The Gazette Daily News Podcast, May 20th

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There should be a chance of drizzle through 7:00 a.m. Wednesday, but that should be the end of the rain for today. According to the National Weather Service, after that point, there should be a high of 66 degrees with cloudy skies for the rest of the day. There could be some moderate windiness, with windspeeds hovering in the 10-15 mph range.

Iowa saw another double digit day of COVID-19 deaths Tuesday, with another 12 people reported as dying from the novel coronavirus. This brings the death toll for the state to 367 over the past two months, with the single-day death total increasing to its highest average point in the past two weeks.

Still, Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds says that the overall numbers for the state seem to be positive, and signaled Tuesday that more business restrictions could be lifted. 

During her daily briefing Tuesday at the state emergency operations center, Reynolds said Iowa Department of Public Health data shows a 'dramatic' rise in testing over the past few weeks with the number of positive cases 'trending down' and 'the number of individuals testing negative is trending up.' Since May 1, the governor has eased restrictions on a number of businesses. Malls, hair salons, restaurants and gyms are among the businesses allowed to open under limits on their capacity and requirements for social distancing and sanitation.

Other businesses await word on when they will become part of the move to reopen the state's economy. Currently, under the governor's emergency order, all bars, indoor theaters, casinos and gaming facilities, senior citizen centers and adult day care facilities, bingo halls, bowling alleys, pool halls, arcades, amusement parks, museums, aquariums, zoos, indoor or outdoor roller or ice skating rinks and skate parks, playgrounds, swimming pools and spas, wading pools, waterslides, wave pools, spray pads and bath houses are closed statewide until 11:59 p.m. May 27.

Do you have questions about the city of Cedar Rapids' response to the coronavirus? Cedar Rapids City Manager Jeff Pomeranz will join The Gazette Executive Editor Zack Kucharski in a live chat Wednesday at 2 p.m. The live chat will focus on the city's current and long-term response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

A third man has been accused of murder in the shooting death of Kejuan Winters.

Iowa City police said Tuesday that Patrick Bland, 32, of Rockford, Ill., was arrested Monday in Minneapolis. He is awaiting extradition to Johnson County, where he will face one count of first-degree murder. 

Police were called to 1960 Broadway St. at 9:55 a.m. April 20 for a report of a shooting. Officers found Winters, 21, of Iowa City, suffering from multiple gunshot wounds. He died inside the apartment.

Also arrested and charged for this shooting were 22-year-old Durojaiye Rosa of Iowa City and 44-year-old Reginald Little. Rosa has told police that the purpose had been to rob Winters, adding that the original intent was not to kill him. Rosa was arrested at the scene of the shooting, and he gave them a description of the shooter afterward. Little was arrested by police in Lubbock County, Texas.

This incident spiraled into a further attempted murder charge for Tyris Winters, 41, of Peoria, Ill., and Tony Watkins, 39, of Iowa City later on the night of April 20. The two men were arrested after confronting another man in Coralville about the killing, shooting him in the head and foot. Tyris Winters is the father of Kejuan.