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Iowa early News Headlines: Wed., 11/25/20

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November 25th, 2020 by Ric Hanson

Here is the latest Iowa news from The Associated Press at 3:20 a.m. CST

JOHNSTON, Iowa (AP) — Gov. Kim Reynolds is offering no new measures to slow the spread of the coronavirus in Iowa, even as a federal report warns of the unmitigated community spread that continues to claim lives, particularly in nursing homes. Iowa on Tuesday reported coronavirus outbreaks in 143 nursing homes. State data shows more than 4,500 care center residents are infected with the virus and 1,008 residents of long-term care facilities with COVID-19 have died in the past eight months. The deteriorating situation for nursing homes reflects overall trends in Iowa, which on Tuesday reported 18 additional deaths and 3,860 new confirmed cases.

IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) — Church officials say a Roman Catholic professor will return to teaching and the ministry, with restrictions, after an inquiry found he misbehaved sexually in the 1990s but not against minors. A Diocese of Des Moines investigation found that the allegations against the Rev. Robert “Bud” Grant did not involve a minor because the complainant was “above majority age” at the time. The diocese says Grant engaged in behavior in the early 1990s that violated the 6th Commandment ban on adultery and his priestly promises. Grant is expected to return to teaching at St. Ambrose University in Davenport in the spring.

CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa (AP) — A panel has determined that a white Iowa police officer who shot and paralyzed a Black man during a 2016 traffic stop will not get his job back. The Cedar Rapids Gazette reports that the city’s Civil Service Commission on Monday voted not to reinstate Officer Lucas Jones. His attorney says an appeal is planned. Jones was fired in June, but not for the 2016 incident in which critics say he unfairly pulled over and needlessly shot a fleeing Jerime Mitchell. He was fired over his handling of a traffic stop two days before he shot Mitchell in which he gave a Black female motorist a major break.

WATERLOO, Iowa (AP) — A man has been arrested in connection with the September shooting at a private club in Iowa that left two people dead and several others injured. The Waterloo-Cedar Falls Courier reports that 21-year-old Willie Edward Saffold Jr., 21, was booked Monday on a charge of intimidation with a weapon and felon in possession of a firearm., the Waterloo-Cedar Falls Courier reported. Police say in an affidavit he was observed shooting multiple times into a crowd of people. Deputies with the Black Hawk County Sheriff’s Office picked Saffold up Monday at the Cook County Jail in Chicago. He is the first person charged in connection with the Sept. 26 shooting.