The Gazette Daily News Podcast

This is Stephen Schmidt from the Gazette digital news desk and I’m here with your update for Wednesday, February 3.

Your Wednesday weather will venture above freezing, but with that will come fog, wind, and, eventually, a chance for rain. According to the National Weather Service, the Cedar Rapids area could start with areas of fog before noon. Otherwise it will become mostly cloudy, with a high near 35 degrees. There will be southeast wind of 5 to 15 mph, with gusts as high as 25 mph. Then, Wednesday night, there will be a chance for rain, increasing in probability as Wednesday gives way to Thursday, where more rain is predicted to continue.

Superintendents from five school districts in Cedar Rapids and Marion sent a joint letter to Gov. Kim Reynolds Monday asking for more vaccines to be allocated to the state’s priority populations, which includes K-12 staff.

The superintendents are asking for more doses of the COVID-19 vaccine as the state’s Feb. 15 deadline quickly approaches for schools to offer the option of 100 percent in-person learning to all students. The superintendents are asking the Iowa Department of Public Health to reallocate 64,000 doses of the COVID-19 vaccine statewide from the Long-Term Care Pharmacy Partnership Program to the state’s priority populations.

According to the letter, which was viewed by The Gazette, this quantity of vaccine would allow for every interested school staff member in Iowa to receive his or her first dose of the vaccine before the required in-person learning begins.

Cedar Rapids police said investigators have seen a recent increase in thefts of car parts or accessories and warned owners to be vigilant about protecting their vehicles.

The police department said January saw 28 reported thefts of motor vehicle parts, which is an increase of more than 133 percent compared to the five-year average for the month. The majority of the increase is attributed to the theft of catalytic converters.

Catalytic converters — which contain precious metals like platinum — are exhaust emission control devices that reduce toxic gases and pollutants in exhaust gas. The precious metals also make the converters valuable for resale.

Iowans will have another opportunity to sign up for health care coverage through the federal marketplace later this month.

Late last month, President Joe Biden signed an executive order expanding access to the Affordable Care Act program by opening a special enrollment period for Americans to sign up for individual health insurance coverage through the federal marketplace. The enrollment period will be open Feb. 15 through May 15.

Iowa Insurance Commissioner Doug Ommen told the Gazette it is unclear how much interest there will be in the extended session, as more Iowans already signed up for the ACA marketplace in 2020.

More than 59,200 Iowans enrolled in the individual marketplace during ACA open enrollment late last year, according to the Iowa Insurance Division. Although numbers had already been going up since 2014, the increase in 2020 was likely tied to the disruption caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.

This briefing is sponsored in part by Corridor Careers. Are you looking for a job? https://www.corridorcareers.com/ (CorridorCareers.com) is a resource to local job seekers where they can get job tips, sign up for local job alerts, build a resume and more. Check it out at https://www.corridorcareers.com/ (CorridorCareers.com).

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This is Stephen Schmidt from the Gazette digital news desk and I’m here with your update for February 2.

Tuesday’s weather is going to be pretty...boring. And you know what? Great.

According to the National Weather Service it will be partly sunny in the Cedar Rapids area with a high near 28 degrees and a gentle wind. Tuesday night it will be mostly cloudy, with a low of around 14. As an aside, it looks like it will be super cold at the end of the week, so enjoy the next few days of not being there, yet.

Three cases of a new, more-contagious variant of COVID-19 have been confirmed in Iowa, with two of those cases in Johnson County, the Iowa Department of Public Health confirmed on Monday.

The SARS-CoV-2 B.1.1.7 variant, often https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/transmission/variant.html (referred to as the U.K. variant) because it was first found in the United Kingdom, spreads more easily than the original strain. However, COVID-19 vaccines now being deployed in Iowa, albeit slowly, are considered effective against it.

Two cases of the U.K. variant were identified in Johnson County, one in an adult identified as between the ages of 18 to 40 and another in an adult age of 41 to 60. Another adult case was in Bremer County.

University of Iowa Health Care on Monday morning officially https://www.thegazette.com/subject/news/education/university-of-iowa-will-begin-patient-vaccination-next-week-20210126 (began collecting names of community members) wanting a COVID-19 vaccine — propelling the hospital system into its next vaccination phase after the campus, following state guidance, vaccinated its thousands of hospital and clinic employees.

