The Iowa Department of Public Health is reporting 13 additional COVID-19 deaths and an additional 468 confirmed cases. In Woodbury County today, there have been 11 new covid-19 cases added to the total case count. There was one additional death reported yesterday, and there have been 220 coronavirus-related deaths in Woodbury County.
Some South Sioux City High School students have invited the public to join them at a protest today. According to a Facebook post, the walkout has been scheduled for 3:30 p.m. across the street from the school. The post said students are asking for community members to attend.
But school administrators have already said that that type of demonstration is not allowed. Last week, 100 students demonstrated to show concerns about school officials are handling racial equality, religious freedom, and treatment of LGBTQ students.
Iowa construction work geared up as temperatures rose in March, leading to an increase in the state's overall employment for the month.
The state reported about 1.5 million employed workers in March, up by 15,000 from February, according to U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data released Friday. Since mass layoffs at the start of the coronavirus pandemic last spring, Iowa has reported increases in employment in 10 of 12 months.
Iowa's unemployment rate, however, remained unchanged in March at 3.7%, the same as for February. Iowa and Kansas are tied for the seventh-lowest unemployment rate among U.S. states. Iowa neighbors Nebraska and South Dakota are in a tie with Vermont and Utah for the lowest rate, at 2.9% — which was Iowa's unemployment rate in February 2020.
