News
Reynolds reopens more Iowa businesses, says hospitals are prepared
Gov. Kim Reynolds said Wednesday that Iowa hospitals are prepared to manage COVID-19 cases as she reopens hair and nail salons, barber shops and massage therapy businesses statewide starting Friday, as well as businesses like retail stores, restaurants and fitness centers in the 22 counties that are not yet open. Bars, casinos and theaters other […]
MidAmerican: Wind tax credit extension would protect consumers
MidAmerican Energy said the Trump administration’s move to extend renewable energy tax credits beyond the Dec. 31 deadline would protect consumers from potential construction delays related to the COVID-19 pandemic. Both of Iowa’s investor-owned utilities, MidAmerican and Alliant Energy, have major wind developments in the works. Both have committed to increasing their renewable energy, with […]
Grassley appears to back limits on corporate liability tied to COVID-19
WASHINGTON — Iowa Republican Sen. Chuck Grassley signaled Tuesday that he backs a push from Senate GOP leadership to shield business owners from lawsuits related to the COVID-19 pandemic. Grassley, a senior member of the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee, questioned business leaders at a hearing on Capitol Hill as lawmakers debated whether Congress should prioritize […]
Fauci warns reopening too soon could cause ‘suffering and death’
WASHINGTON — A top Trump administration health official warned U.S. senators Tuesday that reopening the economy too quickly could cause suffering, death and an even longer economic setback. Dr. Anthony Fauci, the head of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases at the National Institutes of Health, told lawmakers there could be a surge […]
Des Moines Arts Festival canceled for the year
The Des Moines Arts Festival scheduled for June 26-28 has been canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Organizers said they will focus on other ways to promote the arts over the months. They said they regret the “damaging setback” to artists, vendors and nonprofit organizations counting on the festival, one of the largest in Des […]
Des Moines airport traffic down 96% in April, 33% for year
Des Moines International Airport’s passenger traffic is down by a third for the year amid reduced travel due to the coronavirus pandemic. Traffic was down 95.5% in April compared with the same month a year ago. Just 10,767 passengers flew, and no charters were booked. Leading the losses were United, down 98%, and Frontier and […]
U.S. House Dems unveil massive $3T pandemic relief bill
WASHINGTON — U.S. House Democrats unveiled an economic relief package of epic proportions Tuesday in response to the coronavirus pandemic. The sweeping legislation carries a whopping $3 trillion-plus price tag — more than the combined total of four coronavirus response bills passed this year. Democrats called it “bold” and “transformative” and said it is needed to meet […]
Will Congress send aid to ailing local news outlets?
WASHINGTON — Politicians are banding together to try to rescue local news media from economic collapse during the coronavirus pandemic. On Monday, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., announced that Democratic leaders in Congress are pushing to fix a small business lending program so that it applies to local news publishers and broadcasters affiliated with larger […]
Reynolds delays announcement on reopenings
As a national network reported Iowa has one of the country’s most severe COVID-19 hotspots, Gov. Kim Reynolds on Tuesday delayed her planned announcement of additional reopenings in the state. Reynolds did not address an unreleased White House report, obtained by NBC News on Monday, that listed Des Moines as having one of the sharpest […]
MidAmerican Energy hits 61% renewable energy
Wind energy and other renewable sources supplied 61.3% of the energy that MidAmerican Energy delivered to its Iowa customers last year, the Iowa Utilities Board verified in an order. That is a 10 percentage point increase over the year before in the amount of renewable generation as a percentage of total retail energy delivered. “We’re […]
Sierra Club calls for hearings on water export proposal
The Iowa Chapter of the nonprofit environmental group Sierra Club has called for a scientific study of a northeast Iowa sand mine’s proposal to export water from Iowa’s Jordan Aquifer wells. Pattison Sand Co.’s proposal should also be subject to public hearings, Sierra Club maintained in a news release. The group called on the Iowa […]
Iowa to offer $1.3M in cultural grants
The Iowa Department of Cultural Affairs has reopened applications for emergency grants after federal aid boosted the account to $1.3 million. The grants are for cultural organizations that have suffered financially due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The federal money came from the CARES Act through the National Endowment for the Arts and the National Endowment […]