The Gazette Daily News Podcast

Good morning! This is Katie Brumbeloe with The Gazette digital news desk, and here’s your daily update for Tuesday, Oct. 20.

Winter still is two months away on the calendar, https://www.thegazette.com/subject/news/flurry-in-a-hurry-first-snow-this-season-arrives-in-iowa-20201019 (but snow arrived Monday morning in Iowa in a hurry.)

Within just a few hours, the National Weather Service reported 9 inches in Polk City near Des Moines and 5 inches in northeast Cedar Rapids. A little farther south, the reported snowfall was less — like 2 inches in North Liberty.

But the snow won’t stick around for long. The forecast calls for chances of rain today with a high of 48 and increasingly warmer temperatures through Thursday — where the forecast predicts a short-lived high in the 70s.

Winter does not arrive — at least not on the calendar — until Dec. 21.

Iowa reported its second-highest number of COVID-19 hospitalizations in a 24-hour period Monday as the total number of positive cases nears 108,000.

According to data from Iowa Department of Public Health, https://www.thegazette.com/subject/news/health/iowa-coronavirus-cases-covid-19-hospitalizations-20201019 (480 COVID-19 patients were hospitalized as of 11 a.m. Monday), marking the second-highest number of hospitalizations seen in a 24-hour period in the state since the beginning of the pandemic.

The highest number of hospitalizations in a 24-hour period was 482, recorded just five days earlier on Oct. 14.

Iowa added 523 new COVID-19 cases, bringing the state’s total to 107,580. There were also eight new deaths statewide, bringing the statewide death toll to 1,536.

The state auditor and federal inspectors have determined https://www.thegazette.com/subject/news/government/iowa-coronavirus-money-workday-computer-system-federal-aid-20201019 (Gov. Kim Reynolds’ decision to use $20 million of coronavirus relief money for a new computer system was “not allowable”) and could result in Iowa losing the money if it’s not shifted this year.

If the funds are not redeployed, they will have to be repaid to the federal government, State Auditor Rob Sand wrote in an Oct. 16 letter to the Iowa Department of Management.

In July, Reynolds announced she had transferred $91 million of Iowa’s $1.25 billion from the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security, or CARES Act, to the Office of the Chief Information Officer for technology upgrades. Included in this was $20.1 million to replace the state’s budget, accounting and human resources computer system with a cloud-computing system by a vendor called Workday.

Richard Delmar, deputy Inspector General for thehttps://home.treasury.gov/ ( U.S. Department of the Treasury), also wrote a letter to the Iowa Department of Management on Oct. 16, echoing the state auditor’s findings, saying the upgrades are not necessary to address the public health emergency and were already planned before the COVID-19 pandemic outbreak.

The University of Iowa Athletic Department has spent more than $230,000 since June putting about 180 COVID-19-positive student-athletes up in hotel rooms and paying for their food.

The total includes $192,713 on 1,665 nights in an undisclosed Iowa City area hotel between June 1 and Sept. 30, according to data the Athletics Department provided after a Gazette request.

The UI paid another $40,983 on per diem payments for student-athlete food while they were in hotel isolation.

UI Housing and Dining has made 250 to 300 residence hall rooms across campus available for students to use for quarantine and isolation. But Andy Peterson, a UI pediatrician and head team physician, said the Athletic Department decided to have most student-athletes stay in the hotel because they live off campus with other student-athletes.

Female athletes pushing for the University of Iowa to reinstate the recently cut women’s swimming and diving program have expanded their demands in an amended Title IX complaint,...

This is John McGlothlen with the Gazette digital news desk and I’m here with your update for Monday, October 19th.

For the Cedar Rapids area weather today, there's a chance of rain and snow before noon, then a chance of rain between noon and 2 pm, and then a chance of rain and snow again after 2 pm. It will be mostly cloudy, with a high near 40 and northeast winds around 5 mph. For Monday night, a low around 31.

