Gazette Daily News Podcast, November 10

There will be one more day in the 70s Thursday, but it won't be the sunny and calm day Wednesday was. According to the National Weather Service there will be a chance for showers and thunderstorms Thursday in the Cedar Rapids area beginning at 11 a.m. and increasing as the day goes on, with the highest likelihood for rain coming around 4 pm. The temperature will peak at 72 degrees around 11 a.m., but will drop to 61 degrees later on, foreshadowing the 40 degree drop we will see by Friday. It will be windy all day, with 15 mph winds gusting as high as 30 mph.

In what could be the first test of a state law that holds county auditors criminally liable for election malfeasance, the Iowa Secretary of State’s Office said it is investigating the Linn County Auditor’s Office over a ballot error in a Linn County precinct.

The error came to light the same day that Democratic Linn County Auditor Joel Miller tried — unsuccessfully — to unseat Republican Secretary of State Paul Pate in Tuesday’s election.

The Linn County Supervisor District 1 race was missing from one of the “ballot styles” in the Putnam Township area, but it was on other ballots in Ely, which is in the area, and elsewhere in the district. Miller acknowledged the error during a news conference and said no other races on the ballot were affected.

Secretary of State Office Communications Director Kevin Hall said Wednesday that the error could be “an apparent technical violation of Iowa’s election laws.”

“If it is determined the apparent violation constitutes or may constitute election misconduct, we will refer the matter to the Attorney General and Linn County Attorney as required by Iowa law,” Hall said.

Under a law passed by the Iowa Legislature last year, county auditors can face felony charges for failing to follow guidance from the secretary of state. An auditor may face a fine of up to $10,000 for a technical infraction of state election law or failure to follow guidance from the secretary of state.

Adding to the hundreds of millions in new construction, renovations and expansions already planned or underway across its Johnson County campuses, the University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics this week wants state Board of Regents approval to spend another $16 million upgrading its main Iowa City location.

One $8 million project going before the board Wednesday would, if approved, allow the main campus to convert the second level of its south wing into 13 inpatient rooms — addressing a key capacity concern at the UIHC, which regularly sits above 90 percent occupancy of its 658 adult inpatient beds.

Although a 10-year UI master facilities plan the board OK’d in January didn’t specifically mention the $8 million south wing conversion, this week’s UIHC request for board approval notes the master plan “included this project.”

The UIHC plans to use patient-generated revenue to pay for the south wing conversion, aimed at taking from spring 2023 to spring 2024 to construct.

The projects come as the UIHC continues to face capacity issues, which it hopes to address in part with a new $525.6 million hospital campus in North Liberty currently under construction.