MASKS WILL REMAIN A REALITY IN WATERLOO FOR THE FORESEEABLE FUTURE. WATERLOO MAYOR QUENTIN HART REINFORCED THAT IN A STATEMENT RELEASED BY THE CITY ON THURSDAY. HART TOUTED THE COMMUNITY’S CONSISTENCY IN EFFORTS TO PREVENT VIRUS TRANSMISSION AS A REASON BLACK HAWK COUNTY HAS SEEN POSITIVE TRENDS IN RECENT WEEKS. HE SAID THAT CONFIRMS THAT THE CITY HAS BEEN TAKING THE RIGHT STEPS AND NEEDS TO REMAIN VIGILANT TO PREVENT NEW MUTATIONS OF THE VIRUS FROM SPREADING. WATERLOO HAS HAD A FACE COVERING MANDATE IN PUBLIC INDOOR SPACES SINCE AUGUST. LAST WEEK, GOVERNOR KIM REYNOLDS ROLLED BACK MANY STATE-LEVEL CORONAVIRUS PREVENTION RULES, CITING IOWA’S IMPROVED COVID-19 METRICS.
IOWA SENATOR JONI ERNST SAYS THE COVID-19 RELIEF EFFORT CURRENTLY UNDER CONGRESSIONAL CONSIDERATION IS FILLED WITH EXTRAS, AND DOESN’T BELIEVE IT’S WORTH THE PRICE. ERNST MADE THOSE REMARKS ON FOX’S AMERICA’S NEWSROOM PROGRAM. SHE WAS PARTICULARLY CRITICAL OF EFFORTS TO RAISE THE FEDERAL MINIMUM WAGE AS PART OF CORONAVIRUS LEGISLATION.
THE UNI AND IOWA FOOTBALL TEAMS WILL BOTH GO TO AMES IN SEPTEMBER. THE COMPLETE IOWA STATE FOOTBALL SCHEDULE WAS RELEASED THURSDAY, CONFIRMING THE PANTHER’S VISIT SEPTEMBER 4TH AND THE CY-HAWK GAME ON SEPTEMBER 11TH. THE CYCLONES WILL HOST BIG 12 CONFERENCE GAMES AGAINST BAYLOR, KANSAS, OKLAHOMA STATE, TEXAS, AND TCU IN THE FALL.
MARION FIREFIGHTERS SAY RESIDENTS WHO HAD PREVIOUSLY SNOW FROM AROUND A HYDRANT HELPED THEM SAVE A HOME ON THURSDAY. THE FIRE STARTED IN A GARAGE IN THE 2900 BLOCK OF BULLIS DRIVE; CREWS WERE ON THE SCENE BEFORE 2 O’CLOCK YESTERDAY AFTERNOON. THERE WERE NO INJURIES, ALTHOUGH SMOKE DAMAGE WAS REPORTED.
TWO-POINT-FOUR PERCENT LOOKS LIKE THE AMOUNT OF ADDITIONAL STATE SCHOOL SUPPORT WHICH LOCAL DISTRICTS CAN EXPECT THIS YEAR. HOUSE AND SENATE REPRESENTATIVES SEEMINGLY SETTLED ON THAT NUMBER THURSDAY IN AN INTER-CHAMBER CONFERENCE. AS A RESULT, IOWA WILL BE SPENDING OVER 72-HUNDRED DOLLARS PER K-THROUGH-12 STUDENT DURING THE 2022 FISCAL YEAR. THE IOWA SENATE WILL REVIEW THE COMPROMISE FIGURE BEFORE IT IS PASSED ON TO GOVERNOR KIM REYNOLDS.
A COLLEGE PRESIDENT IN EASTERN IOWA IS SUGGESTING THAT HEALTH OFFICIALS SHOULD REVISIT THE TIMELINE FOR VACCINATING DIFFERENT AGE GROUPS. JOHNATHAN BRAND OF CORNELL COLLEGE IN MT. VERNON ARGUES THAT THE FORTHCOMING ONE-SHOT JOHNSON AND JOHNSON COVID-19 VACCINE SHOULD BE GIVEN TO COLLEGE-AGE YOUNG ADULTS AND OTHERS UNDER 30. ALTHOUGH THE JOHNSON AND JOHNSON VACCINE ONLY REQUIRES ONE DOSE, CLINICAL TESTS SUGGEST IT IS LESS EFFECTIVE THAN TREATMENTS FROM OTHER MANUFACTURERS. BRAND ARGUES FOR RESERVING THE MORE EFFECTIVE VACCINES FOR GROUPS WITH HIGHER RISKS.
THE UNI WOMEN’S BASKETBALL TEAM PLAYS THE FIRST OF TWO WEEKEND GAMES IN PEORIA TONIGHT. KXEL’S PREGAME COVERAGE AHEAD OF THE PANTHER WOMEN’S GAME AGAINST THE BRADLEY BRAVES BEGINS AT 5:45.
THE UNIVERSITY OF NORTHERN IOWA HAS CONFIRMED THAT SPRING COMMENCEMENT WILL BE AN ONLINE-ONLY EVENT. UNI SHARED INITIAL DETAILS IN A BRIEF EMAIL TO STUDENTS ON THURSDAY. THE MESSAGE ENCOURAGED GRADUATING SENIOR TO EITHER PARTICIPATE IN THE VIRTUAL CEREMONY OR RETURN TO WALK IN A FUTURE IN-PERSON COMMENCEMENT, NOTING THAT THE DECISION WAS MADE FOR HEALTH AND SAFETY REASONS. UNI’S CLASS OF 2021 WILL GRADUATE ON MAY 8TH.
FEDERAL MINIMUM WAGE WOULD BE RAISED TO FIFTEEN DOLLARS AN HOUR AS PART OF THE AMERICAN RESCUE PLAN CURRENTLY BEING CONSIDERED BY CONGRESS. IOWA SENATOR JONI ERNST JOINED THE FOX “AMERICA’S NEWSROOM” PROGRAM TO VOICE HER RESERVATIONS ABOUT THAT PART OF THE CORONAVIRUS MEASURE. PRESIDENT JOE BIDEN HAS SAID THAT IF THE COVID BILL DOES NOT COME WITH A MINIMUM WAGE INCREASE, HE WOULD LIKE TO SEE IT IN SEPARATE LEGISLATION.
GOLFERS DID NOT PLAY AT JONES PARK IN CEDAR RAPIDS LAST YEAR AND IN NOVEMBER, THE CITY DECIDED TO REPURPOSE THE COURSE THERE. NOW CEDAR RAPIDS PARK OFFICIALS ARE HOPING FOR FEEDBACK ON HOW THE LAND SHOULD BE USED IN THE FUTURE. THROUGH MARCH 5TH, CEDAR RAPIDS PARKS AND RECREATION IS LOOKING FOR RESPONSES TO AN ELECTRONIC SURVEY ABOUT RESIDENT PRIORITIES.
THE WATERLOO BLACK HAWKS VISIT THE DUBUQUE FIGHTING SAINTS TONIGHT FOR A UNITED STATES HOCKEY LEAGUE GAME. DUBUQUE HAS WON THE FIRST FOUR MEETINGS BETWEEN THE TEAMS. PUCK DROP IS SCHEDULED FOR 7:05; THE HAWKS RETURN HOME TO PLAY AT YOUNG ARENA SATURDAY AND SUNDAY.
