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At the turn of the 20th century, a vaccine had been developed for smallpox, a virus that killed millions in the 1800s. Those who survived the disease were often left badly scarred or blind.

The vaccine’s protection, though, lasted only five years and had to be renewed. And people forgot to do that, leading to occasional epidemics, including a serious outbreak on the Meskwaki Settlement near Tama.

In February 1901, three dozen Iowa communities reported smallpox outbreaks. When Des Moines reported 200 smallpox cases in late February, the mayor closed the schools and prohibited public gatherings. Still, no one died. That would not be the case at the Meskwaki Settlement.

On Oct. 22, 1901, an area resident told Dr. Benjamin Thompson of Tama, “I believe the Indians have the smallpox.”

Thompson went to the nearby Meskwaki Settlement, home to 309 people, to investigate.

He learned that an Indian from the Winnebago tribe had visited the settlement Sept. 23. He had become ill, but no doctor was called and he continued meeting with tribe members.

Two weeks later, the Meskwaki were becoming ill.

Thompson went back to the settlement with Dr. George Carpenter of Toledo. The first wickiup they visited had four active smallpox cases and three people recovering from the virus. Two Meskwaki who’d lived there had died.

The doctors found another five cases and were told of two other deaths.

The doctors that night reported to a joint meeting of the boards of health in Tama, Toledo and Montour.

William Malin, the Interior Department’s Indian agent for the settlement, insisted there was no problem. But after another medical visit to the settlement, the three cities quarantined themselves.

By Nov. 2, 70 Meskwaki had smallpox, and nine members of the tribe had died. Two weeks later, the totals had risen to 90 Meskwaki with smallpox and 35 deaths.

To complicate matters, the Meskwaki declined offers to go to the hospital, they refused smallpox vaccinations and they refused to stay on the settlement. If they became sick, they would hide from the doctors.

The Tama Herald reported, “It looks as though the disease must run its course through the tribe, carrying off the aged and the infirm and weakening the constitution of those who may survive.”

The Iowa governor appealed to Interior Secretary Ethan Hitchcock for authority to enforce the quarantine among the Meskwaki. Hitchcock complied, giving the state the authority to “take any necessary action.”

National Guard hospital tents and cots were shipped to the settlement. The Meskwaki were vaccinated, and they acquiesced to the quarantine.

The local towns began raising money for medicines and provisions not covered by the federal government.

Meanwhile, Congress appropriated $50,000 — more than $1 million in today’s dollars — to eradicate smallpox on the settlement. The bill gave the Interior Department the authority to quarantine the village and, if necessary, burn Meskwaki wickiups and clothing to halt the contagion.

The state of Iowa chipped in another $7,000 to burn the clothing, blankets, wickiups and other property belonging to the Tama tribe and to provide replacements for the Meskwaki.

The money paid for disinfectants — formaldehyde gas and corrosive sublimate fluid — to bathe tribal members and their dogs. Members of the tribe were forced to move to a camping ground while their village was decontaminated.

Malin, the Indian agent, reported to the Interior Department it took seven days to clean and renovate “the Indian camp.”

“During this process, a large number of the wickiups, where the disease had been prevalent, also large quantities of clothing, bedding and other infected property, were committed to the flames and new goods of similar character supplied,” he reported.

“Twenty-four new board houses, built of good lumber, and some 2,700 square yards of very heavy duck for tents, to those who preferred tents to houses, were given in lien of the wickiups destroyed. ... The Indians emerged from the trying ordeal through which they had passed and came out into the world again, after having been confined to the limited area of their camping grounds ... with a higher and better conception of the white man’s civilization.”

That assessment aside, the Meskwaki Settlement survived and grew. It now covers 8,000 acres and is home to 800 of the tribe’s 1,300 members.

It wasn’t until 1980 that smallpox was declared eradicated worldwide.

l Comments: d.fannonlangton@gmail.com

When Joe Sample started posting photos of his takeout food stops in the days after Iowa restaurants were ordered shut down to dine-in service in March, he didn’t think much of it. He just wanted to get some good food while supporting restaurants.

“I have a lot of friends in the food business. My wife worked at Elevate Salon and Emil’s Deli, so she’s not working right now,” he said. “I felt it was a great way to support local businesses.”

But then a new Facebook group dedicated to promoting curbside, delivery and takeout food options in Cedar Rapids sprung up — this week, it had more than 15,000 members — and Sample started sharing photos there. The 46-year-old Cedar Rapids resident quickly found himself having a new experience — going viral.

In a pandemic, that phrase could have negative connotations, but this was the positive kind of viral spread. The kind where hundreds of people liked his photos and commented on them. Then a Cedar Rapids T-shirt maker, Ivory Pearl Designs, started selling “Be Like Joe” T-shirts and other people started showing up to order takeout in the shirts. Soon, restaurants were asking if he would come take a photo at their restaurant.

“I just started it to have fun and posted a few fun pictures, and then I started having restaurants reach out to me,” Sample said.

He decided to dedicate his stimulus check from the federal government to the effort. Sometimes, he said he hits up more than one restaurant a day.

“I’ve hit close to 60 restaurants,” he said.

He’s leaned into the enthusiasm and found ways to play up the efforts. One day he dressed as Oscar the Grouch while visiting’ Oscar’s Restaurant in Hiawatha. On another day, he and one of his daughters bought plastic pig noses to wear on a stop at the Blind Pig in Cedar Rapids. He wears a Superman costume to some stops.

“I was totally surprised at how viral it went,” he said. “Now I’m just trying to keep it exciting.”

In his day job, Sample is a salesman for American Building Components in Mount Pleasant. He normally spends a lot of time on the road, selling metal roofing, siding and steel frame structures around the Midwest. These days, he’s working from home, making sales over the phone instead. He said going out to get carryout is a chance to see other people and get out of the house.

“It brings some normalcy to my life,” he said.

He has two daughters at home, age 9 and 15, and one son, 22. When he’s not eating out, he likes to spend time outdoors with his family, fishing, camping, hunting and coaching soccer. He admits his last name is a bit on-the-nose for his newest hobby.

“A lot of people ask, ‘Is that really even your real name?’” he said with a laugh.

Sample was born and raised in Cedar Rapids, which fuels his desire to support his town.

“My dad had Sample Pharmacies when I was growing up. People helped support us, so I figured it was the least I could do, to support other local businesses,” he said. “I think the biggest thing is, we want to keep them here. There are so many great restaurants in Cedar Rapids, and we don’t want to lose half of them. I’m going to try to keep going with this until they open the places back up, as much as I can.”

He also has helped do deliveries of donated meals to area hospitals and long-term care facilities. That effort started when his younger daughter’s Girl Scout troop had dozens of boxes of unsold cookies and few options to sell them once the pandemic hit. Sample’s family purchased them and sent them to staff at Mercy Medical Center. Since then he’s dropped off boxes of pita, hummus and gyro meat from Pita’z Mediterranean and American Cuisine, trays of cinnamon rolls from Oscar’s and other places.

“People seem to be very supportive in Cedar Rapids,” he said.

He gave a lot of credit to the Cedar Rapids Facebook group, which was started by Lindsay Leahy, Brooke Murphy-Fitzgerald and Shannon Hanson. Others like it have sprung up in Marion, North Liberty and Iowa City.

“I think this has opened a lot of people’s eyes; it has given people an opportunity to try new things,” Sample said. “I’ve seen more restaurants on here than I’d ever tried before.”

He’s also started to promote nonprofits like the Freedom Festival. He is helping sell the $5 commemorative buttons — even though the 2020 festival was canceled, the buttons will help support the organization’s operations. And he helped with a Big Brothers Big Sisters fundraiser, an effort which inspired him so much he signed up as a volunteer.

He said he hopes his efforts, and others like it inspire others to support the community.

“Keep supporting local, do your best to stay healthy, and when restaurants open back up, keep going to them,” he said. “They’re going to need our help for a long time to come.”

