Gazette Daily News Podcast, December 16

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This is Stephen Schmidt from the Gazette digital news desk and I’m here with your update for Thursday, December 16th.

Wednesday’s weather was, in a word, weird. The day started with 70 degree temperatures setting records for a mid December day all over the state. Then the record breaking winds came, with a storm line stretching from Missouri to Minnesota rocketing eastward at 75 mph, some tornadoes spawning along the way. Storm sirens blared as the system passed through, and 60 mph gusts still persisted hours afterward, with the smell of smoke pulled from a wildfire all the way in Kansas lingering in the air.

But, besides thousands of Iowans losing power, toppled semis, and damaged windows, the initial impression before a formal damage tally on Thursday morning is that structural damage was kept to a minimum compared to what could have happened with such a unique storm. You will wake Thursday to a pretty normal December weather, with a predicted high of 39 degrees. It will remain a bit breezy throughout the day, with gusts as high as 30 mph, but the sky will be sunny, with clouds returning Thursday night.

Over 800 people are being treated in Iowa hospitals for COVID-19, a surge setting yet another record for the year as Iowans head into another holiday travel window.

As of Wednesday, 823 Iowans were hospitalized, marking the first time since Dec. 12, 2020, that coronavirus hospitalizations were at or above 800, according to the latest data released Wednesday by the Iowa Department of Public Health.

This week’s new total climbed from last week’s 777, continuing the weekslong trend of increasing hospitalizations as infections spike.

One positive trend was that new infection rates and total new infections reported dropped compared to the previous week after both climbed for much of November into December. A downward trend in these numbers, if it could be sustained, would eventually lead to reduced hospitalization numbers.

A Cedar Rapids man was arrested Tuesday for arson after police say he attempted to burn down a woman’s house.

Austin Lee Strub, 29, has been charged with first-degree arson, a Class B felony, after police say he forced entry into a woman’s home in the 1100 block of Crestview Drive SE and threatened to “torch the place.”

A criminal complaint alleges that the defendant used a lighter and aerosol can of brake cleaner to ignite and spray the kitchen wall and front door. Police noted damage corroborating the victim’s account, and found the lighter and aerosol can they say was used.

In addition to arson, Strub is charged with making threats with an explosive or incendiary device.

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