The Gazette Daily News Podcast

This is Stephen Schmidt from the Gazette digital news desk and I’m here with your update for Thursday, December 17th.

As the temperature continues to inch up day by day this week, your morning commute might be greeted by some patchy fog Thursday morning. According to the National Weather Service, these areas of fog should mostly recede after 7 a.m. in the Cedar Rapids area. After that, it will be cloudy with a high of 29 degrees. It is then predicted to be mostly cloudy Thursday night, with a low of 19 degrees.

According to a Wednesday proclamation by Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds, Iowa restaurants and bars may return to normal business hours but patrons must still wear masks when not seated for eating or drinking, and groups must maintain social distancing of six feet. The change goes into effect on Thursday,

Reynolds is also relaxing rules over attendance of high school sporting events in the state, allowing all members of a participant’s household to attend. Attendees are still encouraging to maintain 6 feet of distance from each other and to wear masks.

The change comes after an overall decline in hospitalizations and cases in the state in the last month. Reynolds said these changes, coupled with the arrival of the vaccine soon, mean Iowans should be able to do what they can to prevent another surge in the time being.

Speaking of the vaccine, Iowa learned Wednesday the state will receive as much as 30 percent fewer doses of COVID-19 vaccines than previously expected.

The Iowa Department of Public Health made the announcement Wednesday evening after other states had reported they, too, were told by the federal government to expect fewer doses of the vaccine than previously estimated. No reason for the drop in doses was given in a state public health department news release.

Iowa initially expected 172,000 doses of the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines during the month of December, state officials said. A 30 percent reduction would drop that figure to just more than 120,000 doses.

The first doses of the COVID-19 vaccines are being made available to Iowa’s hospital workers and residents and staff at long-term care facilities such as nursing homes.

Tyson Foods has fired seven top managers at its largest pork plant after an independent investigation confirmed allegations that they organized a betting pool on how many workers would test positive for the coronavirus in the early months of the virus.

The company said Wednesday that the investigation, led by former U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder, revealed troubling behavior that resulted in the firings at the plant in Waterloo. An outbreak centered around the plant infected more than 1,000 employees, at least six of whom died. The betting allegations were originally revealed in lawsuits brought by families of 4 of the employees who died. They alleged the managers of arranging the betting pool while they encouraged workers to stay on the floor with inadequate safety measures.

In a separate lawsuit reported this week, the children of a man who died of COVID-19 after working at the Tyson plant in Storm Lake are also suing the company, accusing it of inadequate safety measures.

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 Wednesday, December 16th.

It will still be cold on Wednesday, but at least it will be a little bit more cheerful out there. According to the National Weather Service, there is a high of 28 degrees predicted in the Cedar Rapids area, with partly sunny skies. On Wednesday night it will become mostly cloudy, with a low of around 19 degrees.

Despite promising vaccine news this week and lower daily new COVID-19 cases in Iowa this month, deaths from the disease continue to mount. The state reported 68 new deaths on Tuesday, bringing the state’s toll from the virus to 3,337. Hospitalizations for the disease, as well as those in intensive care or on ventilators due to the novel coronavirus, also ticked up Tuesday compared to Monday’s numbers.

With loud applause, and a sense of optimism not felt by some for months, the first vaccines against the novel coronavirus were administered in Cedar Rapids Tuesday.

Health care professionals and other front-line workers received some of the first doses of the newly approved COVID-19 vaccine in Eastern Iowa this week after shipments arrived at UnityPoint Health-St. Luke’s Hospital and Mercy Medical Center early Tuesday morning. These were the same Pfizer and BioNTech developed vaccines administered at the University of Iowa Hospital on Monday.

In other good COVID-19 news, another vaccine created by drugmaker Moderna was deemed both safe and highly effective against the disease by the FDA on Tuesday, clearing the way for a similar limited use approval later this week. The FDA has also approved the first COVID-19 test that can be purchased over the counter and completed entirely at home. This test, developed by Ellume, will be available in January.

