Serving O'Brien & Clay Counties

Reynolds to let public health disaster emergency expire

Order has been in place since March of 2020

A state-ordered pandemic declaration will end next week, one month shy of its two-year anniversary.

Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds on Feb. 3 signed the final extension of the state's public health disaster emergency proclamation, announcing it will expire at 11:59 p.m. on Tuesday, Feb. 15. It was first issued in accordance with the governor's executive authority on March 17, 2020 to enable certain public health mitigation measures during the state's response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Over time, it included hundreds of provisions aimed at addressing the pandemic.

The remaining 16 provisions focus prima...