Cedar Rapids, Linn County | featured news

From a global pandemic to a contentious election to unprecedented market headlines, it’s no surprise we have seen increased market volatility over the past year. And when it feels like our world is spinning out of control, it’s tempting to panic, especially when it comes to our finances.

While one COVID-19-related death was reported Saturday for a long-term care facility, Iowa for the third consecutive day saw no new outbreaks at any of its 429 centers, according to Iowa Department of Public Health data.

CEDAR RAPIDS — After a year of learning loss during the COVID-19 pandemic, children can get a boost to their education this summer as Kirkwood Community College resumes in-person “Interactive Camps for Kids” — albeit with public health protocols.

DES MOINES — There was enough evidence for a jury to conclude in a wrongful-death lawsuit that an Iowa man shot and killed his mother, the state Supreme Court ruled Friday, leaving in place the jury’s $10 million award even though the man was eventually acquitted on criminal charges in her death.

DES MOINES — Iowa’s state finances remain on steady ground despite the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, and lawmakers should need no significant course corrections as they craft the next budget, according to projections issued Friday by the state’s budget estimating panel.Some statehouse Republicans used the good financial news to renew calls for state tax cuts.

DAVENPORT — Environmentalist Chad Pregracke has a big idea: Create a national wildlife park in the Quad Cities that would let a small bison herd roam across a Mississippi River bridge to graze in 100-acre parks in Iowa and Illinois.One thing Pregracke made clear Friday is that the Bison Bridge is a proposal and not yet a project.

Three feet of distance between students is sufficient for all elementary and most middle and high schools, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention announced Friday, a change in its guidelines that lays the groundwork for more school reopenings nationwide and that could ease crowding concerns in some Iowa districts.

Iowa Economic Development Authority approved a $100,000 loan Friday for Deetz, a mobile app start-up in Cedar Rapids.The Cedar Rapids business will use the funding for market planning and market-entry activities, key personnel and equipment, according to an IEDA document.

CEDAR RAPIDS — A 25-year-old man was arrested Thursday after he fired a 9 mm handgun from a vehicle outside a restaurant in northeast Cedar Rapids, police said. Officers responded at 12:24 a.m. to the report of a fight and shots fired at Moco Game Room & Hot Dog Bar, 1602 E Ave. NE, according to the Cedar Rapids Police Department.

WASHINGTON, D.C. — U.S. Rep. Ashley Hinson, R-Iowa, voted against two bills that passed the House of Representatives on Thursday that would establish paths to citizenship for millions of undocumented immigrants, including “Dreamers” brought to the country as children and agricultural workers.