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Court approves pilot program to test electronic search warrants

The Iowa Supreme Court approved a pilot program in the 4th Judicial District — Audubon, Cass, Fremont, Harrison, Mills, Montgomery, Pottawattamie, Page and Shelby counties — to develop...




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Chew on This: Five places to get carryout barbecue

In normal times, Chew on This focuses on restaurant openings and closings. These are not normal times, with restaurants closed except to carryout, curbside and delivery. We know these businesses...



  • Food & Drink

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Watch: Coronavirus update from Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds for Thursday, May 7

Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds is providing an update on coronavirus in Iowa at 11:00 a.m. today. She is speaking from the State Emergency Operations Center in Johnston. The news conference will be...




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Why universal basic health care is both a moral and economic imperative

Several hundred cars were parked outside a food bank in San Antonio on Good Friday — the food bank fed 10,000 people that day. Such scenes, increasingly common across the nation and evocative...




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Collaboration creates Camp-in-a-Bag kits for mentoring program

“I pledge my Head to clearer thinking, my Heart to greater loyalty, my Hands to larger service, and my Health to better living, for my club, my community, my country, and my world.”...




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Many anticipated arts, cultural events delayed or canceled

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...




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Coronavirus in Iowa, live updates for May 7: Gazette awards more than $60,000 in marketing grants, FEMA awards $78 million to Iowa

Gazette awards more than $60,000 in marketing grants The Gazette has awarded more than $60,000 in grants to help local businesses market themselves during the coronavirus pandemic, and there’s...




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Iowa is going back to work, but who will watch the children?

As death rates from COVID-19 rise, the state is beginning to open back up. And with that the expectation is that Iowans get back to work. Iowans who don’t go back to work will lose...




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University of Iowa aims to cut greenhouse gas emissions in half

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...




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Men and elderly lag in taking Test Iowa coronavirus assessment

Nearly 327,000 Iowans have taken an assessment to see if they are eligible to be checked for COVID-19 under the Test Iowa Initiative. Another free drive-though site for those who have taken the...




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Judge rules Iowa law unconstitutional that blocked sex education funding to Planned Parenthood

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...




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Nearly 25,000 more Iowans file unemployment claims

Nearly 25,000 more Iowans filed unemployment claims in the past week, Iowa Workforce Development reported Thursday. Continuing weekly unemployment claims total 181,358, the department reported. Iowa...




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Iowa shifts focus from coronavirus mitigation to management

Thanks to enough people following guidelines on social distancing and avoiding large gatherings, Gov. Kim Reynolds said Thursday the state is able to shift its COVID-19 focus from mitigation...




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Marion coronavirus recovery task force wants residents to come out of this healthy and to ‘a vibrant economy’

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...




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No Linn County Fair this year because of coronavirus concerns

CEDAR RAPIDS — The Linn County Fair has canceled grounds and grandstand entertainment at this year because of the novel coronavirus and is looking at ways youths could exhibit their...




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Uptown Marion Market opening with caveats

MARION — While the Uptown Marion Market will continue to sell fresh produce, it will look a little different this year. The market will continue operating on the second Saturday of June, July...




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Coronavirus closes the Iowa Writers’ House — for now

IOWA CITY — Once upon a time, there was a house in a city that loved literature. It was a quaint, two-story home in the heart of the historic district with brick stairs, pale yellow siding, a...




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Iowa should give cash to undocumented immigrants

Immigrants have been disproportionately affected by COVID-19 pandemic. They’re more likely than native-born Americans to be laboring to keep our essential services running, especially in the...




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Ahead of VP Pence’s Iowa visit, Joe Biden’s campaign calls out ‘consequential failure’ of Trump coronavirus response

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...




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Now playing at Iowa county fairs: The waiting game

CEDAR RAPIDS — Getting your hands on some fried food on a stick is going to be a little more difficult this summer for Iowans. With the COVID-19 pandemic imposing restrictions on life in the...




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Scenic designer in Iowa City looks for light in the darkness

Benjamin Stuben Farrar of Iowa City is a storyteller without a story to tell at the moment. The first story is as dramatic and layered as his bold scenic and lighting designs for area stages:...



  • Arts & Culture

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Tyson outbreak: Short closure but enduring grief

As the coronavirus spread from the nation’s meatpacking plants to the broader communities where they are located, it burned through a modest duplex in Waterloo. In the downstairs unit lived...




