CEDAR RAPIDS, IA (IRN) – As of 8 am Saturday, 12 days after the derecho, around 8,000 people in Iowa do not have power. Most of those customers are in Linn County with just over 7,000 people without power. IOWA CITY, IA (IRN) – Video posted to social media shows a vehicle driving through protesters in Iowa City on Friday night. No one was seriously hurt. Iowa City Police said they did not receive any calls regarding a vehicle driving into people. IOWA CITY, IA (IRN) – The University of Iowa announced Friday its plan to discontinue four sports programs at the end of the 2020-21 academic year. Those programs include men’s gymnastics, men’s and women’s swimming and diving, and men’s tennis. AMES, IA (IRN) – Iowa State University this week opened the ISU Creamery. It’s not only an ice cream shop, featuring ISU themed flavors, but a program to teach dairy science skills. That would include making not only ice cream, but cheese and dairy products. One professor says, “You’ve heard of microbrewery, we have a micro creamery here at Iowa State.”

IOWA (IRN) – Iowa’s economy has recovered about half the jobs it lost from the immediate shock of the COVID-19 pandemic. The state’s unemployment rate dropped to 6.6% in July from 8.4% the month earlier, according to survey data released by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics on Friday morning. The survey indicates that the state added about 29,300 jobs last month. AMES, IA (IRN) – Iowa State University’s President Wendy Wintersteen announced Friday that there will be repercussions for those not practicing safety guidelines in gatherings. Students are required to wear masks and be 6 feet apart if attending a gathering on-campus or off-campus. Wintersteen said that there will be discipline, including suspension, if students do not comply. DES MOINES, IA (IRN) – Des Moines Public Schools officials are promising legal action after their waiver to begin the school year with online-only instruction due to COVID-19 concerns was denied by the Iowa Department of Education on Friday. DECORAH, IA (IRN) – The City Council in Decorah approved a face covering mandate on Friday. The council voted 6-1 to approve the ordinance, but will not go in effect until it is signed and published by the Mayor. Governor Reynolds has said cities do not have this authority. IOWA CITY, IA (IRN) – The University of Iowa announced Friday its plan to discontinue four sports programs at the end of the 2020-21 academic year. Those programs include men’s gymnastics, men’s and women’s swimming and diving, and men’s tennis.

DES MOINES, IA (IRN) – The Iowa Department of Public Health on Friday reported 823 new coronavirus cases and 5 additional deaths. As of 10 a.m. Friday, IDPH reported 1,017 deaths since the pandemic began. LECLAIR, IA (IRN) – A second person has died after two boats collided in the Mississippi River near LeClaire Sunday. Both were on the same boat. A woman in the other boat had minor injuries. IOWA (IRN) – White House experts urged Iowa officials to require residents to wear face masks in public in most urban areas and several rural counties, and to close bars in those areas. The suggestions go beyond steps ordered by Gov. Kim Reynolds, who has declined to impose such mandates and has said she trusts Iowans to act appropriately. The “hot zones” include the Des Moines area, Council Bluffs, Cedar Rapids, Waterloo, Dubuque, Iowa City, Ames and the Quad Cities. DUBUQUE, IA (IRN) – American Airlines will stop flying to Dubuque and 14 other cities in the country for at least a month starting on October 7. The reason behind the cancellations is low demand and the economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. DES MOINES, IA (IRN) – It just got harder for the Des Moines School District to continue with fall sports. On Thursday, the IHSAA and the IGHSAU sent a letter to schools backing up what the Iowa Department of Education said last week: If a school district goes all-virtual, they can’t play sports. Monday night, the Des Moines school board voted to go fully virtual, but said they would continue activities despite the Department of Education’s position.

DES MOINES, IA (IRN) – The Iowa Medical Society says fewer Iowans with COVID-19 would have died if more was done sooner. Leaders say Iowa needs more extensive testing and should have put restrictive mandates in place at the beginning. Iowa has now surpassed 1,000 deaths in the pandemic. CORALVILLE, IA (IRN) – An increase in coronavirus cases has prompted Iowa prison officials on Wednesday to stop admitting inmates from county jails to the Iowa Medical and Classification Center in Coralville. The Department of Corrections said 59 inmates tested positive in the last week out of nearly 800 tests conducted at the center. DAVENPORT, IA (IRN) – Clean-up is underway at a Davenport shop after a truck crashed through the storefront Tuesday. Davenport police said two vehicles collided causing one of them to hit the Little Rock and Gem shop. No one was hurt. CEDAR RAPIDS, IA (IRN) – New data collected by the National Weather Service shows even stronger winds than initially thought during the derecho, according to meteorologists. The Quad Cities office of the agency released new storm reports on Wednesday morning. Winds are now estimated to have been over 140 mph.

CEDAR RAPIDS, IA (IRN) – The National Weather Service says last week’s derecho was unprecedented. They now estimate peak wind gusts of 110 to 130 mph in parts of Tama, Benton, and Linn counties. They say this was an unprecedented event due to the extent of the damage and how long the winds lasted. There have been derechos of similar strength. One in 1998 had winds of 123 miles per hour in Washington, Iowa. Another in 2011 had winds up to 130 miles per hour in Vinton. Last week’s derecho topped them all because of how long the winds lasted. Winds in the Linn County and Cedar Rapids area were likely in excess of 100 mph for nearly an hour. NWS meteorologists say those strong winds usually only last 10 to 15 minutes DES MOINES, IA (IRN) – It’s “game on” in Des Moines. Maybe. The Des Moines School Board made the decision Monday night to continue activities and athletics. That goes against the guidance released Friday by the Department of Education. That guidance states if a school goes to an all-virtual model, as Des Moines has done, then activities would be suspended. Des Moines schools are listening to their board — not the state — and continued to practice Tuesday to prepare for their seasons in all fall sports. AMES, IA (IRN) – Iowa State University reports 34 more students tested positive for the coronavirus during the final round of move-in testing over the weekend. In total, 175 students tested positive, which is 2.2% of all students tested. All students who tested positive will isolate for ten days. DES MOINES, IA (IRN) – Iowa Attorney General Tom Miller says Gov. Kim Reynolds has blocked his request to join a lawsuit that seeks to prevent changes to the U.S. Postal Service that Democrats claim could threaten mail-in voting. Miller announced Tuesday that he wanted to join the lawsuit planned by more than 20 states that seek to stop budget cuts and operational changes that are disrupting mail deliveries. DES MOINES, IA (IRN) – Iowa Secretary of Agriculture Mike Naig released more statistics about the widespread crop damage across the state following a devastating derecho on August 10. The USDA reported that 57 counties were impacted by the damaging storms, with 8.2 million acres of corn and 5.6 million acres of soybeans being impacted.