The Gazette Daily News Update April 22, 2020
This is Stephen Schmidt from the Gazette digital news desk and I’m here with your update for Wednesday, April 22.
Rain and warmer temperatures will greet you Wednesday in the Cedar Rapids area. According to the National Weather Service, there should be a chance of showers during the day, with thunderstorms possible after 1:00 p.m. When it’s not raining, it should be partly sunny with a high of 73 and wind speeds of 5 to 10 mph for much of the day. It will also sometimes gust up to 25 mph, so expect the unexpected. Then Wednesday night should bring a chance of more rain, with more isolated showers possible overnight.
It may only be Spring, but the coronavirus is already leading to a spate of summer cancellations. Organizers announced on Tuesday that after 36 years of celebrating the 4th of July in Cedar Rapids, the Freedom Festival has been called off due to coronavirus uncertainty and in order to follow social-distancing guidelines. Assuming life has returned back to normal by then, the Freedom Festival is expected to resume June 17 through July 4 of 2021.
Gov. Kim Reynolds launched an aggressive public-private partnership Tuesday designed to ramp up the number of coronavirus tests statewide that could enable Iowa to more safely reopen many businesses and services in the future. The governor said the state is using federal money dedicated to combating COVID-19 to implement a testing program, now being implemented in Utah, that will allow health officials to test up to 3,000 Iowans a day — or 540,000 over the next six months — to detect and slow the spread. The contract carries a $26 million price tag, but the tests will be at no cost to Iowans according to the state.
As of Tuesday, 3,641 cases had been confirmed in the state, with 83 deaths from the disease so far.
Early voting begins Thursday for the June 2 primary election, and state and county election officials are encouraging Iowans to vote from home to reduce the risk of spreading COVID-19.
“Casting an absentee ballot from home is the best method during this pandemic,” Republican Secretary of State Paul Pate said.
To that end, Pate’s office is mailing nearly 2 million absentee ballot request forms to active registered voters. As of Monday, there were 1,994,576 active voters — 639,315 Democrats, 627,639 Republicans and 727,622 not affiliated with either party.
You must belong to a party to vote in the June 2 primary. Democrats are vying to decide who will battle Republican Senator Joni Ernst for her seat, while Republicans are hoping to pick up some U.S. congressional seats after several defeats in the wave of 2018
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