Eight former University of Iowa football players are https://www.thegazette.com/subject/sports/hawkeyes/iowa-football/former-hawkeye-football-players-threaten-lawsuit-demand-20-million-firing-of-gary-barta-kirk-and-brian-ferentz-20201018 (demanding monetary compensation) from the school and the firing of Hawkeyes head coach Kirk Ferentz, offensive coordinator Brian Ferentz and athletics director Gary Barta for intentional race discrimination. The Daily Iowan and Des Moines Register reported the eight former players, all Black, are being represented by Tulsa, Okla., civil rights attorney Damario Solomon-Simmons, who sent a registered letter Oct. 5th to Barta, the Ferentzes and UI President Bruce Harreld with the demands, adding a lawsuit would be filed if the demands were not met by today.

A man needed to have an eye removed following an assault in Cedar Rapids two months ago. According to a Linn County criminal complaint, the victim reported to Cedar Rapids police that 23-year-old Levar Turner assaulted him by repeatedly striking him in the face, causing unconsciousness and serious injuries at Turner's home in the 2300 block of B Avenue NE. https://www.thegazette.com/subject/news/public-safety/levar-turner-willful-serious-injury-assault-cedar-rapids-eye-20201018 (The victim lost vision in his right eye, which eventually had to be removed) as a result of the assault. Turner has been charged with willful injury causing serious injury, a Class C felony punishable by up to 10 years in prison.

No single thunderstorm event in modern times — not even a tornado — has wrought as much economic devastation as the Aug. 10th derecho that slammed Eastern Iowa and other parts of the Corn Belt, according to both public and private analyses. The storm complex, blamed for four deaths, hit Cedar Rapids particularly hard, cutting power to almost the entire city of 133,000 people and damaging a wide array of businesses and homes. In an October update to its database of billion-dollar weather disasters, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration estimated damages from the derecho, which raced from Iowa to Indiana, https://www.thegazette.com/subject/news/nation-and-world/analysis-iowa-derecho-costliest-us-thunderstorm-disaster-in-2020-even-beating-several-hurricanes-20201017 (at $7.5 billion). This includes agricultural impacts that still are being analyzed, so the total may be revised.

This is Stephen Schmidt from the Gazette digital news desk and I’m here with your update for the weekend of October 17 and October 18.

Your up and down weather forecast for this weekend will be very autumnal in character. According to the National Weather Service, after a windy and cloudy start to the day Saturday in the Cedar Rapids area it should warm up to a high near 67 as the skies clear. Watch out for high windspeeds, with winds as high as 25-30 mph gusting as high as 45 mph as the day goes on.

Then, the temperature will drop back down again, with a 40 percent chance for rain Saturday evening into Sunday morning before 10 a.m. Then, Sunday, the wind will calm to 5 to 10 mph, but it will be cloudy and much colder, with a high near 48 degrees.

Warnings that confirmation of Judge Amy Coney Barrett will spell the end of Obamacare and legal abortion are “smears” by partisans wishing a Democratic president and Senate could fill the Supreme Court vacancy with a more liberal justice, according to Sen. Joni Ernst, R-Iowa.

Ernst, who observed derecho damage at a Cedar Rapids farm Friday afternoon, rejected suggestions by Democrats that the confirmation process should be delayed until after the Nov. 3 election. Ernst argued that Barrett’s judicial career to this point indicates to her that she will be able to rule fairly.

The Supreme Court is set to hear a case involving the Affordable Care Act the week after the election. Democrats, including Ernst’s challenger, Democrat Theresa Greenfield, say Barrett’s criticism of previous rulings on the law suggest she would rule against it. If all goes to plan, Barrett will likely be voted for confirmation by the full senate on the week of Oct. 26.

On the same day that Iowa reported its third-highest number of positive COVID-19 cases, Gov. Kim Reynolds on Friday signed a new proclamation extending Iowa’s public health disaster emergency for another 30 days.

Across the state, 1,384 new virus cases were reported in the 24-hour period that ended at 11 a.m. Friday, according to data from the Iowa Department of Public Health. Iowa now has 104,606 cases.