The campus is keeping back enough vaccine to ensure all its workers receive the two required doses of either the Pfizer-BioNTech or Moderna vaccine. But UIHC last month received permission from the Iowa Department of Public Health to start administering community doses in February.

Community members, as of Monday, can sign up for the vaccine doses via the MyChart electronic medical record system or through a website portal for those who don’t use MyChart.

According to the Associated Press, a Democratic-led House panel is launching a probe into COVID-19 outbreaks at meatpacking plants and whether federal and state governments properly enforced safety rules. .

Rep. James Clyburn, D-S.C., chairman of the House select subcommittee on the coronavirus crisis, sent letters Monday to Tyson Foods — which has facilities in Waterloo — Smithfield Foods and JBS USA requesting information on the number of sick employees, facility closures, safety measures and leave policies for when workers tested positive.

Clyburn said in the letter that nearly 54,000 workers at 569 meatpacking plants in the United States have tested positive for the coronavirus during the pandemic, and at least 270 of those workers have died.

This briefing is sponsored in part by Corridor Careers. Are you looking for a job? https://www.corridorcareers.com/ (CorridorCareers.com) is a resource to local job seekers where they can get job tips, sign up for local job alerts, build a resume and more. Check it out at https://www.corridorcareers.com/ (CorridorCareers.com).

Be sure to subscribe to The Gazette Daily news podcast, or just tell your Amazon https://www.thegazette.com/topic?eid=121774andename=Alexaandlang=en (Alexa) enabled device to “enable The Gazette Daily News skill" so you can get your daily briefing by simply saying “Alexa, what’s the news?"

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This is John McGlothlen with the Gazette digital news desk and I’m here with your update for Monday, February 1st.

The Cedar Rapids area received between 5 to 7 inches of snowfall through Sunday afternoon, according to local weather spotters. Today will be mostly cloudy, with a high near 28, and winds from the northwest around 10 mph. Tonight's low should be around 14.

Iowa’s COVID-19 death toll took its bleakest leap ever Sunday when public health officials reported they confirmed another 250 deaths from the disease — bringing the state’s total so far to 4,901. Data released Sunday morning does not show over what length of time the newly confirmed COVID-19 deaths occurred, but the Associated Press reported the deaths included many from December and January. Yet the new addition by itself is more than the total number of COVID-19 deaths recorded in Iowa in six of the roughly 10 months since the first death was reported here.

A Democratic state lawmaker from North Liberty said she has tested positive for COVID-19 and thinks she became infected at the Iowa Capitol, where Republicans have refused to mandate masks or require people to disclose positive cases. The announcement Saturday night by Rep. Amy Nielsen marked the first confirmed case among Iowa legislators, but there have been three other positive cases among people associated in the House since the legislative session began three weeks ago. One of those additional cases was announced Saturday by the House’s chief clerk, but the infected person wasn’t named.

In wrestling, the Hawkeyes defeated the Fighting Illini 36-6 in their dual at Carver-Hawkeye Arena Sunday. Iowa held a 23-5 takedown edge and a 71-29 advantage in total match points against Illinois.

This is Stephen Schmidt from the Gazette digital news desk and I’m here with your update for Saturday Jan. 30 and Sunday Jan. 31

If I may offer a brief editorial on the weather before we begin: Black ice on wood steps is no joke. Also, as a related editorial comment: Ouch!

Moving beyond my personal pain, let’s get to the collective pain in our rears. There will be some more nasty winter weather this weekend. According to the National Weather Service, it will kick off with freezing rain in the Cedar Rapids area Saturday morning, slowly turning from freezing rain to full on rain as we hit the day’s high of 34 degrees after noon. It will also be windy all day, with a 15 mph gusting as high as 25 mph. Then, Saturday night, expect rain and snow, with snow coming after 8 p.m. There is predicted to be between 2 to 4 inches possible.

Then for Sunday, more snow likely, primarily before noon. There will be a high of 33 degrees afterward with cloudy skies. Wind guests will again be in the 20 mph range, but snow accumulation is expected to remain around a half inch.

