The Gazette Daily News Podcast

This is Stephen Schmidt from the Gazette digital news desk and I’m here with your news update for Wednesday, May 20th.

There should be a chance of drizzle through 7:00 a.m. Wednesday, but that should be the end of the rain for today. According to the National Weather Service, after that point, there should be a high of 66 degrees with cloudy skies for the rest of the day. There could be some moderate windiness, with windspeeds hovering in the 10-15 mph range.

Iowa saw another double digit day of COVID-19 deaths Tuesday, with another 12 people reported as dying from the novel coronavirus. This brings the death toll for the state to 367 over the past two months, with the single-day death total increasing to its highest average point in the past two weeks.

Still, Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds says that the overall numbers for the state seem to be positive, and signaled Tuesday that more business restrictions could be lifted.

During her daily briefing Tuesday at the state emergency operations center, Reynolds said Iowa Department of Public Health data shows a “dramatic” rise in testing over the past few weeks with the number of positive cases “trending down” and “the number of individuals testing negative is trending up.” Since May 1, the governor has eased restrictions on a number of businesses. Malls, hair salons, restaurants and gyms are among the businesses allowed to open under limits on their capacity and requirements for social distancing and sanitation.

Other businesses await word on when they will become part of the move to reopen the state’s economy. Currently, under the governor’s emergency order, all bars, indoor theaters, casinos and gaming facilities, senior citizen centers and adult day care facilities, bingo halls, bowling alleys, pool halls, arcades, amusement parks, museums, aquariums, zoos, indoor or outdoor roller or ice skating rinks and skate parks, playgrounds, swimming pools and spas, wading pools, waterslides, wave pools, spray pads and bath houses are closed statewide until 11:59 p.m. May 27.

Do you have questions about the city of Cedar Rapids' response to the coronavirus? Cedar Rapids City Manager Jeff Pomeranz will join The Gazette Executive Editor Zack Kucharski in a live chat Wednesday at 2 p.m. The live chat will focus on the city's current and long-term response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

A third man has been accused of murder in the shooting death of Kejuan Winters.

Iowa City police said Tuesday that Patrick Bland, 32, of Rockford, Ill., was arrested Monday in Minneapolis. He is awaiting extradition to Johnson County, where he will face one count of first-degree murder.

Police were called to 1960 Broadway St. at 9:55 a.m. April 20 for a report of a shooting. Officers found Winters, 21, of Iowa City, suffering from multiple gunshot wounds. He died inside the apartment.

Also arrested and charged for this shooting were 22-year-old Durojaiye Rosa of Iowa City and 44-year-old Reginald Little. Rosa has told police that the purpose had been to rob Winters, adding that the original intent was not to kill him. Rosa was arrested at the scene of the shooting, and he gave them a description of the shooter afterward. Little was arrested by police in Lubbock County, Texas.

This incident spiraled into a further attempted murder charge for https://www.thegazette.com/subject/news/public-safety/tyris-winters-peoria-coralville-attempted-murder-shooting-20200421 (Tyris Winters, 41, of Peoria, Ill.,) and https://www.thegazette.com/subject/news/public-safety/tony-watkins-arrested-coralville-attempted-murder-20200422 (Tony Watkins, 39, of Iowa City) later on the night of April 20. The two men were arrested after confronting another man in Coralville about the killing, shooting him in the head and foot. Tyris Winters is the father of Kejuan.

This is Stephen Colbert from the Gazette Digital News Desk and I’m here with your update for Tuesday, May 19th, 2020.

There’s a 20 percent chance of showers today before 2pm.The high will be near 64. It’ll stay cloudy into the night with a low of 55.

The number of coronavirus cases in Iowa rose today to 14,955 total cases and is now in 97 of Iowa’s 99 counties. The number of statewide deaths attributed to coronavirus has risen to 355

Two young patients with a rare inflammatory syndrome linked to coronavirus in children are being treated in a Cedar Rapids hospital. Pediatric Multisystem Inflammatory Syndrome, or PMIS, it is a rare, potentially deadly syndrome that has appeared in recent weeks among hundreds of children across the country who have been diagnosed with the novel coronavirus.

