Gazette Daily News Briefing, July 23
This is Stephen Schmidt from the Gazette digital news desk and I’m here with your update for Thursday, July 23.
Your Thursday weather is looking to be pretty boring. But, you know, good boring. According to the National Weather Service, there should be a high near 85 degrees in the Cedar Rapids area Thursday with sunny skies. The wind will also play along with all the tranquility, hovering at 5 mph all day.
The director of Iowa’s Medicaid program is leaving his role next month.
Michael Randol, who was hired to oversee the state’s privately managed program about two and a half years ago, is stepping down from his role on Aug. 14 to take an unspecified job in the private sector, the Iowa Department of Human Services announced Wednesday. Gov. Kim Reynolds hired Randol to try to stabilize Iowa Medicaid, a program that has been plagued with criticism since it privatized in April 2016. This effort has been met with mixed results, with several private insurance companies administering Medicaid benefits leaving the state’s program because of what they described as chronic underfunding.
The debate over masks in Iowa continued Wednesday. The Johnson County Board of Supervisors signaled Wednesday it would join its elected colleagues in Iowa City in issuing a mandate requiring citizens to wear masks in public.
Board members said Wednesday during a work session that they have tried to urge mask use for months, but their words have not had the desired effect. Gov. Kim Reynolds previously has said local governments do not have the authority to implement mask requirements.
Supervisor Janelle Rettig said she was fine with a legal challenge from the governor’s office.
“It’s a global pandemic and it requires leadership and we should be leading on it,” Rettig said. “If she wants to sue us, then she can sue us …. Let’s just protect public health and let the chips lie where they lie.”
Six more people died from COVID-19 by the end of Wednesday, bringing the state’s total to 814. Total positive cases also passed the 40,000 mark, although daily cases were lower than earlier in the week.
Fellow midwestern states Minnesota, Ohio, and Indiana have already signaled this week that they would be implementing statewide mask mandates.
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