IF LEGISLATORS GET BACK TO DES MOINES NEXT MONTH AS PLANNED, THEY WON’T HAVE MUCH TIME TO WRAP UP THEIR BUSINESSES BEFORE THE NEW FISCAL YEAR BEGINS ON JULY FIRST. THEY ALSO MIGHT NOT HAVE ALL THE INFORMATION THEY WOULD WANT TO MAKE BUDGET DECISIONS. IOWA HOUSE SPEAKER PAT GRASSLEY WAS A GUEST LAST WEEK DURING KXEL LIVE AND LOCAL. HE SPOKE ABOUT WHAT LEGISLATORS HOPE TO LEARN FROM REVENUE ESTIMATES. GRASSLEY REPRESENTS GRUNDY COUNTY AND PARTS OF BUTLER AND HARDIN COUNTIES. HEAR THE FULL INTERVIEW AT KXEL.COM.
LATE LAST WEEK, THE IOWA SUPREME COURT CHOSE NOT TO TAKE UP A CHALLENGE TO RECENT CHANGES TO THE STATE’S PROCESS FOR NOMINATING JUDGES. THE IOWA COURT OF APPEALS HAD ALREADY DECIDED LAST YEAR THAT THE PARTIES WHO HAD FILED THE ORIGINAL CASE DID NOT HAVE STANDING TO SUE. THE CHALLENGE ORIGINATED FROM LEGISLATIVE CHANGES TO THE 17-MEMBER JUDICIAL NOMINATING COMMISSION, WHICH HAD GIVEN GOVERNOR KIM REYNOLDS THE CHANCE TO NAME A MAJORITY OF THE COMMISSION’S MEMBERS.
WITH ISOLATED SHOWERS IN THE FORECAST, FITNESS ENTHUSIASTS WILL HAVE OPPORTUNITIES TO WORK OUT INDOORS AGAIN. YMCA LOCATIONS IN CEDAR RAPIDS AND MARION ARE BACK OPEN TODAY. THE CEDAR VALLEY SPORTSPLEX AND CEDAR FALLS RECREATION AND FITNESS CENTER ARE ALSO BACK IN OPERATION. DUE TO SOCIAL DISTANCING, SOME EQUIPMENT WILL NOT BE IN USE AND HOURS OF OPERATION WILL BE LIMITED.
LATE LAST MONTH, UNIVERSITY OF IOWA RESEARCHERS PRIVATELY WARNED THAT THE CORONAVIRUS WOULD CONTINUE SPREADING THROUGH THE STATE EVEN WITH THE SOCIAL DISTANCING LIMITATIONS THEN IN PLACE. IN A REPORT TO THE IOWA DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC HEALTH ON APRIL 27, THE HEALTH RESEARCHERS ALSO PREDICTED REOPENING THE STATE TOO SOON WOULD “RESULT IN A RAPID RISE OF CASES.” THEY ALSO SAID THAT IOWA’S SCHOOL AND BUSINESS CLOSURES HAD STRONGLY MITIGATED THE SPREAD OF INFECTION BUT NONETHELESS WERE NOT “SUFFICIENT TO PREVENT UNCONTAINED SPREAD.”
THE IOWA SMALL BUSINESS RELIEF FUND HAS BEEN ORGANIZED BY A VARIETY OF NON-PROFIT ENTITIES. THE FUND IS INTENDED TO SUPPORT BUSINESSES WITH ONE TO SEVEN EMPLOYEES WITH GRANTS OF 500 TO 3,500 DOLLARS. FORMER ENTREPRENEUER DIEDRE DEJEAR TALKED ABOUT OTHER FORMS OF SUPPORT THROUGH THE RELIEF FUND WHEN SHE WAS A GUEST DURING SUNDAY’S INSIGHT ON BUSINESS PROGRAM ON KXEL. RELIEF FUND ORGANIZERS SAY MANY MICRO SMALL BUSINESSES HAVE NOT BENEFITED FROM FEDERAL FUNDS.
THIS IS AMERICAN WETLANDS AWARENESS MONTH. IOWA LEARNING FARMS AND IOWA STATE UNIVERSITY ARE OFFERING A WEBINAR ABOUT THE IMPORTANCE OF WETLANDS FOR IMPROVED WATER QUALITY AND FLOOD CONTROL THIS WEDNESDAY AT NOON. APPROXIMATELY 90 PERCENT OF IOWA WETLAND HABITAT HAS DISAPPEARED IN THE LAST 200 YEARS. WEDNESDAY’S WEBINAR IS AVAILABLE LIVE VIA ZOOM MEETING OR BY PHONE. THE WEBINAR WILL ALSO BE ARCHIVED FOR LATER VIEWING AT THE IOWA LEARNING FARMS WEBSITE.
A MAN WHO DISAPPEARED IN THE DUBUQUE AREA LATE LAST YEAR HAS REAPPEARED, BUT NOT MUCH ELSE IS PUBLICLY KNOWN ABOUT HIS WHEREABOUTS OVER THE LAST EIGHT MONTHS. DAN GESSNER WENT MISSING AFTER THE EARLY MORNING HOURS OF OCTOBER 21ST AFTER BEING IN EAST DUBUQUE. A SEARCH COMMENCED, WHICH INCLUDED FIRE DEPARTMENTS AND OTHER AUTHORITIES IN BOTH IOWA AND ILLINOIS SEARCHING THE MISSISSIPPI RIVER AND ADJOINING WATERWAYS. AUTHORITIES DID NOT IMMEDIATELY PROVIDE OTHER DETAILS ABOUT GESSNER IN THEIR ANNOUNCEMENT THAT HE HAD BEEN FOUND.
FEDERAL AUTHORITIES ARE SENDING THE UNIVERSITY OF NORTHERN IOWA MORE THAN 7.6 MILLION DOLLARS THROUGH THE CARES ACT. THAT REPRESENTS ALMOST A QUARTER OF THE MONEY SENT TO THE REGENTS UNIVERSITIES FOR CORONAVIRUS RELIEF. 3.8 MILLION WILL BE PROVIDED TO UNI STUDENTS, WHILE THE OTHER HALF OF THE MONEY WILL HELP COVER OPERATING EXPENSES. THE STUDENT GRANTS WILL BE AWARDED BASED ON INFORMATION PROVIDED ON FAFSA FORMS. UNI OFFICIALS SAY FUTURE RELIEF PROGRAMS AND FALL ENROLLMENT WILL DETERMINE HOW THE SCHOOL ADJUSTS ITS BUDGET.
THE WATERLOO CENTER FOR THE ARTS IS RAISING MONEY TO MAKE UP FOR A SHORTFALL IN REVENUES DUE TO ITS COVID-19 CLOSER. SPOKESMAN CRAIG LAUE DESCRIBED NEW T-SHIRTS WHEN HE WAS A GUEST ON KXEL LIVE AND LOCAL RECENTLY. THOSE INTERESTED IN HELPING THE CENTER FOR THE ARTS BY PURCHASING A SHIRT CAN DO SO BY PLACING AN ORDER BEFORE JUNE 4TH.