More severe cases may require admission to a pediatric hospital or intensive care unit for management of low blood pressure and other complications. Symptoms include: persistent fever, conjunctivitis (or pink eye), rash, enlarged lymph nodes, swollen hands or feet, abdominal pain without explanation, vomiting and/or diarrhea. Officials ask families and their children to continue practicing social distancing, frequent hand-washing and taking other steps to prevent an infection of COVID-19.

Remember that Tysons plant where a bunch of workers got coronavirus? It turns out safety regulators declined to inspect them after receiving a complaint alleging workers were exposed to the coronavirus in crowded conditions. Nine days after getting the complaint, an Iowa OSHA official called Tyson and sent a letter the same day requesting a response within a week, records show.

The plant manager responded in a letter that said the plant was installing partitions to separate workers on the production line and supplying face masks because of the difficulties of social distancing. The letter didn’t mention the mass testing of employees or the week-long plant closure as they waited for results and the matter was closed the same day.

A host of civic organizations and businesses has debuted an initiative its members hope will help their community post-pandemic.

The Better Together Network was announced by the Iowa City Area Business Partnership, Iowa City Area Development Group, Think Iowa City and the Iowa City Downtown District.

Kate Moreland, CEO of ICAD, cited the need for cooperation in a news release Friday.

“This is a critical time to come together, be proactive and look to the future,” Moreland said. “As we have seen over the past eight weeks of working more collaboratively among just our four organizations, we have been able to accelerate the manner in which we get information and resources to our community.”

You can find all this and the rest of our coronavirus coverage at our dedicated coronavirus page, TheGazette.com/coronavirus.

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That’s it for today’s update. Be sure to subscribe to The Gazette Daily news podcast, or just tell your Amazon Alexa to “enable The Gazette Daily News skill" so you can get your daily briefing by simply saying “Alexa, what’s the news?"

This is Stephen Colbert from the Gazette Digital News Desk and I’m here with your update for Monday, May 18th, 2020.

Today’s weather will be cloudy with a 40% chance of showers and a high near 58. Temperatures will dip to around 52 tonight.

The rest of the week sees some clouds but lots of sun as temperatures yo-yo back and forth from the 50s to the 70s leading to a chance of thunderstorms going into the weekend.

Over the weekend, the number of coronavirus cases in Iowa rose to 14,651 total cases and is now in 97 of Iowa’s 99 counties. The number of statewide deaths attributed to coronavirus has risen to 351.

Saturday sees lowest number of new coronavirus cases in Iowa for the week, but included in those numbers was an unfortunate outbreak at a long-term care facility, Wapello Specialty Care in Louisa County, for a total of 36 long-term care facility outbreaks.

Iowa rebuilds PPE stockpile after deals with unusual sources. In three contracts worth $7.2 million, the state agreed to purchase 1 million isolation gowns and 100,000 clear plastic goggles through Competitive Edge Inc., a Des Moines business that has never sold either. The company supplies promotional items like T-shirts, and has long been a go-to vendor for Republican campaigns buying yard and barn signs.

The governor said Friday the state has started to receive orders that were placed in March, allowing its inventory to be rebuilt. “Our stockpile is in a good place right now,” Reynolds said.

Is it safe to venture out? We spoke with 3 health experts about the newly reduced restrictions in Iowa

They said there’s 3 things to consider for every business you visit. Whether they would be indoors or outdoors (Outdoors is obviously safer), can employees and customers stay at least 6 feet apart, and how much time the outing would entail (with the less time spent the better)?

They also said before you enter a business to do a basic check to note things such as whether staff members are wearing masks and employees are staying at least 6 feet from one another. For the full list of recommendations, check it out on TheGazette.com

You can find all this and the rest of our coronavirus coverage at our dedicated coronavirus page, TheGazette.com/coronavirus

Thousands graduated from University of Iowa over the weekend via an online ceremony. Ashton Kutcher showed up via a surprise pre-recorded message for students, fittingly telling them “Plan on weird (expletive) happening,” He said “Right now, I’m in quarantine in California. You don’t have a graduation. The world’s gonna throw curve balls. It’s just gonna happen that way. So plan on it happening. Plan on surprises — including who and what you become. Plan on testing new waters and taking risks. Plan on meeting new people — including those you disagree with — without trying to convince them that they’re wrong so that you can be right.”

