Here is the latest Iowa news from The Associated Press at 3:35 a.m. CDT
IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) — Iowa’s executive branch is getting a grim gift from a company that has long made uniforms for meatpacking workers: a free supply of 500 body bags. Dickson Industries is donating the body bags as the state prepares for a worst-case scenario in which the coronavirus or another health emergency would overwhelm hospitals and medical examiners. The Des Moines-based company makes garments and products for the food processing, medical and other industries, including coats and insulated jackets for meatpacking workers. A state spokesman says the body bags will be kept in a state stockpile, just like 500 ventilators the state is purchasing.
DES MOINES, Iowa. (AP) — Police used tear gas and arrested people at the Iowa Capitol during a protest to persuade Gov. Kim Reynolds to restore voting rights to felons. KCCI reports the police said protesters started the confrontation on Wednesday but protesters accused law enforcement of mishandling the arrests. Videos from the scene show Iowa State Patrol troopers taking some protesters to the ground while others tried to pull authorities away. Des Moines police arrived and more arrests were made. Police say at least 15 people were arrested. Two juveniles also were taken into custody..
DUBUQUE, Iowa (AP) — The IBM Client Innovation Center in Dubuque will close within four months, the big tech company said Wednesday, taking nearly 350 jobs with it. Word of the closure first came from Greater Dubuque Development Corp. CEO Rick Dickinson, who told the Telegraph Herald that an IBM official called his office Wednesday morning to inform him that the facility will close by November. IBM spokesman Fred McNeese confirmed that later Wednesday, saying the company will consolidate the Dubuque tech support and outsourcing center with its center in Columbia, Missouri. McNeese says most employees in Dubuque will be given the opportunity to relocate to the Columbia facility or take a severance package.
WATERLOO, Iowa (AP) — Police in Waterloo are investigating after dozens of gravestones were damaged in a late-night vandalism spree. Up to 50 gravestones were toppled or moved at Elmwood Cemetery sometime between Monday night and Tuesday morning. Cemetery manager Joe Fox told the Waterloo-Cedar Falls Courier that damage ranged from huge markers to a small headstone for a 2-month-old baby named Allen dating from the 1800s. Waterloo police photographed the damage and collected evidence but had made no arrests as of Tuesday night.