Gazette Daily News Podcast, February 17

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This is Stephen Schmidt from the Gazette digital news desk and I’m here with your update for Thursday, February 17th.

Thursday there will be some holdover from the precipitation from Wednesday, but, mostly, it will be cold. According to the National Weather Service it will be cloudy in the Cedar Rapids area with a high near 15 degrees and a wind chill as low as zero. It will likely be blustery, with wind speeds of 15 to 20 mph gusting as high as 30 mph. There will be a small chance of snow between 1 p.m. and 3 p.m., but the snowfall doesn’t appear as if it will be significant. On Thursday night it will be mostly cloudy, before gradually becoming clear, with a low around 5 degrees. If the cold has you feeling down, it appears like it may be above 50 degrees with sunny skies this coming Sunday, so look forward to that.

The latest COVID-19 surge in Iowa is continuing its downward trend as state officials transition to a new phase of reporting pandemic numbers.

The new coronavirus data released this week by the Iowa Department of Public Health is more limited compared to previous weekly totals. On Tuesday night, state officials shut down its online coronavirus dashboard. Coronavirus data has shifted to a Department of Public Health website.

The number of COVID-19 hospitalizations is no longer reported, and the number of long-term care facilities with outbreaks — three or more cases among staff and residents — is no longer reported. At last check there were more than 100 long term care facilities with outbreaks, while hospitalizations had been going down. Access to these numbers could be determined at a later date.

As far as numbers they still are reporting, Iowa reported 7,863 new infections of the novel coronavirus in the past week, a decrease from the 12,833 reported the previous week.

The Iowa House has approved a plan to gradually move to a flat income tax rate of 4 percent for all Iowans despite warnings from opponents that it will increase the gap between haves and have-nots and reduce the state’s ability to support services such as education and public safety.

The bill, one of three GOP tax relief plans under consideration, would phase in a four-year gradual reduction in Iowa’s personal income tax rate from the current top rate of 8.53 percent for the highest wage earners to 4 percent for all taxpayers.

HF 2317 is nearly the same as Gov. Kim Reynolds’ plan in that it would lower the state income tax to 4 percent. Unlike her plan and the Senate bill, the House doesn’t include any corporate income tax relief. The Senate would go further by lowering the tax rates to 3.6 percent and using a state taxpayer relief fund to eventually eliminate the income tax altogether.

According to a Legislative Services Agency analysis, the House bill would lower income tax collections by $5.8 billion from fiscal 2023 through fiscal 2028. That would be partially offset with transfers of $829 million from the taxpayer relief fund for a net impact on state revenue of $5.002 billion over six years. That is almost a reduction of $1 billion a year. For perspective, this year’s proposed state budget from the Iowa Senate is $8.2 billion total.

The Iowa Hawkeyes football coaching staff will have at least one new face in 2022.

Ken O’Keefe is “stepping away” from his role as Iowa’s quarterbacks coach, the program said in a news release Wednesday, while moving into an off-the-field role in the Iowa program.

O’Keefe, 68, has spent 18 years on head coach Kirk Ferentz’s staff — first as offensive coordinator from 1999-2011 and then as quarterbacks coach since 2017. He spent five seasons in the NFL on the Miami Dolphins’ staff between his two stints in Iowa City.

Support for this news update was provided by New Pioneer Food Co-op. Celebrating 50 years as Eastern Iowa’s destination for locally and responsibly sourced groceries with stores in Iowa City, Coralville and Cedar Rapids; and online through Co-op Cart at newpi.coop.