Comments: (319) 398-8339; alison.gowans@thegazette.com

Background

CEDAR RAPIDS — After a bitter battle between residents and one of the city’s major employers — Cargill — with the city of Cedar Rapids in the middle, in December, the Cedar Rapids City Council approved a $6.5 million, 12-track, 200-car rail yard located between the Rompot neighborhood and Prairie Park Fishery.

Cargill wanted to buy and put the rail yard on a 28-acre city-owned site on Stewart Road SE. Construction required rezoning the land to industrial use and a change to the city’s future land use map — putting city officials in the spotlight.

The rail yard was needed for more supply chain stability and to protect jobs at the corn-milling plant, at 1710 16th St. SE and not far from the rail yard site, company officials said. Cargill officials planned to submit final paperwork within a month of the vote, begin construction in early spring and have the rail yard operating by the end of the year.

A lot and nothing.

Before construction was to begin, the city required Cargill to provide a third-party appraisal of the land. The city had provided an initial value of $83,200, which Cargill agreed to match. However, the value of the land has been in question as nearby properties ranged from $20,000 to $30,000 an acre, which was far greater than the $3,000 per acre value the city used.

City officials say the appraisal has not been submitted, nor has Cargill sought the required permits before construction can begin.

This delay began well before disruptions from the coronavirus pandemic and after lawsuits were filed to block the rail yard.

Rompot resident and state Sen. Rob Hogg, who is a lawyer, filed two lawsuits against the City Council — one each challenging the rezoning vote and the vote to change the future land use map. Numerous neighbors and others in opposition to the rail yard have joined the lawsuit, which Hogg supported.

Meanwhile, Cargill intervened on behalf of the city. At this point, sides still are arguing whether to expand the record to include additional evidence. Dates for a hearing have not been set.

So, the status of the contentious rail yard and a timeline for construction remains in limbo.

“We don’t have anything new to share at this point regarding work and timelines specific to the development of the rail yard,” Kelly Sheehan, a spokeswoman for Cargill, said in late April.

CEDAR RAPIDS — A 17-year-old, charged in January with fatally shooting an 18-year-old during a drug robbery, was released in March only to be arrested about a month later for drunken driving.

Kyler David Carson, now 18, of Cedar Rapids, was charged last month with operating while intoxicated and unlawful possession of an anti-anxiety prescription drug.

After two judges reduced Carson’s bail, he bonded out and was released pending trial.

Police arrested Carson April 24 when they believed he was driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs, according to a criminal complaint.

He provided a breath sample, which showed no signs on alchol, but refused to provide a urine sample for chemical testing, the complaint states.

In January, Carson was charged with voluntary manslaughter, delivery of a controlled substance-marijuana, carrying weapons and obstructing prosecution.

He is accused of fatally shooting Andrew D. Gaston, 18, on Jan. 24, as Gaston and his cousin, Tyrell J. Gaston, 16, were attempting to rob marijuana from Carson, according to a criminal complaint.

Police received a report of shots being fired at 11:48 p.m. and found Andrew and Tyrell Gaston with gunshot wounds in the parking lot of 3217 Agin Court NE.

During the investigation, police learned the Gaston cousins had arranged, with the help of others, to rob Carson that night. Witnesses told investigators they contacted Carson and “lured” him to the address to rob him of marijuana.

Carson thought he was called that night to sell 45 pre-rolled tubes of marijuana for $900, according to criminal complaint.

While Carson was delivering marijuana to the others in their car, the cousins and a third person ambushed Carson from behind, according to a criminal complaint.

Andrew Gaston struck Carson in the back of the head with a metal object. Carson then turned around and exchanged gunfire with Tyrell Gaston before running from the parking lot, witnesses told police.

Both Carson and Tyrell Gaston later discarded their firearms, which police didn’t recover, according to the complaint.

Tyrell Gaston also was charged with first-degree robbery, conspiracy to deliver a controlled substance-marijuana, carrying weapons and obstructing prosecution.

A judge, during Carson’s initial appearance in the fatal shooting, set his bail at $50,000 cash only, according to court documents. His bail was amended, in agreement with prosecutor and Carson’s lawyer, to $50,000 cash or surety March 23 by 6th Judicial Associate District Judge Russell Keast.

Carson remained in jail, but his lawyer asked for a bond review three days later, March 26, and Associate District Judge Casey Jones lowered the bail to $30,000 cash or surety.

Carson posted bail that day, according to court documents.

Assistant Linn County Attorney Rena Schulte has filed a motion to revoke Carson’s pretrial release and will request his bail ne set at $500,000. A hearing is set on the motion for next Thursday in Linn County District Court.

If convicted, Carson faces up to 19 years in the fatal shooting and up to two years for the other offenses.

Comments: (319) 398-8318; trish.mehaffey@thegazette.com

Summer is going to look a bit different in the Corridor this year as many, long-cherished events are being canceled or postponed. And the organizations that run those events want you to know they aren’t any more happy about it than you are.

The organizers of these events are having to make unprecedented, tough decisions.

“Cancellation is not a good word in our business,” said Chuck Swanson, Building a Legacy executive director of Hancher. “It is something that we really don’t want to do and it takes a lot for us to come to that.

“We live for the live performance and bringing the artists and audiences together. That’s the happiest time for me, so none of these decisions have been easy.”

Hancher has had to cancel numerous upcoming events in the past few months that would have brought to Iowa City in artists from all over the country and the world. It also is holding off announcing its upcoming season — which it typically would be doing at this time of year.

this isn’t something the staff has faced since the floods of 2008 and because they book events so far in advance they are confronting additional challenges.

“You know there’s so much that goes into a show before it happens,” Swanson said. “I just think of all the anticipation, booking the artists, advancing the show, setting ticket prices, advertising and then ticket sales.

“It’s like a farmer who does all this work to get his crops ready and then at the end of the season ends up with nothing to harvest.”

He noted Hancher has been reaching out to its booked performers and, in some cases, have had performers reach out to them to cancel upcoming shows.

The significant time and resources that go into planning large-scale events is the main factor in necessitating cancellation discussions and decisions at many organizations.

“Many logistical items have to be coordinated, from renting shuttles to scheduling volunteers and staff. Initial planning for some events begins as early as 12 to 18 months in advance and proceeds all the way up to the day of the event,” said John Myers, Indian Creek Nature Center executive director.

Citing the center’s annual Maple Syrup Festival, he noted food represents a significant cost and often cannot be saved or reused.

“We have had to be mindful of the financial resources available to us and ensure that we wisely manage those to ensure (the center) can emerge from this pandemic as a functioning and healthy organization,” he said.

“None of the decisions to cancel events or how to handle subsequent financial losses are easy and they challenge everyone,” Myers added. “As our whole lives have been upended, it makes even the simplest of decisions harder and that takes an impact on morale.”

He acknowledged staff members aren’t the only ones feeling the strain.

“We have a significant core of volunteers who are no longer able to give their time, which also creates a strain on morale and increases the amount of work that needs to be done when we return,” he pointed out.

Another primary factor is what is allowed and considered safe by the city, state and Iowa Department of Public Health.

“At this point, only allowing groups of 10 or less is a far cry from the thousands or people we usually see at the Iowa Arts Festival,” said Lisa Barnes, executive director of Summer of the Arts in Iowa City, which produces the Iowa Arts Festival.

“The governor has announced that reopening the state will be done in stages, and based on what we’ve found from other events around the country, concerts and large festivals will be the last to open,” he noted.

Summer of the Arts announced just last week that the Iowa Arts Festival would not take place this year, a month in advance of the event.

“We needed to make a decision so that we can move forward with alternative plans,” Barnes said, noting the organization has had questions about the Iowa City Jazz Festival, scheduled for July 3 through 5 and added a decision regarding that festival and July programming will be made by mid-late May.

“We also needed to make the decision far enough out to be able to work with our performers and cancel the agreements,” she said.

On Wednesday, Gov. Kim Reynolds loosened some but not all of the social-distancing restrictions for the remaining 22 counties she had put in place.