Finally, a 9th BIg Ten football game for the Iowa Hawkeyes that was scheduled for this coming Saturday night to help extend a season abbreviated by the pandemic was canceled due to continuing COVID-19 infection problems on the University of Michigan football team. The game is one of several canceled this weekend due to the virus.

The Whirlpool Corporation has sold its manufacturing plant in Middle Amana for $92.7 million. The sale of the facility is not expected to affect employment, operations or products. At least, not right away.

Benton Harbor, Mich.-based Whirlpool sold the Iowa plant on Oct. 26 to Wramia001, a Chicago-based limited liability company, according to the Iowa County Assessor’s website. The company plans to sign a long-term lease for the plant — which dates back to 1940 — rather than continuing to own it.

The Middle Amana plant assembles French door, bottom freezer and built-in refrigeration products under the Amana, JennAir, KitchenAid, Maytag and Whirlpool brands.

The Cedar Rapids City Council on Tuesday backed a North Dakota company’s request to redevelop an old McGrath dealership into new commercial and residential space. KC Land Holdings LLC’s proposal calls for a $17 million investment to redevelop 4001 First Ave. SE by demolishing three commercial buildings, building two new ones and constructing a 104-unit multifamily building. The site formerly was a McGrath Ford and Hyundai dealership, and most recently served as home to the Iowa Derecho Resource Center before it moved.

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 Tuesday, December 15th.

Your Tuesday will be a cold and cloudy day. According to the National Weather Service it will be mostly cloudy, with a high near 26 degrees in the Cedar Rapids area. The low will be 17 degrees Tuesday night, with the sky growing cloudier.

It is a slow start, but vaccination for the COVID-19 novel coronavirus began in Iowa Monday. On Monday morning, David Conway, an emergency room nurse at University of Iowa Hospital, was the first in Iowa to be inoculated with the Pfizer vaccine that was approved for limited use by the FDA late last week. It was one of 975 doses of the vaccine the hospital received this week, with more to come on a weekly basis as the vaccine is distributed nationally.

University of Iowa Healthcare was one of the test sites for the Pfizer vaccine, and the research university also provided some of the foundation for the development of this type of vaccine before COVID-19 even made its appearance in the United States. The emergency use allowance of the vaccine is limited for now to frontline healthcare workers and is expected to spread in the coming months to other essential public spaces with high risk patients, such as jails and nursing home facilities. FDA approval of a second COVID-19 vaccine made by Moderna could come as early as this week.

The positive news on the vaccine front unfortunately will not help people already dealing with the virus, as well as most of those vulnerable to it this winter, so efforts such as wearing a mask in public, frequent hand washing, and social distancing will remain critical to saving lives. On Monday the state of Iowa reported 65 more deaths from COVID-19, bringing the state’s death toll from the virus to 3,269 so far. Hospitalizations across the state saw a slight increase in the past 24 hours, rising from 749 to 764, while the number of patients being treated in intensive care units dropped from 170 to 160. The number of patients requiring ventilators to help them breathe also dropped from 99 to 86.

As the virus continues to spread more rapidly in other parts of the country, the death toll nationally has passed 300,000 people this year.

Although Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds welcomed news of the vaccine on Monday, she had some bad news for her part of the government to report as well. The governor’s office announced that it will be returning $21 million to Iowa’s Coronavirus Relief Fund after it was ruled that it misspent those funds on improving computer infrastructure for state departments. Gov. Reynolds had insisted the funds were appropriately used despite the contract with the company Workday already being in the works before the virus even arrived. The United States Treasury Department denied the governor’s appeal of the decision.

Gov. Reynolds has indicated that the state will continue with its contract with Workday and fund it through alternate means.

Finally, after much sound and fury, the results of the November election were made official by state electors Monday, rewarding Joe Biden 306 electoral votes, defeating incumbent president Donald Trump, who had 232. As expected, Iowa contributed its 6 electoral votes to President Trump after he won the state handily. The president has been loudly disputing the legitimacy of the election since his loss on election night.

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).

Shipments of the COVID-19 vaccines begin. The Iowa Democratic Party blames the national party for problems with February's caucuses. Cedar Rapids' Kennedy High School reopens to students next month. And Iowa State and Iowa move up in the football rankings.

