The Gazette Daily News Podcast

This is Stephen Schmidt from the Gazette digital news desk and I’m here with your update for Friday, Jan. 22.

It will be sunny Friday, but quite cold. According to the National Weather Service there will be a high of 17 degrees in the Cedar Rapids area with wind chill values near 5 degrees below zero. Friday night it will be mostly clear, with a low of 1 degree. The wind will settle during the course of the day from 10 to 5 mph.

Hundreds of thousands more Iowans are about to become eligible to receive a COVID-19 vaccine starting in February, but demand for the shots will outweigh supply early in the process, state officials said Thursday.

Iowa intends to begin the second phase of its vaccination program the week of Feb. 1, at which time Iowans who work in law enforcement, emergency response, K-12 education and childcare will become eligible to receive the doses — as will any Iowans ages 65 or older, not just 75 and older as the state had announced earlier.

However, the number of newly eligible Iowans — more than 660,000 people — will outnumber the supply of vaccine doses available, according to state officials, who asked for patience from the public.

Iowa House Republicans on Thursday continued to refuse to initiate a mask mandate for lawmakers or visitors to congress. In addition, House Republicans, unlike their Republican comrades in the Iowa Senate, have balked at allowing lawmakers concerned about their health to attend meetings virtually. Republicans in the House insist that social distancing guidelines are sufficient to protect people in the Capitol.

Speaking of protection, Republicans in the Iowa House and Senate are working to amend the Iowa Constitution to protect the right to bear arms against the threat of future restriction. If they are successful in passing the legislation that has passed both houses in a previous session, the constitutional amendment could go before Iowa voters in the 2022 general election. If adopted by voters, the state constitution would be amended by adding: “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.”

The joint resolution made progress in both the Iowa House and Iowa Senate Thursday. Republicans also are proposing bills to eliminate background checks from gun permits, remove the requirement for a permit to carry a concealed handgun and allow guns in schools, hospitals, child care centers and courthouses. The “strict scrutiny” portion of the constitutional amendment would mean any challenge to these or other gun laws would face a steep legal hill, regardless of the strength of the case.

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).

This is Stephen Schmidt from the Gazette digital news desk and I’m here with your update for Thursday, Jan. 21.

Most of Thursday’s weather will be similar to Wednesday’s weather, with a little less wind. According to the National Weather Service there will be a high near 37 degrees in the Cedar Rapids area. The wind will hover between 10 to 15 mph. Then, Thursday night, the wind will pick up slightly and incoming clouds will bring a slight chance of snow. The good news is that the snow that falls is NOT expected to be significant. The bad news is Friday is predicted to be quite cold.

Despite organizers having to deal with COVID-19 and the potential of civil unrest, the inauguration of Joseph Robinette Biden Jr. as the 46th president took place Wednesday mostly without a hitch: speeches were given stressing unity, patriotic music was played by enthusiastic marching bands, as many fireworks as they could find were shot off, and pop stars performed the most hopeful songs they could think of from their catalogues. I recommend searching for Bernie Sanders and his mittens if you would like a quality meme experience from the day.

But it wasn’t all Bernie Sanders mittens Wednesday. Newly elected President Biden signed 17 executive orders, mostly targeting the dismantling of policies enacted by President Donald Trump. In some highlights from his orders, Biden extended a moratorium on evictions, reversed Trump era decisions on immigration, indicated the United States would rejoin the World Health Organization and the Paris Climate Accord, and issued a freeze on regulations put forward by his predecessor.

It should be noted that although unity was stressed during the day, Biden’s action through executive order resembled both that of President Barack Obama’s second term and most of President Trump’s term, where an executive branch, blocked by a dysfunctional congress, resorted to this power more and more.

Back closer to home, bills continued to move in the Iowa Legislature. The Iowa House Judiciary Committee voted along party lines to approve a resolution for a constitutional amendment that opponents call the first step toward a state ban on abortion. https://www.thegazette.com/subject/news/government/www.legis.iowa.gov/legislation/BillBook?ga=89andba=HSB41 (House Study Bill 41) calls for letting voters decide if they want to amend the Iowa Constitution to declare that it does not recognize a right to abortion or require the public funding of abortion. That language was approved by the Senate last year but failed in the House. If approved this year and again by the 2023-25 General Assembly, it would go to the voters to decide.

