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State official: Iowa veterans compare nursing home’s COVID-19 unit to a ‘five-star hotel’
Only 21 residents of the Iowa Veterans Home have contracted the coronavirus this year, the home’s commandant said Monday, adding that some of the residents have likened the facility’s COVID-19 unit to a five-star hotel. Five of the infected veterans at the Marshalltown nursing home have died, Commandant Timon Oujiri said. Speaking at a press […]
Brawl inside nail salon could have been a super-spreader event, Iowa judge says
A brawl that broke out inside a small nail salon in eastern Iowa grew to the point where it could have been a super-spreader event for COVID-19, an Iowa judge has ruled. Administrative Law Judge James Timberland, presiding over an unemployment-benefits case involving a former employee of the Classy Nails salon in Hiawatha, has ruled […]
Not a surprise: Liquor sales were up in Iowa during 2020
In perhaps another indication of how 2020 has been a year most people want to forget, Iowans spent a record amount of money on liquor this past year. The increase came during the 2020 state fiscal year, which ran from July 1, 2019, through the end of June this year — a period that includes […]
Iowa nurse surrenders her license after care-facility resident dies
An Iowa nurse who failed to attempt CPR on a care-facility resident who subsequently died has surrendered her license to the state. The Iowa Board of Nursing said it reached an agreement with Marolee Miller of Manilla calling for her to surrender her license as an LPN, or licensed practical nurse. She will not be […]
New infections soar in Iowa, but is it the beginning of a prolonged surge?
At least 2,326 new cases of COVID-19 were reported in Iowa on Wednesday — a 79% increase over the 1,296 new infections reported just two days earlier. The number of newly reported infections had been shrinking recently in Iowa, with the state averaging 2,017 new cases per day, representing a decrease of 41% from the […]
State inspectors find no violations in Iowa nursing homes with major outbreaks
With COVID-19 outbreaks growing in Iowa’s nursing homes, state inspectors report finding no infection-control violations in many of the facilities with the biggest current, active outbreaks. As of Wednesday afternoon, there were 141 current, active outbreaks in Iowa nursing homes, according to the Iowa Department of Public Health. There are 5,725 infections associated with those outbreaks. […]
COVID-19 outbreaks continue to grow in Iowa nursing homes
Iowa is continuing to see a slowdown in the rate at which COVID-19 has been spreading across the state in recent weeks, but nursing homes — which house Iowa’s most vulnerable citizens — continue to see a rapid spread of the virus. At least six more Iowans died of COVID-19 on Monday, with 1,296 additional […]
Iowa alters COVID-19 death calculations and remains silent on care-facility deaths
The state of Iowa is revising its reporting of COVID-19 deaths to better conform to federal standards, resulting in Iowa’s total death toll from the pandemic increasing by 177. Kelly Garcia, director of the Iowa Department of Human Services and the Iowa Department of Public Health, announced the change Monday night. She said IDPH will […]
Bar owners suing the state cite Reynolds’ opposition to a mask mandate
A lawsuit challenging the governor’s pandemic-related restrictions on bars is being appealed to the Iowa Supreme Court. As part of the litigation, the owners of eight central Iowa bars are using Gov. Kim Reynolds’ refusal to order Iowans to wear masks in public against her, arguing that it shows she failed to take less draconian […]
Iowa infections trending down, but deaths are at an all-time high
At least 35 more Iowans died of COVID-19 on Sunday, with 1,304 additional infections reported by the state. The state’s seven-day average of daily deaths now stands at its highest level since the beginning of the pandemic: 45. By comparison, the seven-day average of the daily death tally during September ranged from five to 10, […]
Doctor’s true identity revealed in court, with judge citing the public’s right to know
A physician accused of shoving another doctor during an operating-room altercation cannot sue the state under an assumed name, an Iowa judge has ruled. According to court records, Dr. Domenico Calcaterra, 52, is a vascular surgeon who worked at the University of Iowa Hospitals & Clinics from 2008 to 2012. In a sworn affidavit filed […]
Attorney general denies approving experiments on Glenwood residents
The Iowa attorney general’s office is denying allegations that it approved or was involved in plans to conduct sexual-arousal experiments on the mentally disabled residents of a state-run care facility. In a lawsuit filed by former employees of the Glenwood Resource Center, the six individuals allege they were ousted in retaliation for the concerns they […]