Author: Iowa Radio News

IOWA CITY, IA (IRN) – A Des Moines Black Lives Matter organizer has been arrested in Johnson County. University of Iowa police arrested Matthew Bruce late Monday night. Bruce is charged with nine felony counts of assault with intent to injure a peace officer and one count of interfering with official acts. Criminal complaints show during protests, he pointed a laser beam light into the eyes of multiple officers, causing injuries requiring medical treatment.

DES MOINES, IA (IRN) – The White House COVID-19 Task Force recommends that Iowa implement a statewide mask mandate due to high COVID-19 transmission. Iowa remains in the red zone for COVID-19 cases with the highest case rate in the country.

AMES, IA (IRN) – Iowa State Athletics announced Monday that it will host 25,000 fans at Jack Trice Stadium for the Cyclones’ first football game of the 2020-21 season. The decision comes despite reports of Ames as having the worst COVID-19 outbreak in the country per capita. Dr. John Paschen, the Chairman of the Story County Board of Health, says he finds the decision a danger to the community.

IOWA CITY, IA (IRN) – The University of Iowa has put a pause on football and all athletic workouts until after Labor Day due to an increase in COVID-19. Testing done between Monday, August 24 and Saturday, August 29 resulted in 93 positive cases out of 815 tests. The Hawkeyes are part of the Big Ten Conference, which announced the postponement of fall sports until spring.

CEDAR RAPIDS, IA (IRN) – Three weeks after the derecho on August 10, there are still thousands in eastern Iowa without internet. Both Mediacom and Imon said around 15% of their customers are still without internet services.

AMES, IA (IRN) – Iowa State plans to allow some fans to attend its season opener at Jack Trice Stadium on Sept. 12. The Cyclones are expecting approximately 25,000 fans with social distancing and mitigation strategies implemented due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The announcement comes the day Ames was identified as the country’s worst “hot spot” city by the New York Times. Iowa City, home to the University of Iowa, was second while the state of Iowa was tabbed as the worst “hot spot” state.

PALO, IA (IRN) – The Linn County Sheriff’s Office said multiple calls alerted them to a man attempting to break into homes in Palo at around 3 a.m. on Monday. Deputies were in the area when they received another call from a nearby home. Officials said the man had broken into the home and threatened the occupants, but the homeowner shot him. Deputies and medical personnel began CPR, but the intruder was pronounced dead.

JOHNSTON, IA (IRN) – A 3-year-old child has died after being hit by a car in Johnston Sunday afternoon. Police are investigating.

DALLAS COUNTY, IA (IRN) – Two Waukee residents died Saturday night after attempting to flee law enforcement. The Iowa State Patrol reports that shortly after 5 p.m. Thomas Kennedy, 36, was attempting to elude deputies. He was riding a motorcycle with Rachel Glissmann, 36, as his passenger. The two failed to negotiate a curve. Neither was wearing a helmet.

CEDAR RAPIDS, IA (IRN) – A man was injured during an incident while using a lift to trim trees in Cedar Rapids. Officials located a 22-year-old man on a portable lift that they believe made contact with a power line. He was electrocuted, but was able to respond to directions and stayed put until Alliant Energy crews arrived to de-energize the line. Firefighters were then able to rescue the man from the lift. No word on his condition.

DES MOINES, IA (IRN) – Des Moines raised $38.1 million in the first year of a one-cent sales tax increase, but officials expect that to decline significantly in the next year because of the pandemic. City officials said sales tax revenue will be down in the next year because the retail and travel industries have been hit hard by restrictions related to the coronavirus. Typically, spending by visitors accounts for roughly one-third of the city’s annual sales tax revenue.

CEDAR RAPIDS, IA (IRN) – Cedar Rapids city arborist Todd Fagan says the August 10th derecho packed a bigger punch to the city’s treescape than originally thought. Fagan says it’s estimated overall tree loss could be 65% of the tree canopy; originally that estimate was 50%.
That number increased as arborists with the city and other organizations continue assessing and identifying trees that won’t survive.

