Here First

A top health official for the Biden administration visited Polk County on Thursday to urge more people to get vaccinated against COVID-19. Inmate Thomas Woodard will spend the rest of his life in prison for the murders of two employees at the Anamosa State Penitentiary. Plus, a check-in with IPR Health reporter Natalie Krebs about COVID-19 testing in Iowa.

Public health officials in Iowa’s largest county are sounding alarms that too few people are wearing masks and getting vaccinated as coronavirus cases and hospitalizations climb in the state to levels not seen since January. A Council Bluffs parents is challenging a state law that bans mask mandates in schools. Plus, U.S. Senator Joni Ernst is defending her stance on accepting some Afghan refugees to Iowa.

The number of COVID-19 cases in the Cedar Rapids area is increasing significantly. Eight Linn County residents have died of COVID complications this month, compared to one in July. An Iowa City law professor and state representative becomes the first Democrat to jump into the 2022 2nd Congressional District race. And, a judge has dismissed Iowa pork producers’ challenge of a new California animal confinement law.

Iowa’s temporary redistricting advisory committee is planning to hold once-a-decade public hearings on proposed political boundaries virtually for the first time instead of in-person. Tuesday is the last day that the Cedar Rapids Gazette will be printed locally. Plus, attendance at this year’s Iowa State Fair was down about six percent from the total in 2019 when it was held last.

A lot of students, from kindergarten to college, are heading back to school in Iowa this week. The return to campuses comes as public K-12 schools and colleges are unable to implement mask and vaccine mandates while the delta variant of the coronavirus continues to sweep the state. Plus, IPR’s Kassidy Arena reports on Sioux City schools. There are new school attendance boundaries there and a new Iowa law the teachers have to consider.

Iowa City's mayor issued an emergency order requiring masks in all classrooms and other gathering spots in the city. This order defies state law and the Board of Regents. Republican Governor Kim Reynolds is criticizing Democratic President Joe Biden for pressuring states like Iowa to reverse policies banning school mask mandates. Plus, a year ago this month, a derecho devastated communities across Iowa. IPR’s Kate Payne explains that the hardest hit were refugee families in Cedar Rapids.

President Biden has ordered the U.S. Education Secretary to explore whether a civil rights law gives the federal government authority to overturn state bans on mask mandates, like the one in Iowa, in schools. As COVID-19 hospitalizations continue to rise again in Iowa, Iowa’s nurses face an increased risk for burnout. Plus, a conversation with IPR State Government reporter Katarina Sostaric about new census data and the redistricting process in Iowa.

Iowans can expect to see the first set of new legislative and congressional district maps in mid-September. Officials at the largest school district in Iowa say they plan to create a culture that follows CDC guidelines on wearing masks in classrooms but state law stops them from being required. Plus, some Iowa leaders say the state is open to accepting certain Afghan refugees.

Iowa’s largest school district holds an online town hall meeting tonight to answer questions about returning to school amid another wave of coronavirus infections. And, some Afghans living in Iowa say they’re worried about friends and family members still living in Afghanistan as the Taliban seizes control.

As Iowa’s kids prepare to head back to school, the state is experiencing a fourth wave of new coronavirus infections and hospitalizations. The 2020 Census results for Iowa made history as the state has become more racially and ethnically diverse than ever. Plus, last year’s powerful derecho devastated generations-old forests in a matter of minutes, downing millions of trees. IPR’s Kate Payne reports that only a small fraction of the trees has been replanted.