Breaking News

COVID-19

Iowa uses federal virus relief funds for $3.7M ad campaign

DES MOINES — Iowa will use federal coronavirus relief funds to pay for a $3.7 million national ad campaign that promotes the state as a destination for visitors and workers, an agency spokeswoman said Thursday. The 30-second ad is part of a larger “This Is Iowa” promotional campaign and will air on cable television, online on social media sites and through streaming services, said Staci Hupp Ballard, spokeswoman for Iowa Economic Development Authority. Funding for the campaign will come from federal American Rescue Plan funding, she said. The ad campaign supports state efforts to ...

MCC adapting to COVID this fall

Nate Chua has had more follow-up meetings with students reporting COVID-19 symptoms than he would have liked eight days into the fall semester. Marshalltown Community College’s Dean of Students tracks and reports virus activity on campus weekly. While he’s spoken with several students who ...

Iowa sees 30 more virus deaths and more cases among children

DES MOINES — Iowa saw 30 more deaths caused by the coronavirus in the past week as data showed more children and young adults were getting infected and more people were being treated in hospitals, according to the state Department of Public Health. As the state’s COVID-19 death total climbed to 6,337, the state reported 8,404 new confirmed virus cases in the past week. More young people were testing positive, with 29 percent of the positive tests in the past seven days among children aged 17 and under. That’s up from 22 percent the previous week. Some counties report much ...

Meat, farm workers to get $600 grants in new $700M aid plan

OMAHA, Neb. — Meatpacking workers and farm workers who were severely affected by the coronavirus pandemic will be eligible to get grants of up to $600 per person as part of a new $700 million aid program the U.S. Department of Agriculture announced Tuesday. Officials said the grants are ...

COVID-19 boosters are coming but who will get them and when?

COVID-19 booster shots may be coming for at least some Americans but already the Biden administration is being forced to scale back expectations — illustrating just how much important science still has to be worked out. The initial plan was to offer Pfizer or Moderna boosters starting Sept. 20, contingent on authorization from U.S. regulators. But now administration officials acknowledge Moderna boosters probably won’t be ready by then — the Food and Drug Administration needs more evidence to judge them. Adding to the complexity, Moderna wants its booster to be half the dose of ...

No Marshalltown schools require COVID vaccine

Major public school systems throughout the U.S. are beginning to require staff to be vaccinated against COVID-19, with some planning to resist the mandate. Some Iowa businesses have required employees to receive the COVID-19 vaccine, but so far none of Iowa’s public schools have done so. ...