After spending the second half of their final semester in online classes and graduating in an online ceremony, they’re already well on their way to living out Kutcher’s message.

"Are you looking for a job? 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 CorridorCareers.com."

That’s it for today’s update. Be sure to subscribe to The Gazette Daily news podcast, or just tell your Amazon Alexa to “enable The Gazette Daily News skill" so you can get your daily briefing by simply saying “Alexa, what’s the news?"

This is Stephen Schmidt from the Gazette digital news desk and I’m here with your news update for the weekend of May 16th and 17th.

The summary for this weekend’s weather? Stretches of mostly cloudy, sometimes warm, weather followed by stretches of rain. Repeat.

According to the National Weather Service, Saturday will start off mostly cloudy and warm, with a high near 74 degrees in the Cedar Rapids area. Then there will be a slight chance of rain Saturday after 4:00 p.m. followed by a good chance of heavy rain and thunderstorms after 10:00 p.m.

The chance for rain will continue into Sunday morning until 8:00 a.m., when it will revert back to being mostly cloudy. This time it should be cooler and windier, with a high of 66 degrees and heavy wind gusts. There will be a mild chance of rain that will scale back upward as the day turns into evening, with the potential for more thunderstorms. After the rain Sunday night it will return, once again, to mostly cloudy skies.

Several businesses, including restaurants and gyms, reopened with social distancing restrictions still in place across the state of Iowa Friday, and due to the long incubation period of COVID-19 and the fact that many who are infected with it only present mild symptoms, it will take us until June to truly figure out whether all this was a good idea or not. In documents revealed Friday, researchershttps://www.thegazette.com/subject/news/health/university-of-iowa-researchers-project-hundreds-more-coronavirus-deaths-20200515 ( with the University of Iowa predicted in a report dated May 4th that there would have been hundreds) of more deaths in the state through the end of May even if the restrictions put in place by Gov. Kim Reynolds in April had remained in place. They also argued that easing restrictions now and in the near future could prove to make things even worse.

For her part, Gov. Reynolds insisted Friday that she is operating based on several downward trends throughout the state, and that increased testing will allow the state’s healthcare system to keep the problem in front of it. She also warned that not reopening the state would have a “social cost,” including high unemployment, rising domestic abuse and food insecurity.

The state Friday confirmed 18 additional deaths from the disease, again hitting one of the highest daily death totals so far. However, in potentially promising news, hospitalizations for the coronavirus appear to be plateauing in the past week and a half.

What will happen next? We will see. In the meantime, stay safe out there.

For this reason, wash your hands often, maintain a six foot distance from others where possible, and consider wearing a mask when you go out and are going to be interacting with people. If you want info on what types of masks to wear and how to wear them, do a web search on the topics CDC, COVID-19, and masks. I will add https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/prevent-getting-sick/diy-cloth-face-coverings.html (a link about masks) in the write up of this briefing that you can find on https://www.thegazette.com/ (thegazette.com) as always.

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 daily news update for Friday, May 15.

Were you looking from a combination of that warmer weather from Thursday while also getting a break from rain? Well Friday looks to be the ticket for you. According to the National Weather Service, Friday morning could start a bit foggy in the Cedar Rapids area, but after that, a cloudy sky will begin to turn into a mostly cloudy sky with a high of 72 degrees. Rain will probably return on Saturday, so if you have ideas for activities that require being outside and dry at the same time, get to it on Friday.

Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds expressed confidence Thursday in Iowa’s ability to “manage and contain” the COVID-19 epidemic now that Test Iowa equipment has been validated, enabling health officials to “ramp up” processing 5,000 tests a day in a targeted strategy to reopen more businesses beginning Friday. During her daily briefing, Reynolds acknowledged there have been problems associated with the state’s $26 million testing initiative with Utah tech company Nomi Health, but she expressed confidence the program has turned the corner and more and better results are ahead.

Because of this potentially improved testing and recent positive trends with the virus statewide, Reynolds said she believed Iowa’s 22 counties hardest hit by the disease, which also happen to be the state’s most populated and urban counties, were ready to begin reopening businesses such as restaurants and gyms starting Friday. She said she believes the pandemic will not overwhelm Iowa’s health care system, and could be managed provided that Iowans observe social distancing guidelines, practice good hygiene, wear masks where appropriate, and stay home when ill.

