Gazette Daily News Briefing, April 21
This is Stephen Schmidt from the Gazette Digital News Desk, and I’m here with your update for Friday, April 21.
It will be cloudy and breezy Friday, so remember to pack a light jacket if you need one, especially in the evening. According to the National Weather Service there will be a high near 55 degrees in the Cedar Rapids area, with increasing cloudiness. It will be breezy, with a wind of of 10 to 15 mph increasing to 15 to 20 mph as the day goes on. There will be a small chance of rain before 9 p.m. Tonight it will drop down to 32 degrees, leading to an even chillier Saturday with a slight chance of snow.
Cedar Rapids Police are investigating a Wednesday night shooting in the southeast quadrant that left one minor injured, according to authorities.
Police responded about 9:50 p.m. to a call about shots being fired in the 300 block of 17th St. SE, police said. Officers found a minor boy suffering from a gunshot wound.
He was treated at the scene, then taken to a hospital. Police said his injuries appeared non-life threatening. Police did not announce any arrests in connection with the shooting.
The National Motorcycle Museum in Anamosa is being sued over its display and sale of Evel Knievel memorabilia.
K&K Promotions, a Nevada company that owns the rights to the likeness, brand and intellectual property of the late motorcycle daredevil and stunt driver, Evel Knievel, is suing the National Motorcycle Museum in U.S. District Court for alleged trademark infringement and unjust enrichment.
The officially sanctioned Evel Knievel Museum is located in Topeka, Kan.
Anamosa’s National Motorcycle Museum has yet to file a response to the lawsuit. A spokesperson said the museum has pulled any Evel Knievel-related items from display and that the museum will be closing permanently in September of this year, due to low visitation numbers and other issues.
Nearly two-thirds of the 299 University of Northern Iowa faculty members who responded to a campus climate survey in the fall said they had “seriously considered leaving UNI” — citing an array of reasons including low pay, growing workload, and unwelcoming “climate in the State of Iowa.”
Of the 613 UNI staff members who responded, 53 percent said they too had considered leaving, according to the fall 2022 survey that netted 3,329 total respondents, amounting to 31 percent of the campus’ faculty, staff, and student population.
“One theme that emerged from respondents concerning why they considered leaving UNI involved being overworked and burnt out,” according to the survey, reporting 657 respondents provided comments on why they thought about leaving.
One person said, “The workload has gotten overwhelming. We are short staffed, and job duties just keep getting added without a pay increase.”
Findings from the nearly 500-page report were presented during two UNI town hall meetings this week, and officials said its findings generally were consistent with higher education institutions nationally.
