DES MOINES, IA (IRN) – Dr. Caitlin Pedati, the State’s Medical Director and Epidemiologist, is leaving the Iowa Department of Public Health in late October. She has served in the role since 2018 and was an important part of the state’s response to the coronavirus pandemic. Dr. Pedati would speak and answer questions regularly during the early parts of the pandemic when Gov. Kim Reynolds would give daily press briefings. Dr. Pedati “plans to pursue new career opportunities.”

CEDAR RAPIDS, IA (IRN) – The Mount Mercy University community in Cedar Rapids is mourning a student who passed away due to complications from COVID-19 on Monday. Ashley Hudson was an aspiring kindergarten teacher with dreams of becoming a Mount Mercy graduate. She was 21-years-old. A vigil in Hudson’s honor was held Tuesday evening.

DES MOINES, IA (IRN) – Police are investigating after a car crashed into the front of a sports bar in Des Moines Tuesday. Police responded to a crash at Woody’s Sports & Karaoke Bar. No injuries were reported, and one arrest was made.

CEDAR RAPIDS, IA (IRN) – The Iowa Department of Human Services said Iowa had the capacity to resettle 350 refugees from Afghanistan. But the federal government allocated nearly double that, 695 refugees, to Iowa on Tuesday.

CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa (KCRG) – Iowa’s longest-serving senator is in a strong position if he chooses to run for reelection, according to the latest Des Moines Register/Mediacom Iowa Poll. The poll shows that Republican Sen. Chuck Grassley, at age 88, leads former Democratic Representative Abby Finkenauer among likely voters in the 2022 midterm elections by 55% to 37%.