With 6,766 test results in the 24-hour period, the state’s positivity rate is 20.46 percent. Additionally, 16 deaths were reported, bringing the state’s death toll to 1,521.

In support of its diversity goals, land history and Native American neighbors to the south, the University of Northern Iowa is partnering with the Meskwaki Nation to create new scholarships, revive a summer program for Meskwaki youth and craft a “land stewardship statement.”

The statement will acknowledge the UNI campus in Cedar Falls sits on traditional Meskwaki homeland; it will recognize past and present tribal connections to the property; and it will “outline a set of principles for environmental and mission stewardship that honor the legacy of native and Indigenous heritage.”

Among its first steps, UNI — once called Iowa State Teachers College and still known for its teacher-training expertise — is directing faculty and staff to establish a professional development program for language and culture teachers at the Meskwaki Settlement School near Tama.

This is Stephen Schmidt from the Gazette digital news desk and I’m here with your update for Oct. 16th.

It’s time for our first weather forecast of the fall to include the word snow. According to the National Weather Service in the Quad Cities, there will be a slight chance for rain and snow showers before 9:00 a.m. Friday in the Cedar Rapids area, with this shifting to a slight chance for rain showers an hour later. In any case, the snow will not persist, as the high temperature is predicted to be 56 degrees with mostly sunny skies. It will get progressively windier during the day, with wind gusts as high as 30 mph, but the low temperature is also predicted to be a bit higher than the previous day, at 40 degrees.

City officials expect the cost to fix damage from the Aug. 10 derecho’s hurricane-force winds will range from $60 million to $80 million — not including the cost to replenish the city’s lost tree canopy.

While much of the city’s costs will be covered through the federal and state governments, City Council members on Thursday contemplated how to balance maintaining the city’s long-term financial health against storm recovery and other pressing initiatives.

City Finance Director Casey Drew told the council’s Finance and Administrative Services Committee on Thursday that the city will be on the hook for about 15 percent of the costs eligible for reimbursement by the Federal Emergency Management Agency, amounting to $9 million minimum. Right of way debris pickup likely will cost $30 million, of which the city would pay $4.5 million, he said.

The University of Iowa will have to rethink its long and pricey struggle to find someone to lead its diversity efforts.

The campus said Thursday its search for someone to take the six-figure position is ending “after several candidates either withdrew or indicated they would likely withdraw in the wake of President Bruce Harreld’s retirement announcement.”

The UI statement was not clear on when or if the campus will resume looking for a new associate vice president for diversity, equity and inclusion — a job that has seen rampant turnover since Georgina Dodge left the post in 2017.

COVID-19 hospitalizations in Iowa are at a new all-time high for the third consecutive day following a week of previous record highs.

Across the state, 482 individuals were hospitalized as of 11 a.m. on Thursday according to data analyzed by The Gazette, up from 473 on Wednesday. ICU patients went up from 106 to 107 and the number of patients on ventilators increased from 46 to 49.

With an additional 10 deaths as of Thursday morning, over 1,500 Iowans have died due to the virus as the state total number of deaths is now 1,505.

Iowa also reported 1,356 positive cases came out of 6,684 tested Thursday, making for a positivity rate of 20.29 percent.

This is Stephen Schmidt from the Gazette digital news desk and I’m here with your update for Oct. 15th.

And then, the cold arrived. According to the National Weather Service, it will be sunny in Cedar Rapids on Thursday but much colder than the day before, with a predicted high of 54 degrees. It will also remain quite breezy, with a windspeed of 15-20 mph gusting as high as 30 mph. The low for Thursday night will drop to 32 degrees, with the wind at least settling down a bit, to 5 to 10 mph.

Dan Gable, a lifelong Iowan and an incredibly popular amateur wrestling icon as a competitor and coach, is being awarded the https://www.whitehouse.gov/medaloffreedom/ (Presidential Medal of Freedom), the nation’s highest civilian honor.

