Gazette Daily News Briefing, April 12
Enjoy your warm, dry weather during the day on Tuesday, because rain looks to be coming Tuesday night and Wednesday, and cold will be making a brief return after that.
According to the National Weather Service it will be partly sunny in the Cedar Rapids area with a high near 67 degrees. It will be breezy, with a wind of 10-15 mph increasing to 15-20 mph in the afternoon. Wind gusts could reach 35 mph. The chance for rain will start scaling up after 4 p.m., with rain and potentially thunderstorms becoming more likely after midnight and heading into Wednesday.
There were several developments Monday in the aftermath of Sunday’s shooting at a Cedar Rapids nightclub that killed two and injured 10 others.
A suspect in a shooting early Sunday outside Taboo Nightclub and Lounge in Cedar Rapids was arrested Monday on a second-degree murder charge and other counts. Police announced that Timothy Ladell Rush, 32, faces charges of second-degree murder, willful injury, intimidation with a dangerous weapon, reckless use of a firearm and possession of a firearm as a felon.
Rush was taken to the Linn County Jail, where he was held for now without bail. A criminal complaint outlining details of the charges was not available Monday evening. Police still have not provided a motive for what they are calling a targeted shooting. They also have stated they believe two gunmen were involved in the shooting.
Police did identify the two victims of the shooting, both Cedar Rapids residents who had been at the club to celebrate a friend’s birthday party. Police identified victims of the double homicide as Michael Valentine, 25, and Nicole Owens, 35.
Cedar Rapids Democrat Abby Finkenauer is appealing a decision by an Iowa district court judge to throw her off the June 7 primary election ballot for a U.S. Senate seat.
“After careful review, I have decided to challenge this deeply partisan decision to the Iowa Supreme Court,” Finkenauer, a former member of the U.S. House, said in a statement Monday.
Finkenauer will ask the court to reverse a ruling issued Sunday night by Polk County District
Court Judge Scott Beattie that she did not submit enough signatures on nomination petitions to qualify for the Democratic primary to determine the party’s U.S. Senate nominee in the November general election.
His decision overruled the State Objections Panel that rejected challenges to Finkenauer’s campaign raised by GOP activists. The panel decided Finkenauer had met the ballot requirement to acquire at least 3,500 signatures, including at least 100 signatures each in at least 19 counties.
Even if Finkenauer is able to get back on the ballot she faces a steep challenge, having to first win the Democratic primary before taking on forever incumbent Senator Chuck Grassley.
The Linn County Board of Supervisors will meet Wednesday to decide where $11 million of its total $44 million in American Rescue Plan Act funding will go.
During Wednesday’s formal meeting, supervisors will decide which of around 120 projects from over 90 groups to fund with this first allocation of ARPA dollars.
The county has already allocated $11 million to itself for lost revenue and administrative costs, a category allowed under the ARPA rules.
I don’t have time to read off all 120 projects, but if you’re interested in reading about them before the vote we have a searchable database of all of them in the story on the front page of thegazette.com
Support for this news update was provided by New Pioneer Food Co-op. Celebrating 50 years as Eastern Iowa’s destination for locally and responsibly sourced groceries with stores in Iowa City, Coralville and Cedar Rapids; and you can order online through Co-op Cart at newpi.coop.
