This is just embarrassing for Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds

Dear Palmer Report readers, we all understand the difficult era we're heading into. Major media outlets are caving to Trump already. Even the internet itself and publishing platforms may be at risk. But Palmer Report is nonetheless going to lead the fight. We're funding our 2025 operating expenses now, so we can keep publishing no matter what happens. I'm asking you to contribute if you can, because the stakes are just so high. You can donate here.

The Iowa Department of Public Health (IDPH) reported Wednesday that more Iowans are hospitalized now with COVID than at any other point so far in 2021. As of now there are 638 Iowans in the hospital, the highest since December 22. At the rate we’re going we may be on track to break the record of 1,527 hospitalized for COVID in November 2020. Eighteen children are in the hospital with COVID and is the largest number of new reported cases.

Overall, more than 3,000 children have COVID now, with 12,163 current cases total in Iowa. The state is averaging about 1,738 new cases a day. Over the past week 81 Iowans have died from COVID, with 6,482 total COVID deaths in Iowa. (Someone I knew in the mid 1990s was one of the first to die of COVID in Iowa).

And where is Governor “CovidKim” Reynolds in all this? Is she reassessing the situation and stepping up the response to COVID? Oh, hell no. She’s busily fighting tooth and nail against any attempt to improve the response to COVID, and working with other GQP governors to get a meeting with the President so they can grandstand about the border crisis. Meanwhile IDPH medical director Dr. Caitlin Pedati, who was leading Iowa’s response (such as it is) is leaving for “new opportunities.” No word yet if she jumped or was pushed.

As I’ve previously intimated, CovidKim is so busy trying to be the 50th best state governor that she’s actively sabotaging the response to the pandemic with her GQP enablers and spending more time grandstanding than doing her damn job. And the latest COVID numbers are what we have to show for her maladministration.