Discussions about the future of these events have been happening for weeks for many organizations, highlighting they are not taken lightly.

Carissa Johnson, executive director of the Cedar Rapids Freedom Festival, said conversations about the future of this year’s event started in mid-March, right around the time the Cedar Rapids SaPaDaPaSo Parade announced its cancellation for 2020.

“We plan year ’round for the two- to three-week festival,” Johnson explained.

“Our planning really ramps up in April and May, and we have many more costs associated with producing the festival the closer we get to the start. In order to protect our time and resources, we elected to cancel before we had more costs and variables to consider.”

As for who is making the final decision, organizations said many stakeholders are involved. Barnes said the decision on the Iowa City Arts Festival, for example, included staff, the board of directors, festival planning committees, the city of Iowa City and Johnson County Public Health, along with input from some of the vendors, artists and performers.

Tapping into experts in those public health field has been key as well.

“We have these assets, people, at the University (of Iowa), that have been really helpful as we make these decisions about canceling and as we prepare to think about reopening,” Hancher’s Swanson said.

The Freedom Festival include staff and board members in discussions, with recommendations from Linn County Public Health and the city of Cedar Rapids, factoring in the health, safety and well-being of the community.

“We are just as heartbroken as the rest of the community, but this decision was to protect our community as much as possible,” Swanson said.

“This community is a family and we will all get through this together and come back stronger next year.”

Myers noted organizations such as the Indian Creek Nature Center are also rely on advice from national associations, such as the American Alliance of Museums, and discussions among the leadership of many local cultural groups.

“For many events, we have also reached out to participants to gather their input and comfort level of attending once we are able to reopen,” Myers said.

The financial effects of having to cancel is stressful for organizations, too.

“Financially, this has been a hard time for the Nature Center to endure,” Myers pointed out. “We’ve had over 100 different programs, events and facility rentals canceled between March 15 and April 30, and our losses are currently over $250,000. As we approach the summer, there are a number of other events we continue to review, including our popular summer camps.”

The Nature Center has postponed a national conference to be held there in September — due to indications of low participation — for peers from around the nation who run not-for-profit and government nature centers.

“We are losing thousands of dollars in vendor fees and sales receipts because we had to cancel,” said Barnes, of Summer of the Arts.

“We have sponsors tied to certain events, like the Iowa Arts Festival, that in some cases want to carry over their support to next year, which impacts our fundraising for this year and next.”

She noted her group already has been made aware of funding that won’t be coming in from some sponsors next year due to the financial impact those organizations are facing as well.

And that can be tough.

“When we cancel, our whole staff is involved — from the box audience and public engagement folks to the technical production team and our front-of-house staff,” Swanson said.

“Our communication is key in talking through it all and then sharing clear messages with our audiences, especially in terms of refunds. But we’ve been encouraged by so many generous friends of Hancher donating their ticket purchase price back to us.”

While disappointment still is thick in the air, organizations don’t plan to abandon their missions and is keeping an eye on serving the public.

“This is a challenging time for everyone, and our board and staff is committed to finding creative and non-traditional solutions to ensure the Freedom Festival’s return,” Johnson said. “The community and our stakeholders have been tremendous supports of the Freedom Festival and we believe they will continue to do so in the future.

“We ask for understanding and patience as we try to navigate this crisis and what we can still provide for our community.”

Freedom Festival buttons will be sold this year as they’ve already been made, and “It’s a way the community can show their support,” Johnson said.

Barnes agreed and noted the Iowa Arts Festival committee is working on ways to support the performers, artists and vendors they had scheduled by trying to develop some virtual opportunities for engagement.

While the show, or events, might not go on, organizers said they very much want to remain connected to their audiences and attendees.

“I want to make sure everybody knows we care about them and that we’re trying to find ways to stay connected because I think we’re all in this together and the arts are one of the best ways for people to get through difficult times,” Swanson said.

Myers agreed.

“Indian Creek Nature Center will be ready to welcome guests and visitors back to our events as soon as we are able to do so safely,” he said.

“In the meantime, we hope everyone finds peace in nature by taking a hike or bike ride, having a picnic or just enjoying time outside.”

IOWA CITY — The University of Iowa on Thursday unveiled new sustainability goals for the next decade that — if accomplished — would cut its greenhouse gas emissions in half from a decade ago and transform the campus into a “living laboratory for sustainability education and exploration.”

But the goals fall short of what a collective of Iowa City “climate strikers” have demanded for more than a year — that the UI end coal burning immediately at its power plant, commit to using only renewable energy by 2030 and unite with the city of Iowa City in a “town-gown” climate accord.

“It’s ridiculous for the UI to announce a 2030 climate plan as it continues to burn coal for years and burn methane-spewing natural gas for decades at its power plant,” said Massimo Paciotto-Biggers, 14, a student at Iowa City High and member of the Iowa City Climate Strike group.

The university’s new 2030 goals piggyback off its 2020 goals, which former UI President Sally Mason announced in 2010 in hopes of integrating sustainability into the campus’ mission.

Her goals included consuming less energy on campus in 2020 than in 2010, despite projected growth; diversifying the campus’ energy portfolio by using biomass, solar, wind and the like to achieve 40 percent renewable energy consumption by 2020; diverting 60 percent of solid waste; reducing the campus transportation carbon footprint with a 10 percent cut in per capita transportation and travel; and increasing learning and research opportunities.

The university, according to a new report made public Thursday, met or surpassed many of those goals — including, among other things, a slight dip in total energy use, despite 15 new buildings and major additions across campus.

The campus also reported 40 percent of its energy consumption comes via renewable energy sources, and it reduced annual coal consumption 75 percent.

As for waste production, the university diverted 43 percent from the landfill and reported diverting 70 percent more waste than in 2010.

In just the first phase, the new 2030 goals — a result of collaboration across campus involving a 2030 UI Sustainability Goal Setting Task Force — involve fewer numbers and hard percentages. Aside from the aim to cut greenhouse emissions by 50 percent compared to a 2010 baseline, the phase one goals aim to:

• Institutionalize and embed sustainability into campus culture, allowing individual units across campus to develop plans to meeting campus sustainability goals.

• Expand sustainability research, scholarship and other opportunities.

• Use the campus as a “living laboratory” capable of improving campus sustainability and ecosystems.

• Prepare students to live and work in the 21st century through sustainability education.

• Facilitate knowledge exchange among the campus community and with the state, nation, and world.

PHASE 2 EXPANDS ON GOALS

As the campus moves into phase two of its 2030 plan, it will expand on first-phase goals by identifying specific and measurable tasks and metrics.

Leadership plans to finalize that second phase later in the fall semester.

“This approach has meant including units engaged in activities such as academics, research, operations, planning, engagement, athletics, and student life,” Stratis Giannakouros, director of the Office of Sustainability and the Environment, said in a statement.

‘Ambitious and forward-looking’

Sen. Joe Bolkcom, D-Iowa City, who serves as outreach and community education director for the UI Center for Global and Regional Environmental Research, told The Gazette the new goals are “ambitious and forward-looking.”

“The new goals will engage students and research faculty to help build a sustainable path for the campus and broader community,” he said.

The university recently made big news on the utilities front by entering a $1.165 billion deal with a private French company to operate its utility system for 50 years. The deal nets the university a massive upfront lump sum it can invest and pull from annually. It gives the private operator decades of reliable income.

And the university, in making the deal, mandated its new provider pursue ambitious sustainability goals — promising to impose penalties if it failed to do so.

Comments: (319) 339-3158; vanessa.miller@thegazette.com

An Iowa judge has ruled unconstitutional a state law that would have blocked Planned Parenthood of the Heartland from receiving federal money to provide sex education programs to Iowa youth.

Fifth Judicial District Judge Paul Scott on Wednesday ruled the law “has no valid, ‘realistically conceivable’ purpose that serves a legitimate government interest as it is both irrationally overinclusive and under-inclusive.”

