Gazette Daily News Briefing, October 10th and 11th
This is Stephen Schmidt from the Gazette digital news desk and I’m here with your update for the weekend of Oct. 10th and Oct. 11th.
This weekend will feature some weather to take advantage of, before colder times to come. According to the National Weather Service, on Saturday there will be sunny skies and a high of 74 degrees in the Cedar Rapids area. Saturday night the temperature will drop to a low of 55 degrees. On Sunday there will be a high back up to 80 degrees. Sunday night will feature a chance of thunderstorms that will linger into Monday, with a low of 58 degrees.
Next week, in general, is forecasted to drop back down into the 60s as the week goes on. For you fall foliage enthusiasts, the next two weeks should be prime time for taking in fall color. In fact, northeast Iowa is peaking right now according to the Iowa Department of Natural Resources if you fancy a daytrip.
In a continuation of a troubling trend, more than 200 Mercy Medical Center employees will be placed on furloughs or leave in the near future as the Cedar Rapids hospital — and other health systems nationwide — face financial consequences from the COVID-19 pandemic.
Forty-eight employees will be temporarily furloughed, including 30 who face “partial” furloughs with fewer hours. An additional 157 staffers and those in leadership positions will be required to take either paid or unpaid leave.
The news comes the same week that Mercy Iowa City announced it will be laying off 29 employees due to COVID-19.
For the third day in a row, Iowa topped its highest number of COVID-19 hospitalizations, according to data from the Iowa Department of Public Health.
In the past 24 hours, the number of COVID-19 hospitalizations climbed by 12, setting a new record at 461 patients. Thursday the state reported 449 hospitalizations eclipsing the record of 444 set the day before.
While hospitalizations continue to rise, the number of ICU patients dropped from 112 to 104 and the number of patients on ventilators dipped from 39 to 38.
Eligible households “at risk of disconnection” from an electric, natural gas or water utility could receive up to $2,000 for their bills through the Residential Utility Disruption Prevention Program, Gov. Kim Reynolds announced Friday.
Iowans who experienced a loss of income because of the novel coronavirus pandemic, have their primary residence in Iowa, receive an annual income that is 80 percent of the median household income for the county and have an unpaid utility bill balance are eligible.
The program is part of the $14.5 million in federal funds Gov. Reynolds allocated in July for utility relief.
The Marion Police Department will soon have a crisis counselor embedded within the department.
During its Thursday night meeting, the Marion City Council voted unanimously to approve the agreement between the department and Foundation 2 Crisis Services for the law enforcement liaison. Foundation 2 is a nonprofit human services agency that offers mobile crisis services.
The crisis counselor will work with police officers on intervention regarding mental health-related calls to help with de-escalation and to assess where individuals should be referred for treatment and follow up services.
