Gazette Daily News Briefing, October 17 and October 18
This is Stephen Schmidt from the Gazette digital news desk and I’m here with your update for the weekend of October 17 and October 18.
Your up and down weather forecast for this weekend will be very autumnal in character. According to the National Weather Service, after a windy and cloudy start to the day Saturday in the Cedar Rapids area it should warm up to a high near 67 as the skies clear. Watch out for high windspeeds, with winds as high as 25-30 mph gusting as high as 45 mph as the day goes on.
Then, the temperature will drop back down again, with a 40 percent chance for rain Saturday evening into Sunday morning before 10 a.m. Then, Sunday, the wind will calm to 5 to 10 mph, but it will be cloudy and much colder, with a high near 48 degrees.
Warnings that confirmation of Judge Amy Coney Barrett will spell the end of Obamacare and legal abortion are “smears” by partisans wishing a Democratic president and Senate could fill the Supreme Court vacancy with a more liberal justice, according to Sen. Joni Ernst, R-Iowa.
Ernst, who observed derecho damage at a Cedar Rapids farm Friday afternoon, rejected suggestions by Democrats that the confirmation process should be delayed until after the Nov. 3 election. Ernst argued that Barrett’s judicial career to this point indicates to her that she will be able to rule fairly.
The Supreme Court is set to hear a case involving the Affordable Care Act the week after the election. Democrats, including Ernst’s challenger, Democrat Theresa Greenfield, say Barrett’s criticism of previous rulings on the law suggest she would rule against it. If all goes to plan, Barrett will likely be voted for confirmation by the full senate on the week of Oct. 26.
On the same day that Iowa reported its third-highest number of positive COVID-19 cases, Gov. Kim Reynolds on Friday signed a new proclamation extending Iowa’s public health disaster emergency for another 30 days.
Across the state, 1,384 new virus cases were reported in the 24-hour period that ended at 11 a.m. Friday, according to data from the Iowa Department of Public Health. Iowa now has 104,606 cases.
With 6,766 test results in the 24-hour period, the state’s positivity rate is 20.46 percent. Additionally, 16 deaths were reported, bringing the state’s death toll to 1,521.
In support of its diversity goals, land history and Native American neighbors to the south, the University of Northern Iowa is partnering with the Meskwaki Nation to create new scholarships, revive a summer program for Meskwaki youth and craft a “land stewardship statement.”
The statement will acknowledge the UNI campus in Cedar Falls sits on traditional Meskwaki homeland; it will recognize past and present tribal connections to the property; and it will “outline a set of principles for environmental and mission stewardship that honor the legacy of native and Indigenous heritage.”
Among its first steps, UNI — once called Iowa State Teachers College and still known for its teacher-training expertise — is directing faculty and staff to establish a professional development program for language and culture teachers at the Meskwaki Settlement School near Tama.