President Donald Trump’s office sent a letter to Gable via email Tuesday night to inform him of the honor. There is no date set for Gable to get the honor, the first ever given to a wrestler. Coaches and athletes from nine other sports have received it. The medal has gone to citizens in many walks of life, from the arts to science to politics to journalism.

President Trump was in Iowa on Wednesday holding a rally at the Des Moines Airport. In the closing weeks before the election, Trump has been polling neck and neck with former vice president Joe Biden in Iowa, a state he can’t afford to lose if he wants to replicate his previous path to victory. Gable was also on stage with the president Wednesday night, declaring Trump is “already a one-time champion, but because he’s open for learning and he’s already very competent, that he’s going to be a multi-champion president of the United States of America.”

Trump, speaking to thousands of supporters, touted his policies on ethanol and aid to farmers he has championed, whether in response to financial hits from multiple disasters or to help lessen the pain caused by the trade war between the United States and China, one of Iowa’s largest customers in the world for soybean crops and other agriculture exports.

The large public rally also came as Iowa’s COVID-19 cases continue to rise. Nearly 1,500 Iowans have died from COVID-19 since March, when the coronavirus first appeared in the state. Hospitalizations from the disease rose from 463 to 473 — yet another new high for the state.

The state also added 1,178 new cases, bringing the total of Iowans who tested positive to 101,866. The state’s seven-day rolling average is 1,073 new cases per day, one of the highest rolling seven-day averages recorded since late August. Iowa’s highest rolling seven-day average was 1,177, recorded Aug. 31.

Of the 5,406 test results reported in the 24-hour period, 1,178 came back positive, while 4,228 gave negative or inconclusive results, making for a positivity rate of 21.79 percent. That’s the highest positivity rate since Aug. 27, when antigen tests were added to the state’s tallies.

The Cedar Rapids Police Department announced Wednesday that the body of a woman officers had been searching for had been found in a Hiawatha park.

The body of Sharon Hangartner, 54, was found just before 4 p.m. Wednesday in a wooded area north of Clark Park. Cedar Rapids police said that Hiawatha public safety personnel who had been assisting with the search found the body. Hangartner was reported missing and was last seen in the early morning hours on Sunday between midnight and 7 a.m. in the 6200 block of Windy Meadow Lane NE in Cedar Rapids.

The Cedar Rapids Police Department confirmed the body was Hangartner’s, and notified her family. Hangartner will be transported to the Iowa Office of the State Medical Examiner for an autopsy.

While there is still an investigation ongoing, police said that based on current information, there is no ongoing threat to the public related to this incident.

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

Wednesday will be the last pleasantly warm day of the week before a sudden drop. According to the National Weather Service, it will be partly sunny in the Cedar Rapids area with a high of 78 degrees. You will get some wind with your sun, with a windspeed of 15-25 mph gusting as high as 40 mph. On Wednesday night it will be mostly cloudy, with a low around 44 degrees, while remaining windy.

After a week of increasing numbers, the number of Iowans hospitalized with COVID-19 is still higher than it’s ever been. On Tuesday as of 11 a.m., 463 people across the state were in the hospital due to the virus according to data analyzed by The Gazette. The amount of ICU patients increased from 109 to 114 in the 24-hour period as well. So did the number of patients on ventilators from 39 to 44.

In some good news, Mayor Brad Hart, one of several Iowa mayors who has required people to wear masks to curb the spread of COVID-19, said Tuesday he has recovered after contracting the virus in September.

Hart said he received a positive COVID-19 test result Sept. 23 and is not aware of how or where he contracted the virus. He said it is “highly likely” that his wife, who tested positive for the virus Sept. 27, contracted COVID-19 from him.

University communities are also showing some positive recent news. Even as police responded to reports of parties and other health emergency violations over the weekend, COVID-19 numbers at the University of Iowa have remained relatively low after spiking to among the worst on campuses nationwide.

The UI on Monday reported 16 new cases among students and employees since Friday, bringing the campus total to 2,116 since Aug. 18. This after topping 1,000 cases in the first two weeks of students returning to school.

