Gazette Daily News Podcast, August 12

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Today's weather has a 30 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms in the afternoon, but otherwise it should be partly sunny, with a high near 86. Tonight it will cool off to 61. Expect a lot of sun and a high of 84 tomorrow. After that, every day sees a 30-40% chance of rain until Sunday.

The number of coronavirus cases in Iowa rose yesterday to 49,203 total cases, and the total deaths attributed to coronavirus stand at 937.

Hospitalizations for coronavirus jumped by 20 yesterday after a slow decline, but Iowa officials say that's likely due to a number of patients being transferred to hospitals for temporary care after losing power at their home or a long term care facility.

Gov. Reynolds issues disaster proclamation for 20 counties. Iowa sustained 'significant' infrastructure, financial and crop damage as hurricane-like storms devastated much of the state Monday, prompting Gov. Kim Reynolds to declare at least 20 counties as state disaster areas with expectations federal aid also will be requested as crews work to restore power to an estimated 450,000 households. 

Reynolds said she'd be shocked if Iowa doesn't meet and exceed the federal threshold to qualify for a presidential disaster declaration. The governor's proclamation allows state resources to be utilized to respond to and recover from the effects of this severe weather in the affected counties.

It may be 'several days' till power is restored in Eastern Iowa. As of Tuesday at 4 p.m., almost all of Alliant Energy's customers in Linn and Johnson counties still were without power. A spokesman said it "may be several days" before power is fully restored in Iowa. "Dozens of crews" are coming from other companies to help MidAmerican restore power, starting with areas of "critical need."

Electric utilities asked customers to stay away from down power lines.

Many grocery stores close in Cedar Rapids, Iowa City, but some still selling nonperishables. Linn County Fareway and Aldi stores were closed Tuesday because of power outages caused by Monday's storm. Many Corridor Hy-Vee stores, as well as Johnson County Fareways and Aldi's, were open, although most were operating with generators and had to dispose of refrigerated items they could not fit on cold storage trucks. Many shoppers had been relying on grocery delivery services during the coronavirus, but thanks to loss of power, internet, and cell signal, most of those services are now useless. McDonald's on Mormon Trek Boulevard in Iowa City was 20 cars deep at 11:15 a.m. Employees had locked the doors and weren't answering the phone, apparently focusing on filling drive-thru orders for hot fries and burgers.

Hardee's, in Coralville, lost its sign to high winds Monday, but still was serving customers Tuesday afternoon.

Wondering what to do with your tree debris? Every city has remediation plans, and even garbage disposal has been delayed as sanitation workers are helping with cleanup efforts. The recommendations are different depending on where you live, so be sure to check it out at TheGazette.com.

Cedar Rapids Institutes a Curfew during storm recovery. The citywide curfew started last night at and will run every night from 10:00 P.M. to 6:00 A.M until further notice. Police will patrol neighborhoods as streets continue to be cleared of fallen debris and utilities.

This briefing is sponsored in part by Corridor Careers.  Are you looking for a job? CorridorCareers.com is a resource to local job seekers where they can get job tips, sign up for local job alerts, build a resume and more. Check it out at CorridorCareers.com