Iowa continued to have its worst weeks when it comes to deaths from COVID-19, with another 13 deaths reported Thursday.

This may go without saying, but staying inside all this time hasn’t made you invulnerable, and that goes doubly or triply for the people with compromised immune systems you might run into. For this reason, wash your hands often, maintain a six foot distance from others where possible, and consider wearing a mask when you go out and are going to be interacting with people. If you want info on what types of masks to wear and how to wear them, do a web search on the topics CDC, COVID-19, and masks. I will add https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/prevent-getting-sick/diy-cloth-face-coverings.html (a link about masks) in the write up of this briefing that you can find on https://www.thegazette.com/ (thegazette.com). Stay safe out there.

The U.S. Marshals service is asking for the public’s assistance in locating a fugitive who is wanted on homicide and weapons charges in Michigan. Franky Joseph Ackley, 24, was last known to be living in Cedar Rapids. The charges stem from a March 6 incident in Jackson, Mich. Ackley is 6-foot-1 and weighs about 145 pounds. He has brown hair and brown eyes, a cleft lip and a tattoo on his left hand.

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 daily news update for Thursday, May 14.

Your Thursday weather will be a lot like your Wednesday weather... Just a little warmer. According to the National Weather Service, rain in the early morning will give way to cloudy skies and a high of 73 degrees in the Cedar Rapids area. Then, rain will return again, most likely between 4 and 10 p.m., with more thunderstorms possible.

Declaring that new coronavirus cases are declining in most counties and hospitals are well equipped, Gov. Kim Reynolds announced Wednesday that businesses such as hair salons and gyms across the state — as well as restaurants in the hardest-hit counties — can reopen starting Friday, but still must adhere to restrictions meant to keep COVID-19 in check. The latest order in Reynolds’ phased-in approach of reopening Iowa businesses now matches restrictions in 22 counties that include Cedar Rapids and Iowa City with previously relaxed restrictions in the state’s other 77 counties.

Bars, casinos, movie theaters, amusement parks, swimming pools, and playgrounds, among other venues, must remain closed at least through May 27, according to the governor’s order.

Reynolds made the announcement on a day when the number of deaths in Iowa related to COVID-19 continued to climb. The state Public Health Department Wednesday confirmed 17 new virus-related deaths, making this the deadliest seven-day stretch since the virus first was confirmed March 8 in Iowa. The state has averaged 12.4 deaths over the past seven days.

Iowa Senator Chuck Grassley predicted Wednesday that Congress would eventually pass a Phase 4 recovery act aimed at helping the nation recover economically from shutting down business in order to slow down the coronavirus. However, he said he would like to see more of what happens with the previous stimulus effort before supporting additional funding. Grassley’s sentiment echoes that shared by the Republican majority of the Senate, which is pushing back against Democrats in the House who are lobbying for another aide package at a faster clip.

State Department of Transportation officials have unveiled a nearly $3.6 billion five-year transportation plan that includes more than $2 billion to modernize Iowa’s highway system and enhance safety features. The bulk of the money is being directed toward improving the state’s interstate highway system and its many aging bridges.

The proposed five-year program includes more than $1.1 billion for Iowa bridges. According to DOT staff, the number of bridges listed in poor condition on the state highway system has been reduced from 256 in 2006 to 39 in 2019.

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 daily news update for Wednesday, May 13.

It should start out clear Wednesday morning, but that won’t last long. According to the National Weather Service there will be a high of 61 degrees in the Cedar Rapids area. A chance for showers after 4:00 p.m. will become a chance for thundershowers as the night goes on. This will lead into a chance of periodic rain on Thursday, Friday, and potentially even the weekend.

As for your COVID-19 update, it was another day of mixed news. After indicating on Monday that she might announce the lifting of more restrictions in Iowa’s 22 counties most heavily affected by the disease, Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds decided to wait until at least Wednesday for that. Reynolds continues to talk positively about easing more restrictions soon based on trends she and her staff have seen in state metrics, after having eased restrictions in phases over the past few weeks. At the same time, Iowa’s death toll from the virus Tuesday was the second highest for a single day at 18. The number of positive cases announced was lower than some days last week, but still stayed around the recent daily average, with 539 more Iowans testing positive. So far, 289 Iowans have died from the virus, while 385 Iowans are currently hospitalized and attempting to recover.