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Task force will make recommendations on how to resume jury trials, given coronavirus concerns

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...




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‘Death stalked swiftly’ in 1918. What will we remember now?

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...




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Iowa is dying from all this success

With over 11,000 positive COVID-19 cases in Iowa and a mounting death toll, Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds went to Washington DC. to declare her approach to the pandemic a success. Her victory lap included...




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Dubuque woman pleads to helping buy heroin that led to fatal overdose of another person

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,...




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Ready to reopen? Four Cedar Rapids business leaders offer advice

On Wednesday, Gov. Kim Reynolds removed some restrictions on businesses in the 22 counties that have been seeing higher numbers of Iowans affected by COVID-19, including Linn and Johnson counties....




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Flexsteel to close Dubuque plant, idling 200

An Eastern Iowa furniture manufacturer will permanently close two plants, laying off about 370 employees as it drops two lines of business. Flexsteel Industries will close a factory in Dubuque with...




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Distancing and diversity enhance Iowa’s food security

Coronavirus provides a chilling lesson about crowding. The disease originated in a densely packed Chinese City. As it moved worldwide it struck most heavily in crowded places where people live and...




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For Mercy employee on COVID-19 floor, isolating from family is best Mother’s Day gift she can give

This Mother’s Day, April Kelley just wants to give her daughter Jessica Kelley a hug. But she can’t. Jessica, 21, works on the COVID-19 floor at Mercy Medical Center in Cedar Rapids. To...




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Shower Mom with love — from a distance

Mother’s Day celebrations will look different for many families this year as we follow social distancing guidelines. Fortunately, we don’t have to be in proximity to express our love...




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U.S. Rep. Dave Loebsack calls on president to protect packing plant workers

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...




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Coronavirus in Iowa, live updates for May 8: Cedar Rapids to host virtual City Council meeting

4:43 P.M.: GOODWILL PLANS TO REOPEN 11 EASTERN IOWA RETAIL LOCATIONS Goodwill of the Heartland will reopen 11 retail locations in Eastern Iowa next week, including all its Cedar Rapids stores,...




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Man arrested in Texas faces murder charge in Iowa City shooting

IOWA CITY — An Iowa City man has been arrested in Texas in connection with the April 20 shooting death of Kejuan Winters. Reginald Little, 44, was taken into custody Friday by the Lubbock...




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Adam Todd celebrates 21st birthday with parade

CEDAR RAPIDS — Adam Todd, adjusting like many Iowans to a social-distanced lifestyle since the novel coronavirus hit, celebrated a milestone 21st birthday with a drive-by parade Friday...




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Campgrounds reopen in Iowa Friday, see takers despite some health limitations

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...




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New machines in Test Iowa initiative still unproven

DES MOINES — More than 20 days after Iowa signed a $26 million contract with a Utah company to expand testing in the state, the machines the firm supplied to run the samples still have not...




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C.R. workplace shooting suspect turns self in after father drives him to Alabama police station

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...




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Pence’s Iowa visit underscores coronavirus worry

DES MOINES — In traveling to Iowa to call attention to the burdens COVID-19 brought to religious services and the food supply, Vice President Mike Pence unwittingly called attention to another...




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Celebrating on a screen: Iowa universities hold first-ever online commencements

Iowa State University graduates who celebrated commencement Friday saw lots of caps and gowns, red-and-gold confetti and arenas packed with friends and family. But none of those images were from...




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Mother’s Day, Birthdays, Anniversaries: Celebrating during a pandemic

A 10th wedding anniversary traditionally is celebrated with a gift of aluminum or tin. For Sondy Daggett, her 10th year of marriage to Liz Hoskins was marked with a gift of Champagne and...




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Iowa Writers’ House is gone, but need for literary community continues

When Andrea Wilson approached me five years ago with her idea of creating a space for writers in our community separate from any offered by the University of Iowa, I must admit I was a bit skeptical,...




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Coronavirus in Iowa, live updates for May 9: 214 more positive tests reported

11 a.m. Iowa sees 214 more positive tests for coronavirus The Iowa Department of Public Health on Saturday reported nine more deaths from COVID-19, for a total of 252 since March 8. An additional 214...




