Sioux City Police investigated gunshots fired near West 19th and Riverside Boulevard on Monday. Officers received the call around 1pm. Investigators say video evidence shows someone in a newer black SUV stopped at the intersection got out of the vehicle and fired at another vehicle in traffic.
The number of virus hospitalizations and cases continues to decline sharply across Nebraska giving hospitals some relief. But hospital officials said Monday that their facilities remain busy with non-COVID-19 patients, and they are dealing with ongoing staff shortages and a backlog of procedures that were delayed during last month’s surge driven by the highly contagious omicron variant. The state said 496 people were hospitalized with the virus in Nebraska Sunday. That number has declined steadily since hitting a peak of 767 on Jan. 28 after climbing dramatically from the Dec. 25 low of 445.
New data from the Iowa Department of Public Health shows COVID-19 numbers have fallen in the last several weeks. There were almost 8,400 in the last week, down from 10,000 on Friday. The state’s 14-day positivity rate dropped from by 1.5% to almost 12.5%.
The number of patients hospitalized fell by more than a hundred to 463, the lowest total his year.
Of those hospitalized with COVID-19, more than half were unvaccinated. More than two-thirds in intensive care are unvaccinated.
71.5% of those 18 and older in Iowa are fully vaccinated.
The number of long-term care facilities reporting an outbreak in Iowa dropped from 114 to 106.
Starting today court in Iowa ended a mandatory mask protocol. However, judges will be allowed to use discretion to require face coverings by participants if necessary. The step follows Gov. Kim Reynolds' announcement last week she would end the coronavirus public health emergency in Iowa, a move that will limit the release of state public health data.
A federal judge is expected to rule soon on whether U.S. Rep. Jeff Fortenberry will stand trial in the California district where he faces felony charges or his home state of Nebraska. Fortenberry, a nine-term Republican, has pleaded not guilty to charges alleging he lied to federal authorities who were investigating an illegal 2016 campaign contribution from a foreign national at a Los Angeles fundraiser. His attorneys have filed motions asking Blumenfeld to exclude evidence from the trial and transfer the case from California to Nebraska.
The League of Women Voters of Iowa led a coalition of groups that have collected 5000 signatures on petitions asking the Republican-led legislature to repeal recent election law changes.
The coalition is asking Republican lawmakers to restore a longer period of early voting and get rid of restrictions that limit who may help older Iowans cast an absentee ballot.
Check out this story from Radio Iowa for more: https://www.radioiowa.com/2022/02/14/lwv-of-iowa-seeks-changes-in-2021-election-law-update/
The Iowa Board of Educational Examiners is proposing an emergency rule to let paraeducators continue to serve as substitute teachers in any class in the district where they’ve been working.
Paraeducators had been allowed to sub in multiple classrooms under the governor’s public health emergency proclamation, which expires tomorrow (Tuesday) at midnight.
For more from Radio Iowa click here: https://www.radioiowa.com/2022/02/14/state-rushes-to-let-paraeducators-keep-subbing-for-absent-teachers/
