UPDATE Oct. 15, 2020: If you escaped the frost so far this fall, take heed tonight, as temperatures are expected to dip below freezing for much of the eastern third of the state. Forecasts this week call for possible frost in Iowa from Thursday night, Oct. 1, into Friday morning. According to Iowa State University […]
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Month: September 2020
Iowa chainsaw artist keeps busy with der...
CEDAR RAPIDS — Clint Henik’s artwork went viral with a chainsaw carving giving the “finger” to 2020, but his work goes beyond that customer-requested design. His most current carving is in the Czech Village neighborhood, where Shear Confidence, 117 16th Ave. SW, is having a pair of shears carved from a tree downed by the […]
Fall colors in post-derecho Iowa
Iowa’s fall foliage landscape will take on a decidedly different look in parts of the state hit by the Aug. 10 hurricane-strength derecho. Cedar Rapids, for example, lost an estimated 65 percent of its tree canopy in the storm, with winds up to 140 mph that uprooted century-old trees, twisted off treetops, bent tree trunks […]
Iowa nursing home outbreaks and deaths r...
UPDATE Sept. 25, 2020: Iowa now has reported a record high 50 nursing home outbreaks, with 1,306 deaths statewide, including 679 deaths connected to long-term care facilities. In less than two months, coronavirus outbreaks at Iowa nursing homes have nearly doubled, as Gov. Kim Reynolds continues to resist recommendations to issue a statewide mask mandate. […]
Cedar Rapids vigil honors legacy of Supr...
CEDAR RAPIDS — One day after her death, a crowd of nearly 100 people gathered to honor the life of Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg in front of the Federal Courthouse in Cedar Rapids. Ginsburg died Friday, Sept. 18, 2020, of complications from pancreatic cancer after serving since 1993 as the second woman on […]
Big Ten announces intent to resume footb...
The Big Ten will resume football this fall, with games beginning the weekend of Oct. 23-24 spread out over a shorter season, and daily coronavirus testing beginning by Sept. 30, 2020. “The Big Ten Council of Presidents and Chancellors (COP/C) adopted significant medical protocols including daily antigen testing, enhanced cardiac screening and an enhanced data-driven […]
DNR bypasses health, climate concerns to...
The Iowa Department of Natural Resources overlooked concerns from nearly a dozen respondents in renewing a five-year air quality operating permit for the University of Iowa. “The system is rigged,” said Massimo Paciotto Biggers, a City High student and a leader of the Iowa City Climate Strikers, after learning of the permit renewal. “No one […]
Disturbing the peace: Iowa cemeteries re...
The derecho windstorm that packed up to 140 mph winds Aug. 10 in Iowa — equivalent to a category 4 hurricane — not only destroyed homes, businesses and trees, but wreaked havoc on some of the state’s final resting places. Cemeteries in the Cedar Rapids area were particularly hit hard when the straightline windstorm, which […]
Last gasp: Derecho and drought-stressed ...
Crabapples and other trees that typically bloom in the spring might be giving their last showy display this September. Related: How to care for trees that survived Iowa’s derecho windstorm Some of those trees severely damaged in Iowa’s Aug. 10 hurricane-strength derecho windstorm, and further stressed by drought, can be seen blooming in Cedar Rapids […]
Cedar Rapids mayor issues mask mandate a...
Even as a White House task force recommends a mask mandate for the state as coronavirus cases surge in Iowa, Gov. Kim Reynolds remains among the last holdouts, but on Wednesday, Sept. 2, Cedar Rapids Mayor Brad Hart issued his own proclamation for Iowa’s second largest city. “New positive cases of the virus continue at […]