Iowa State University, which reports new case numbers once a week, added 49 new cases between Oct. 5 and Sunday, bringing its campus total to 1,809 since Aug. 1.

State budget forecasters are estimating that Iowa will bring in about $319 million more in revenue for next year despite economic challenges from the coronavirus pandemic and a sagging farm economy.

The estimate for the upcoming year would equate to 4 percent revenue growth, giving the state about $8.23 billion to spend, according to the Revenue Estimating Conference, a three-person panel that provides guidance for the governor and Legislature.

In a 5-2 tally, the Marion Independent School District board of education voted Monday night to change the school’s mascot, dropping its current moniker as the “Indians” effective July 31, 2021. School officials said the transition from now to next July gives the district time for rebranding. All officials interviewed by The Gazette said they would prefer to keep the current color scheme.

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This is Nathan Ford with the Gazette digital news desk and I’m here with your update for Tuesday, Oct. 13.

It will be sunny in Cedar Rapids today with a high near 70, according to the National Weather Service. Wind gusts could reach 25 miles per hour.

https://www.thegazette.com/subject/news/health/a-grim-new-pandemic-milestone-for-iowa-as-the-state-exceeds-100000-positive-covid-19-cases-20201012 (More than 100,000 Iowans have now tested positive for COVID-19 since the start of the pandemic in March). That’s roughly 3 percent of the state’s population. Iowa reported 438 new cases in the 24-hour period ending 11 a.m. Monday, bringing the state’s total number of confirmed COVID-19 cases to 100,058. The state’s 24-hour positivity rate yesterday was 20.23 percent. Seven new deaths in five counties were also reported Monday, including three in Woodbury County. Delaware, Dubuque, Linn and Wapello counties reported one death each. The state has now lost 1,467 people to the coronavirus.

https://www.thegazette.com/subject/news/government/iowa-drunken-driving-coronavirus-pandemic-20201012 (Liquor sales surged at the beginning of the pandemic, but Iowans apparently are choosing to do their drinking while staying at home — and not getting behind the wheel). According to data from Criminal and Juvenile Justice Planning, a division within the Iowa Department of Human Rights, drunken driving cases have dropped off significantly this year. The report shows there were 6,559 drunken driving charges between March 15 and Sept. 12 last year. During that same period this year, there were 4,383 — a 33 percent drop. That jibes with a 21 percent decrease in vehicle traffic across Iowa during that time, according to the Iowa Department of Transportation. The drop off in drunken driving arrests was particularly dramatic in Iowa City. Data shows 298 arrests from March 15 to Sept. 12, 2019, but only 71 from that same period this year.

If you’ve spent any time outside the past couple weeks, you’ve probably had some run-ins with tiny black and white bugs that pack a shockingly painful bite given their minuscule size. They’re commonly called minute pirate bugs or insidious flower bugs and they are a common biting pest that plague those living in the eastern half of the United States every fall, according to Dr. Donald Lewis, a Professor and Extension Entomologist with Iowa State University’s Department of Entomology. Lewis said minute pirate bugs are “coldblooded predators.” Their summer is spent beneficially by sucking eggs of other insects dry. But, come fall, it’s the pirate bugs that become the pests. What you feel is actually not even a bite at all. Instead, the bug is actually probing into your skin, testing to see if you’re a food source. Unfortunately bug repellant won’t deter them. According to Dr. Lewis, your best defense is covering exposed skin and wearing darker colors. But don’t worry, once temperatures cool down, pirate bugs walk the plank.

This is John McGlothlen with the Gazette digital news desk and I’m here with your update for Monday, October 12th.

Showers and thunderstorms are likely today in the Cedar Rapids area, mainly before 9 a.m. Then mostly cloudy through mid-morning, followed by a gradual clearing, with a high near 67. Also breezy, with a northwest wind 15 to 20 mph, with gusts as high as 30 mph. Monday night should be mostly clear, with a low around 49.