Republicans have lobbied aggressively for this amendment to the Iowa constitution as their previous efforts to severely restrict abortion were rejected by the Iowa Supreme Court on multiple occassions.

A mental health counselor at St. Luke’s Hospital in Cedar Rapids has filed a complaint with the Iowa Civil Rights Commission, accusing co-workers of harassing him for being transgender. Asher Brown told the Gazette that he joined the inpatient psychiatric unit at the hospital with the hope that his experiences as a transgender adult would allow him to help patients experiencing challenges with gender identity. However, he said in his complaint that coworkers not only harassed him for being transgender, asking about his genitalia and what gender he found attractive, they also were disrespectful of transgender patients.

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 Wednesday, Jan. 20.

Wednesday’s weather will be defined by the wind. While the National Weather Service forecasts it will be sunny in the Cedar Rapids area with a high of 36 degrees, the wind is predicted to pick up during the day to 15 to 20 mph, gusting as high as 35 mph. This high wind could drop the wind chill value to 5 degrees below zero. So, in summary, the ice and snow should melt some while it still feels freezing outside.

As President-elect Joe Biden is sworn into office on Wednesday, the task of bringing COVID-19 under control will clearly priority number one. On Tuesday the United States reported exceeding 400,000 deaths from the novel coronavirus since it appeared in the country early last year, a death toll nearly equal to the number of American lives lost annually to strokes, Alzheimer’s disease, diabetes, flu and pneumonia combined. With COVID-19 deaths exceeding 4,000 per day due to a surge of the disease in states like California and Arizona, the number of deaths by the end of the week will likely surpass the number of Americans killed in World War II.

Because of the virus, and lingering security threats, expect a more subdued inauguration celebration Wednesday compared to those in the past.

The Eastern Iowa Airport saw the fewest total passengers in 2020 in at least 25 years as the coronavirus wreaked havoc on the commercial aerospace industry.

The 615,935 passengers marked a 53 percent drop from 2019 levels and broke a streak of six years with at least 1 million passengers. The lowest passenger total before 2020 in the airport’s digital records, which go back to 1996, was 829,760 in 1996.

The Eastern Iowa Airport is far from the only airport facing these challenges. Des Moines International Airport had its fewest total passengers in 2020 since 1984, https://www.desmoinesregister.com/story/news/2021/01/12/des-moines-airport-sees-lowest-passenger-traffic-36-years/6637851002/ (according to the Des Moines Register).

The Iowa City Council on Tuesday threw its support behind a downtown development designed to revitalize and preserve the character of the Pedestrian Mall. A resolution approving $12.25 million in tax increment financing over 15 years for the project received unanimous support from the council Tuesday night.

The project — which comes with a $54.4 million total price tag — involves designating buildings as historic landmarks in order to renovate and preserve them. The project would breathe life into the 100 block of East College Street by eliminating 50 percent of the commercial space, which would allow smaller businesses that would be open during the daytime to move in.

Local restaurateur Jim Mondanaro plans to expand his Reunion brewery and restaurant into the former Fieldhouse location, and Riverside Theatre would move into the second and third floors of the former Union Bar.

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 Tuesday, Jan. 19.

We could see some rain and then snow Tuesday. According to the National Weather Service there will be a chance for snow and freezing rain before 2 p.m. in the Cedar Rapids area, then likely a chance for snow the rest of the day. Accumulation of less than a half inch of snow is predicted.

The high temperature will settle at about 28 degrees during the day, with the wind speed also picking up as the day goes on.

A Cedar Rapids man who said he “wanted to see what was going on” as he took part on Jan. 6 in the violent invasion of the U.S. Capitol now faces federal charges over the incursion.

