Gazette Daily News Briefing, April 14
This is Stephen Schmidt from the Gazette digital news desk and I’m here with your update for Thursday, April 14.
It won’t rain on Thursday, but it will still be very windy. Typical spring in Iowa pick your poison.
According to the National Weather Service it will be sunny in the Cedar Rapids area with a high near 50 degrees. As mentioned it will be windy all day, with a wind of 15 to 20 mph increasing to 25 to 30 mph in the afternoon, possibly gusting as high as 50 mph. A chance for rain and some snow could return overnight into Friday morning.
According to the Associated Press, a tornado hit near Gilmore City in rural north-central Iowa as a strong line of storms moved across the state Tuesday night into Wednesday morning, the National Weather Service confirmed later on Wednesday.
Up to 10 tornadoes were reported across mostly the northern half of the state as the storms moved through, but only the tornadoes near Logan in western Iowa and near Stacyville and St. Ansgar in northeastern Iowa have been confirmed. Survey teams were headed to those areas Wednesday to determine whether tornadoes had touched down and to verify the intensity of those storms.
Fueled by $11 million in federal pandemic aid, the Linn County Board of Supervisors approved funding Wednesday for 39 applicants — including programs to increase affordable housing, reduce gun violence, address mental health needs and support food distribution — in its first round of divvying up the county’s share of the relief money.
Linn County will get a total of $44 million from the American Rescue Plan Act. Of that, the county will take $11 million for its own lost revenue and administrative costs during the pandemic, a category allowed under the federal rules. That leaves $33 million to dole out — the $11 million awarded Wednesday, and $22 million more after May or June.
Foundation 2 Crisis Services received the largest amount in the social services category, at $900,000 for a new headquarters. Foundation 2 Chief Operating Officer Erin Langdon said the award is transformational for the organization.
A lawyer for former Democratic U.S. Rep. Abby Finkenauer asked the Iowa Supreme Court on Wednesday to overturn a lower court judge's ruling that kicked her off the June primary ballot, saying she deserves the chance to vie for the chance to run against Republican U.S. Sen. Chuck Grassley in November.
Finkenauer, whom many Democrats see as their best chance to deny Grassley an eighth Senate term, turned in nearly 5,000 signatures to get on the June 7 primary ballot. But two Republicans argued before the State Objections Panel that she hadn't submitted at least 100 from at least 19 counties, as required by a state law. They pointed to three signatures in two counties that were not properly dated.
The high court didn't say when it might rule, but it is expected to do so soon because ballots must be sent to printers by Monday to meet a deadline to mail ballots to Iowa residents living abroad.
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.