Even after the state begins to reopen, the after effects of the virus response will continue to be felt. After the University of Iowa vowed in March to keep employees whole through the end of the semester — despite its sweeping response that largely shut down the campus and cost it millions of dollars — administrators Monday warned of potential changes in “future staffing needs.” Those changes could include reassignment for staffers to new positions. Others could be asked to use paid vacation leave or take unpaid leave. Iowa’s other public universities — Iowa State University and the University of Northern Iowa — also have suffered deep financial hurt from COVID-19 and took steps to mitigate the impact. In April, for example, ISU President Wendy Wintersteen asked all campus units to impose a 5 percent budget cut for the upcoming fiscal year and plan for another one in fiscal 2022.

A Cedar Rapids man, who started a fight with Chris Bagley and held him down while another man stabbed him to death, will plead next month for his part in the deadly assault.

Drew Wagner, 34, charged with first-degree murder, abuse of a corpse and obstruction of prosecution, will plead June 22 in Linn County District Court, according to a court document filed Tuesday. The fight is believed to have begun after Bagley robbed the person at the head of a local marijuana trafficking outfit named Andrew Shaw. Shaw is currently in federal prison on drug and weapons charges but has not been legally implicated in the murder. The man accused of stabbing Bagley, 33-year-old Drew Blahnik, may attempt to move his trial out of Linn County.

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 Colbert from the Gazette Digital News Desk and I’m here with your update for Monday, May 12th, 2020.

Today’s weather is starting with another frost, but after that, it’s going to be a bright and sunny day with a high near 62. Tonight, the temperature will drop to around 44, and starting tomorrow the rest of the week has chances of rain and thunder storms.

Over the weekend, the number of coronavirus cases in Iowa rose to 414 to 12,373 total cases in 93 of Iowa’s 99 counties. The number of statewide deaths attributed to coronavirus has risen by 6 to 271.

Today Kim Reynolds, who’s operating in modified quarantine, is expected to ease more coronavirus related restrictions accross the state. During Monday’s briefing she said she’s impressed with progress so far, saying “We can continue, I think, to lessen the restrictions and open up our state and start to begin in a very thoughtful, safe and purposeful way to continue to reopen our economy.”

UnityPoint Health hospitals have a new policy to test all patients for coronavirus. Previously, at risk patients who were showing symptoms got priority, but now all patients will be tested, even if they’re there for non-coronavirus reasons. This is especially important as hospitals are getting more traffic now thanks to the ban on elective procedures being lifted.

After reports of an uptick in COVID-19 cases, Postville kosher meat plant tested more than 400 employees.The test happened on May 5th, but so far no results have been revealed.

Citing a worldwide downturn in part due to the COVID-19 pandemic, officials of Raytheon, the parent company of Collins Aerospace, Cedar Rapids’ largest employer, said more furloughs could be on the way. No number for how many employees are expected to be impacted have been revealed.

You can find all this and the rest of our coronavirus coverage at our dedicated coronavirus page, TheGazette.com/coronavirus

An unsealed search warrant reveals more details of the grisly attack on Chris Bagley in 2018. The initial information of Bagley’s fatal stabbing over drug robberies was revealed during a hearing last year, but the March 2019 search warrant obtained by The Gazette on yesterday gives a better indication as to why prosecutors asked a grand jury to review the case before charging three men last year. The full details can be seen at TheGazette.com.

"Are you looking for a job? 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 CorridorCareers.com."

That’s it for today’s update. Be sure to subscribe to The Gazette Daily news podcast, or just tell your Amazon Alexa to “enable The Gazette Daily News skill" so you can get your daily briefing by simply saying “Alexa, what’s the news?"

This is Stephen Colbert from the Gazette Digital News Desk and I’m here with your update for Monday, May 11th, 2020.

Today’s weather is starting with a frost, but otherwise the day will be mostly sunny, with a high near 55. Tonight, cloudy, with a low around 36.