Leo Christopher Kelly, 35, is charged in the U.S. District Court of the District of Columbia with knowingly entering or remaining in any restricted building or grounds without lawful authority, violent entry with intent to disrupt the orderly conduct of official business, and disorderly conduct on Capitol grounds. Kelly was identified by investigators as being part of the pandemonium through video coverage by a news reporter and by two interviews he did with The Gazette and with the LifeSiteNews website, according to an affidavit filed with the complaint Friday.

Kelly indicated to investigators that he was willing to turn himself in if investigators pressed charges, of which there are now several.

Starting Jan. 25, every passenger flying out of The Eastern Iowa Airport will be required to undergo a temperature check and answer a few health questions under a pandemic mitigation program initially unveiled last summer.

Installation of the primary health screening area began Monday and is expected to be complete on Tuesday. A secondary screening area is already set up.

Airport Director Marty Lenss said the program is a step “to make sure our guests and travelers throughout Eastern Iowa feel good about flying” from the airport during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The airport and Mercy Medical Center https://www.thegazette.com/subject/news/business/eastern-iowa-airport-health-screenings-mercy-masks-covid-marty-lenss-20200709 (initially announced the program in July) with hopes of it being ready in early September. But the https://www.thegazette.com/subject/news/business/eastern-iowa-airport-health-screenings-mercy-masks-covid-marty-lenss-20200709 (Federal Aviation Administration in August barred airports around the nation from using federal CARES Act funding or airport revenue for health screenings). The program was back on after the FAA reversed its course again in December.

Republican state lawmakers are again pushing to eliminate tenure at Iowa’s public universities, which already have been reporting fewer tenured faculty for years even without a mandate to eliminate the academic freedom protection.Similar to proposed legislation he introduced in 2018 and 2019, Sen. Brad Zaun, R-Urbandale, this session has put forth a bill “prohibiting tenure systems at public postsecondary educational institutions.”

The measure would bar tenure and its protections at the University of Iowa, Iowa State University and the University of Northern Iowa. A similar bill has been introduced in the House.

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, January 18th.

Our weather today will be mostly cloudy with a high near 28. Winds will be from the northwest 5 to 10 mph. Tonight should be mostly cloudy with a low around 12.

The number of patients being treated for COVID-19 in Iowa hospitals dipped below 500 Sunday for the first time in nearly three months. A downward trajectory of coronavirus patients over about the last eight weeks continued in a 24-hour period ending at 11 a.m. Sunday when the number dropped from 505 to 474 — the first time since Oct. 19th it fell below 500.

In basketball, Sunday, the Iowa Hawkeyes won against the Northwestern Wildcats, 96 to 73, at Welsh-Ryan Arena. At 6 and 1, the Hawkeyes are now tied with Michigan for the Big Ten lead. Luka Garza had 17 points, all in the first half. He didn't play for the final 12 minutes, with his team up 69 to 42. Joe Wieskamp, CJ Fredrick and Jordan Bohannon combined for 40 points and 8-of-14 3-point shooting.

On this Martin Luther King Day, https://www.thegazette.com/subject/life/mlk-day-events-iowa-martin-luther-kind-jr-day-iowa-city-cedar-rapids-20210116 (go to TheGazette.com) to see some of the free events in the Cedar Rapids and Iowa City areas celebrating the life and legacy of Martin Luther King Jr.

This is Stephen Schmidt from the Gazette digital news desk and I’m here with your update for Saturday Jan. 16 and Sunday Jan. 17.

Your weekend weather continues the sporadic precipitation of the last few days. According to the National Weather Service, there will be a chance of snow in the early morning Saturday in Eastern Iowa with a chance for flurries throughout the rest of the day. The temperature will settle into the high 20s, so freezing rain should be off the menu. Sunday the temperature will remain similar and so will the chance for flurries, with things finally calming down Sunday night to mostly cloudy skies.

Five days into the Iowa legislative session lawmakers and staff have been alerted that someone “associated” with the House has tested positive for COVID-19.

