Gazette Daily News Podcast, June 10

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This is Stephen Schmidt from the Gazette digital news desk and I’m here with your update for Thursday, June 10.

It will be the third day in a row with roughly the same weather forecast: hot, humid, with a slight chance for rain. According to the National Weather Service it will be sunny, with a high near 93 degrees in the Cedar Rapids area Thursday with heat index values reaching as high as 100 degrees. There will be a 20 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms after 1 p.m. Be sure to limit your exposure to the heat, and stay hydrated.

Spurred by the drowning of a Tiffin teenager, a measure requiring the duty of onlookers to try to get help for a person in imminent and grave danger was signed into law Wednesday by Gov. Kim Reynolds.

Senate File 243 grew out of the death of Noah Herring, 15, of Tiffin, in Coralville Lake in April 2020. Although three teens and an adult were present, none of them called 911 and they withheld information about his disappearance, delaying the discovery of his body for four days. On this note, the bill also makes it illegal to not reveal the location of a corpse in order to conceal a crime.

Two children under the age of 12 sustained life-threatening injuries after a collision involving a scooter and a motor vehicle Wednesday afternoon.

The two children were on the scooter in an alley between 15th Street SE and Camburn Court SE at about 4 p.m. when they pulled onto Mount Vernon Road SE and were struck by the vehicle, according to initial information from Cedar Rapids police.

The children were taken by ambulance to the University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics. Their identities had not been released as of early Wednesday evening.

Demand for vaccines in Iowa has dropped dramatically in recent weeks with the state ordering fewer doses each week and sliding downward in its national ranking of fully vaccinated people.

Iowa ordered 2,450 doses for this week with only 16 out of Iowa's 99 counties ordering doses, Iowa Department of Public Health spokeswoman Sarah Ekstrand said. Last week, the state ordered 5,210 doses and the week before that, 7,850 doses.

Iowa has been dealing with significant vaccine resistance in recent weeks, but Gov. Reynolds has said she has no plans to implement an incentive program to encourage vaccination as some states have done. Some states have offered prizes such as lottery tickets as an enticement. Reynolds said the free vaccine is available for anyone who wants it.

In April, she set a goal of reaching 75 percent of Iowa adults being vaccinated by the end of June. As of Tuesday, 52.9 percent of Iowans age 18 and older have been fully vaccinated and 62.3 percent have had at least one dose.

The Cedar Rapids Freedom Festival on Wednesday announced its parade format will switch from a walk-through parade to a traditional format downtown.

The organization will accept parade entries via its website at freedomfestival.com. The early registration deadline ends at midnight June 14.

The Iowa Ideas 2021 virtual conference will be here before you know it, and we would like you to be our guest on the house. The Gazette is providing free access to this two-day gathering with more than 50 sessions- filled with thought-provoking local, and national speakers-- all ready to engage you on a variety of important and timely Iowa-issues. Join us October 14th and 15th for this can’t miss, idea-exchange experience. Learn more and register for the event at iowaideas.com.