Gazette Daily News Podcast, April 26

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This is your daily news update from The Gazette for Monday, April 26, 2021:

Legislators target vaccine passports: Iowa legislators this week will consider a bill that would ban Iowa governments from issuing "vaccine passports" to residents as proof they’ve received COVID-19 vaccinations. The legislation would also penalize businesses and venues if they require immunization.

The bill was introduced just weeks after Republican Gov. Kim Reynolds said she "strongly" opposes any mandatory vaccination disclosure system as an attack on civil liberties.

If passed, any governmental entity or business that was in violation of the law would be barred from receiving grants and contracts funded by state revenue.

Iowa lifts pause on J&J vaccines: The Iowa Department of Public Health late Friday told providers statewide they can resume administering Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccines. The decision came after the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Food and Drug Administration announced it was lifting a temporary halt on using the vaccine.

More than 8,500 Iowans became fully vaccinated between Saturday and Sunday, bringing the total to more than 945,000 people. That represents nearly 38% of Iowans who are 16 and older.

Farmers don’t agree with all Iowans on water quality measures: A new survey shows most Iowans favor a fertilizer tax to pay for water quality improvements in the state, but farmers prefer a recreational fee such as an admission charge at Iowa’s state parks.

The results of the survey were released in a report by the Center for Agricultural and Rural Development at Iowa State University.

Several survey questions focused on how Iowans feel about water quality in Iowa’s lakes and in the water flowing from Iowa farm fields into the Mississippi River. The river flows into the Gulf of Mexico, where there is an oxygen-deprived dead zone caused by excess phosphorus and nitrate.

Two-thirds of public respondents said the importance of reducing nutrients in Iowa’s waterways is very important or extremely important, compared with about 40% percent of farmers in the survey. And more than 70% of the public said having no or minimal algae blooms or scum in Iowa lakes is important or extremely important, while only less than 40% of farmers felt the same way.

Today’s weather: It will be sunny but breezy today, with a high near 78 and winds around 15 to 20 mph, with gusts as high as 35 mph. Monday night will be mostly clear, with a low around 62, still breezy, with gusts as high as 25 mph. Rain is possible on Tuesday night through Wednesday.

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