A https://www.thegazette.com/subject/news/public-safety/1-dead-3-injured-in-hiawatha-shooting-20200531 (shootout last year at the Sunset Village Mobile Home Park) in Hiawatha that left three men injured and a fourth man dead will not lead to major criminal charges.

After authorities investigated the chaotic events around the May 30, 2020, gunfight, Linn County Attorney Jerry Vander Sanden announced Friday the killing of Joshua Lathrop, 31, was justified under Iowa’s “stand your ground” self-defense law.

Only one charge — of illegally carrying a gun — will be filed against one of the combatants. The altercation may have stemmed from Tyler and Terrone Bell — who are twins — searching the mobile home park for two unknown men who allegedly attacked Tyler Bell’s girlfriend, the findings indicated.

Witnesses said the brothers were searching the park, yelling they were “gonna get somebody,” and Terrone Bell was visibly armed. Witnesses said that Lathrop confronted the Bell brothers and punched one in the face, and that is when the shooting began.

“All four principle participants in the altercation, Terrone and Tyler Bell, Truman Harris and Chad Harris, freely and voluntarily spoke to investigators about their role in the shooting incident,” Vander Sanden said in his findings. “None of them requested the assistance of an attorney. The three who fired weapons, Terrone Bell, Truman Harris and Chad Harris, adamantly claimed they did so to defend themselves or to defend another person.”

On Friday, Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds signed into law a requirement that K-12 schools offer the option of 100 percent in-person learning to all students beginning in February, even if districts are not operating completely in-person during the COVID-19 pandemic. Gov. Reynolds also used the event to pitch for a Republican effort to institute a new voucher system in the state’s K-12 education system. After receiving angry public feedback, there is some concern that there are not enough votes in the Republican controlled legislature to pass the bill due to concerns about the long term ramifications it might have on the state’s education system.

This briefing is sponsored in part by Corridor Careers. Are you looking for a job? https://www.corridorcareers.com/ (CorridorCareers.com) is a resource to local job seekers where they can get job tips, sign up for local job alerts, build a resume and more. Check it out at https://www.corridorcareers.com/ (CorridorCareers.com).

Be sure to subscribe to The Gazette Daily news podcast, or just tell your Amazon https://www.thegazette.com/topic?eid=121774andename=Alexaandlang=en (Alexa) enabled device to “enable The Gazette Daily News skill" so you can get your daily briefing by simply saying “Alexa, what’s the news?"

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This is Stephen Schmidt from the Gazette digital news desk and I’m here with your update for Friday, Jan. 29.

Friday’s weather will be sort of a prelude of the snow that could come this weekend. According to the National Weather Service, it will be warmer, with a high near 30 degrees in the Cedar Rapids area with mostly cloudy skies. Then Friday night the wind will pick up from 5 to 15 mph, gusting as high as 20 mph. This will be a sign that, you guessed it, a new weather system is prepared to roll through.

Also rolling through this winter? Pretty much anything Iowa Republicans want. In addition to electing a U.S. senator and governor in November 2022, Iowa voters will be asked to amend the state constitution to give gun rights more protection from legal challenges.

The Iowa House and Iowa Senate approved https://www.legis.iowa.gov/legislation/BillBook?ga=89andba=SJR7 (Senate Joint Resolution 7,) a proposal to add language to the Iowa Constitution to say: “The right of the people to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed. The sovereign state of Iowa affirms and recognizes this right to be a fundamental individual right. Any and all restrictions of this right shall be subject to strict scrutiny.”

Iowa Republicans argue that this language is necessary because Iowa is one of only 6 states in the nation that do not have the 2nd amendment codified in their constitution. The final portion about strict scrutiny is an important little nugget they have added in to make lawsuits against pro gun laws even more difficult to pass. Iowa Democrats offered amendment language that would codify the 2nd Amendment into the constitution without the strict scrutiny language, but Republicans offered the counter proposal of the bill they wanted being pushed through unchanged. The bill passed with clean Republican majorities.

Legislation requiring K-12 school districts to offer all students a 100 percent in-person learning option gained final approval Thursday from Republican majorities in the Iowa Capitol, sending the measure to Republican Governor Kim Reynolds, who said she was eager to sign it into law.