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Here’s your weekend update for Dec. 12-13, 2020:

A winter weather advisory remains in effect until 6 p.m. Saturday for much of eastern Iowa, including Linn County. Cedar Rapids could see 3 to 5 inches of snow and wind gusts up to 30 miles per hour, according to the National Weather Service. It will be mostly sunny Sunday, with a high temperature in the low 30s both days.

https://www.thegazette.com/subject/news/health/us-allows-emergency-covid-19-vaccine-in-bid-to-end-pandemic-20201211 (The U.S. gave the final go-ahead Friday to the nation’s first COVID-19 vaccine), marking what could be the beginning of the end of an outbreak that has killed nearly 300,000 Americans. Shots for health workers and nursing home residents are expected to begin in the coming days after the Food and Drug Administration authorized an emergency rollout of what promises to be a strongly protective vaccine from Pfizer Inc. and its German partner BioNTech. University of Iowa Health Care released a statement Friday night saying the first does could arrive in Iowa as soon as early next week.

Over the course of this unparalleled fall semester that forced Iowa’s public universities to tread a fine line between fostering a welcoming college environment and keeping their campuses safe in a pandemic, https://www.thegazette.com/subject/news/education/iowa-college-students-covid-infractions-discipline-20201211 (Iowa State University placed 27 students on deferred suspension for COVID-19 infractions). The University of Iowa, which wrapped its last day of classes Friday, on the semester issued 620 warnings, reprimands, or terms of probation for COVID-related violations — like failure to social distance, wear a mask, follow guest policy guidance, and quarantine or isolate. The UI disciplinary response to confirmed violations ranged from written warning to reprimand, requiring an official record be kept with the Office of Student Accountability. The next step in severity was probation.

State revenue forecasters expect slow, modest economic growth and uncertainty due to issues surrounding the COVID-19 pandemic and gridlock over federal relief, https://www.thegazette.com/subject/news/government/iowa-panel-bumps-up-state-revenue-expectations-20201211 (but they hold out hope Gov. Kim Reynolds and legislators will have about $266 million more money to spend next fiscal year). Members of the Iowa Revenue Estimating Conference on Friday revised upward their current fiscal year projection by about $65 million to nearly $7.97 billion, and set a 3.7 percent growth rate for the upcoming fiscal 2022 budgeting year that would total almost $8.27 billion in tax collections.

https://www.thegazette.com/subject/news/education/iowa-city-school-district-hybrid-learning-20201211 (Iowa City schools are returning to hybrid learning Monday), even though it received a state waiver Friday afternoon to continue with online-only learning. In an email to families Friday, interim Superintendent Matt Degner said that due to late notice and the current positivity rate in the community, the district will transition back to hybrid learning next week. The matrix guiding the district specifies it will consider online-only learning if Johnson County’s 14-day COVID-19 positivity rate is 10 percent or higher. On Friday afternoon, that 14-day rate was 11.3 percent.

The annual Cy-Hawk men’s basketball game was a mismatch. https://www.thegazette.com/subject/sports/luka-garza-blisters-cyclones-in-second-half-iowa-wins-105-77-20201211 (Third-ranked Iowa rolled to a 105-77 win over Iowa State Friday night to improve to 5-0). It was the most points the Hawkeyes have ever scored against the Cyclones and the largest margin of...

This is Stephen Colbert with the Gazette Digital News Desk and this is your update for Friday, December 11th, 2020.

Today’s going to be rainy and windy, with gust as high as 30 mph and a high of 39, but it could get cold enough for some snow, just don’t expect any accumulation. It should stay rainy throughout the night with a low of 34.

Coronavirus vaccines to arrive as early as next week in Linn County

https://www.thegazette.com/subject/news/health/coronavirus-vaccines-to-arrive-as-early-as-next-week-in-linn-county-20201210 (https://www.thegazette.com/subject/news/health/coronavirus-vaccines-to-arrive-as-early-as-next-week-in-linn-county-20201210)

The first coronavirus vaccines are expected to arrive in Linn County as early as next week, with health care workers and residents of long-term care facilities receiving the first doses. Linn County Public Health is working with Mercy Medical Center and UnityPoint Health to “ensure that the safe and effective vaccines reach Linn County residents as quickly and equitably as possible,” according to a joint statement from the three entities.

