Health Care
Community Foundation activates disaster fund
The Community Foundation of Greater Des Moines has activated its Disaster Recovery Fund in response to the coronavirus, and already has hundreds of thousands of dollars in pledges. Any funds left over from the foundation’s response to the pandemic will remain in the fund to help with future disasters, said Kristi Knous, foundation president. The […]
Health screening at the Capitol: visitors and staff, not legislators
Staff and visitors to the Iowa Capitol on Monday were ushered into a tent for a health screening as legislators walked past into the building. The Legislature is scheduled to be in session Monday, beginning at 1 p.m., to pass resolutions for government continuity and potential legislation related to the state’s virus response. Legislative leaders […]
Prairie Meadows Racetrack & Casino to close temporarily
The Des Moines area’s largest casino, Prairie Meadows, will close its casino and horse racing operations temporarily beginning at 5 p.m. Monday due to the coronavirus outbreak. Casino officials said there have been no known cases of COVID-19 at the Altoona facility east of Iowa’s capital city. The board and casino executives decided to close […]
The lurid legacy of coronavirus: fear of humanity
Do you remember thriving downtowns, even in rural areas, with cafes, diners, restaurants and maybe even lunch wagons; hardware, clothes, book and department stores (some with lunch counters); TV-, car- and shoe-repair shacks; smoke, pet, barber, beauty, music and antique shops? Then the mall opened. Maybe a Walmart superstore, and slowly several of those hometown […]
Governor calls for school closings as legislative session is suspended
Iowa Gov. Reynolds recommended Sunday that all Iowa schools close for four weeks as part of the state’s response to the escalating community-based spread of coronavirus, or COVID-19. “Based on new information today from the Iowa Department of Public Health, now is the time to move to the next level of response,” Reynolds said Sunday. […]
Coronavirus ‘community spread’ confirmed; governor calls for new precautions
Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds announced Saturday that COVID-19 has entered a new stage in Iowa with a first case of a Dallas County resident testing positive who did not contract the virus from a known source such as an out-of-state trip. Iowa has had 18 people test positive for the highly infectious disease caused by […]
U.S. House passes coronavirus response bill; Rep. Steve King votes no
WASHINGTON — The U.S. House early Saturday approved an emergency stimulus package to combat the coronavirus pandemic after President Donald Trump signaled his support for the bill. The multibillion-dollar package aims to slow the spread of COVID-19, the disease caused by a new coronavirus, and mitigate its economic effects as fears of recession loom. The […]
COVID-19 outbreak: We’re in a crisis. Let’s not waste it.
Shortly after President Barack Obama’s first inauguration in 2009, you might remember, then White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel got into a bit of hot water when he observed to an interviewer, “You never want a serious crisis to go to waste.” A decade-and-a-half ago, America was in the throes of The Great Recession, and […]
Reynolds broadens coronavirus response but doesn’t back closing schools, businesses
Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds said Friday a state task force will add representatives from schools, businesses and hospitals to fight a coronavirus outbreak. Seventeen Iowans had tested positive for the COVID-19 virus as of Friday. That’s an increase of one case over Thursday’s count. An Iowan from Harrison County tested positive for the virus in […]
Iowa adds two new positive COVID-19 cases for a total of 16
Iowa has two more positive cases of COVID-19, both linked to the same Egyptian cruise that is responsible for most of the positive cases in the state. The new positive cases bring the total number to 16 in Iowa. Both are adults between the ages of 61 and 80; one is from Johnson County and […]
Iowa Judicial Branch sets rules for coronavirus response
Iowa Supreme Court Chief Justice Susan Christensen has issued an order governing how the courts will operate amid concerns about the spread of COVID-19, the coronavirus that’s currently spreading in the United States and in many countries around the world. “Preparation is key to minimizing coronavirus/COVID-19 impact on the services the judicial branch provides Iowans,” […]
Coronavirus ‘social distancing’ raises concerns about Iowa’s blood supply
Canceling university classes and other “social distancing” measures aimed at preventing the spread of COVID-19 could have an unintended public health consequence: reducing the state’s and nation’s blood supply. Stacy Sime, president and CEO of Lifeserve Blood Center, said as of Wednesday, nine blood drives had been canceled, reducing collections by about 275 units of […]