Republicans support the proposal, saying students and families should have the option of being in the classroom full-time during the COVID-19 pandemic, even in districts where local school and public health officials have not deemed that to be safe. Democrats opposed the measure, saying local leaders — not state lawmakers — know best how to operate their schools with education and safety of students and staff in mind.

The argument over who should be able to determine instruction and masking options in Iowa’s cities and schools has continued unabated since the beginning of the pandemic a year ago. On one side, the governor and other Republicans have argued for the state keeping as much of public life open as possible, fighting against cities instituting mask mandates and fighting for schools to offer in-person instruction. On the other side, Democrats have argued for the importance of local schools and municipalities making these decisions, as well as urging more safety measures in the state and capitol. These efforts, as with so many things attempted by Iowa Democrats in the last year, ended in defeat.

This briefing is sponsored in part by Corridor Careers. Are you looking for a job? https://www.corridorcareers.com/ (CorridorCareers.com) is a resource to local job seekers where they can get job tips, sign up for local job alerts, build a resume and more. Check it out at https://www.corridorcareers.com/ (CorridorCareers.com).

Be sure to subscribe to The Gazette Daily news podcast, or just tell your Amazon https://www.thegazette.com/topic?eid=121774andename=Alexaandlang=en (Alexa) enabled device to “enable The Gazette Daily News skill" so you can get your daily briefing by simply saying “Alexa, what’s the news?"

If you prefer podcasts, you can also find us on iTunes.

This is Stephen Schmidt from the Gazette digital news desk and I’m here with your update for Thursday, Jan. 28.

Thursday will be sunny, but it will also be very cold. According to the National Weather Service, there will be a high near 20 degrees in the Cedar Rapids area, with wind chill values near zero. Thursday night it looks like it will be partly cloudy, with a low around 9 degrees and wind chill values at 5 degrees below zero.

Iowa voters are a step closer to being able to vote on whether the Iowa Constitution guarantees a right to an abortion.

The Iowa House on Wednesday approved https://www.thegazette.com/subject/news/government/www.legis.iowa.gov/legislation/BillBook?ga=89andba=HJR5 (House Joint Resolution 5 )that would add language to make clear there is no constitutional right to an abortion or requirement for the public funding of abortions.

Shortly after 9 p.m., the House approved the resolution 55-44, with three Republicans joining House Democrats in casting “no” votes. If the language is approved by the House and Senate this session, and then again in the 2023-25 session, the amendment could go to the Iowa voters for ratification by a simple majority.

Iowa Republicans feel they need to change the Iowa constitution because previous attempts they have made to restrict abortion, including a fetal heartbeat bill, have been struck down in the state’s court system.

Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds said Wednesday the federal government is promising states a 16 percent increase in vaccine doses starting in February. Reynolds said officials in President Joe Biden’s administration promised governors in a call this week that the federal government would increase state allocations to accelerate the national vaccination program.

The increased federal supply would raise Iowa’s weekly doses to 25,800 a week from the current 19,500 allocation for at least the next three weeks.

Interim Iowa City Superintendent Matt Degner has dropped the “interim” from his title after the school board unanimously voted to award him a three-year contract with the Iowa City Community School District.

Degner said his three priorities as a superintendent are to improve diversity and equity in the Iowa City School District; the completion of the Portrait of a Graduate initiative that will provide an idea of the skills and attributes the district wants students to acquire over their academic careers; and, finally, continuing work on the district’s facilities plan guiding future upgrades to buildings.

Degner was chosen in April of last year as an interim superintendent, replacing departing superintendent Stephen Murley. The school board noted Denger’s shepherding the district through the emergence of COVID-19 over the past year as a key test that demonstrated he could lead through the most daunting of challenges.

This briefing is sponsored in part by Corridor Careers. Are you looking for a job? https://www.corridorcareers.com/ (CorridorCareers.com) is a resource to local job seekers where they can get job tips, sign up for local job alerts, build a resume and more. Check it out at https://www.corridorcareers.com/ (CorridorCareers.com).