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John Gunn Sr.

JOHN JAMES GUNN SR.
Mount Vernon


We lost a great father, grandpa, great-grandpa and friend on Monday, May 4, 2020, when John James Gunn Sr., 91, died peacefully at St. Luke's Hospital. A Celebration of Life will take place Monday, July 27, at Lisbon United Methodist Church with a time for fellowship following, the good Lord willing. Private graveside services will be at Campbell Cemetery after the fellowship. Arrangements by Stewart Baxter Funeral & Memorial Services, Mount Vernon.
Survivors include his daughter, Julie Thomas; daughter-in-law, Nannette Gunn; grandchildren, Jared (Jamie), Tim (Katie), Thad (Crystal), Tamara (Pete), Holly (Kelley) and Jordan (Nicole); and 11 great-grandchildren.
He was preceded in death by his parents, Wilton and Hazel Gunn; wife, Mary; and two sons, John James Gunn Jr. and Jay Curtis Gunn.
He married Mary Beth Sheley on Valentine's Day 1948. He was extremely proud of his three children and gratified to live to see his grandchildren become educated, well-grounded and family-minded.
Jim spent his entire life in the Mount Vernon area, where he was an alumnus of Mount Vernon Community Schools. He loved his farm and maintaining his adjoining acreage. Before retiring, he was the owner/ operator of a grain and general trucking business. He drove a Mount Vernon school bus and worked at True Value Hardware for several years. He was a church member, where he was involved in many capacities. He served on the Mount Vernon City Council for two and a half terms. Also, he was president of the Rotary when the club celebrated its 50th anniversary.
After retiring, he and Mary enjoyed traveling to the four corners of America, with four trips to Alaska. He volunteered for 17 years at St. Luke's Hospital as the "wheelchair man," delivered Meals on Wheels and worked for the Alaska Park Service. He possessed a steadfast work ethic, which was greatly admired by all who knew him. He did woodworking for craft shows in Arkansas, which detailed farm and trucking machinery. He was especially proud of having some sent to Central America on a mission trip. Jim donated the original school bell back to the Abbe Creek School with a dedication on June 5, 2016. Fishing was his passion, as were sports, card playing, traveling, and maintaining his yard and home. He cherished his time with family and friends, carrying his "tools" to do all the odd jobs when visiting his kids. Love was always abundant, whatever the endeavor!
In his continued spirit of giving to others, memorials may be sent to the Mount Vernon Community Alumni Foundation or the Lisbon United Methodist Stained Glass Window Fund.
Please share your support and memories with Jim's family on his tribute wall at www.stewartbaxter.com under obituaries.




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Stephen "Steve" Person

STEPHEN &Quot;STEVE&Quot; MATTHEW PERSON
Tipton

Stephen "Steve" Matthew Person, 71, of Tipton, died suddenly on Sunday, May 3, 2020, while at his home. Private family funeral services will be determined at a later date and all updated service information will be posted on the same website where you are invited to share online condolences: www.fryfuneralhome.com.




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Phyllis Kelso

PHYLLIS WASSAM KELSO
Iowa City

Phyllis Wassam Kelso, lifelong resident of Iowa City, died peacefully May 2, 2020, at her residence in Coralville at the age of 102. Honoring her wishes, cremation rites have been accorded and burial will be at Memory Gardens Cemetery at a later date. In lieu of flowers, memorials may be directed to Alzheimer's Association or Iowa City Hospice.
Phyllis was born Nov. 13, 1917, in Iowa City, and was raised by Clarence W. and Minnie M. (Abell) Wassam. She graduated from high school in Iowa City, where she later earned her B.A. from the University of Iowa in 1939. Phyllis married the love of her life, Hugh Kelso, on Aug. 3, 1940, in Iowa City. The couple spent 56 memorable years together in Iowa City, where they raised their daughter, Chris, and son, Bill. Hugh died on Sept. 21, 1996.
Besides being active in her children's lives as a stay-at-home mom, Phyllis was an active volunteer in the community for many years. She was a member of the First United Methodist Church, Phi Beta Kappa, Delta Delta Delta and Mortar Board. She also was a United Way board member and volunteered at the University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics and Mercy Hospital.
She is survived by her daughter, Chris Reynolds of Coralville; and her son, BIll (Gail) Kelso of Baton Rouge, La. She also is survived by her grandchildren, Tyler Reynolds (Sheila Buccola), Amanda Reynolds, Camden (Kelly) Kelso and Gretchen Kelso (Drew Taylor); and one great-grandson, Noah.
Phyllis was preceded in death by her parents, her husband, and her son-in-law, Terry Reynolds.
Her family would like to extend their appreciation to Kay Smith, who provided the best love and care to Phyllis for almost 20 years and was with her when she passed away.
Online condolences may be directed to www.lensingfuneral.com.