DES MOINES, IA (IRN) – The Iowa Department of Public Health has added antigen testing results to its coronavirus reporting, adding more cases to the overall total. IDPH reported 17 additional deaths and 1,081 more positive cases Saturday. There have been 1,108 deaths since the pandemic began.

CEDAR RAPIDS, IA (IRN) – There was a fatal crash in Cedar Rapids Friday evening on Interstate 380. Two vehicles struck the back of a flatbed truck. One of the drivers was killed.

CEDAR RAPIDS, IA (IRN) – A police chase on Friday night in Cedar Rapids ended with an arrest, according to law enforcement officials. The vehicle allegedly reached speeds of at least 100 mph on the chase. Logan Paul Spencer, 21, of Fairfax, was charged with attempting to elude, possession of drug paraphernalia, and speeding citations.

CEDAR RAPIDS, IA (IRN) – A Cedar Rapids apartment complex sustained heavy damage following a fire Friday afternoon. No one was injured.

DES MOINES, IA (IRN) – Des Moines police say three people were stabbed after a fight over food and alcohol erupted at the party. Twenty-one-year-old Danitia Keona Rene Hayes, of Des Moines, is charged with two counts of willful injury.

IOWA CITY, IA (IRN) – Spectators were banned from football games in Iowa City this weekend due to a local spike in COVID-19. Games at Liberty High School and City High School Friday went on as planned but with no fans. The policy remains in place “until further notice.” Johnson County residents are testing positive for the virus at a rate of 19.8% over the last 14 days and there’s been 771 new local cases of the virus since Monday.

IOWA CITY, IA (IRN) – The University of Iowa said Friday 500 more students self-reported positive COVID-19 tests. The new positive cases means there have been at least 607 coronavirus cases on campus so far this fall. Seven employees reported positive COVID-19 tests, bringing the total number of employees with positive cases to 11.

DES MOINES, IA (IRN) – Multiple metro bars and restaurants have filed a lawsuit against the state of Iowa in an attempt to overturn Gov. Kim Reynolds proclamation issued Thursday.
The proclamation shut down bars in six counties and restricted restaurants that served alcohol. The governor’s proclamation impacts bars, taverns, wineries, breweries, distilleries and nightclubs in Black Hawk, Dallas, Johnson, Linn, Polk and Story counties.

DES MOINES, IA (IRN) – The Iowa Department of Public Health has added antigen testing results to its coronavirus reporting, adding more cases to the overall total. IDPH reported 12 additional deaths and 2,663 more positive cases, partly due to the new reporting of antigen testing. As of 10 a.m. Friday, there have been 1,091 deaths since the pandemic began.

IOWA (IRN) – A new COVID-19 disaster proclamation has been signed by Governor Kim Reynolds. Reynolds says the novel coronavirus is being spread by 19-24-year-old young adults often in college areas. In response, the governor has closed bars, breweries, taverns, and nightclubs in six counties – Johnson, Linn, Black Hawk, Dallas, Polk, and Story.

IOWA CITY, IA (IRN) – The state has granted permission to the Iowa City Community School District to begin classes online only. The move comes in response to rising positivity rates over the last 14 days. As of early this morning, the positivity rate in Johnson county is 18.7 percent.

DES MOINES, IA (IRN) – The Des Moines Water Works says that water in the Des Moines River has a high level of microcystin, a toxin produced by blue-green algae, that makes the river unsuitable for use as a drinking water source. The Raccoon River’s flow is very low due to ongoing drought conditions and demand for water is very high. Officials aren’t calling for restrictions but would like Polk County residents to be careful with their water use.

IOWA CITY, IA (IRN) – Hawkeye basketball coaching legend Lute Olson has passed away. Olson, who was 85, had been in hospice. He took Iowa to five straight NCAA tournaments, including the 1980 Final Four. Carver Hawkeye Arena is dubbed the house that Lute built after the coach pushed for years for a new arena. After nine years he went on to Arizona, guiding the Wildcats to 23 consecutive NCAA Tournaments, four Final Fours and the ’97 national championship.