Gazette Daily News Briefing, Labor Day Weekend Edition
This is Stephen Schmidt from the Gazette digital news desk and I’m here with your update for Labor Day Weekend.
Your Labor Day weekend forecast is sort of like a cliff of two seasons, with summer at the summit, and fall down below. According to the National Weather Service, Saturday will feature sunny skies in the Cedar Rapids area, with a high of 84 degrees and a mild wind. If you’re in charge of planning outdoor activities, Saturday looks like the best bet.
Storms will roll in late Saturday night into Sunday morning, with the majority of the showers and thunderstorms expected in the early morning hours Sunday. Still, it will be hot again Sunday, with a high near 92 degrees and a heavy breeze between 15 and 25 mph. It is predicted to be mostly sunny at times Sunday, with more thunderstorms still possible. On Labor Day Monday, the high temperature will drop roughly 30 degrees in one day, with a predicted high of 75 degrees. A chance for rain is likely again on Monday.
Local elected officials pleaded Friday for the Federal Emergency Management Agency to bring 200 trailers to Cedar Rapids for residents whose homes were destroyed in the Aug. 10 derecho.
Agency representatives who spoke at a forum organized by Democratic U.S. Rep. Abby Finkenauer said FEMA trailers are expensive, take a long time to deploy, and should be used only if local rental housing and other options aren’t available. Still, with many people struggling to find housing due to the widespread damage of the storm, the local officials stressed to FEMA that they may be running out of better alternatives.
All 21 of the Cedar Rapids Community School District’s elementary schools will be open for in-person classes when the academic year starts Sept. 21, the district told parents Friday.
The news also means three middle schools that were going to be devoted to elementary students will be able to be used for the older students after all.
Harding, Wilson and Roosevelt middle schools also will begin in-person classes for students Sept. 21.
But students at three other middle schools — Franklin, McKinley and Taft — and the three high schools — Jefferson, Kennedy and Washington — will start classes online since their school buildings are still being repaired.
In just two days, the University of Iowa added 253 more self-reported cases of COVID-19 among students, bringing the total just two weeks into the semester to 1,395 — among the highest on college campuses in the nation.
The UI also reported three more cases among employee, for 19 total, and framed the news as an “improvement” after seeing a “disappointing spike in COVID-19 cases last week.”
The report comes days after nearly 1,000 UI faculty, staff and students pledged to participate in a “sickout” by calling in sick to protest the administration’s refusal to move all classes online.
UI officials could not confirm how many people actually participated in the sickout, but in an open letter to administrators, protest organizers reported being flooded with messages and stories of how the campus’ reopening has negatively impacted their lives.