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John "Johnny" Bjornsen

JOHN "JOHNNY" BJORNSEN Cedar Rapids

John "Johnny" Bjornsen, 68, passed away Saturday, May 2, 2020, after a brief battle with COVID-19. John was born in 1951 to John and Lucille Bjornsen in Cedar Rapids. He attended Harrison, Roosevelt and Jefferson schools and graduated in 1970. Shortly after graduation, he joined the Army and served two years in South Korea. In his earlier working years, he was employed by Harnischfeger and General Mills. In his later years, he did volunteer work for a few organizations, including Horizons. John was an avid bicycle rider and enjoyed going to garage sales, usually with Sheree. He is survived by his daughter, Christie Bjornsen of Davenport; two sisters, Linda Cornelius of Clinton and Sheree Bjornsen of Cedar Rapids; nieces Hollie Bjornsen of Cedar Rapids and Cadence Cornelius (Eli) of St. Paul; and long-term friend, Donna Miller of Marion. A memorial of life and family gathering will be held at a later date to be announced. To share a thought memory or condolence with his family, please visit the funeral home website at www.gayandciha.com. Johnny will be missed by all who knew him.




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Stanley N. Hauser

MARENGO
Stanley N. Hauser, 87, died Tuesday, May 5, 2020. Kloster Funeral Home, Marengo.




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Ruth "Joan" Boyanovsky

RUTH &Quot;JOAN&Quot; BOYANOVSKY
Springville

Ruth "Joan" Boyanovsky of Springville passed away on April 25, 2020, at the age of 91 after a brief illness. A Celebration of Life will be held at a later date.
Beloved mother, grandmother, great-grandmother and great-great-grandmother, Joan is survived by her son, John (Betsi)
of Springville; daughter, Jane French of Waubeek; four grandchildren, Jennifer (Shane) Leytem of Mechanicsville, Erin Edenfield, Kari (Tad) Clothier and JD Boyanovsky, all of Springville; seven great-grandchildren, Ciara (Travis) Smith, Taylor Edenfield, Alexa Hutchcroft, Devin and Prestin Leytem and Kelcie and Carsyn Clothier; and great-great-grandson, Hayden Smith.
Joan was born July 10, 1928, and was a graduate of Marion High School. She was a longtime Springville resident who had been an avid golfer, gardener and animal lover. She loved baking, and could always be found with a book by her side. She had a great love of sports and always had golf, NASCAR, basketball, football or baseball on TV.
She was preceded in death by her parents, Everett (Cy) and Elizabeth Gibson; her husband, Jack; and son, Jim.
Joan will be greatly missed by those who knew her. Memorials can be directed to the family at this time.




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Douglas Robison

DOUGLAS CAREY ROBISON
Cedar Rapids

Douglas Carey Robison, 53, died April 30, 2020. A Celebration of Life will be held later this month in Cedar Rapids.
Survivors include his children: daughter, Kerrie Ann Robison (36), daughter, Jamie Lee Robison (32), and son, Bradley Douglas Robison (31); brothers, Joseph, Steven, Robert and Michael; a sister, Tina Robison; his mother, Rose Gates; and 10 grandkids. Brandon Hugh Robison (22), was the eldest among them, Doug loved to show him off. Doug also had two great-grandkids who he adored.
He was preceded in death by his daughter, Stephanie Lynn Robison; and his father, Robert Hugh Robison.
Doug liked to play pool and cards. He loved to see his grandkids grow and play. He was hardworking, and his last permanent job was doing construction. Doug recently volenteered at Olivet to help pass time. He was loved by many. He was so proud of all of his children and grandkids.
One thing everyone knew about our dad is that he always had a beer in his hand. Rest in paradise, Dad. You are missed and loved by many.We love you!!