Week in Iowa

NEW HOSPITAL COST SKYROCKETS: University of Iowa Health Care is requesting a 33 percent increase for construction of its new hospital in North Liberty, saying inflation and a workforce shortage are causing the cost to skyrocket.

Hospital officials are asking the Iowa Board of Regents for approval on a revised budget for the 469,000-square-foot campus at Forevergreen Road and Highway 965. The new price tag is $525.6 million.

CANDIDATE FUNDRAISING: Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds raked in more than $633,000 between May 28 and July 14, according to the latest campaign finance disclosure report.

That total is more than double her Democratic challenger, Deidre DeJear, who brought in close to $256,000 over the same period. In all, Reynolds has raised more than $5.8 million, while DeJear, who formally entered the race last August, has raised $1.4 million.

In the U.S. Senate race, Democrat Mike Franken, a former Navy admiral from Sioux City, outraised incumbent Republican Chuck Grassley over the last quarter, pulling in $1.8 million to Grassley’s $800,000.

Grassley holds a cash-on-hand advantage, with more than $4 million in his campaign account, while Franken ended the period with $1.1 million cash on hand.

RECORD CASINO INCOME: Iowa’s gamblers placed more than $4 billion in bets in both casino and sports games in the last fiscal year, a record for the state’s gaming revenue.

Iowa’s 19 casinos brought in an adjusted gross revenue of nearly $1.78 billion from slot machines and table games, and another $2.4 billion in sports wagering.

While casinos had high numbers in the first half of the fiscal year, betting slowed in the last three months as Iowans felt pressures from inflation putting a strain on household budgets.

MARRIAGE EQUALITY, CONTRACEPTION: Three of Iowa’s U.S. House representatives, including two Republicans, voted in favor of a bill protecting the federal right to same-sex and interracial marriage.

The bill passed the House with all Democrats and 47 Republicans in support.

Iowa’s U.S. senators didn’t say this week how they’d vote on the bill as Democrats look to get enough support to pass the bill in the Senate.

Iowa’s Republican U.S. House members voted against another House-passed bill seeking to establish a federal right to contraception. Rep. Cindy Axne, a Democrat, voted in favor.

Reps. Ashley Hinson and Mariannette Miller-Meeks, both Republicans, introduced a competing bill this week that would make birth control pills available over the counter for women over 18.

AUDITOR TOUTS GREEN BUSES: State Auditor Rob Sand encouraged school districts to seek federal funding for low- and zero-emission school buses.

The Environmental Protection Agency is granting up to $500 million in grants this year to school districts who replace old diesel-powered buses with electric buses or buses that run on compressed natural gas or propane, which both emit less greenhouse gas than diesel.

Sand said the buses can save costs for districts in the long term, as districts now struggle with historically high fuel prices. Electric buses also require less maintenance than traditional buses, he said.

They said …

“I have a good number of very close friends that are same-sex married.” — U.S. Sen. Joni Ernst, R-Iowa, on whether she supports same-sex marriage.

“This should not be a partisan issue. This is a harm reduction issue. This is a public health issue.” — Iowa Attorney General Tom Miller on proposed legislation to combat fentanyl overdoses.

Odds and ends

CORALVILLE INTERCHANGE: Big changes are expected when the long-awaited overhaul of the Interstate 80 and First Avenue interchange in Coralville begins.

The $41 million project will impact traffic starting early next spring when First Avenue is reduced to one lane in each direction over the interstate, with work continuing into 2024.

The current interchange — exit 242 — is a traditional diamond interchange that will be converted to a diverging diamond interchange, a design relatively new to Iowa but common in other states.

EMPLOYMENT WEBSITE RESTORED: The Iowa Workforce Development website, which services unemployment claims and helps Iowans find jobs, is back up after nearly a month offline due to a cyberattack on Geographic Solutions, which maintains the website.

NEW MEDICAL DIRECTOR: Dr. Robert Kruse, a director from the MercyOne system in Des Moines, is Iowa’s new state medical director.

Kruse succeeds Dr. Caitlin Pedati, who left her position last fall. Kruse will head the newly formed Department of Health and Human Services, which combines Iowa’s Department of Public Health and Department of Human Services.

Water cooler

HAWKS, CYCLONES PREDICT RECORD YEAR: The University of Iowa and Iowa State University athletics departments are expecting the 2023 budget year to be their most successful yet.

UI Athletics expects to generate nearly $129 million in revenue, while ISU is predicting $106.2 million in the fiscal year that began July 1, according to Board of Regents documents.

Both the UI’s and ISU’s athletic departments had a deficit in 2021, when ticket revenue to sporting events dropped off because of pandemic restrictions.

UI EXPECTS MORE FRESHMEN: The University of Iowa is scrambling to add more introductory classes for freshmen this fall, given that an incoming class of around 4,100 students is expected. Last year, 3,600 first-year students enrolled.

More in the news

COVID-19 CASES UP: New COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations in Iowa continued to rise in the past week, following a significant spike the previous week.

The state reported 5,301 new cases of the virus in the last week, up from 5,187 the week before. The number of people hospitalized with COVID-19 reached 256 statewide, up from 229 reported last week.

MONKEYPOX: Johnson County Public Health has confirmed the first case of monkeypox within the county, making for the fifth confirmed case in the state.

The telltale symptom of monkeypox is a rash that can look like pimples or blisters. These appear on the face, inside the mouth and on other parts of the body like the hands, feet, chest or genitals.

OUTDOOR GRANTS: Linn and Black Hawk counties will receive $3.5 million of federal American Rescue Plan funds allocated by the state to finish paving the last 16 miles of the Cedar Valley Nature Trail that runs between Evansdale and Hiawatha.

Gov. Kim Reynolds’ office announced the Destination Iowa grant funding Thursday.

An outdoor recreation grant also went to Maquoketa and Jackson County Conservation.

The city of Cedar Rapids is paring its request for a share of $100 million in the federal funds from $27 million to $8.4 million. The money would be used to enhance the greenway along the Cedar River in Czech Village and New Bohemia.

Gazette staff writers contributed to this roundup.