Be sure to subscribe to The Gazette Daily news podcast, or just tell your Amazon https://www.thegazette.com/topic?eid=121774andename=Alexaandlang=en (Alexa) enabled device to “enable The Gazette Daily News skill" so you can get your daily briefing by simply saying “Alexa, what’s the news?"

If you prefer podcasts, you can also find us on iTunes.

This is Stephen Schmidt from the Gazette digital news desk and I’m here with your update for Wednesday, Jan. 27.

The snow won’t melt much Wednesday, but at least there won’t be more of it. According to the National Weather Service, it will be mostly cloudy in the Cedar Rapids area Wednesday with a high of 21 degrees. Although it will gradually become more sunny as the day goes on, don’t get too excited, as wind chill values will hover at around 5 degrees below zero.

If you are curious about how much snow fell in Iowa, it depended largely on where you lived. Broadly speaking, if your abode is in Eastern Iowa, about 6 inches of snow fell, if you live in Central Iowa, you received a foot or more of snow.

Collins Aerospace, the largest employer in Cedar Rapids, will seek $85 million in cost reductions in 2021, according to its parent company Raytheon Technologies’ earnings call Tuesday morning. It comes as Collins Aerospace faced a 70 percent drop in adjusted operating revenue and 25 percent drop in adjusted sales in 2020

The “incremental synergies” discussed Tuesday are in addition to $170 million in cost reductions at Collins Aerospace in 2020, which included 72 layoffs in Cedar Rapids, 36 layoffs in Bellevue and 29 layoffs in Decorah.

Iowa U.S. Sen. Joni Ernst said Tuesday she does not believe the second impeachment trial for former President Donald Trump is constitutional. Iowa Senator Chuck Grassley joined Sen. Ernst on Wednesday in voting to dismiss the charges against Trump. This vote failed, 55 - 45. However, the margin of the vote suggests it will be unlikely that Trump will be convicted for his second impeachment when he is tried again in the Senate.

Gov. Kim Reynolds said Tuesday she is looking forward to “building those same relationships” with President Joe Biden and his Environmental Protection Agency staff that she had with the Trump administration to protect biofuels, Reynolds said during Tuesday’s virtual Iowa Renewable Fuels Summit.

In addition to this, Reynolds said she plans to introduce legislation involving an E10 and B11 fuel standard, a rule requiring new or renovated retail gas pumps to be compatible with higher ethanol blends, a reinvestment of fuel retailer tax credits and $2 million in funding for renewable fuels infrastructure.

Iowa Republicans on Tuesday made progress in the legislature on a bills that would eliminate tenure at Iowa’s universities; institute a new school choice system in the state that would pay vouchers for students to attend schools of their choosing, including private schools; and instituting a requirement that women be informed that their medicinal abortion can be reversed. It should be noted that the Iowa House heard testimony on Tuesday that claims that medicinal abortions can be reversed are not supported by science, however, the bill would threaten doctors with disciplinary action if they did not comply.

This briefing is sponsored in part by Corridor Careers. Are you looking for a job? https://www.corridorcareers.com/ (CorridorCareers.com) is a resource to local job seekers where they can get job tips, sign up for local job alerts, build a resume and more. Check it out at https://www.corridorcareers.com/ (CorridorCareers.com).

Be sure to subscribe to The Gazette Daily news podcast, or just tell your Amazon https://www.thegazette.com/topic?eid=121774andename=Alexaandlang=en (Alexa) enabled device to “enable The Gazette Daily News skill" so you can get your daily briefing by simply saying “Alexa, what’s the news?"

If you prefer podcasts, you can also find us on iTunes.

This is Stephen Schmidt from the Gazette digital news desk and I’m here with your update for Tuesday, Jan. 26.

Our gentle blizzard will continue into Tuesday morning. According to the National Weather Service, the snow that began in the Cedar Rapids area around 2:00 p.m. Monday and continued overnight will only completely abate around 1:00 p.m. on Tuesday. The high is expected to be 24 degrees, and as one expects when more than a half of foot of new snow falls, blowing snow will be a concern. Exercise caution when traveling through Tuesday evening, when thankfully it will be mostly calm with a low of around 12 degrees.