Chief Clerk of the House Meghan Nelson and Secretary of the Senate Charlie Smithson sent messages to lawmakers and staff shortly after 6 p.m. Friday alerting them that someone who had been in the Capitol Wednesday tested positive earlier in the day.

The lack of a mask mandate for Iowa legislators created divisions even before the session started. In the House, Democrats have asked that people attending committee meetings in person be required to wear masks. Those proposals have been defeated largely on party line votes.

Democrats also have criticized Republicans for not delaying the 2021 session until more Iowans receive COVID-19 vaccinations.

The outstanding debt for state and local governments topped $17.9 billion for the fiscal year that ended last June, Iowa’s state treasurer Michael Fitzgerald reported Friday.

That’s a 4.8 percent increase from the previous fiscal year, Fitzgerald said, though Iowa remains among the states with the lowest debt in the nation.

“Usually, for Iowa, you’ll see 3 (percent) to 5 percent growth in the debt,” he said. “Iowa is a pay-as-you-go, low-debt state, and it’s continuing to be that way, but local governments are making some investments.

With reports that armed protests are possible, steps are being taken to ensure the Iowa Capitol remains a safe place in the coming days. An FBI memo, obtained earlier this week by ABC News, warns of plans for armed protests at all 50 state capitals in the days leading up to President-elect Joe Biden’s inauguration.According to the report, one group has called for supporters of outgoing President Donald Trump to “storm” government buildings on Wednesday even if Trump won the state — as he did in Iowa.

An officer with the state public safety department and the Iowa State Patrol, the agency in charge of protection at the Iowa Capitol, said the department’s intelligence division is monitoring social media and other channels for prospective security concerns and is working with federal, state and local law enforcement agencies. The Iowa National Guard has not been asked to protect the capitol at this time, but they are available if needed.

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 Friday, Jan. 15.

The two main things you need to know about Friday’s weather is that the high temperature will hover around freezing and the sky will be potentially spitting either rain or snow or both at random intervals, all day. According to the National Weather Service, the high and the low temperature Friday will be 32 degrees in the Cedar Rapids area, plus or minus a few degrees at any given time. After a chance for snow overnight, there may be a brief break from precipitation before more snow that gradually turns into freezing rain Friday night.

The Iowa National Guard plans to send 250 members to assist in security efforts in the nation’s capital during next week’s inauguration, the Iowa Guard’s leader said Thursday.

Maj. Gen. Ben Corell said the U.S. National Guard requested assistance from all U.S. states, territories and districts. Corell said the plan is for the 250 Iowa Guard members to travel to Washington, D.C., this weekend. Security efforts have increased ever since the Jan. 6 mob siege on the U.S. Capitol as supporters of outgoing President Donald Trump tried to stop Congress from certifying the results of last November’s election, which Trump lost.

Bills have started to make their debut in the Iowa legislature. Two of bills of note made some progress Thursday: one in the senate would reintroduce the death penalty in the state of Iowa for a limited range of crimes; the other, introduced in the house, would preemptively block the use of the “gay panic” justification for murder or other crimes used in other states.

Republicans on a Senate subcommittee on Thursday advanced legislation that would reinstate a limited death penalty for Iowans aged 18 or older who are convicted of kidnapping, raping and murdering a minor. Despite several speakers who spoke about the systemic problems of the government executing a person for any reason, the bill passed 2-1 out of the subcommittee for consideration of the full judiciary committee.

Less controversial was the bill banning the so-called gay panic defense that was introduced in the House. Although Iowa law does not allow for the justification of a crime due to sexual orientation, there have been cases in other states where the defense has argued for acquitment due to “diminished capacity” due to the accused becoming distraught over encountering someone of a different orientation or gender identity. As a result, several states have been moving to ban the use of this defense. The Judiciary subcommittee voted unanimously Thursday to move the bill to the full House Judiciary Committee.

Seven months after Iowa Relief https://www.thegazette.com/subject/news/health/iowa-medical-marijuana-dispensary-application-reissue-20200608 (closed its medical marijuana manufacturing facility) in Cedar Rapids, the city is poised to get another manufacturer.

