Oaknoll Retirement Residence was voted Best Assisted Living Facility in Little Village’s 2020 Best of the CRANDIC awards. “My whole heart is at Oaknoll and in assisted living,” said Jaclyn Craig, a registered nurse manager at the Iowa City retirement residence. “We work really hard, and we are all like a family and a team […]
Johnson County
Experts fear Iowa healthcare system’s ‘collapse’ as one-day cases surpass 5,000 for the first time

Iowa had its worst day for new COVID-19 cases on Friday, with the Iowa Department of Public Health reporting 5,065 more confirmed cases of the virus during the 24-hour period ending at 10 a.m. The new cases included 141 residents of Johnson County and 356 residents of Linn County. The previous one-day record for new […]
Drop off old or unwanted prescription drugs as part of Take Back Day on Saturday

Law enforcement agencies in Johnson and Linn counties are again partnering with the Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) for this year’s nationwide Take Back Day. Individuals with expired, unused or unwanted prescription drugs can use the agency’s online search tool to locate a collection site near them. All sites will be open from 10 a.m. to […]
Bo-James settles with the state on alleged COVID-19 violations, will have two-day liquor license suspension

Unsafe gatherings of new and returning University of Iowa students caused a surge of COVID-19 cases in Johnson County in August, which in turn led Gov. Kim Reynolds to include Johnson in her emergency proclamation closing bars, distilleries and breweries in six counties on Aug. 27. This order was lifted in Johnson County on Oct. 5. […]
‘We’re doing whatever we can to help the voter’: Iowa county auditors discuss early voting, concerns about the mail and preparing for a record turnout

A record number of Iowans — nearly a quarter of the state’s population — have requested absentee ballots for the Nov. 3 election, according to the Secretary of State’s office. Secretary of State Paul Pate announced last Friday there had been 703,768 request forms submitted by voters across the state. The previous record of 693,000 […]
Johnson County surpasses 5,000 COVID-19 cases

The number of people in Johnson County who have tested positive for COVID-19 surpassed 5,000 on Monday, as the Iowa Department of Public Health reported another 12 confirmed cases of the virus in the county during the 24-hour period ending at 10 a.m. The new cases brought the total number of county residents who have […]
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” […]
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. […]
COVID-19: 188 new cases in Johnson County, 990 statewide; IDPH information appears to have a new problem

The Iowa Department of Public Health reported on Sunday that another 188 residents of Johnson County had tested positive for COVID-19 during the 24-hour period ending at 10 a.m. The department’s official 14-day average positivity rate for the county also increased to 22.3 percent. In its Sunday analysis of the spread of COVID-19 in metro […]
COVID-19: Iowa City ranks high on list of surging U.S. cities as more than 500 UI students report testing positive

The surge of new COVID-19 cases in Johnson County continued on Friday, with the Iowa Department of Public Health reporting 258 new cases in the 24-hour period ending at 10 a.m., and the New York Times ranking Iowa City second on its list of cities where cases of the virus are have risen fastest on […]
Local and state leaders in Iowa continue to clash over use of absentee ballot drop boxes, ballot request forms

The Iowa Secretary of State’s Office is saying Iowa law does not allow county auditors to use drop boxes for absentee ballots, but Linn County is pushing back. Kevin Hall, a spokesperson for Secretary of State Paul Pate, told the Des Moines Register that “auditors do not have authority to establish a ballot drop box […]
Reynolds: Bars in Johnson and Linn County must shut down due to COVID-19 spike

Downtown Iowa City bars that saw dozens of college-age patrons line up outside their doors just days ago must close up by 5 p.m. this Thursday, by order of the governor. In a new proclamation of disaster emergency Gov. Kim Reynolds signed on Thursday morning, the state is requiring “bars, taverns, wineries, breweries, distilleries, night […]