Gazette Daily News, February 3
This is Stephen Schmidt from the Gazette digital news desk and I’m here with your update for Wednesday, February 3.
Your Wednesday weather will venture above freezing, but with that will come fog, wind, and, eventually, a chance for rain. According to the National Weather Service, the Cedar Rapids area could start with areas of fog before noon. Otherwise it will become mostly cloudy, with a high near 35 degrees. There will be southeast wind of 5 to 15 mph, with gusts as high as 25 mph. Then, Wednesday night, there will be a chance for rain, increasing in probability as Wednesday gives way to Thursday, where more rain is predicted to continue.
Superintendents from five school districts in Cedar Rapids and Marion sent a joint letter to Gov. Kim Reynolds Monday asking for more vaccines to be allocated to the state’s priority populations, which includes K-12 staff.
The superintendents are asking for more doses of the COVID-19 vaccine as the state’s Feb. 15 deadline quickly approaches for schools to offer the option of 100 percent in-person learning to all students. The superintendents are asking the Iowa Department of Public Health to reallocate 64,000 doses of the COVID-19 vaccine statewide from the Long-Term Care Pharmacy Partnership Program to the state’s priority populations.
According to the letter, which was viewed by The Gazette, this quantity of vaccine would allow for every interested school staff member in Iowa to receive his or her first dose of the vaccine before the required in-person learning begins.
Cedar Rapids police said investigators have seen a recent increase in thefts of car parts or accessories and warned owners to be vigilant about protecting their vehicles.
The police department said January saw 28 reported thefts of motor vehicle parts, which is an increase of more than 133 percent compared to the five-year average for the month. The majority of the increase is attributed to the theft of catalytic converters.
Catalytic converters — which contain precious metals like platinum — are exhaust emission control devices that reduce toxic gases and pollutants in exhaust gas. The precious metals also make the converters valuable for resale.
Iowans will have another opportunity to sign up for health care coverage through the federal marketplace later this month.
Late last month, President Joe Biden signed an executive order expanding access to the Affordable Care Act program by opening a special enrollment period for Americans to sign up for individual health insurance coverage through the federal marketplace. The enrollment period will be open Feb. 15 through May 15.
Iowa Insurance Commissioner Doug Ommen told the Gazette it is unclear how much interest there will be in the extended session, as more Iowans already signed up for the ACA marketplace in 2020.
More than 59,200 Iowans enrolled in the individual marketplace during ACA open enrollment late last year, according to the Iowa Insurance Division. Although numbers had already been going up since 2014, the increase in 2020 was likely tied to the disruption caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.
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