Gazette Daily News Briefing, November 7 and November 8
This is Stephen Schmidt from the Gazette digital news desk and I’m here with your update for the weekend of November 7 and November 8.
The next three days are predicted to be the last three nice weather days before we crash back to colder and sometimes rainy weather. So try and enjoy it while you can. According to the National Weather Service, it should be sunny with a high near 73 degrees Saturday in the Cedar Rapids area. It will be somewhat windy, with winds of 10 to 15 mph gusting as high as 30 mph. On Saturday night it will be mostly clear with a low around 55 degrees and the wind calming a bit. Sunday then is predicted to be quite similar, mostly sunny with a high near 74 degrees and again moderate breeziness. On Sunday night there will be a low of 60 degrees, with partly cloudy skies and a low of around 60 degrees.
As of Saturday morning we still do not have a formal declaration for the next President of the United States, but trends seem to be pointing to that being resolved perhaps sometime this weekend. As mail-in ballots continue to be counted, former Vice President Joe Biden continued to gain ground in Pennsylvania, Georgia, and Nevada, while holding on to a vote majority in Arizona. Biden would need either a win in Pennsylvania or a combination of the other three states to reach the presidency, while incumbent President Donald Trump would need to reverse his fortunes dramatically to win the election.
This current state of the vote count was reflected in the approach of both campaigns Friday, with President Trump issuing a statement that he would challenge the voting results in several states and former Vice President Joe Biden saying in a televised speech that he would win the election and emphasizing the need for reconciliation after the votes are finally counted.
Speaking of counting in a close election, there will be a recount in an Iowa congressional race with razor thin margins. Iowa Secretary of State Paul Pate said Friday that 19,000 ballots will be recounted, including nearly 600 by hand in one precinct, in Iowa’s 2nd Congressional District election, before the race can be certified next week. Republican Marianette Miller-Meeks ended the night on election night with a lead of 282 with all precincts reporting. However, after a voting error was corrected in Jesup County, Democrat Rita Hart led with 162 votes prior to the recount.
Iowa’s coronavirus numbers continue their worrying upward trajectory, a trend being seen across the country as well. Iowa on Friday reported more than 900 people hospitalized with COVID-19 in Iowa — the 12th consecutive record-breaking day for coronavirus hospitalizations in the state.
As of 11 a.m. Friday, 912 Iowans were in the hospital, with 164 of them admitted in the previous 24 hours.
The number of patients in intensive care remained at 88, a record. Patients on ventilators to help them breathe increased from 60 to 67. Statewide, 3,393 new COVID-19 cases were reported Friday, the second-highest total since the pandemic began, only behind Thursday’s record of 4,706 cases.
Jones County is reporting a sudden spike in cases, as the state penitentiary in Anamosa reported 476 COVID-19 cases for inmates and 37 for staffers. The Anamosa School District has decided to go from in person learning to online only, due to the increased infection rate in the county.
A 2-year-old child was injured in an accidental shooting Friday afternoon at the Lindale Mall in Cedar Rapids.
According to the Cedar Rapids Police Department, a preliminary investigation into the incident indicates an accidental discharge from a firearm struck the boy. He is related to the person who had possession of the firearm, police said.
Officials said the boy suffered a non-life-threatening gunshot wound to the forearm and was taken to University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics in Iowa City for treatment.
Public safety spokesman Greg Buelow said the incident occurred inside the mall near Sweetopia and Pretzelmaker in the food court. Buelow declined to say whether the incident, which was reported around 1:40 p.m., might result in criminal charges, citing the ongoing investigation.
Lindale prohibits the carrying of firearms inside the mall, and signage is posted saying as much.
