Gazette Daily News Briefing, May 22-23
This is Nathan Ford from the Gazette digital news desk and I’m here with your update for the weekend of May 22 and 23.
It should be a warm weekend, with a chance of storms both Saturday and Sunday. The National Weather Service forecasts a high temperature of 82 Saturday with a 20 percent chance of showers and storms after 10 a.m. Expect a high of 83 Sunday and a 30 percent chance of showers and storms in the afternoon.
Blood found in the trunk of Cristhian Bahena Rivera’s car was an exact match for Mollie Tibbetts, who was abducted and killed while out for a run in 2018, a DNA analyst told jurors Friday. Tara Scott, a criminalist in the DNA section of Iowa’s crime lab, said she analyzed a swab taken from a blood stain found on the trunk seal of Bahena Rivera’s Chevy Malibu after investigators recovered the body of Tibbetts.
Bahena Rivera is charged with first-degree murder in Tibbetts’ stabbing death. Prosecutors have used the DNA evidence, surveillance video showing Bahena Rivera’s car driving near where Tibbetts was running, and the suspect’s partial confession to build their case. The trial is expected to continue next week.
Republicans who control the Iowa Legislature are hailing their $8.119 billion state budget for the coming year as a conservative plan that meets needs in critical areas while maintaining a responsible approach to spending during an economically volatile pandemic.
The overtime 2021 legislative session produced a new state budget slated to boost overall spending by $290.7 million for the fiscal year beginning July 1. The 3.7 percent increase in spending includes $100 million for expanded broadband services in Iowa. And it is $178.2 million below available revenue that could have been allocated under Iowa’s 99 percent expenditure limitation law.
Iowa is getting billions of federal dollars to recover from the COVID-19 pandemic. But lawmakers chose to take a cautious approach as the state sorts through the requirements for using the one-time money for such areas as Medicaid, which may need to be supplemented with state money in future years.
Gov. Kim Reynolds has signed into law a bill barring government entities, private businesses and venues open to the public from requiring Iowans to present so-called "vaccine passports" as proof they’ve received COVID-19 vaccinations. House File 889 prohibits the mandatory disclosure of whether a person has received a COVID-19 vaccination.
Any governmental entity or business asking for such proof would be in violation of the law and could not receive any grants and contracts funded by state revenue. The new law, which took effect on Reynolds’ signature Thursday, also prevents all government entities in Iowa from including a person's COVID-19 vaccination status or history on a government-issued driver’s license or identification card.
More than 100,000 people in Linn County are fully vaccinated against COVID-19, according to the Iowa Department of Public Health.
The Iowa Ideas 2021 virtual conference will be here before you know it, and we would like you to be our guest on the house. The Gazette is providing free access to this two-day gathering with more than 50 sessions — filled with thought-provoking local, and national speakers — all ready to engage you on a variety of important and timely Iowa issues. Join us Oct. 14 and 15 for this can’t miss, idea-exchange experience. Learn more and register for the event at iowaideas.com.
