(Radio Iowa) – Authorities have pulled a body from a northeast Iowa river. Officials say the man’s body was discovered Monday floating in the Cedar River above the downtown dam in Waverly. Police and firefighters recovered the body around 8:30 AM. A family member has positively identified the victim, but authorities aren’t releasing his name until all notifications have been been completed.

The body has been transported to the Iowa State Medical Examiner’s Office for further investigation.

(Update 8:20-a.m.) Firefighters from Atlantic were dispatched to a semi tractor-trailer fire early this morning. The page about an UPS trailer on fire went out at 5:27-a.m. The driver had pulled off Interstate 80 westbound at Exit 57 when he noticed the fire, which fire officials say was apparently caused by overheated wheel bearings on the trailer. Crews arrived on the scene at around 5:40-a.m., and quickly knocked down the fire on the wheels and tires. There was no damage to the trailer or its contents, and no one was injured.

Firefighters departed the scene a little after 6-a.m.

(Radio Iowa) – Reports of child abuse in Iowa have dropped dramatically in recent months, but advocates for children says it’s no cause for celebration, as a drop in calls doesn’t mean a drop in incidents. Brooke Hendrickx, spokeswoman for the Quad Cities Child Abuse Council, says the pandemic and back-to-school policies are affecting children at risk of abuse and neglect. “Calls with reports of child abuse were down over 50% across the state,” Hendrickx says. “That was a little scary because we knew that child abuse hadn’t decreased by 50%. If anything, it had probably increased due to the increased risk in homes.”

Teachers, coaches, clergy, and others who are required to report child abuse and neglect lost access to children in mid-March when schools and child care centers closed to prevent the spread of coronavirus. Still, Hendrickx says they’re finding ways to adapt to the changes brought on by the pandemic. “With that adaptation comes certain measure that can be put in place to check in on kids,” Hendrickx says. “You’re seeing that with a lot of the schools’ ‘Return to Learn’ plans. Even families who chose the 100% remote learning, there’s weekly video check-ins with those kids.”

Hendrickx says only the “Child Protection Center” in Muscatine remains open to conduct medical examinations and forensic interviews for children affected by abuse or neglect. Without access to grandparents and other adults, she says many parents call the Quad Cities Child Abuse Council to ask about changes in their kids’ behavior. “That increased stress and that increased isolation all increase the risk of child abuse,” Hendrickx says. “We just need to continue to look out for one another, to check in on our neighbors and our friends.”

The local Child Abuse Council created Facebook groups for parents to connect with each other, while Hendrickx says client groups meet virtually to give moms and dads a chance to talk to someone besides their kids. Learn more at ChildAbuseQC.org or by calling the national hotline, 800-4-A-CHILD.

(Radio Iowa) – Iowa Workforce Development says the unemployment tax rates paid by businesses will remain unchanged in 2021. Businesses pay unemployment taxes into a trust fund so unemployment benefits can be paid out — and there was some question whether the increase in unemployment brought on by the pandemic would cost them more. I-W-D says the governor has put 490 million dollars of federal coronavirus relief money into the pool — and that will allow the rate to stay the same in 2021.

I-W-D is required to set the new unemployment tax rate each year based on the trust fund balance at the end of the fiscal year June 30th.