Iowa's reported deaths related to the novel coronavirus https://www.thegazette.com/subject/news/health/coronavirus-tests-numbers-deaths-record-number-20201010 (rose to 21 for a 24-hour time period) as of 11 a.m. Saturday, according to the Iowa Department of Public Health. Those numbers are the third-highest since the state began to track the virus. The highest was 25 for May 22nd, and the second-highest was 23 on Sept. 4th.

Iowa State University is beginning random testing of select students for COVID-19 and https://www.thegazette.com/subject/news/education/university-iowa-students-random-coronavirus-testing-20201010 (rewarding them via gift card for compliance). Undergraduate, graduate, and professional students will be randomly chosen for asymptomatic testing via email or text message that will include instructions on when to come to Johnny’s in Hilton Coliseum to comply. The proactive testing makes ISU the only of Iowa’s three public universities to take that route — as University of Iowa and University of Northern Iowa are only offering testing for symptomatic students, faculty, and staff or those who have had close contact with a positive case.

Eighty motorcyclists and more nonriders came out to Metro Can-Am in Cedar Rapids to join Iowa Republican Senator Joni Ernst for her https://www.thegazette.com/subject/news/senator-joni-ernst-motorcyle-ride-across-iowa-20201011 (Ride Across Iowa). Ernst’s pandemic version of her annual Roast and Ride political rally and hog roast was a two-day “rolling rally” across the state to raise funds for the http://www.puppyjakefoundation.org/ (Puppy Jake Foundation), an Iowa-based nonprofit that provides veterans with professionally trained service dogs, and the https://www.gcrcf.org/derecho-disaster-recovery (Greater Cedar Rapids Community Foundation’s Derecho Disaster Recovery), which was established to provide direct relief to victims of the hurricane-force August storm.

President Donald Trump will be making an appearance in Iowa this Wednesday after his infection with COVID-19 caused a temporary stop to his campaigning, including his rallies. The Trump Campaign announced Saturday that President https://www.thegazette.com/subject/news/government/president-trump-to-make-des-moines-appearance-wednesday-20201010 (Trump will be holding a campaign event in Des Moines on Wednesday). The Make America Great Again Rally is set for 6 p.m. at the Des Moines International Airport.

This is Stephen Schmidt from the Gazette digital news desk and I’m here with your update for the weekend of Oct. 10th and Oct. 11th.

This weekend will feature some weather to take advantage of, before colder times to come. According to the National Weather Service, on Saturday there will be sunny skies and a high of 74 degrees in the Cedar Rapids area. Saturday night the temperature will drop to a low of 55 degrees. On Sunday there will be a high back up to 80 degrees. Sunday night will feature a chance of thunderstorms that will linger into Monday, with a low of 58 degrees.

Next week, in general, is forecasted to drop back down into the 60s as the week goes on. For you fall foliage enthusiasts, the next two weeks should be prime time for taking in fall color. In fact, northeast Iowa is peaking right now according to the Iowa Department of Natural Resources if you fancy a daytrip.

In a continuation of a troubling trend, more than 200 Mercy Medical Center employees will be placed on furloughs or leave in the near future as the Cedar Rapids hospital — and other health systems nationwide — face financial consequences from the COVID-19 pandemic.

Forty-eight employees will be temporarily furloughed, including 30 who face “partial” furloughs with fewer hours. An additional 157 staffers and those in leadership positions will be required to take either paid or unpaid leave.

The news comes the same week that Mercy Iowa City announced it will be laying off 29 employees due to COVID-19.

For the third day in a row, Iowa topped its highest number of COVID-19 hospitalizations, according to data from the Iowa Department of Public Health.

In the past 24 hours, the number of COVID-19 hospitalizations climbed by 12, setting a new record at 461 patients. Thursday the state reported 449 hospitalizations eclipsing the record of 444 set the day before.

While hospitalizations continue to rise, the number of ICU patients dropped from 112 to 104 and the number of patients on ventilators dipped from 39 to 38.

