Gazette Daily News Briefing, June 13 and June 14
This is Stephen Schmidt from the Gazette digital news desk and I’m here with your update for the weekend of June 13 and June 14.
Your weekend weather will begin with a small chance for rain. According to the National Weather Service, cloudy skies in the morning should give way to partly sunny skies with a high near 75 degrees in the Cedar Rapids area. There is a 20 percent chance of rain listed all day, although any showers that occur are not predicted to be significant. There will be a low of 54 Saturday night with partly cloudy skies. Sunday will be similar to Saturday, but will exchange a small chance for rain for a bit more wind, with a 10-15 wind sometimes gusting as high as 25 mph. The high is expected to be 76 degrees Sunday, with a low of around 59 degrees.
Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds said it will go down as one of the finest hours of the Iowa Legislature. As members of Black Lives Matter and the Iowa House’s black delegation raised fists to the sky behind her, Reynolds signed bipartisan legislation instituting reforms to the state’s policing. Provisions in the police reform law include a ban on the use of choke holds with some exceptions; requirements for de-escalation and bias training; a prohibition on hiring officers who have been fired for misconduct or using excessive force elsewhere; and clearance for the Iowa Attorney General to investigate cases when an officer’s actions result in an individual’s death — even if a local county attorney chooses not to pursue charges.
The new law is a direct result of the backlash and protests that have erupted nationwide since the May 25 death of George Floyd, a black Minnesota man killed as a white officer knelt on his neck for nearly nine minutes while three other officers watched.
The bill was introduced midweek and was passed Thursday with not only rare bipartisan support, but it was rare unanimous support in both chambers of government. Advocates for racial justice on the scene cheered the progress, but cited more improvements they would like to see made in the state, including the restoration of voting rights for felons who have completed their sentence, anti-racial profiling measures for law enforcement and the decriminalization of marijuana.
The University of Iowa announced Friday that it will not follow the lead of its fellow regent schools by moving up its fall semester and ending it early — instead sticking with the original UI academic calendar. Earlier in the week, Iowa State University and University of Northern Iowa unveiled plans to start their fall semesters Aug. 17 and complete them the day before Thanksgiving to reduce student exposure to the coronavirus during potential peak times. UI officials on Friday promised to share more details of their policies and recommendations for limiting COVID-19 exposure on campus next Wednesday, followed by a series of forums allowing community members to ask questions.
Iowa reached 650 deaths from the disease so far by the end of the day Friday. Despite more testing positive for the disease, hospitalizations have been dropping for the past two weeks.
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Have a good weekend everyone.