The Iowa State Patrol reported that through the storm on Monday there were 68 crashes covered on Iowa highways, 66 with property damage and 2 with personal injury. There were also 215 calls for motorist assists for the state patrol alone.

Linn County residents aged 65 and older can begin receiving a COVID-19 vaccine on a limited basis starting Tuesday, county public health officials announced.

Residents interested in getting a shot will have to schedule an appointment — but because availability of the vaccine is very limited at this time, officials warn those appointments will fill up quickly.

Beginning Monday, residents who qualify were expected to be contacted by their primary care provider to schedule an appointment to receive the first shot of the vaccine for the novel coronavirus. Providers who will administer these shots include those associated with MercyCare Clinics and UnityPoint Health Clinics as well as “several independent health care providers.”

It’s unknown when Johnson County will begin administering vaccines to this group. County public health officials told The Gazette that the public should expect information from them sometime this week.

Republican lawmakers who control the Iowa Legislature pressed ahead Monday with plans to expand school choice for parents with public funds for private and charter schools and with requiring K-12 schools to offer an in-person instruction option as the state struggles through the pandemic.

The measures would enact the full-time, in-person required option in February for the remainder of the school year and, according to an Iowa State Education Association estimate, start the process of funding a $50 million first step in a plan to earmark taxpayer money for students’ private-school tuition. The governor’s office projects the initial cost at about $3 million.

Critics said the bill would siphon away taxpayer money meant to improve education for nearly 500,000 children to benefit a small fraction taking advantage of the limited scholarships to attend private or charter schools — with little public oversight.

This briefing is sponsored in part by Corridor Careers. Are you looking for a job? https://www.corridorcareers.com/ (CorridorCareers.com) is a resource to local job seekers where they can get job tips, sign up for local job alerts, build a resume and more. Check it out at https://www.corridorcareers.com/ (CorridorCareers.com).

Be sure to subscribe to The Gazette Daily news podcast, or just tell your Amazon https://www.thegazette.com/topic?eid=121774andename=Alexaandlang=en (Alexa) enabled device to “enable The Gazette Daily News skill" so you can get your daily briefing by simply saying “Alexa, what’s the news?"

If you prefer podcasts, you can also find us on iTunes.

This is John McGlothlen with the Gazette digital news desk and I’m here with your update for Monday, January 25th.

Eastern Iowa will get walloped with as much as a foot of snow, strong wind and freezing rain as a storm parks for hours over the area today. https://www.thegazette.com/subject/news/iowa-weather-winter-storm-cedar-rapids-iowa-city-snow-total-forecast-20210124 (The National Weather Service said) the storm would reach Interstate 80, Cedar Rapids and the Quad Cities between 2 and 4 p.m. The snow is expected initially to be heavy and wet. But later, as temperatures drop toward evening, it will turn fluffy — increasing drifting and decreasing visibility. The weather service said, “Travel could be very difficult to impossible.” Snowfall totals are expected to be heavier south of Highway 30: Washington may see 8 to 12 inches; Iowa City 7 to 11 inches; and Cedar Rapids 6 to 11 inches, forecasters predicted. Our high temperature will be near 27, with a northeast wind 10 to 20 mph, and gusts as high as 30 mph. Then a low around 20 tonight.

A mom and her son are accused of biting and punching police officers who were breaking up a fight Saturday afternoon at the southwest side Walmart Supercenter. According to a police account and criminal complaints, Timothy Dwayne Christmas, who turned 18 last week, and his mother, Kevett’a McPhan, 37, were both arrested. The incident began at 3:11 p.m. Saturday when a Cedar Rapids officer there was alerted about two people arguing and chasing each other in the store. The officer was talking with one of those involved in the parking lot outside when the other — identified as Christmas — approached and tried to start a fight there, authorities said. The officer kept the two separated and called for backup. Christmas went back in the Walmart, where responding officers followed moments later. A Walmart employee told police that Christmas punched him in the face when he had asked the teen to leave the store, police said. Officers found Christmas and were arresting him when authorities said he assaulted several of them. According to a criminal complaint, he shoved one, tried to head-butt another and bit the left thumb of another, causing it to bleed. McPhan — his mother — also became involved, punching another officer in the chest. Christmas faces charges of assault on a police officer causing injury, two counts of assault on a police officer, assault and interference with official acts. McPhan faces charges of assault on a police officer and interference with official acts.

