Gazette Daily News Podcast, Feb. 27-28
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This is Nathan Ford with The Gazette digital news desk with your update for the weekend of Feb. 27 and 28, 2021.
Expect a high near 42 in Cedar Rapids today with a chance of rain before 2 a.m. and after 4 a.m. Sunday morning and a low around 32. It'll be mostly sunny with a high near 40 Sunday and wind gusts reaching 25 mph. The low will reach 20 Sunday night.
A Republican lawmaker is sponsoring a bill requiring Iowa’s public universities to hold in-person spring graduations. The proposal from Rep. Bobby Kaufmann, R-Wilton, comes despite the University of Iowa and the University of Northern Iowa already well into planning upcoming virtual commencement ceremonies. The bill would force the regent universities to hold traditional in-person spring commencement ceremonies during the regularly scheduled times in May and June. It also requires the campuses allow at least two guests per graduate — which could mean many thousands at some of the larger ceremonies.
The number of people being treated for COVID-19 in Iowa’s hospitals and intensive care units has dropped to the lowest number the state has seen since July. Hospitalizations dipped from 227 to 196 during the 24-hour period ending at 11 a.m. Friday, marking the first time hospitalizations have dipped below 200 since July 16, according to the Iowa Department of Public Health. The number of patients in intensive care units also dropped from 55 to 45, the lowest since July 9. Iowa reported 647 new coronavirus cases and 25 newly confirmed deaths Friday.
Students spoke up for racial justice in a "March on Washington" in Cedar Rapids Friday. It was inspired by the famous Aug. 28, 1963, March on Washington, D.C., led by Martin Luther King Jr., and organized through the Boys & Girls Clubs of the Corridor. The students walked a few blocks from the corner of 361 17th Street SE and Washington Avenue SE, chanting “What time is it? Time for us to stand. Time for us to lead. Time for us to speak.” They stopped in front of First Congregational United Church of Christ, where kids spoke to the crowd of over 60 from the top of the church’s concrete steps.
This briefing is sponsored in part by Corridor Careers.
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