mentioned at her Friday afternoon press conference on the state’s response to COVID-19 may have been more surprising than any of the other figures cited during the half-hour event: It’s only been five days since the first person in Iowa was diagnosed with the disease. In that five days, […]