Continuing a downward trajectory from a pre-Thanksgiving spike, COVID-19 hospitalizations in Iowa reached a low Sunday not seen in about four months and finally dipping below last summer’s worst surge. The number of people being treated for the respiratory illness in Iowa hospitals declined from 419 to 382 in the 24-hour period ending at 11 a.m. Sunday. Those in intensive care inched up from 76 to 79, while those placed on ventilators dropped from 38 to 36. The number of COVID-19 hospitalizations in the state has been ticking down since an alarming spike of 1,527 patients reported Nov. 18. The 382 patients reported Sunday morning is the lowest level since 376 on Sept 29. The decline from the spike now puts the number of COVID-19 patients below the worst of last summer, when hospitalizations in Iowa reached 417 on May 7.

This is Stephen Schmidt from the Gazette digital news desk and I’m here with your update for Saturday Jan. 23 and Sunday Jan. 24.

Except for small subgroups who enjoy snow-based masochism the weather is going to be a bit terrible for most of us Saturday, before warming up on Sunday. According to the National Weather Service, there will be a high near 23 degrees during the day on Saturday in the Cedar Rapids area, with windchill values dropping as low as 10 degrees below zero. The temperature will then climb, and with that will come a chance for precipitation. Saturday from 1 to 4 p.m. there will be a 30 percent chance for snow. Then Saturday night there will be a 80 percent chance of snow, potentially turning into freezing rain as Saturday heads into Sunday and the temperature continues to rise. Little or no ice accumulation is expected, but new snowfall of more than 2 inches during the day is possible.

Then Sunday it will be pretty nice in comparison, turning to mostly cloudy skies and a high near 31 degrees. Even the wind will calm down after a windy week, blowing at 5 mph.

The Ames Police Department is investigating after a student was found dead Friday morning in the parking lot of the Delta Delta Delta sorority house. Police say no foul play is suspected as the student, 21-year-old Olivia Chutich, was discovered on the ground after being last seen Thursday night.Chutich is the daughter of Allina Health CEO Dr. Penny Wheeler and Minnesota State Supreme Court Justice Margaret Chutich. They released a statement Friday night expressing grief and a desire for privacy.

The demand for the COVID-19 vaccine may only be matched by the amount of frustration at how slowly it is becoming available in Iowa. State and local public health officials have warned that, based on the current supply of vaccines, it likely will take some time before everyone who qualifies receives a shot. State estimates put the total number of individuals who qualify under Phase 1B at about 660,000.

In the meantime, the state receives roughly 19,500 doses per week from federal officials, which are fewer doses per capita than most other states. Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds is working with the state’s congressional leaders to determine why that is,

However, as a result, local public health departments say their offices are being flooded with the highest call volume since the pandemic began. State officials are urging residents not to call clinics or pharmacies because they don’t have any details to share at this time.

“We’re getting 50 to 60 calls a day from people who want the vaccine and heard they can get it,” said Matt Osterhaus, pharmacist and owner of Osterhaus Pharmacy in Maquoketa.

Phase 1B is set to begin on February 1. It expends those eligible for the vaccine to first responders, K-12 school staff, manufacturing and distribution workers in at-risk industries, caretakers for vulnerable individuals, and people over the age of 65. Meanwhile, the state has had trouble meeting demand for Phase 1A of its vaccine rollout, which targeted hospital frontline workers and those who work in long term care facilities.

This briefing is sponsored in part by Corridor Careers. Are you looking for a job? https://www.corridorcareers.com/ (CorridorCareers.com) is a resource to local job seekers where they can get job tips, sign up for local job alerts, build a resume and more. Check it out at https://www.corridorcareers.com/ (CorridorCareers.com).

Be sure to subscribe to The Gazette Daily news podcast, or just tell your Amazon https://www.thegazette.com/topic?eid=121774andename=Alexaandlang=en (Alexa) enabled device to “enable The Gazette Daily News skill" so you can get your daily briefing by simply saying “Alexa, what’s the news?"

If you prefer podcasts, you can also find us on iTunes.