Gazette Daily News Briefing, July 16 and July 17
The chance for rain from Friday will carry over a little into Saturday. According to the National Weather Service there will be a slight chance of showers, hovering at around 20 percent, in the Cedar Rapids area between 1 and 4 p.m., and a slight chance of showers and thunderstorms after that. Otherwise it will be mostly cloudy, with a high near 83 degrees. The low will be around 68 degrees. This trend will continue into Sunday, but with partly sunny skies and a high near 86 degrees. On Sunday night it will be mostly clear, with a low of around 66 degrees. With a brief glance at next week’s temperatures, it’s looking hotter again, so enjoy the cooler weather we get this weekend.
The Linn County Sheriff’s Office continued its search Friday for an 11-year-old Cedar Rapids girl named Zyah Thomas who went into the Cedar River Wednesday near Palisades-Kepler State Park.
A Thursday evening tweet from the Sheriff’s Office said Thursday’s search efforts, which were conducted using boats and divers, yielded no results, and the search would continue Friday.
Thomas was visiting the beach Wednesday afternoon with her family. She was playing in the water when she began to struggle, leading her to disappear into the river, according to Linn County Sheriff Brian Gardner.
On Friday, there were eight deputies on scene. The search was being conducted using boats and a helicopter.
Nearly a dozen nursing homes in Iowa have closed since late last year, largely due to financial stress from inflation, supply chain issues and workforce shortages, the leader of a statewide health care organization said Friday.
While many businesses and industries are facing those same pressures, Brent Willett, president and CEO of the Iowa Health Care Association, said nursing homes cannot respond to those pressures in the same way other businesses can.
Because of that lack of flexibility, many nursing homes, especially in rural areas, face closing, Willett said, and he argued that due to these challenges nursing homes need more financial assistance from the state.
Willett made the comments Friday during taping of this weekend’s episode of “Iowa Press” on Iowa PBS.
Even where nursing homes that are staying afloat, many are being forced to reduce their services or available beds, Willett said. According to a recent survey of his group’s members, at least 45 percent of Iowa nursing homes are limiting or freezing admissions because of a lack of staff, he said.
Due to a larger-than-expected freshmen class coming next month to the University of Iowa — meaning strong demand for on-campus housing — the UI has announced several measures aimed at mitigating crowding in its residence halls.
Where the campus in both of the last two academic years provided on-campus isolation and quarantine space for students who contract COVID-19, students this fall must come up with their own plan, according to a recent message from UI Housing and Dining.
The university also is reopening its Parklawn Hall, which UI officials previously suggested they might raze as part of redevelopment plans for 7.8 acres that include the former Hawkeye marching band practice field.
In another interesting maneuver aimed at addressing the overflow, UI Housing and Dining is converting student lounges on floors in its Rienow, Slater and Stanley halls into rooms. Six students will share each lounge, which will be accessible only by key to its residents.