The rest of this week is going to see a couple more days of frost followed by rain and thunderstorms which will keep up into next week.

Over the weekend, the number of coronavirus cases in Iowa rose to 11,959 total cases and is now in 93 of Iowa’s 99 counties. The number of statewide deaths attributed to coronavirus has risen to 265.

Some good news, Iowa saw its first back to back decrease in hospitalizations over the weekend. On Saturday, 402 people were hospitalized with the coronavirus, down five from the previous day, and down 15 from its current peak of 417 on Thursday.

Governor Kim Reynolds is considering self isolation after encountering Vice President Mike Pence’s press secretary Katie Miller during a White house visit last Wednesday. Miller has since tested positive for coronavirus Dr. Caitlin Pedati, director of the Iowa Department of Public Health, already has decided to self-isolate.

With Iowa opening back up, some Iowans are turning to camping and fishing and maintaining social distancing as they do it. In fact, Registered nurse Donald Summers has turned to camping at the Palisades-Kepler State Park in Mount Vernon as a way to continue social isolation from his own family. Summers started this isolation on March 29 due to the nature of his work at the Meth-Wick senior living facility in Cedar Rapids.

You can find all this and the rest of our coronavirus coverage at our dedicated coronavirus page, TheGazette.com/coronavirus

"Are you looking for a job? Corridor Careers dot 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 CorridorCareers.com."

That’s it for today’s update. Be sure to subscribe to The Gazette Daily news podcast, or just tell your Amazon Alexa to “enable The Gazette Daily News skill" so you can get your daily briefing by simply saying “Alexa, what’s the news?"

This is Stephen Schmidt from the Gazette digital news desk and I’m here with your Mother’s Day weekend news update.

If you wake up early enough Saturday, you may be greeted by a white layer of frost outside. According to the National Weather Service, temperatures were set to drop just below freezing in the early morning hours on Saturday. Besides this, Saturday’s weather during the day looks to be pretty nice, with sunny skies and a high of 62 degrees in the Cedar Rapids area. This won’t last long, though, as a chance for rain late Saturday night could carry over into a rainy and cloudy Sunday morning. A high of 53 degrees is expected Sunday, with mostly cloudy skies and a brisk wind.

In a sign of the times, about 12,000 students from the state’s public universities are celebrating their graduations virtually this weekend after other plans were derailed by COVID-19. ISU and the University of Iowa are attempting some form of socially-distanced livestreamed convocation with countdown clocks and virtual confetti. All three campuses, including the University of Northern Iowa, which did not try a virtual ceremony, have posted online recorded messages, videos and slides acknowledging individual graduates.

Speaking of COVID-19, Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds welcomed Vice President Mike Pence to the state Friday. Pence was visiting to speak with members of the food industry and religious leaders in the state. The visit was delayed briefly after it was discovered that a member of his staff had tested positive for coronavirus.

Some social distancing restrictions were lifted on Friday in Iowa, including the partial opening of malls and campgrounds even in the state’s counties most affected by the coronavirus. Gov. Reynolds said she made this decision partially due to a $26 million deal with a Utah company called Nomi Health to expand Iowa testing by 540,000 units, kicking off a Test Iowa mobile testing initiative.

However, more than 20 days after Iowa signed the contract to expand testing in the state, the machines the firm supplied to run the samples still have not received a passing grade from the State Hygienic Lab. The validation process is done to determine if the machines are processing tests accurately. To this point, the lab has processed the samples gathered by the Test Iowa effort using machines the state already had before the contract, officials told The Gazette. A time frame for completing the validation process for the Test Iowa machines is unknown.

A man suspected of https://www.thegazette.com/subject/news/public-safety/2-wounded-in-workplace-violence-shooting-incident-at-sw-cedar-rapids-business-20200409 (a workplace shooting last month at a vinyl window manufacturer in southwest Cedar Rapids) turned himself into authorities Friday. Jamal Devonte Edwards, 26, has been wanted since two men were shot at Associated Materials, 3801 Beverly Rd. SW, the morning of April 9. Both men survived the incident.

Edwards turned himself in to the police department in Mobile, AL, after photos distributed by the U.S. Marshals found their way to his father, who then drove Edwards to the station.