The vaccine arrives as coronavirus cases surpass 250,000 in the state, but hospitalizations are steadily falling, so combined with vaccine news, Iowans are surely encouraged. https://www.thegazette.com/subject/news/health/covid-19-cases-in-iowa-surpasses-250000-99-additional-deaths-also-reported-20201210 (https://www.thegazette.com/subject/news/health/covid-19-cases-in-iowa-surpasses-250000-99-additional-deaths-also-reported-20201210)

Due to lack of business during the shutdowns Iowa restaurants and bars are expected to lose $1.45 billion

https://www.thegazette.com/subject/news/business/iowa-restaurant-association-bars-state-federal-relief-covid-reynolds-20201210

According to a study by the state and national restaurant groups, 41 percent of Iowa respondents said it was unlikely they would be in business six months from now without additional relief packages from the state or federal governments.

The Iowa association represents some 6,000 restaurants and bars as well as other hospitality and entertainment venues that serve food and beverages.

The study also found that 88 percent of respondents anticipated an even greater drop in sales during the next three months.

As expected, President-elect Joe Biden has picked Tom Vilsack as agriculture secretary

https://www.thegazette.com/subject/news/government/president-elect-joe-biden-picks-tom-vilsack-as-ag-secretary-20201210

Allies of Ohio Rep. Marcia Fudge made no secret of their desire for her to lead the department, given its oversight many of her longterm priorities such as of food stamps and other programs meant to address food insecurity. Instead, Biden went with Vilsack, a longtime friend and advocate for Democrats paying more attention to rural America.

A transition official said Vilsack and Fudge spoke Wednesday to lay the groundwork for cooperation between their two agencies on those and other initiatives.

Gov. Reynolds: Iowa would have backed Texas-led challenge to presidential election but was not asked

https://www.thegazette.com/subject/news/gov-reynolds-iowa-would-have-backed-texas-led-challenge-to-presidential-election-but-was-not-asked-20201210

Meanwhile, Iowa Attorney General Tom Miller, a Democrat, says he would have joined a separate amicus brief by another group of states in support of the results in Pennsylvania, Michigan, Wisconsin, and Georgia, but Iowa’s Republican governor declined to let him do so under an agreement reached last year between the two elected officials.

At issue are motions filed Wednesday by President Donald Trump and 17 Republican attorneys general that supported what has been viewed as a long-shot legal effort to persuade the U.S. Supreme Court to overturn election results.

On today's podcast: Gov. Kim Reynolds extends a COVID-19 emergency proclamation that imposes some mask requirements. She also indicated she will push for a law that requires all Iowa school districts offer students an option for 100 percent in-person instruction. University of Iowa's health care system is preparing to distribute vaccines as early as next week. And UnityPoint Health will increase its minimum wage to $15 per hour.

This is Stephen Colbert with the Gazette Digital News Desk and this is your update for Wednesday, December 9th, 2020.

Today’s going to be a bit warmer than we’ve seen for a while, with a high of 52 and sunny skies. But it’ll drop to around 28 tonight and stay cold again throughout the week.

Iowa surpasses 2,900 COVID-19 deaths after a state reporting change

https://www.thegazette.com/subject/news/health/iowa-coronavirus-deaths-covid-19-cases-change-in-death-reporting-20201208

On Monday night, Interim Director of the Iowa Department of Public Health Kelly Garcia announced the state will begin logging COVID-19 deaths according to federal cause-of-death coding, which is based on the death record completed by a health care provider

Until now, deaths have only been logged as COVID-19 if there is a positive COVID test on file. Now deaths only need to be deemed as COVID-19 by a physician and a positive test is no longer required. As a result, 198 additional deaths have been logged, bringing the total past 2,900.

