More violent protests happened across the U.S. over the holiday weekend. U.S. Sen. Joni Ernst told me last week that the Constitution allows and encourages peaceful protests…but not what we’ve seen in the country’s larger cities. You can hear the full conversation with Sen. Ernst from KXEL Live & Local last Thursday morning; it’s a podcast at kxel-dot-com.
A motorcycle rider was seriously hurt Saturday afternoon after going into the ditch. It happened just after 5 p.m. in the 4600 block of Urbana Road in Linn County. Officials say 61-year-old Jay Matthews of Walker was riding his cycle when he left the road. He was able to crawl to the shoulder to flag down help. Matthews was taken to Mercy Medical Center with serious injuries. The incident remains under investigation.
A Manchester teen has died after he jumped into Lake Delhi. First responders were called to the lake just before 7 o’clock Friday evening. Divers managed to find 17-year-old Teige Hunt in about 40-feet of water. Hunt was taken to Regional Medical Center in Manchester, then airlifted to University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics in Iowa City where he later died. Authorities are still investigating.
No new deaths were reported from the illness caused by COVID-19 in the 24-hour period ending yesterday. According to the Iowa Department of Public Health, 321 more cases of COVID-19 were reported in that 24-hour period, bringing the total since the pandemic began to 31,243…721 Iowans have died from the virus. The positive test rate over the weekend continues to be below 10 percent; only 7.7 percent of tests Saturday into Sunday were positive.
The national conversation on race has now turned to changing the names of U.S. military bases, ones that were named for military leaders who fought for slavery. The President has threatened to veto a military and veterans funding bill if it contains renaming provisions. But Republican U.S. Sen. Joni Ernst, herself a combat veteran, is not opposed to some name changes. You can hear my full interview with Sen. Ernst by going to the podcast page of kxel-dot-com.
A Cedar Rapids man was sent to the hospital after a fireworks incident in Marion Friday evening. Police say it happened near 62nd Street and Partners Avenue just after 6:30 p.m. They say 52-year-old Richard Powers was seriously hurt and was taken to a hospital by ambulance. Police say the investigation into the incident is ongoing.
Much of the national attention has been focused on COVID-19 and a discussion about racial justice; but investigations are continuing in Congress regarding wrongdoing at the FBI. U.S. Sen. Joni Ernst told me that work is important, and continues. The full interview with Sen. Ernst from last Thursday morning can be heard at kxel-dot-com.
The Cedar Falls Recreation and Fitness Center and The Falls Aquatic Center are both again open, this after employees at both facilities tested positive for COVID-19. The Recreation and Fitness Center reopened this morning to members. It wll be open Monday through Friday from 5 a.m. to 8 p.m. until July 17; the City plans to resume regular summer hours after that time. The Falls Aquatic Center reopened Saturday to season pass holders. The City says the facilities were deep-cleaned in accordance with CDC guidelines after they were closed when the employees’ positive tests were known last Tuesday.
Four people died and another person was injured in a fiery single-vehicle accident southwest of downtown Des Moines early Sunday morning. Police say it happened around 2:30 early Sunday morning on George Flagg Parkway near Water Works Park. The vehicle caught fire after the accident with five people inside. An officer responding to the scene was able to pull one person from the vehicle. Police did not immediately release any details about that person’s condition or the identities of the four people who died.
