Gazette Daily News Briefing, December 3
This is Stephen Schmidt from the Gazette digital news desk and I’m here with your update for Friday, December 3.
The weather Friday will be a little cooler than Thursday, but still quite pleasant for early December. According to a National Weather Service forecast it will be sunny with a high near 53 degrees in the Cedar Rapids area. On Friday night it will be mostly clear, with a low around 28 degrees.
Among a handful of key areas on which the University of Iowa is focused as it heads into a future facing challenges old and new is mental health and supporting student well-being, University of Iowa President Barbara Wilson told a group of community members Thursday.
By instituting a new annual $24 student fee, the UI has added eight mental health professionals to its counseling service — which now has 38 staffers, including three psychology interns and six practicum trainees. UI Counseling this fall is offering virtual and in-person support; group and individual therapy; relationship and couples counseling; and phone consultations among other things.
During Thursday’s meeting, a community member asked what compelled the UI to focus more attention on mental health. Wilson said that while it’s embedded in the campus’ strategic plan, she also has personal convictions around the mental health needs of her community.
“I don't think you can be a leader today and ignore the challenges that we're facing around mental health,” she said. “And they're really pre-pandemic. Before the pandemic, national statistics tell us that 30 percent of students going to college come into a university with a diagnosis of depression, anxiety, or with some other mental health challenge.” With the pandemic, that has spiked nationally to 80 percent, she said.
Local blood centers are helping replenish the blood supply in Michigan following a school shooting in Oxford, Mich., this week that killed four and injured seven.
ImpactLife, formerly known as the Mississippi Valley Regional Blood Center, sent 15 units of O-type red blood cells to hospitals in Oxford and the surrounding region north of Detroit on Wednesday.
A 15-year-old student at Oxford High School has been charged with first-degree murder and terrorism in connection with the shootings.
ImpactLife officials said the request for blood came through the Blood Centers of America, which coordinates blood donations after “mass transfusion incidents.”
ImpactLife provides blood services to 126 hospitals in Iowa, Illinois, Wisconsin and Missouri.
Officials emphasized regional blood centers makes sure they “prioritize local needs” when responding to an emergency request. ImpactLife is seeking donors to “ensure the ongoing availability” of blood
A Monticello man faces a first-degree arson charge, accused of causing an explosion in his home’s basement that injured a Jones County deputy last month.
David J. Costello, 62, had threatened to set off a bomb at his home Nov. 17 when Monticello police and a deputy were called to his home at 606 N. Sycamore St.
As officers attempted to talk with Costello, he ignited a propane torch near a natural gas line he had opened. The officer and deputy were “consumed in a flash fire” from the resulting explosion, according to a criminal complaint.
The Monticello Fire Department put out a fire of nearby combustible materials, the complaint stated.
The deputy was treated for minor injuries, and Costello was taken to a hospital for a medical and psychological evaluation.
Next year will end a chapter in the state's gambling history when an Iowa dog track hosts the last live greyhound race in Dubuque.
The dwindling number of greyhounds bred for racing, along with the slow demise of the once-thriving industry, forced the operator of the Iowa Greyhound Park in Dubuque to request a scaled-back, 18-day race meet for 2022 with the last live race expected to occur in May, according to the state Racing & Gaming Commission.
Organizers say the end of racing greyhounds has been coming for a while now, both locally and nationally, as legislatures across the country banned racing greyhounds. Although not banned in Iowa, the state did move in 2014 to prevent state casinos from funding racing operations, instead allowing private operators to lease race tracks in an effort to provide a soft landing so dog breeders and owners wouldn’t be hit by the change all at once.
Are you a fan of trying new restaurants? Get the latest restaurant openings & closings and more chewy tips from The Gazette's Chew On this newsletter. Sign up at thegazette.com slash chew
Be sure to subscribe to The Gazette Daily news podcast, or just tell your Amazon Alexa enabled device to “enable The Gazette Daily News skill" so you can get your daily briefing by simply saying “Alexa, what’s the news?
If you prefer podcasts, you can also find us on iTunes or wherever else you find your Podcasts.
