Gazette Daily News Podcast, February 3

According to a forecast from the National Weather Service, it should be mostly cloudy in the Cedar Rapids area on Thursday, with a high near 13 degrees. Wind chill values will drop as low as -15 degrees. On Thursday night it will be mostly clear, with a low around -4 degrees.

COVID-19 outbreaks at long-term care facilities in Iowa are in the triple digits this week, while the number of new virus cases and hospitalizations are declining after weeks of surging numbers.

This week, 109 long-term care facilities — about a quarter of Iowa’s 445 nursing homes — were reporting coronavirus outbreaks, according to weekly totals released Wednesday by the Iowa Department of Public Health.

That’s nearly four times the 25 outbreaks — three or more cases among staff and residents — reported four weeks ago and is the highest total seen since Jan. 1, 2021.

In good news, after a weeks of rising numbers that strained health care systems’ capacity and resources, COVID-19 hospitalizations are on the decline in Iowa.

As of Wednesday, patients hospitalized with COVID-19 dropped to 794 statewide from the 929 reported last week. The number of patients in intensive care and on ventilators also continued to decline this past week.

The Iowa House overwhelmingly supported what they called a “big deal” Wednesday to boost the renewable fuels industry and farmers by mandating that retailers offer products to consumers containing more ethanol.

The House voted 82-10 to require fuel retailers to begin offering E15, a higher blend than the E10 fuel more typically found at the gas pump. E15 is a blend of 15% ethanol and 85% gasoline. It contains 5% more ethanol than E10.

If the bill, a priority for Republican Gov. Kim Reynolds, is approved next by the Iowa Senate, more than half of Iowa fuel retailers would be required to offer E15 on at least one pump, and after January 2023 new stations and those that install new pumps would have to offer E15 from at least half of their dispensers.

A federal judge’s ruling Wednesday will make it easier for potential sex abuse victims of former youth basketball coach Greg Stephen to join a class-action lawsuit against Stephen and the Iowa Barnstormers.

Guy Cook, lead attorney for an unnamed former Iowa Barnstormers basketball player who filed the suit in 2020, told The Gazette the ruling should help advance settlement of the case.

In the ruling, U.S. Magistrate Judge Stephen Locher refused the Barnstormers’ request to require potential victims to “opt-in” to the lawsuit. Last year, a federal judge ruled all former and present members of Barnstormers — who were potential victims of Stephen’s between 2005 and April 5, 2018 — could join the class action lawsuit.

Stephen, 44, of Monticello, was sentenced in 2019 to 180 years in federal prison. He pleaded guilty to five counts of sexual exploitation of a child and one count each of possession of child pornography and transportation of child pornography for acquiring naked photos and images of Iowa Barnstormer AAU players.

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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.