Cedar Rapids Gazette: The roller-coaster effects of Iowa’s COVID-19 pandemic are skewing state tax collections — but in a good way. After a period of economic shutdown intended to slow the spread of a novel coronavirus that has claimed at least 6,057 Iowa lives, state revenues are growing at an unprecedented pace as people spend federal stimulus checks and engage in more activities as Iowa reopens for business, travel and events, according to the nonpartisan Legislative Services Agency. While the pandemic has made apples-to-apples fiscal-year comparisons difficult, Jeff Robinson, a senior tax analyst for the agency, said monthly data indicates state tax collections are up more than $1 billion in fiscal 2021, with double-digit increases in all major categories contributing to a 19.3% year-to-date growth rate.