“The act violates (Planned Parenthood of the Heartland’s) right to equal protection under the law and is therefore unconstitutional,” Scott ruled in issuing a permanent injunction to prevent the law’s implementation.

House File 766, passed in 2019 by the Republican-controlled Iowa House and Senate, excluded any Iowa organization that “provides or promotes abortion” from receiving federal dollars that support sex education and related services to Iowa youth.

Planned Parenthood of the Heartland and ACLU of Iowa challenged the law, filing a lawsuit shortly after Gov. Kim Reynolds signed the bill into law.

Polk County District Court issued a temporary injunction blocking the law, which was to go into effect July 1, allowing Planned Parenthood to continue providing sex education programming throughout the past year.

The governor’s office did not immediately respond to requests for comment on the ruling.

In its lawsuit, Planned Parenthood and ACLU argued that by blocking the abortion provider from the two federal grants — the Personal Responsibility Education Program (PREP) and the Community Adolescent Pregnancy Prevention (CAPP) — the law violated protections of free speech, due process and equal protection.

“The decision recognizes that the law blocking Planned Parenthood from receiving grants to provide this programming violated the constitutional requirement of equal protection,” ACLU of Iowa Legal Director Rita Bettis Austen said in a statement Thursday.

Though Planned Parenthood would be excluded, the law did allow “nonprofit health care delivery systems” to remain eligible for the federal funding, even if they are contracted with or are affiliated with an entity that performs abortions or maintains a facility where abortions are performed.

By doing so, the law effectively singles out Planned Parenthood, but allows other possible grant recipients to provide an array of abortion-related services, according to the court documents.

“The carved-out exception for the ‘nonprofit health care delivery system’ facilities undermines any rationale the State produces of not wanting to be affiliated with or provide funds to organizations that partake in any abortion-related activity,” Scott ruled. .

In fiscal year 2019, Planned Parenthood received about $265,000 through the federal grants, including $85,000 to offer PREP curriculum in Polk, Pottawattamie and Woodbury counties.

It was awarded $182,000 this year to offer CAPP curriculum in Linn County, as well as in Dallas, Des Moines, Jasper, Lee, Polk, Plymouth and Woodbury counties.

The grants are administered by the Iowa Department of Human Services and the Iowa Department of Public Health.

Planned Parenthood has provided sex education to students in 31 schools and 12 community-based youth organizations in Iowa using state-approved curriculum since 2005, according to a new release.

The focus has remained “on areas with the highest rates of unintended pregnancies and sexually-transmitted infections,” the news release said.

“Today’s decision ensures that teens and young adults across Iowa will continue to have access to medically accurate sex education programs, despite the narrow and reckless policies of anti-abortion lawmakers,” said Erin Davison-Rippey, executive director of Planned Parenthood North Central States.

Comments: (319) 368-8536; michaela.ramm@thegazette.com

MARION — Marion’s 14-member COVID-19 Economic Recovery Task Force is beginning to work on recommendations of how to get people back to work, while keeping everyone safe.

“It’s hard to know right now at the beginning the various outcomes that are going to come out of this,” Marion Mayor Nick AbouAssaly told task force members in a meeting held this week via Zoom.

“Community sectors will work independently and report to the steering committee with ideas, strategies or policy recommendations,” he said.

In turn, the task force will consider recommendations to the Marion City Council, and AbouAssaly said he will update the council on the task force meetings.

“Unfortunately, we have to accept that the virus is here to stay,” AbouAssaly said. “It’s part of our life for the time being. We have to be able to plan for getting back to doing things and leading our lives in a way that allows us to exist with the virus in our community.”

Elizabeth Cwik, a Marion resident who works for the Greater Cedar Rapids Community Foundation, said there’s a “strong interest” among task force members to provide accurate information to the public about the virus.

“I see clear, consistent messaging from a variety of sectors from the schools, government, businesses and nonprofits. Then that message gets through,” Cwik said. “If that message is, ‘We care, and we want you to come out whole, and we want there to be a vibrant economy to be continued with every citizen’s effort,’ I think that’s a valuable contribution to the recovery.”

In joining the task force, Dr. Jaclyn Price said she hopes to dispel inaccurate information about the coronavirus and help businesses find ways to safely bring their employees back to work.

“I anticipate businesses will be operating at reduced capacities,” she said. “Maybe doing appointments rather than walk-in business, and cleaning more routinely.”

If businesses require employees and customers to wear masks, it will protect others from asymptomatic spread of the virus, she said.

“We will still see virus activity until we get a vaccine or herd immunity,” Price said. “This is going to be a problem for months to come. We’re trying to find ways to open slowly, but also understanding if we reopen everything and have to close it again, that could be more detrimental to people’s psychology or finances of businesses.”

The Rev. Mike Morgan of Marion United Methodist Church said “greater conversation” with government, business, education and health care leaders will help.

“Marion has become a town that is proactive,” Morgan said. “We really seek to have good things happen to our citizenry rather than let things happen and we react to them. ... As a person in the faith community, it’s important for us to be tending to people’s emotional, psychological, spiritual and, to some degree, physical needs.”

Comments: (319) 368-8664; grace.king@thegazette.com

Those serving on the Marion COVID-19 Economic Recovery Task Force, all Marion residents and volunteers, are:

• Nick AbouAssaly, Marion mayor

• Jill Ackerman, president, Marion Chamber of Commerce

• Shannon Bisgard, Linn-Mar schools superintendent

• Amber Bisinger, communications officer for the city

• Elizabeth Cwik, Greater Cedar Rapids Community Foundation

• Lee Eilers, executive committee member, Marion Economic Development Corp.

• Nick Glew, president, Marion Economic Development Corp.

• Amber Hoff, marriage and family therapist

• Steve Jensen, Marion City Council member

• Mike Morgan, pastor, Marion United Methodist Church

• Brent Oleson, Linn County supervisor

Lon Pluckhahn, Marion city manager

• Jaclyn Price, M.D., Mercy Clinic-Marion

• Brooke Prouty, program director, Marion Chamber of Commerce

Vice President Mike Pence owes Iowans more than a photo-op when he visits Des Moines today, according to Joe Biden’s campaign.

“Iowans are seeing up close the most consequential failure of government in modern American history,” said Kate Bedingfeld, spokeswoman for the former vice president and presumptive Democratic presidential nominee.

“With nearly 300,000 Iowans filing for unemployment, rural hospitals on life support, Latino communities disproportionately suffering and workers on the job without sufficient protection, Mike Pence owes Iowans more than a photo-op — he owes them answers,” she said.

Pence, head of the White House coronavirus task force, is scheduled to meet with Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds and U.S. Sens. Chuck Grassley and Joni Ernst, all Republicans, as well as with faith, farm and food production leaders.

Pence will talk to faith leaders about how they are using federal and state guidelines to open their houses of worship in a safe and responsible manner.

Later, he will go to Hy-Vee’s headquarters in West Des Moines for a roundtable discussion with agriculture and food supply leaders to discuss steps being taken to ensure the food supply remains secure.

Pence has called Iowa a “success story” in its response to the COVID-19, but Bedingfeld said the Trump administration failed to protect Iowa families from the virus that has claimed the lives of 231 Iowans.

“From devastating losses across the state, at meatpacking plants to rural communities, one thing is clear — it’s Iowans and the American people who are paying the price for the Trump administration’s denials and delays in response to this pandemic,” she said.

“Instead of listening to our own intelligence agencies and public health experts, Donald Trump was fed dangerous propaganda from the Chinese Communist Party — and he bought it,” she said. “Iowans deserve better — they deserve Joe Biden.”

For his part, Grassley said he welcomes the discussion with Pence.

“There’s much work to be done, and the pandemic is disrupting all of our communities,” Grassley said. “It’s important to hear directly from those who help feed the nation and the world.”

Ernst also is looking forward to the discussion of how Iowa is working to protect the health and safety of Iowa’s families and communities while reopening the state’s economy.

“We continue to take an all-hands-on-deck approach to tackling this pandemic,” she said. “Together, we will get through this.”

