People Will Travel During Labor Day Weekend, But No Records Set
(Des Moines, IA) — The spokesman for Triple-A-Iowa says he expects a boost in vacation traffic on Iowa’s roads for the three-day weekend, but he notes it likely won’t be bumper-to-bumper like past years due to the pandemic. Mark Peterson says road trips will be cheaper than Labor Day of 2019. He says drivers will pay some of the lowest Labor Day prices at the gas pump in four
years. The national average is about two-dollars, 23 cents a gallon. That’s about 35-cents less than it was last Labor Day. Iowa’s average gallon of gas is around 29 cents less than last year at this time.
Linn County Already Processing Claims For Federal Disaster Assistance
(Cedar Rapids, IA) — Linn County was the first to be approved for individual federal disaster assistance after the derecho. FEMA spokesman, John Mills says they’ve already been able to process several claims. He says FEMA has already approved more than one-point-seven million dollars in individual assistance grants for homeowners and renters in Linn County. More than 500 households have already been approved. He says many have already had money from their claims direct deposited into their accounts. Benton, Boone, Cedar, Jasper, Marshall, Polk, Poweshiek, Scott, Story, and Tama Counties were recently added to the list for individual assistance. Mills says if you had already registered before the individual assistance was approved in the additional counties you will know because you have received a
nine-digit number and you won’t have to register again.
Iowa Governor Defends Decision To Disregard Coronavirus Task Force Recommendations
(Des Moines, IA) — Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds is defending her decision to disregard recommendations for a statewide mask mandate from the White House Coronavirus Task Force. The task force made the recommendation Monday.
Reynolds says she is working to target specific outbreaks, especially in the state’s college towns, and her plan is smarter than implementing a statewide mandate. Iowa’s positivity rate topped 12 percent last week. According to Reynolds, 62 percent of those positive cases are people between the ages of 18-and-40.
Fort Dodge Woman Already In Prison Pleads Guilty To Causing Fatal Crash
(Fort Dodge, IA) — A 26-year-old Fort Dodge woman who is already in prison has admitted causing a fatal crash two years ago. Aisha Ismail pleaded guilty to a charge of homicide by reckless driving for the 2018 head-on crash in Webster County. Twenty-year-old David Fliehe was killed. As part of her plea agreement, Ismail’s sentence for causing Fliehe’s death would begin after she has completed her current sentence for an arson conviction. She started a fire at a Des Moines mosque in June 2017. No one was injured, but two people were inside The Islamic Center when Ismail entered the building and set a carpet on fire.
IWD Accepting Applications For $300 Federal Unemployment Payment
(Des Moines, IA) — Iowa Workforce Development is now accepting applications and processing claims for the federal Lost Wages Assistance program. Eligible laid-off workers will receive a weekly 300-dollar unemployment payment, and the first one will include retroactive payments to the week ending August 1st. The L-W-A program was created by President Trump after the 600-dollar federal unemployment payments in ended in July. Iowa
was one of the first states to apply and be approved for the FEMA funding.
I-W-D director Beth Townsend said, “assisting Iowans is our number one priority and has been throughout the pandemic.”
USDA Secretary Perdue Touring Derecho Damage, Visiting Farms in Central Iowa
(Radcliffe, IA) — U-S Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue is in central Iowa today (Thursday) touring the crop damage from last month’s derecho and drought conditions. Governor Kim Reynolds, U-S Senator Joni Ernst, and Iowa Ag Secretary Mike Naig joined Secretary Perdue on a helicopter survey. The
group is visiting a farm and C-R-E-P Wetland Structure. Secretary Perdue is having lunch with members of the Iowa Corn Growers Association, and will stop this afternoon at Eagle’s Catch aquaculture farm in Ellsworth, and Performance Livestock Analytics in Ames.
Cedar Rapids Mayor Issues Mask Mandate
(Cedar Rapids, IA) — An emergency order signed by Mayor Brad Hart requires people to wear face masks at public places in Cedar Rapids. Mayor Hart says he’s been encouraging the voluntary use of masks of all residents, “unfortunately, we have continued to see an increase of cases throughout Iowa.” Enforcement will focus on education and slowing the spread of COVID-19. Police will provide face covering to those not following the mandate.
Woman Arrested in Deadly Shooting Near Drake University
(Des Moines, IA) — A woman is under arrest in connection with a deadly shooting near Drake University. Des Moines police say 33-year-old Whitney Davis is charged with the first-degree murder of 36-year-old Sean Newman. He was found dead of gunshot wounds Wednesday afternoon in the Drake neighborhood. The shooting is still under investigation.