The Iowa Department of Public Health on Dec. 22 issued a notice of intent to award a manufacturing license to ICC MFG Holdings LLC — the Iowa Cannabis Company — for a facility in Cedar Rapids.

Iowa Relief https://www.thegazette.com/subject/news/government/iowa-marijuana-manufacturer-says-it-is-committed-to-medical-program-20181213 (built a 5,000-square-foot marijuana growing and processing facility) at 1420 26th Ave. Court SW in 2019, but then closed the plant and gave up its manufacturing license last spring.

It’s unclear whether Iowa Cannabis is interested in this site or is planning to make medical marijuana products elsewhere in the city.

The closure by Iowa Relief left Iowa with just one manufacturer of medical marijuana products — MedPharm Iowa in Des Moines — that are then sold to qualified patients in licensed dispensaries. Iowa’s medical marijuana industry has struggled to get off the ground, at least partially due to the state having some of the more restrictive marijuana laws in the country.

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This is Stephen Schmidt from the Gazette digital news desk and I’m here with your update for Thursday, Jan. 14.

If you like wintry mix, Thursday’s weather forecast is for you. According to the National Weather Service, there is predicted to be snow and sleet in the Cedar Rapids area before noon, then rain, possibly mixed with snow. There will be a high of 36 degrees somewhere during all of that and new snow and sleet accumulation is expected to be around a half inch or less. Then, Thursday night, there will be a low of 27 degrees and a 40 percent chance of more snow.

Donald Trump became the first president in U.S. history to be impeached twice, as a House majority Wednesday voted to charge him with inciting insurrection by his supporters, who a week ago stormed the Capitol to block ratification of Joe Biden’s electoral victory.

The 232-197 House vote Wednesday came exactly one week after the Capitol suffered its most violent assault since the British burned it in the War of 1812. Even though just 10 Republicans joined with Democrats in the vote, it was the most bipartisan presidential impeachment in modern times, more so than against Bill Clinton in 1998.

The charge against Trump now goes to the Senate, where a trial will not be held until after Trump leaves office on Jan. 20. A post-presidency conviction would be too late to cut short his term, but could be followed by a vote on a measure to bar Trump from running again for president.

The Iowa Hawkeyes basketball team has now had its first COVID-19 disruption during its Big Ten schedule. Iowa’s scheduled home men’s basketball game against Michigan State Thursday night has been postponed because of COVID-19 issues within the Michigan State program.

The makeup date will be announced at a later time.

Michigan State Coach Tom Izzo announced Wednesday afternoon that players Mady Sissoko and Steven Izzo had tested positive for COVID-19. They are roommates. Sissoko is a freshman center and Izzo, the son of the coach, is a walk-on sophomore guard.

Although the Iowa Department of Public Health announced Tuesday that COVID-19 vaccines would be available to a wider group of people beyond frontline health workers on Feb. 1, public health officials in two of Iowa’s most populous counties are unsure when they will be receiving enough of the vaccine to meet demand.

Linn County health officials on Wednesday said they still have not received enough doses to complete vaccination of front-line health care workers and others in the first phase of vaccination, citing the current supply of COVID-19 vaccines allocated to local jurisdictions by federal officials.

In Johnson County, Johnson County Public Health in recent weeks has seen the highest volume of calls from residents since the pandemic began, all from Iowans eager to find out when they can get a vaccine. But as with its neighbor, Johnson County has not received any indication from the state when it can expect to inoculate groups within Phase 1B.

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. 13.

Wednesday will be the last break from poor winter weather for a bit. According to the National Weather Service there will be a high of 39 degrees in the Cedar Rapids area. It will be cloudy in the morning before gradually becoming mostly sunny. Even Wednesday night it will remain above freezing, with a low of 33 degrees. Thursday and Friday look to bring chances for rain and snow before colder temperatures to come.

