Governor’s Economic Recovery Advisory Board Delivers Report
(Des Moines) — Governor Kim Reynolds Economic Recovery Advisory Board presented their proposal during the governor’s news conference held Thursday morning. Reynolds says Iowans have always been able to “turn obstacles into opportunities” and that served as a theme and mission for the Economic Recovery Advisory Board. The 15-member board consisted of leaders from
Iowa’s business community. The Economic Recovery Advisory Board was chaired by Ruan’s C-E-O Ben McLean. McLean says the governor challenged the board to find ways to create jobs, strengthen the Iowa economy, and make Iowa a better
place to live for all Iowans. McLean says the governor appointed board is making 18 recommendations, with the focus on the following themes.
McLean says there were many suggestions the evolved not only from the advisory board, but also from the more than 350 volunteers who submitted ideas for consideration. The Ruan Company C-E-O highlighted three specific suggestions during the governor’s news conference.
McLean says one effort to attract and retain people to Iowa is to improve on offering additional affordable housing.
McLean says another area that needs improvement is the state’s childcare system.
The chairman of the Governor’s Economic Recovery Board says for all the recommendations to happen, it cannot be based on a political agenda, but says it is an Iowa solution, based upon the suggestions of many.
To view the Governor’s Economic Recovery Board Report, you can visit the website: governor.iowa.gov/gerab-report.
Le Mars City Council Discussed RAGBRAI During Tuesday Meeting
(Le Mars) — Le Mars city council again discussed RAGBRAI during its Tuesday meeting. Over the weekend, the Des Moines Register announced its route for 2021. Le Mars was again selected to start the cross-state bicycle ride.
Council members were given an update pertaining to the bicycle ride by City Administrator Jason Vacura. Vacura informed the council he spoke with five other over-night host communities and inquired about their thoughts of hosting RAGBRAI. Vacura says the other communities share the same thoughts and concerns as does Le Mars.
Vacura says RAGBRAI officials held a recent zoom meeting with the overnight host communities and offered some updated information. The city administrator says RAGBRAI officials indicated registration is up for this year’s ride. He says RAGBRAI officials have made some suggestions as to how they may address the COVID-19 virus situation.
Vacura says RAGBRAI officials will be working with the Iowa Department of Public Health. Vacura went on to mention other measures RAGBRAI officials are considering.
Council members asked about the so-called “Bandits” or bicyclists that don’t register with RAGBRAI, but participate on the cross-state ride. Vacura says RAGBRAI officials have established March 15th as the deadline for whether they proceed with this year’s ride, or to again cancel the event. Councilman Clark Goodchild reminded the council the decision should not rest with the city officials. He says the city council wasn’t involved with the original decision to host the event, and it may need to be deferred to the Le Mars RAGBRAI hosting committee. Mayor Dick Kirchoff says the city offices fielded several questions from regional media asking if Le Mars was backing out of RAGBRAI. Kirchoff settled the rumors, and says Le Mars is still wanting to
host RAGBRAI.
Vacura says RAGBRAI intends to have each overnight host community sign an agreement. Vacura and city attorney Mike Murphy say this is new for RAGBRAI.
Vacura says he has yet to receive the agreement, and doesn’t know what it will contain.
Pharmacies Get More Doses Of Vaccine
(Undated) — Walgreens and C-V-S are getting another 32-thousand dose of COVID-19 vaccines that are available for Iowans 65 or older. They’re being distributed to stores in 11 Iowa counties. Appointments can be made through the websites of the pharmacies. The University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics
used its entire week’s allotment of COVID-19 vaccines on the first day of inoculating people over 65. Hospital C-E-O Suresh Gunasekaran (suh-RESH goo- nuh-SAY-krin) says the quick rollout of one-thousand doses shows the Iowa City medical center is ready to scale up as vaccine supplies increase.
Test Iowa Sites Adjusting Hours For Storm
(Des Moines, IA) — Four of the five state-operated Test Iowa drive-thru sites will adjust their hours today (Thursday) because of the winter storm.
·The Des Moines site is closed for testing all day, Davenport and Waterloo are closing early at 12 p-m. Cedar Rapids is closing early at 1 p-m. Anyone who had an appointment canceled due to the change in hours can bring their Q-R code to any site during regular hours to be tested. There is no need to take the assessment again or schedule a new appointment time. The Council Bluffs site will operate on its regular hours.
Congresswoman Exposed To COVID
(Washington, DC) — Third District Congresswoman Cindy Axne is self quarantining after a member of her staff that was with her on a district tour tested positive for COVID-19. Axne, a Democrat from West Des Moines later reported her COVID test came back negative, and she is not currently experiencing any symptoms. A spokesperson says ” strict COVID-19 protocols”
were in place during the tour — and everyone who attended with the staff member was contacted to inform them. Axne is casting her vote and attending House hearings virtually.
Special Permit For Farm Kids Approved In Senate
(Des Moines, IA) — A bill that has cleared the Iowa Senate would provide a special state driving permit for those between the ages of 14-and-a-half and 16 so they can drive to and from work on a farm. The teens would be allowed to drive alone from 5 a-m. to 10 p-m for farm work within a 50-mile radius of
the farm. Senator Dan Zumbach (ZUM-bah) is a farmer from Ryan who says the bill reflects the “needs and the wants of the folks here in Iowa.” The teen would have be driving to do chores for their family’s farming operation or being paid to work on someone else’s farm. Iowa has a graduated licensing system for young drivers. It starts at age 14 with an “instruction permit” to
drive, but only when an adult is in the vehicle.
KMEG-TV (CBS) To Switch Channels
SIOUX CITY, Iowa — Effective Thursday, February 4th, 2021, Siouxland’s CBS affiliate (formerly known as KMEG 14) will be moving its signal to a new home on a new antenna. CBS 14 will technically move to a new frequency, channel 44.3, a subchannel of KPTH-TV. In addition, several sub-channels formerly found under the KPTH and KMEG signals will change frequencies as well. Cable and satellite viewers will not be affected. Viewers who receive their television signal over the air via antenna will need to re-scan with their television’s built-in tuner. Re-scanning is simple and requires no additional services or equipment. More information can be found at www.fcc.gov/rescan
Remember to Rescan
If you receive digital TV over-the-air with an antenna, you should periodically rescan to update the channels you receive. While some boxes do this automatically, you may need to select “scan” or “auto-tune” from the TV or converter box control menu to start the scanning process.
www.fcc.gov, or by calling 1-800-CALL-FCC.
The new lineup of channels will be as follows:
FOX 44 on channel 44.1
My Net & TBD on channel 44.2
CBS 14 on channel 44.3
DABL on channel 14.1
Charge! on channel 14.2
Comet on channel 14.3
Stadium on channel 14.4.
