Gazette Daily News Podcast, March 1

On today’s episode: Gov. Kim Reynolds will address the nation following Biden’s State of the Union, Russian liquor won’t be sold by the Iowa Alcoholic Beverages Division, Clear Creek Amana school district voters go to the polls today, and the Iowa high school girls basketball tournament continues today.

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One of the biggest moments of Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds’ political career comes Tuesday night when she will address the nation. Reynolds will provide the Republican Party’s response to Democratic President Joe Biden’s first State of the Union address.

Reynolds will speak to the nation against the backdrop of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, and with her assumed re-election campaign coming later this year, though she hasn’t yet announced her intention to run for another term.

Timothy Hagle, a political-science professor at the University of Iowa, said he expects Reynolds to talk about many of the same complaints Republicans have been raising during Biden’s first year in office, including inflation, border and immigration policy, and pandemic response policies.

Reynolds also likely will talk about her recent record in Iowa, where during the COVID-19 pandemic she has, for the most part, dialed back restrictive policies and mitigation strategies in the name of keeping businesses and schools open. And she likely will highlight the $1.9 billion package of state income tax cuts she plans to sign into law earlier Tuesday.

The State of the Union and Reynolds’ response will be livestreamed on thegazette.com.

In a symbolic gesture of support for the Ukrainian people who are under Russian attack, Gov. Kim Reynolds has directed the Iowa Alcoholic Beverages Division to remove any Russian-produced alcoholic liquor products from its wholesale purchase list.

Her order is unlikely to have much impact in Iowa even though Iowans purchased more than 2 million gallons of vodka through the Alcoholic Beverages Division in 2021. In the top 10 brands by gallons sold, there are five brands of vodka — Tito’s, Hawkeye, McCormick, Smirnoff and Five O’Clock.

However, Russian vodkas account for a very small portion of overall sales, spokesman Tyler Ackerson said Monday. Over the past 12 months, the sale of Russian vodka has totaled about $95,000 out of more than $93 million in vodka sales in Iowa.

In issuing the order, Reynolds joins the governors of Utah, New Hampshire, Ohio and Pennsylvania in making the symbolic gesture of support for Ukraine.

Voters in the Clear Creek Amana Community School District can vote Tuesday on a bond issue of up to $65 million to fund construction of a new elementary school.

The new school — planned to be built in Coralville by 2024 — will be designed to accommodate enrollment growth coming from the eastern side of the school district and redistribute overcrowding from other elementary buildings.

Capacity at the new two-story elementary school would be larger than the other schools to accommodate 600 students, according to the district.

Polls are open from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Tuesday. Voters can find their polling places on the Iowa Secretary of State’s website.

Cedar Rapids fire investigators have determined a fire at Geneva Tower last week was started when smoking materials were left unattended too close to combustible materials.

The combustible materials caught fire in a room on the ninth floor of the downtown Cedar Rapids high-rise. Firefighters were on the scene shortly after midnight Feb. 19 and battled the blaze through the early hours of Feb. 20.

The release did not provide more details about the specific materials that caused the fire.

Geneva Tower residents have been staying in a Red Cross shelter at the Veterans Memorial Building in Cedar Rapids.

The Iowa girls high school basketball tournament tipped off Monday and continues today in Des Moines with more quarterfinal games.

On Monday, No. 5 Iowa City High fell to No. 4 Pleasant Valley, 52-47. It was Pleasant Valley’s first state victory in program history.

More Eastern Iowa teams will play today, with Center Point-Urbana playing at 10 a.m., Benton Community at 11:45 a.m., Cedar Rapids Xavier at 1:30 p.m., Iowa City Regina at 8:30 p.m.

Follow live game coverage at thegazette.com/basketball.

According to the National Weather Service’s Quad Cities’ bureau:

Today will be cloudy through mid morning, then gradually clearing, with a high near 55. North wind 5 to 10 mph. Tuesday night will be partly cloudy, with a low around 31. North wind around 5 mph, becoming calm in the evening.