Gazette Daily News Briefing, February 4
This is Stephen Schmidt from the Gazette digital news desk and I’m here with your update for Friday, February 4.
Friday’s weather will thankfully be the last day in the teens before some warmer weather
this weekend and into next week. According to the National Weather Service it will be mostly sunny in the Cedar Rapids area for the last day of the week, with wind chill values as low as -10. On Friday night it will be mostly clear, with a low around -2.
Gov. Kim Reynolds announced Thursday that she will end Iowa’s COVID-19 public health disaster emergency with a proclamation later this month. As a result, the state public health department is changing how it publicly reports COVID-19 data.
The emergency proclamation will go into effect at 11:59 p.m. on Feb. 15, and with it the state’s ongoing pandemic response will shift to managing the coronavirus “as part of normal daily business.”
On Feb. 16, the state will be decommissioning its two state-run websites that provided key information for Iowans on COVID-19. One is vaccinate.iowa.gov, which has a COVID-19 vaccine appointment finder tool for users. The other is coronavirus.iowa.gov, the state’s public COVID-19 data hub for regular reports on new cases, hospitalizations, deaths, vaccinations and other metrics used to measure the virus’ impact on Iowa.
The state will also change requirements for hospitals and long term care facilities reporting COVID-19 statistics. The Iowa Department of Public Health pledged to still monitor the disease and facilitate testing, but the goal is to move COVID-19 into a place where it is treated like other diseases, such as the flu.
In other words, the disease isn’t gone. They just don’t want people to talk about it as much.
The trial for a Cedar Rapids teen charged with killing his parents with a knife and an ax has been reset to Oct. 18.
Lawyers for Ethan Alexander Orton, 17, charged as an adult with two counts of first-degree murder, said they needed more time to prepare for that case and hadn’t received all the discovery evidence at this time. The trial was set to start Tuesday.
Orton waived his right to a speedy trial, and Assistant Linn County Attorney Mike Harris didn’t resist resetting the trial. Sixth Judicial District Judge Ian Thornhill granted the change. Orton’s attorneys have indicated that they are likely working toward an insanity plea.
The teen remains in jail under a $2 million cash-only bail. First-degree murder is a life sentence without parole, but because he is a juvenile, he would have the opportunity for parole if convicted.
The Iowa Department of Natural Resources is asking for the public’s help to identify the person who shot a bald eagle in southeast Cedar Rapids Jan. 9.
The DNR responded to a report of an injured bald eagle along the Cedar River near the Sac and Fox Trail.
The raptor was captured and taken to a local wildlife rehabilitator where the gunshot wound was discovered during examination. Due to the severity of the eagle’s injuries, it had to be euthanized.
Anyone with information is urged to call or email State Conservation Officer Travis Graves at (319) 350-2863 or Travis.Graves@DNR.Iowa.gov, or call the Turn In Poachers (TIP) hotline at 1-800-532-2020. Callers may remain anonymous.
Support for this news update was provided by New Pioneer Food Co-op. Celebrating 50 years as Eastern Iowa’s destination for locally and responsibly sourced groceries with stores in Iowa City, Coralville and Cedar Rapids; and online through Co-op Cart at newpi.coop.