Comments: (319) 398-8375; james.lynch@thegazette.com

DES MOINES — The Iowa Supreme Court has asked a group of criminal and civil lawyers, judges and court staff from judicial districts across the state to make recommendations on how criminal and civil jury trials will resume with coronavirus health restrictions.

The court is asking the 17-member Jumpstart Jury Trials Task Force to develop temporary policies and procedures for jury trials that will ensure the “fundamental rights of a defendant” to a jury trial, while at the same time “protecting the health and safety” of the jurors, attorneys, judges and the public, said Des Moines lawyer Guy Cook, co-chairman of the task force.

The court, Cook said Thursday, has put together a “good cross-section” of professionals who have experience with civil and criminal trials.

Task force members are:

• Associate Supreme Court Justice Mark McDermott, chairman

• Guy Cook, Des Moines criminal and civil attorney, co-chairman

• 4th Judicial District Judge Michael Hooper

• 5th Judicial District Judge David Porter

• Angela Campbell, Des Moines criminal defense attorney

• Jim Craig, Cedar Rapids civil attorney, president of Iowa Defense Counsel Association

• Janietta Criswell, clerk and jury manager, 8th Judicial District, Ottumwa

• Kathy Gaylord, district court administrator, 7th Judicial District, Davenport

• Patrick Jennings, Woodbury county attorney, Sioux City

• Julie Kneip, clerk of court, 2nd Judicial District, Fort Dodge

• Bill Miller, Des Moines civil attorney, chairman of Iowa State Bar Association litigation

• Todd Nuccio, Iowa state court administrator

• Jerry Schnurr, Fort Dodge civil attorney and president-elect of Iowa State Bar Association

• Jennifer Solberg, Woodbury County chief public defender

• Chad Swanson, Waterloo civil attorney, president of Iowa Association of Justice

• Brian Williams, Black Hawk county attorney

• Mark Headlee, information technology director of Iowa Judicial Branch

The committee will review the current schedule to resume jury trials that the court has established in consultation with public health officials and other health care providers, and recommend whether the schedule should be altered, according to the court’s order.

Jury criminal trials can resume July 13 and civil trials Aug. 3, according to the order.

The task force also will make recommendations for how those trials should proceed, according to the court’s order.

Members should develop policies and procedures aimed at protecting the health and safety of jurors, court staff, attorneys, judges and visitors throughout the trial process, particularly during the identification of potential jurors, summons of potential jurors, jury selection, trials, jury instructions and jury deliberations.

Cook said members will have to consider the challenges for each type of trial. More jurors, for example, are needed in a criminal case, so space and logistics will have to be considered with social distancing requirements.

That will be more difficult in the rural courthouses that have less space.

A pool of 80 to 100 potential jurors are sometimes summoned for felony trials in larger counties, but that, too, may be a challenge with social distancing.

Another possibility would be requiring masks, but how will a mask affect the credibility of a witness if it hides the person’s facial expressions, Cook said.

These are all issues the members may encounter.

Steve Davis, Iowa Judicial Branch spokesman, said the goal is one uniform statewide plan, but it’s possible that each district may have some discretion, as in the previous orders issued during this pandemic, because of the differences in each county.

Davis said the task force members were chosen based on gender, background and geographic area.

The recommendations should be submitted to the court the first week in June.

Davis said he didn’t yet know when the task force would start meeting by phone or video conference or how often.

Comments: (319) 398-8318; trish.mehaffey@thegazette.com

In August 1919, the Cedar Rapids Evening Gazette opined in favor of the passage of a $5 million congressional appropriation to “investigate influenza, its cause, prevention and cure.”

“We all remember without effort the darkness and terror which engulfed the land last fall and winter as death stalked swiftly from seaboard to seaboard, into crowded city and unto lonely plain, sparing not the cottage of the poor nor the mansion of the rich,” the editorial said. “In four short months, influenza claimed a half million lives and pressed millions of others onto beds of sickness, suffering and helplessness. The nation’s mortality rate leapt high and with astounding speed. The nation was unprepared to cope with a disease calamity such as it has never known.”

The Gazette lamented that billions of dollars in loss were wrought by the pandemic of so-called Spanish influenza, compared with only $5 million being spent to investigate the virus.

“More has been spent in studying diseases of hogs,” the editorial argued.

Just less than a year earlier, The Evening Gazette did not see “darkness and terror” coming. A front page, above-the-fold story Sept. 25, 1918, asked: “Spanish Influenza just the old-fashioned grippe?” “Grippe” is an old-time term for the flu, by the way.

“As a matter of fact, in the opinion of City Physician Beardsley, and a good many other Cedar Rapids men in the same profession, Spanish influenza is just another name for the regular old fashioned influenza and is no different from the influenza we have always had. A bad cold is a bad cold, and a worse cold is grippe, which covers a multitude of things ...,” The Gazette reported, optimistically.

An earlier strain of influenza in the spring of 1918 had been less virulent and deadly. But the second wave was no ordinary grippe.

By mid-October, according to reports in The Evening Gazette, influenza caseloads exploded. On Oct. 12, 1918, the local health board shut down pool rooms, billiard halls and bowling alleys. It pleaded with store owners to avoid allowing crowds to linger. On Oct. 16, stores were ordered to discontinue any special sales that might draw more shoppers.

Restrictions tightened as the pandemic worsened.

Death notices were stacking up on Gazette pages, in rows reminiscent of small tombstones. Many victims were cut down in the prime of life by a virus that struck young, healthy people hardest. Mothers and fathers died, leaving young children. Soldiers serving in World War I died far away from home. Visitors to town never returned home.

Young brothers died and were mourned at a double funeral. A sister who came to care for a sick brother died, and so did her brother.

Ray Franklin Minburn, 24, died of influenza, leaving behind six sisters and two brothers. “Mr. Minburn was a faithful son, a devoted companion, a good neighbor,” concluded his death announcement on Oct. 21, 1918.

On the same page that day came news, tucked among the tombstones, reporting that Iowa Gov. William Harding had recovered from influenza, in the midst of his reelection campaign, and was back in the office. You might remember Harding as the governor who banned German and other languages during World War I and who was nearly impeached for bribery in 1919.

Not far from Harding’s update came news from the prison in Anamosa that “whisky and quinine” were being deployed to attack the grippe.

The pages of The Evening Gazette also were dotted with advertisements for supposed cures and treatments.

“Danger of infection from influenza or any contagious disease can be eliminated by using preventive measures,” prescribed by Ruby S. Thompson, chiropractor and naturopathic physician. Those included “Sulphur-vapor baths, Carlsbad mineral bath.”

You could build up your blood using “Gude’s Pepto-Mangan,” the “Red Blood Builder.” Keep your strength up with Horlick’s Malted Milk.

One ad looked exactly like a news story, carrying the bold headline “Druggists still asked to conserve stocks of VapoRub needed in ‘flu’ districts.” In a tiny notation at the end of the “story” were the words “The Vicks Chemical Co.”

That August 1919 Gazette editorial I mentioned makes me wonder what we’ll be writing in a year or so after our current pandemic.

Death stalking us swiftly from seaboard to seaboard in an unprepared nation, preceded by the casual insistence it’s no worse than the seasonal flu, sounds eerily familiar in 2020. More attention is being paid to hogs than the health of humans working in meatpacking plants.

Will we be writing in 2021 how reopening states and counties too soon led to our own second wave? Here in Iowa, reopening began before we had a fully working predictive model to chart the pandemic’s course and before new testing efforts had a chance to ramp up. Will decisions made without crucial information look smart in 2021? Or will we wish we’d waited just a couple more weeks?

What of the protesters demanding liberation? What about the president, running for reelection in a nation harmed by his crisis mismanagement? What will a new normal look like?

Will there be newspapers around to editorialize in the aftermath? After all, most of the pitches for fake cures are online now, some even extolled at White House briefings.

And will we be better prepared next time? I bet editorial writers in 1919 figured we’d have this pandemic response thing down to a science by now.

