Iowans spending time outdoors on warm fall days may experience a piercing bite from a nearly invisible foe. Minute pirate bugs, whose scientific name, Orius insidiosus, gives rise to its other moniker, the insidious flower bug, can inflict painful bites relative to its size. Entomologist Donald Lewis, of Iowa State University Extension and Outreach, notes […]
Iowa hits somber coronavirus milestone a...
Less than two weeks after claiming he had tested positive for COVID-19, Donald Trump plans a presidential campaign rally in Des Moines, even as Iowa surpasses 100,000 cases of the deadly virus. Trump, who received medical care unavailable to most Americans after saying he tested positive for COVID-19 earlier this month — including a treatment […]
Bracing for an early frost in Iowa
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 […]
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 […]