Another phase of COVID-19 vaccinations in Iowa will start at the beginning of February. Officials with the Iowa Department of Public Health told state legislators Tuesday they expect to pivot to the next part of the coronavirus vaccine distribution plan by Feb. 1, moving beyond front-line health care workers and beginning to vaccinate other essential workforces and those most at risk for severe illness. The process to inoculate this population likely will cover several weeks.

People who can qualify under this phase are: adults older than 75, individuals living at home with disabilities along with their caregivers, correctional staff and inmates, K-12 educators and others who work with children, first responders, front line workers in at risk industries, and social workers who help at-risk groups.

I mentioned yesterday that due to the way the state is reporting its data, there are good days and bad days with the virus that average out over time. Tuesday was a bad day, with Iowa reporting 1,200 new coronavirus cases and 83 deaths related to the virus. Hospitalizations for the virus remained steady in the 500 to 600 range that the state has seen the last month, with slow declines over time.

Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds gave her Condition of the State speech on Tuesday, proposing an $8.1 billion state spending plan for fiscal 2022. This would be a 3.7 percent spending increase that would fund priorities in broadband expansion, K-12 and higher education and mental health programs for adults and children.

The bulk of the new money would go toward a three-year, $450 million plan that would expand accessibility to affordable broadband. Reynolds said the pandemic had exposed the divide in Iowa for those who have access to good broadband in the cities versus many rural communities who do not.

The United States Congress voted along party lines Tuesday to ask Vice President Mike Pence to invoke the 25th amendment to remove President Donald Trump from power. The move was in response to President Trump’s rally devolving into a siege on the Capitol building last week. Pence sent House Speaker Nancy Pelosi a letter declining to utilize the 25th in this way, arguing that it was only intended to remove presidents who could not fulfill their duty due to illness. As a result, the House is expected to meet again Wednesday and vote to impeach the president. If the vote is approved, as expected, this will make President Trump the only president in history to be impeached twice by Congress. The House members would then hold a trial in the Senate to make their case they should complete the impeachment process.

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. 12.

If you enjoyed Monday’s sun we’ve got some more of that coming Tuesday. According to the National Weather Service it will be mostly sunny with a high near 35 degrees. A west wind will hover between 5 and 10 mph. The low will drop to 25 degrees Tuesday night with partly cloudy skies.

We’ve entered into something of an every-other-day-is-bad pattern when it comes to COVID-19 numbers. Monday the numbers were good, with only one death from the disease reported in the state and 438 new cases. In other positive news, the state reported that 96,686 doses of the COVID-19 vaccine have been administered in Iowa, with just under 6,000 people receiving the two doses needed to be fully vaccinated for the disease. There’s still a long way to go until enough are vaccinated to slow the spread of the virus, so please continue practicing masking and social distancing habits when in public to get all of us the rest of the way there safely.

Iowa’s 2021 legislative session kicked off Monday, with leaders of both parties sounding mostly amicable notes toward each other. Then again, they haven’t brought up the issues that make each other angry, yet. Some of those that we can expect to see this session could be: another attempt to ban the use of electronic devices while driving, another attempt at making Iowa’s marijuana laws less restrictive, another debate over whether to keep Iowa’s deposit for recycled bottles law, and continued Republican pushes to make guns easier to own, religion easier to practice, and abortions harder to get. If history is any guide, there will also be several off the wall bills pitched that will upset several people before never seeing the light of day.

The Republican Party controls all branches of Iowa’s government by significant margins.

Republican Gov. Kim Reynolds is set to give her Condition of the State address Tuesday night at 6:00 p.m. Reynolds said she wanted to give the speech in primetime due to the difficult year that 2020 was for Iowans. Against that backdrop, Reynolds is expected to sound themes of optimism, economic rebound and resiliency, telling reporters “we are so ready to turn the page on 2020.”

House Democrats on Monday introduced an article of impeachment against President Donald Trump over his incitement last week of the Capitol riot. The move toward impeachment came after Republicans blocked an initial attempt to pass a resolution calling on Vice President Mike Pence to use the 25th amendment to remove the president from office.

The House is expected to reconvene Tuesday to hold a vote on the measure.

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.