Little did they know that in 2020 we’d have so little respect for science. And after a century-plus, the darkness and terror apparently slipped our minds.

(319) 398-8262; todd.dorman@thegazette.com

CEDAR RAPIDS — A Dubuque woman who helped her boyfriend and another person buy heroin that later led to a fatal overdose was convicted Thursday in federal court.

Jacqueline M. Birch, 23, pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court to one count of aiding and abetting the distribution of a controlled substance.

During the plea hearing, Birch admitted she knew that another person was going to illegally distribute a drug last May, and she aided in that distribution.

Evidence at a previous hearing showed that Birch drove her boyfriend, Mateusz Syryjczyk, 29, of Rockford, Ill., and another person, not identified in court documents, to a residence in Dubuque on May 27. Birch and the other person went into the residence and bought heroin from a dealer. The three drove to a hotel in Dubuque and all used the heroin.

The other person began to overdose in the room, but Birch and Syryjczyk didn’t immediately call 911, according to evidence. Over many hours, Birch occasionally would perform CPR on the person to restore some breathing function, though the person never regained consciousness.

Eventually, Birch and Syryjczyk decided to call 911, and Syryjczyk took the remaining drug paraphernalia from the room to prevent law enforcement from finding it, according to court documents. Birch and Syryjczyk also made false statements to police about the cause of the person’s condition.

Court documents showed the overdose victim died at the scene. An autopsy later determined the cause of death was use of heroin, fentanyl and valeryl fentanyl.

Syryjczyk previously pleaded to misprision of a felony and remains free on bond pending sentencing.

Birch faces up to 20 years in federal prison, a $1 million fine and supervised release for life following her prison term.

Sentencing will be set after a presentencing report is prepared.

The case was investigated by the Dubuque Drug Task Force and is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Dan Chatham.

Comments: (319) 398-8318; trish.mehaffey@thegazette.com

At the same time Vice President Mike Pence was in Iowa on Friday to discuss the nation’s food supply security, U.S. Rep. Dave Loebsack called on the administration to take more measures to protect workers in food processing plants.

Loebsack also questioned the decisions to reopen the economy being made by the Trump administration and Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds.

“I don’t think we’re ready for that yet, quite honestly,” the Iowa City Democrat said.

“Ready” will be when adequate protections are in place for the people processing America’s food, Loebsack said.

Workers are showing up on the job, but “they fear for their families, they fear for themselves, they fear for everybody,” Loebsack said. “They don’t know if they’re going to catch this thing or not. But they’re there.”

Of particular concern are workers in food processing, such as those in meatpacking plants in Iowa where more than 1,600 cases of COVID-19 have been reported.

“I really believe that we should not open the plants if we do not ensure worker safety,” Loebsack said.

He called for President Donald Trump to use the Defense Production Act, which the president invoked to keep meatpacking plants open, to ensure an adequate supply of personal protective equipment for packing plant workers.

If Pence and the president are concerned about the nation’s food supply, then they need to “keep those workers safe and, therefore, keep those processing plants running” to avoid meat shortages at the grocery store, Loebsack said.

“We can’t have those plants running if workers are not protected. It’s that simple,” he said. “It’s not just the workers, it’s the families, it’s the community at large.”

With unemployment at 14.7 percent — probably higher, Loebsack said, Congress should extend federal coronavirus-related unemployment benefits of $600 a week beyond their current July end date.

He’s also pleased that the last relief package fixed a Small Business Administration Economic Injury Disaster Loan program to allow farmers to apply for assistance.

Comments: (319) 398-8375; james.lynch@thegazette.com

Goodwill of the Heartland will reopen 11 retail locations in Eastern Iowa next week, including all its Cedar Rapids stores, according to an announcement on the Goodwill Facebook page. Stores in Marion, Coralville, Iowa City, Washington, Bettendorf, Davenport and Muscatine also will resume business Monday, starting with accepting donations only.

Locations will be open to shoppers, beginning Friday, May 15, and run from 11 a.m.-6 p.m. Monday through Saturday and from noon-5 p.m. Sunday.

All customers are required to wear face masks to enter the store. For more information, including safety guidelines, visit the Goodwill website.

The Iowa Department of Natural Resources encourage visitors to recently reopened campgrounds to check the DNR website for temporary closures before traveling to any of the areas. Campgrounds started to open Friday for walk-in, first come, first served campers with self-contained restrooms, according to a news release.

Some parks and campgrounds have closures due construction or other maintenance projects. Staff will monitor the areas closely, reminding visitors to practice physical distancing guidelines and other policies issued by the DNR earlier this week.

Some pit latrines in high-use areas will be open, but all other restrooms, drinking fountains and shower facilities will be closed. Park visitors are asked to use designated parking areas and follow all park signs.

The DNR’s reservation system for reservable campgrounds is available online, taking reservations for Monday and later.

Iowa has 68 state parks and four state forests, including hiking trails, lake recreation and camping. For more information, visit the DNR website.

The next Cedar Rapids City Council meeting will be hosted virtually. The meeting will be held May 12, beginning at noon. The livestream is available at the city’s Facebook page. Indexed videos can be accessed on the City of Cedar Rapids website.

The public is invited to provide comments, submitting written comments via email to cityclerk@cedar-rapids.org before the meeting or joining the Zoom conference call and registering here before 2 p.m. Tuesday. Registrants will receive an email with instructions to participate. Written comments received before 2 p.m. the day of the meeting will be given to City Council members before the event.

The public will only be invited to speak during designated public comment sections of the meeting. Please visit the City’s website for speaking guidelines. City Hall remains closed to the public. No in-person participation is available.

Tuesday’s meeting agenda will be posted to the website by 4 p.m. Friday.

Michael Buble’s “An Evening with Michael Buble” Tour has rescheduled dates to 2021. The 26-date series of concerts will begin February 6 in Salt Lake City and conclude March 25 in Jacksonville, Fla., according to a news release Friday.

Bubble’s shows at TaxSlayer Center in Moline, Ill., has been switched to Feb. 20, 2021. He will perform at Wells Fargo Arena in Des Moines the following day.

Tickets for previously scheduled dates will be honored.

“I am so looking forward to getting back on stage,” Buble said in the release. “I’ve missed my fans and my touring family. Meantime, I hope everyone stays safe. We can all look forward to a great night out.”

Buble also just completed a series of Facebook Live shows while in quarantine with his family in Vancouver.

Comments: (319) 368-8679; kj.pilcher@thegazette.com

Some Eastern Iowans are ready to go camping.

With Gov. Kim Reynolds allowing campgrounds across the state to open Friday, some people wasted little time in heading outdoors.

“They’re already starting to fill up,” said Ryan Schlader of Linn County Conservation. “By about 7 this morning, we had a dozen at Squaw Creek Park. People were coming in bright and early to camp. We’re not surprised.”

Schlader said Linn County Conservation tried to have the campgrounds open at the county’s Squaw Creek, Morgan Creek and Pinicon Ridge parks at 5 a.m. Friday. He expected all of them would be busy.

“I think people were ready to go,” he said.

Lake Macbride State Park in Johnson County didn’t see quite as much of a rush for campsites, park manager Ron Puettmann reported Friday morning, saying he’d had six walk-ins for the park’s 42 campsites.

Camping this weekend will be done on a first-come, first-served basis. Sites won’t be available for reservations until next week, though online reservations can be made now, Puettmann said.

“I’m quite sure people were waiting anxiously to get on,” he said.

While Reynolds’ campground announcement came Wednesday, Schlader and Puettmann said they had no issues having the campgrounds ready for Friday.

Schlader said county staff have been in touch with the Iowa Department of Natural Resources and other county conservation boards to discuss protocols for reopening to ensure a safe experience for campers and employers.

“We anticipated at some point the order would be lifted,” Schlader said. “We were anticipating maybe May 15. The campgrounds were in good shape and ready to go.”

For now, camping comes with some limitations:

• Campers can camp only in a self-contained unit with a functioning restroom, such as a recreational vehicle.

