New Iowa unemployment claims rose by nearly 3,000 from the previous week but the continuing claims decreased by more than 6,500 according to Iowa Workforce Development. The new numbers released Thursday represent claims filed through the end of last week. IWD says 10,698 initial claims were filed.
Full American Airlines service returned to the Waterloo Regional Airport earlier this week, after a lighter schedule due to COVID-19…and the schedule now includes an additional Saturday flight, plus a variety of times for a return trip to Waterloo in the evening. And as airport director of aviation Keith Kaspari told me yesterday on KXEL Live & Local, they’re taking additional steps to keep passengers safe. You can hear the full conversation by going to the podcast section of kxel-dot-com.
A Powerball ticket bought in Waterloo won a half-million dollar prize in Wednesday’s drawing. The ticket was purchased at the Guddi Mart at 306 Byron Avenue. The ticket matched four of the first five numbers and the Powerball to initially win a $50,000 prize. The person who bought the ticket also added the Power Play option and multiplied the prize to $500,000. The Waterloo ticket was one of three tickets in the country to win a $500,000 prize in Wednesday night’s drawing. The Guddi Mart will receive a $500 bonus from the Iowa Lottery for selling the winning ticket. The winner has one year to claim his or her prize.
The University of Northern Iowa athletics department announced Thursday it is implementing multiple cost-saving measures in response to a budget shortfall that is expected to exceed $1 million. UNI staff and coaches will take temporary salary reductions for fiscal year 2021. Additionally, all contract incentives for head coaches and athletics director David Harris have been suspended for the fiscal year. Salary reductions impact all employees making more than $41,000 annually. The reductions begin at 12.5% for the highest-paid employees to 5% on the lower levels. The UNI athletics department plans to soon release information on guidelines and protocols for fans attending games during the upcoming year.
The Big Ten Conference has cancelled all non-conference games for all sports teams in the fall 2020 season due to the COVID-19 pandemic. This does, of course, include football…and would mean planned games between the Hawkeyes and UNI, and the annual Cy-Hawk game with Iowa State, will not be played. The thinking is cancelling non-conference competitions would limit travel and help ensure better testing among players.
While the coronavirus has put the future of college sports up in the air, one sport that’s not struggling is Esports, or competitive video gaming. The Hawkeye Community College Esports team in Waterloo is planning to expand this year…expecting more than 50 players on their Esports team this upcoming season. One benefit about Esports is that they can compete against other colleges without ever seeing them because all games are played online. One reason why they are adding more players is because they are adding more video games. They want players to focus on playing one game.
Nearly 12-thousand people lost power as severe storms moved through the Cedar Valley Thursday afternoon. MidAmerican reported more than 7-thousand without power in the city of Waterloo alone. Cedar Falls Utilities reported more than 2,000 outages in its service area…Bremer County had nearly 900 customers without power for close to 90 minutes. Strong storms producing winds in excess 65 mph moved through the area early Thursday afternoon. Tree damage was reported in Black Hawk Park, just north of Cedar Falls, among other places.
The country continues to open up after the onset of the coronavirus pandemic…and that includes summer vacations and a return to air travel. A full schedule of American Airlines flights to and from Chicago returned to the Waterloo Regional Airport earlier this week. And airport director of aviation Keith Kaspari told me yesterday passenger traffic is picking up. You can hear the full conversation from yesterday’s KXEL Live & Local program by going to the podcast page of KXEL-dot-com.
A Bremer County daycare and preschool is closed through next week after one staff member and an elementary-aged child both tested positive for coronavirus last weekend. Kathy Bohlmann, administrator of Denver Early Elementary School and Discoveries Learning Center, sent a letter about the positive cases to parents last Saturday. Bohlmann said the Center would close for two weeks, reopening Monday, July 20. She noted to the parents that state rules do not require closing with this level of infection, but thought it best due to possible cross-contamination from siblings. The staff member who tested positive worked in the center’s 2-year-old classroom, while the child was in the second and third grade room. Parents will not be charged tuition during the shutdown.
