Gazette Daily News Podcast, May 31

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This is John McGlothlen with the Gazette digital news desk and I'm here with your update for Memorial Day, Monday, May 31st.

Today in the Cedar Rapids area will be mostly cloudy, with a high near 73. Light and variable winds from the southwest, 5 to 10 mph in the morning. Tonight we’ll have a 20 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms before 1 a.m. and a low around 52.

The number of people being treated for COVID-19 in Iowa hospitals dropped Sunday to its lowest level in more than 13 months. Iowa Department of Public Health data showed 104 patients were being treated for the disease, a drop from 111 the day before and tied for the lowest number since April 7, 2020.

A pedestrian was transported to the University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics on Friday night after being struck by a driver east of Cedar Rapids. At about 10:25 p.m., the sheriff’s office and other emergency agencies responded to the report of a pedestrian struck by a vehicle in traffic in front of 6905 Mount Vernon Rd. SE, where the Lighthouse Inn Supper Club is located. The sheriff’s office said Richard Lighthall, 49, of Mount Vernon was struck by a westbound silver Audi driven by Allan Novak Jr., 42, of Cedar Rapids. Lighthall was taken to UIHC by ambulance with life-threatening injuries. Novak and a passenger were uninjured.