Iowa teachers and police are among the next in line for the COVID-19 vaccine

https://www.thegazette.com/subject/news/health/iowa-vaccine-distribution-who-gets-covid-19-vaccine-first-second-20201208

Iowa health care workers and staff and residents at long-term care facilities are first up in Iowa’s state plan for vaccine distribution. The second wave includes teachers, emergency and law enforcement, Iowans who live in assisted living facilities, and adults with medical conditions that make them more susceptible to COVID-19.

Iowa expects to receive 172,000 doses of COVID-19 vaccines in December from Pfizer and Moderna, with the first batches tentatively expected next week.

Governor Reynolds cautions Iowans that, while more people will become eligible through each wave of deployment, the future supply isn’t yet certain, so it’s hard to project how long it’ll take to roll out each wave.

Iowa City schools plan for hybrid learning next week, but still apply for another virtual waiver

https://www.thegazette.com/subject/news/education/iowa-city-schools-covid-19-virtual-waiver-hybrid-learning-20201208

The Iowa City Community School District is planning on returning to hybrid learning Monday while also applying for another temporary virtual learning waiver for Dec. 14-18.

The Iowa City school board is following its COVID-19 decision matrix, which was approved earlier this year to help guide these decisions during the coronavirus pandemic.

The matrix states that the district will consider online-only learning of the county 14-day positivity rate is 10 percent or higher.

On Tuesday, Johnson County’s 14-day positivity rate was 11.3 percent, steadily trending down from all-time high positivity rates in November.

School officials are hopeful that it could drop below 10 percent by Monday, however, they are also wary of a spike in cases after the Thanksgiving holiday less than two weeks ago.

Tom Vilsack will return as USDA secretary

https://www.thegazette.com/subject/news/government/biden-tom-vilsack-iowa-governor-usda-secretary-20201208

Former Iowa Gov. Tom Vilsack will reprise his role as U.S. agriculture secretary as a member of President-elect Joe Biden’s Cabinet, several news organizations including Axios and the Associated Press reported Tuesday night, citing unnamed sources.

Vilsack, about to turn 70. was elected to two terms as Iowa governor between 1999 and 2007 and later spent eight years as head of the U.S. Department of Agriculture during the Obama administration.

For days, Vilsack was said to be in the running for the position along with Ohio U.S. Rep. Marcia Fudge and former North Dakota Sen. Heidi Heitkamp, among others.

But Biden will name Fudge instead to become secretary of Housing and Urban Development, also a Cabinet-level position.

The state of Iowa is modifying the way it records COVID-19 deaths. Child immunizations are down over 20 percent in Iowa this year. Iowa wrestling legend Dan Gable is awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom.

This is John McGlothlen with the Gazette digital news desk and I’m here with your update for Monday, December 7th.

The weather today will be mostly cloudy, with a high near 39. Winds from the north around 5 mph becoming calm this morning. Then tonight, partly cloudy, with a low around 26.

Days before Gov. Kim Reynolds’ latest emergency health order is set to expire, Iowa’s COVID-19 death rate and new hospitalizations declined Sunday from recent records but still are far higher than at the peak of last summer’s surge. According to state public health data, Iowa confirmed 17 more COVID-19 deaths Sunday morning, bringing the total number of Iowans known to have died from the disease to 2,682 in less than nine months. While that daily toll is far less than the record highs confirmed in recent days, Iowa has added 307 virus deaths in the last seven days alone.

In college football... after falling behind 14-0 Saturday, the Iowa Hawkeyes scored the next 35 points and earned their fifth-straight win this season and seventh consecutive victory over Illinois, 35-21. The Hawkeyes improved to 5-2 while the Illini dropped to 2-4. Iowa got to 14-13 by halftime and took the lead for good on its first drive of the second half, capped by Spencer Petras' 4-yard touchdown pass to Ihmir Smith-Marsette. Petras finished 18 of 28 for 220 yards and three touchdowns. Smith-Marsette added 44 yards rushing and a touchdown in the fourth quarter.

The Cyclones secured first place in Big 12 Conference football Saturday, with a 42-6 win over the West Virginia Mountaineers. Brock Purdy didn’t throw an off-target pass and was 20 of 23 for 247 yards and three touchdowns. Running back Breece Hall added 153 yards.