Gazette Daily News Briefing, July 31
This is Stephen Schmidt from the Gazette Digital News Desk, and I’m here with your update for Monday, July 31.
It will be sunny on Monday, but luckily not as hot as last week. According to the National Weather Service it will be sunny with a high near 87 degrees on Monday. On Monday night it will be partly cloudy, with a low of around 65 degrees.
It seems we’re getting rain at just the wrong times.
RAGBRAI riders in Coralville had to take shelter as Friday night’s severe weather brought strong winds that knocked out power, downed trees and damaged buildings.
The storms moved in as Coralville was set to welcome thousands of cyclists for an overnight stop on the Register’s Annual Great Bicycle Ride Across Iowa with a festival and concert by a rock band. Instead, campers were encouraged to seek shelter in City Hall and schools to ride out the storm.
“Due to severe weather we have had to make the difficult decision to cancel the Bush concert this evening,” RAGBRAI told cyclists over Facebook.
Reports to the National Weather Service included wind gusts up to 90 mph in Hiawatha, downed power lines and toppled trees in Marion, Shueyville, Swisher, Tipton and other locations. A tree fell on a mobile home in Wyoming in Jones County, a report to the weather service said.
Meanwhile, you-pick farms across Iowa are struggling this summer due to heat, drought and haze. The drought has made it difficult for farmers to grow water-intensive crops like blueberries and strawberries, and the haze has caused poor air quality, which has kept some customers away.
In 2015, Iowa’s horticulture industry generated $48 million in direct sales and an additional $32 million in other avenues like labor income and investor returns, according to the 2017 Iowa Commercial Horticulture Food Crop Survey.
About half of the state’s horticulture producers exclusively marketed directly to consumers.
You-pick farms offer visitors the chance to harvest their own produce straight from the tree, bush or ground. Dozens of such businesses contribute to Iowa’s agritourism industry. But many of the featured specialty crops — particularly fruit — are more sensitive to climate stressors, like heat and drought, than traditional row crops.
This summer marks Iowa’s third year in a row of drought. The July 20 U.S. Drought Monitor Report depicted 100 percent of Iowa in abnormally dry or drought conditions.
A former social worker with the University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics was arrested this week on charges he had a sexual relationship with a client.
James Daniel Burkhalter, 43, of Iowa City, is charged with six counts of sexual exploitation by a counselor or therapist, a Class D felony. He had his first appearance in court Friday and was released from jail on his own recognizance.
Burkhalter is accused of having sexual contact with a patient on six occasions between October 2020 and May 2021. Four happened during scheduled clinical appointments, during which he was to provide mental health services, and two happened at the patient’s residence, according to criminal complaints.
A no-contact order has been filed on behalf of the victim.