• Shower houses with restrooms will remain closed for the time being.

• Campsites are limited to six people unless they are from the same household.

• No visitors are allowed at the campsites.

Puettmann said staffers and a DNR officer will be on hand to make sure guidelines are followed, but he didn’t anticipate enforcement would be an issue.

“For the most part, we’re going to allow people to police themselves,” he said.

It’s hard to gauge demand, Schlader said.

The weather isn’t yet deal for camping, and some people might not be ready to camp, given the continuing coronavirus.

“There is a lot of uncertainty,” he said. “Do people feel like they need to get out and enjoy a camping experience within their own campsite, or do people still feel under the weather and think it’s not a good idea for my family to go right now? ... We just want this to be an option for people.”

Comments: (319) 339-3155; lee.hermiston@thegazette.com

A man suspected of a workplace shooting last month at a vinyl window manufacturer in southwest Cedar Rapids turned himself into authorities Friday.

Jamal Devonte Edwards, 26, has been wanted since two men were shot at Associated Materials, 3801 Beverly Rd. SW, the morning of April 9.

Cedar Rapids police had indicated Edwards was wanted in particular for the shooting of Mark Robertson, 36.

Edwards faces charges of attempted murder, intimidation with a dangerous weapon, going armed with intent and willful injury.

The U.S. Marshals Service helped locate Edwards, distributing a photo of Edwards along the Gulf Coast. He was located in Mobile, Ala. when his father brought him to the Mobile police department so he could turn himself in, according to a Cedar Rapids police news release.

The April 9 shooting was reported at 5:03 a.m. after two employees were shot at Associated Materials. Both suffered non-life-threatening injuries, police said.

Police said at the time it appeared the shooter knew the two men.

Shawn Hardy, senior vice president of integrated products for Associated Materials, confirmed Edwards worked at the Cedar Rapids business, which gave him access to the building, but said he had been employed through a temp agency.

For the second consecutive day the number of Iowa patients hospitalized with COVID-19 has dropped.

The Iowa Department of Public Health reported Saturday that 402 people were hospitalized with the coronavirus, down five from the previous day, and down 15 from its current peak of 417 on Thursday.

Saturday’s totals mark the first time back-to-back COVID-19 hospitalization decreases since figures had begun being tracked.

Nine deaths in Iowa were recorded Saturday, according to the Department of Public Health, bringing the total to 252. But it snapped a streak of four consecutive days in which 10 or more deaths were recorded in Iowa.

Four of the deaths were in Polk County, bringing Polk’s total to 58 — matching Linn County’s as most in the state.

Saturday was the first time since Monday that no deaths in Linn County were reported.

Two deaths were in Jasper County, one each in Johnson, Muscatine and Tama counties.

Four of those who died were 81 years of age and older, three were 61 to 80 and two were aged 41 to 60.

Saturday’s report also showed there now have been a total of 29 outbreaks recorded in long-term care facilities statewide.

Including Saturday’s latest figures from the Department of Public Health — with 214 positive cases, for a total of 11,671 — these are the top 10 Iowa counties in terms of total cases:

• Polk — 2,194

• Woodbury — 1,554

• Black Hawk — 1,477

• Linn — 819

• Marshall — 702

• Dallas — 660

• Johnson — 549

• Muscatine — 471

• Tama — 327

• Louisa — 282.

More than 71,000 Iowans — one of 43 — have been tested, and 16.3 percent of those tested have been positive cases, according to the state.

Forty-six percent of Iowa deaths have been those age 81 and older, while 87 percent are 61 and older. Fifty-one percent have been male.

Beginning this past Friday, Gov. Kim Reynolds permitted more businesses to partially reopen.

“I’m proud to say that Iowans do what they always do and they responded,” she said at her Thursday news conference, her most recent. “So since we’ve kind of really accomplished what we were trying to do, ... now we have shifted our focus from mitigation and resources to managing and containing virus activity as we begin to open Iowa back up.”

Reynolds met with President Donald Trump on Wednesday at the White House to discuss the pandemic and mitigation strategies in the state.

Vice President Mike Pence visited Iowa Friday, when he met with faith leaders and agricultural and food company executives.

Comments: (319) 368-8857; jeff.linder@thegazette.com

Release announcement of version 2.2.0 of the Exhale WordPress theme.

Thanks for all the positive support and reception to my Lightroom presets so far, especially to those who pulled the trigger and became my first customers! I’d love to hear your feedback once you try them out!
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Still time to enter the giveaway or to take advantage of the 50% sale! See my last post for full details and the link in my profile. ❤️ (at Toronto, Ontario)

This is from my favourite shoot/photoset of all time. It was spontaneous, serendipitous, and simply beautiful. ☂️
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The edit: After applying my preset (I used Clean for this one), I bumped up the exposure and desaturated the yellows/oranges a bit. As a finishing touch, I used a graduated filter to brighten the top a bit and a radial filter on @sllychn to brighten and sharpen the focal point. That’s it! ✨ (at Toronto, Ontario)

Trying to straighten all the lines on this shot is a sure fire way to go blind. ???? (at London, United Kingdom)

I just realized that I can export my entire story all at once now, which means uploading my tutorials to my Facebook page will be a million times easier (it was tedious to stitch all the individual clips together before). ????
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Related: I posted a story this morning deconstructing the edit on yesterday’s shot.
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Also related: I uploaded the 3 tutorials from my November feature on @thecreatorclass to my Facebook page this morning too. More to come! (at London, United Kingdom)

Wow, this has been a busy period. I’m just back from the Ampersand web typography conference in Brighton, and having a catch-up day in Mild Bunch HQ. Just before that I’ve been working flat out. First on Mapalong which was a grass-roots sponsor of Ampersand, and is going great guns. Then on an article for The Manual which is being published soon, and on 8 Faces #3 which is in progress right now. Not to mention the new talk for Ampersand which left me scratching my head and wondering if I was making any sense at all. More on that in a subsequent post.

In the meantime two previous events deserve a mention. (This is me starting more of a journalistic blog. :)

First of all, an interview with Simon Pascal Klien, the typographer and designer who’s curating the Design Festival podcast at the moment. We talked about all things web typography. Pascal cheekily left in a bit of noise from me in the prelude, and that rant pretty much sets the tone for the rest of the conversation. Thanks for your time, Pascal! If anyone reading this would care to listen in, the podcast can be downloaded or played from here:

Secondly, Daniel Bogan of The Setup sent me a few questions about my own tools. My answers are pretty clipped because of time, but you may find it interesting to compare this designer’s setup with your own:

I should note that in the meantime I’ve started writing with Writer, and discovered the great joy of keeping a journal and notes with a Midori Traveler’s Notebook. The latter is part of an on-going search I’m having to find Tools for Life. More on that, too at some point. Here’s my current list of topics I want to write about shortly:

• Ampersand, the aftermath
• Marrying a FujiFilm X100
• No-www
• Tools for life
• Paper versus pixels

There, I’ve written it!

Last weekend, at the Subscribe10 conference, we released Advanced Audio Algorithm Parameters for Multitrack Productions:

We launched our advanced audio algorithm parameters for Singletrack Productions last year. Now these settings (and more) are available for Multitrack Algorithms as well, which gives you detailed control for each track of your production.

• Fore/Background Settings: keep your music/clip tracks unchanged and set a custom background gain
• Multitrack Leveler Parameters: control the stereo panorama, leveling algorithm, dynamic range and compression
• Better Hum and Noise Reduction Controls for each track
• Maximum True Peak Level setting for the final mixdown
• Full API Support

Please join our private beta program and let us know how you use these new features or if you need even more control!

Fore/Background Settings

The parameter Fore/Background controls whether a track should be in foreground, in background, ducked, or unchanged, which is especially important for music or clip tracks.
For more details, please see Automatic Ducking, Foreground and Background Tracks .