Eligible households “at risk of disconnection” from an electric, natural gas or water utility could receive up to $2,000 for their bills through the Residential Utility Disruption Prevention Program, Gov. Kim Reynolds announced Friday.

Iowans who experienced a loss of income because of the novel coronavirus pandemic, have their primary residence in Iowa, receive an annual income that is 80 percent of the median household income for the county and have an unpaid utility bill balance are eligible.

The program is part of the $14.5 million in federal funds Gov. Reynolds allocated in July for utility relief.

The Marion Police Department will soon have a crisis counselor embedded within the department.

During its Thursday night meeting, the Marion City Council voted unanimously to approve the agreement between the department and Foundation 2 Crisis Services for the law enforcement liaison. Foundation 2 is a nonprofit human services agency that offers mobile crisis services.

The crisis counselor will work with police officers on intervention regarding mental health-related calls to help with de-escalation and to assess where individuals should be referred for treatment and follow up services.

This is Stephen Schmidt from the Gazette digital news desk and I’m here with your update for Oct. 9.

Your Friday weather forecast still promises to feel like fall, but it will be warmer than recent weeks. According to the National Weather Service it will be mostly sunny in the Cedar Rapids area with a high near 83 degrees. It will also be breezy, with a south wind of 10 to 15 mph increasing to 15 to 20 mph in the afternoon, gusting as high as 35 mph. Friday night the wind will calm down a bit, and a low temperature of 59 degrees will go with mostly clear skies.

The number of Iowans hospitalized with COVID-19 set another record Thursday — at 449 — eclipsing the record of 444 set the day before. The state also reported its second-highest number of COVID-19 cases — 1,514 — in the 24 hours that ended at 11 a.m. Thursday, according to data collected by the Iowa Department of Public Health and analyzed by The Gazette. This surge of cases appears to be hitting rural counties in western Iowa, which have so far been spared many of the temporary restrictions on business placed by Gov. Kim Reynolds in other parts of the state. Fifteen Iowa counties, most of them in western Iowa, now have a 14-day positivity rate averaging more than 15 percent.

An Oct. 4 report from the White House coronavirus task force suggested that many of Iowa’s 1,433 COVID-19 deaths would have been preventable, especially with the wider use of masks indoors. Gov. Reynolds has resisted mask mandates, arguing they are unenforceable.

Students enrolled at two middle schools and two high schools damaged in the Aug. 10 derecho will be able to return to in-person learning in November.

The four schools — McKinley STEAM Academy, Franklin Middle School, Jefferson High and Washington High — are reopening Monday, Nov. 16, for students who have chosen in-person learning.

Since the first day of school Sept. 21, those students have been learning online while the buildings were repaired.

Repairs are still underway at Taft Middle School and Kennedy High School, where classes will continue to be online only. Taft is expected to reopen Dec. 14. Kennedy students should be able to return to in-person, hybrid classes — meaning some instruction will continue online — on Jan. 19.

University of Iowa administrators Thursday https://now.uiowa.edu/2020/10/message-regarding-executive-order-13950 (condemned an executive order) issued by President Donald Trump that has https://www.thegazette.com/subject/news/education/university-of-iowa-pausing-diversity-training-after-white-house-executive-order-20201005 (led them to pause all campus diversity and inclusion training) for fear the programming could risk federal funding.

The Gazette and others reported this week that the UI was putting the training on hiatus for two weeks while it reviews the programming to see if it violates Trump’s order barring training that involves race and sex “stereotyping” or “scapegoating” for federal workers, contractors and grant recipients. The ban appears to affect, among other things, implicit bias training that has become commonplace in private and public diversity efforts. Iowa’s public universities annually receive hundreds of thousands of dollars in federal research grants. The universities also annually have thousands of students on some form of federal financial aid. Iowa State University and the University of Northern Iowa have said they’re reviewing the matter, as has the Iowa Governor’s Office.

Some colleges and universities elsewhere have disavowed Trump’s order or decided to continue training and programming until receiving further guidance.