Iowa, Cedar Rapids | featured news

DES MOINES — Republicans controlling majorities in the Iowa Legislature began their homestretch march to adjournment Thursday by passing bills dealing with charter schools, child care services and assisted reproduction fraud while leaving a host of other stalled ideas behind as they shift attention to setting a state budget and cutting taxes.

CEDAR RAPIDS — Linn County is considering offering a mass vaccination clinic at Lindale Mall, if enough vaccines become available.

Here is a status report on some bills being considered by Iowa lawmakersAlive• Boost next fiscal year’s state K-12 education funding by $36.5 million (SF269*)• Require K-12 schools offer in-person classroom instruction option (SF160*)• Revamp early-voting/absentee-balloting election laws (SF413*)

CEDAR RAPIDS — Jeff Kaufmann nearly hugged U.S. Sen. Rick Scott. On stage. In front of an audience and C-SPAN cameras.“Maybe on your second visit,” the Republican Party of Iowa chairman told the head of the National Republican Senatorial Committee, who had endorsed Iowa’s leadoff role every four years in the presidential nomination process.

The number of Americans applying for unemployment benefits rose by 61,000 this past week to 719,000, signaling that many employers still are cutting jobs even as more businesses reopen, vaccines are increasingly administered and federal aid spreads through the economy. The U.S. Department of Labor said Thursday the number of claims increased from 658,000 the week before.

OMAHA, Neb. — A federal judge has thrown out a rule allowing pork plants to speed up production lines because the U.S. Department of Agriculture didn’t properly consider the risks to workers.

Iowa saw an increase in weekly unemployment claims during the week of March 20 for the first time since February.New claims decreased from 5,129 to 4,846, but continuing claims rose, from 37,540 to 40,186, according to Iowa Workforce Development.About 48 percent of claims were related to coronavirus, which was up from 42.9 percent the previous week.

Iowa added 809 new COVID-19 cases on Thursday as well as eight new, confirmed deaths.The new numbers bring the state’s totals to 351,650 cases and 5,751 deaths, according to Iowa Department of Public Health data.As of Thursday, the seven-day average for new cases in Iowa is 564. The seven-day average for deaths is six.

The U.S. auto industry sees President Joe Biden’s infrastructure package as accelerating a global shift toward electric vehicles, thanks to the $174 billion proposed for charging stations, planned consumer rebates for American-made EVs and a pledge to electrify the government’s fleet.

Iowa State University announced Thursday afternoon that the sport’s national governing body will conduct a safety review of the Sunday accident that killed two student members of Iowa State University’s Crew Club.