Unchanged (Foreground):

We sometimes received complaints from users, which produced very complex music or clip tracks, that Auphonic changes the levels too hard.
If you set the parameter Fore/Background to the new option Unchanged (Foreground), Level relations within this track won’t be changed at all. It will be added to the final mixdown so that foreground/solo parts of this track will be as loud as (foreground) speech from other tracks.

Background Level:

It is now possible to set the level of background segments/tracks (compared to foreground segments) in background and ducking tracks. By default, background and ducking segments are 18dB softer than foreground segments.

Leveler Parameters

Similar to our Singletrack Advanced Leveler Parameters (see this previous blog post), we also released leveling parameters for Multitrack Productions now.
The following advanced parameters for our Multitrack Adaptive Leveler can be set for each track and allow you to customize which parts of the audio should be leveled, how much they should be leveled, how much dynamic range compression should be applied and to set the stereo panorama (balance):

Leveler Preset:

Select the Speech or Music Leveler for this track.
If set to Automatic (default), a classifier will decide if this is a music or speech track.

Dynamic Range:

The parameter Dynamic Range controls how much leveling is applied: Higher values result in more dynamic output audio files (less leveling). If you want to increase the dynamic range by 3dB (or LU), just increase the Dynamic Range parameter by 3dB.
For more details, please see Multitrack Leveler Parameters.

Compressor:

Select a preset for Micro-Dynamics Compression: Auto, Soft, Medium, Hard or Off.
The Compressor adjusts short-term dynamics, whereas the Leveler adjusts mid-term level differences.
For more details, please see Multitrack Leveler Parameters.

Stereo Panorama (Balance):

Change the stereo panorama (balance for stereo input files) of the current track.
Possible values: L100, L75, L50, L25, Center, R25, R50, R75 and R100.

If you understand German and want to know more about our Advanced Leveler Parameters and audio dynamics in general, watch our talk at the Subscribe10 conference:
Video: Audio Lautheit und Dynamik.

Better Hum and Noise Reduction Controls

Noise Reduction Amount:

Maximum noise and hum reduction amount in dB, higher values remove more noise.
In Auto mode, a classifier decides if and how much noise reduction is necessary (to avoid artifacts). Set to a custom (non-Auto) value if you prefer more noise reduction or want to bypass our classifier.

Hum Base Frequency:

Set the hum base frequency to 50Hz or 60Hz (if you know it), or use Auto to automatically detect the hum base frequency in each speech region.

Hum Reduction Amount:

Maximum hum reduction amount in dB, higher values remove more noise.
In Auto mode, a classifier decides how much hum reduction is necessary in each speech region. Set it to a custom value (> 0), if you prefer more hum reduction or want to bypass our classifier. Use Disable Dehum to disable hum reduction and use our noise reduction algorithms only.

Behavior of noise and hum reduction parameter combinations:

Maximum True Peak Level

In the Master Algorithm Settings of your multitrack production, you can set the maximum allowed true peak level of the processed output file, which is controlled by the True Peak Limiter after our Loudness Normalization algorithms.

If set to Auto (which is the current default), a reasonable value according to the selected loudness target is used: -1dBTP for 23 LUFS (EBU R128) and higher, -2dBTP for -24 LUFS (ATSC A/85) and lower loudness targets.

Full API Support

All advanced algorithm parameters, for Singletrack and Multitrack Productions, are available in our API as well, which allows you to integrate them into your scripts, external workflows and third-party applications.

Join the Beta and Send Feedback

Please join our beta and let us know your case studies, if you need any other algorithm parameters or if you have any questions!

Here are some private beta invitation codes:

8tZPc3T9pH VAvO8VsDg9 0TwKXBW4Ni kjXJMivtZ1 J9APmAAYjT Zwm6HabuFw HNK5gF8FR5 Do1MPHUyPW CTk45VbV4t xYOzDkEnWP
9XE4dZ0FxD 0Sl3PxDRho uSoRQxmKPx TCI62OjEYu 6EQaPYs7v4 reIJVOwIr8 7hPJqZmWfw kti3m5KbNE GoM2nF0AcN xHCbDC37O5
6PabLBRm9P j2SoI8peiY olQ2vsmnfV fqfxX4mWLO OozsiA8DWo weJw0PXDky VTnOfOiL6l B6HRr6gil0 so0AvM1Ryy NpPYsInFqm
oFeQPLwG0k HmCOkyaX9R G7DR5Sc9Kv MeQLSUCkge xCSvPTrTgl jyQKG3BWWA HCzWRxSrgW xP15hYKEDl 241gK62TrO Q56DHjT3r4
9TqWVZHZLE aWFMSWcuX8 x6FR5OTL43 Xf6tRpyP4S tDGbOUngU0 5BkOF2I264 cccHS0KveO dT29cF75gG 2ySWlYp1kp iJWPhpAimF

If you have an invitation code, you can enter it here to activate the Multitrack Advanced Audio Algorithm Parameters:
Auphonic Algorithm Parameters Private Beta Activation

Like most paddlers I have a tendency to shoot pictures in a horizontal (landscape) format. It is more tricky to shoot in a vertical format from my tippy kayaks, especially, when I have to use a paddle to stabilize my camera.

The Australian Government has introduced two new regional visas which requires migrants to commit to life in regional Australia for at least three years. This new visa opens to the door to permanent residency for overseas workers from a wider range of occupations than before — including such occupations as real estate agents, call centre […]

The post New regional visas for Australia appeared first on Visa Australia - Immigration Lawyers & Registered Migration Agents.

Australia has introduced a streamlined, priority visa pathway for highly skilled and talented individuals to work and live permanently in Australia. The Government and industry has recognised there is growing competition for talent around the globe and to compete we must have a pathway that leads to certainty for people wishing to come to Australia. […]

The post Australia is recruiting – New Global Talent Visa appeared first on Visa Australia - Immigration Lawyers & Registered Migration Agents.

The World Health Organization has announced that Coronavirus (COVID-19) is a pandemic. The migration situation is changing rapidly throughout Australia. As an Australian citizen or permanent resident, can I still enter Australia? There is no restriction on Australian citizens or permanent residents entering Australia at this stage. However, those arriving in Australia will be required […]

The post Coronavirus (COVID-19) and Visas for Australia appeared first on Visa Australia - Immigration Lawyers & Registered Migration Agents.

In late 2019 the Australian Government launched the Global Talent – Independent program which offers a streamlined, priority visa pathway for highly skilled and talented individuals to work and live permanently in Australia. There are two streams. The first is the Global Talent Independent Program (GTI) and the second is the Global Talent Employer Sponsored (GTES). […]

The post Australia’s global talent visa for individuals and businesses appeared first on Visa Australia - Immigration Lawyers & Registered Migration Agents.

Seasonal Worker Programme and Pacific Labour Scheme workers can extend their stay for up to 12 months to work for approved employers as long as pastoral care and accommodation needs of workers are met to minimise health risks to visa holders and the community. Approved employers under the Seasonal Worker Programme and Pacific Labour Scheme […]

The post What can I do if I am on a working holiday or seasonal worker visa in the Coronavirus (COVID-19) crisis? appeared first on Visa Australia - Immigration Lawyers & Registered Migration Agents.

International students who have been in Australia for longer than 12 months who find themselves in financial hardship will be able to access their Australian superannuation. The Government will undertake further engagement with the international education sector who already provide some financial support for international students facing hardship. International students working in supermarkets will have […]

The post Student visa holders and New Zealand citizens in Australia and the Coronavirus (COVID-19) crisis? appeared first on Visa Australia - Immigration Lawyers & Registered Migration Agents.

In 2015 we launched Social Icons Widget by WPZOOM with the intent to provide WordPress users with a simple and easy-to-use widget for adding social links to their websites. With over 100k installs at the moment and continuous positive feedback from the users, it kept us motivated to constantly improve and keep updating this free plugin. Now, to keep the […]

Een unieke dag in London met sprekers over ontwerp, innovatie en samenwerking. Vanuit verschillende oogpunten worden de onderwerpen besproken in uitdagende sessies met grote interactie met het publiek.