Gazette Daily News Podcast, August 3

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This is Stephen Schmidt from the Gazette digital news desk and I’m here with your update for Tuesday, August 3.

The pleasant weather should continue Tuesday. The National Weather Service is predicting it to be sunny with a high near 82 degrees in the Cedar Rapids area, with a calm wind. Tuesday night it should be mostly clear, with a low around 60 degrees. Enjoy the weather while you can, because hotter and more volatile weather looks to be on tap starting Thursday night.

Health officials in Eastern Iowa are encouraging residents to follow new federal health guidelines that advise Americans — even those who are fully vaccinated — to wear masks in certain situations in areas with high levels of virus transmission.

These urgings come despite Gov. Kim Reynolds’ rejection of the new federal advisory this past week. Gov. Reynolds insisted that any mandate to mask would detract from the state’s vaccine efforts. The governor is correct that vaccination is the most effective way to protect yourself and others from the disease, but she has offered few new ideas to combat Iowa’s stalled vaccine efforts, with about half of Iowa residents fully vaccinated at this time.

On Tuesday, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention issued new guidance recommending people in counties with “substantial” or “high” levels of community transmission of COVID-19 wear masks in public indoor settings. This includes those who have been vaccinated.

According to the Associated Press, a judge on Monday rejected a request for a new trial for the man who was convicted in the 2018 killing of University of Iowa student Mollie Tibbetts.

The ruling by Judge Joel Yates now establishes that sentencing can proceed for Cristhian Bahena Rivera, who was convicted in May of first-degree murder. Rivera faces life in prison.

Rivera’s attorneys had called for a new trial after witnesses came forward with testimony that supported the contention by Rivera that he may have been framed for the killing. However, the testimony from the new sources contradicted Rivera’s account of events.

A Cedar Rapids cyclist was seriously injured last week when he was struck by a vehicle while riding in Quasqueton.

According to the Buchanan County Sheriff’s Office, Mark Johnson was riding his bicycle just after 8 a.m. July 28 in the southbound lane in 2800 block of Quasqueton Avenue when he was struck by a southbound van driven by Brent Meyers of Denver, Iowa.

Johnson was airlifted to University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics in Iowa City with serious injuries, but is expected to survive, the sheriff’s office said. Meyers was not hurt.

The incident remains under investigation.

Iowa’s proportion of energy created by clean energy is the highest in the country, according to a recent report.

According to an American Clean Power Association report released Monday, about 57.6 percent of electricity generated in Iowa came from renewable sources, according to the report.

Kansas was the next highest state with 43.4 percent, followed by Oklahoma with 35.5 percent, South Dakota with 32.9 percent and North Dakota with 30.8 percent.

Iowa is one of 10 states to have more than one-fifth of its electricity come from wind turbines.

With the Iowa football season rapidly approaching, there will be more Hawkeye news to come soon. If you want to have the latest football insights emailed directly to you, sign up for Leah Vann's exclusive weekly Talkin' Hawks newsletter at thegazette.com/hawks